My OperaPersonal Best Equalled! (almost)
Thursday, October 4, 2007 5:11:52 PM
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 – My speed tonight of 61.05 mph at least proves that last year's best time of 61.11 was not a fluke after all. It was a good night all around, but more on that later.
Things started out innocently enough, with the weather bright but cold and blustery. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Human Power Vehicle Association, of which I am a member, took up a good part of the morning. After lunch I lubed the chains on Orange and did some sanding on the bonnet to remove various rough spots. The wind intensity precluded any painting, however. The bike is running so well there was no need to tinker or change anything.
After a short nap we headed out to the starting area. I was scheduled to start 4th in the second group. The wind was still somewhat strong there, but reports were that the breeze was very light at the timing area. I completed my jog and spinning along with everyone else's warm-up. The wind lightened as the sun approached the hills in the west.
The first group went off like clockwork: Jerrod Bouchard (Missouri U. of Science & Tech, Streaminer), Dave Gertler (U. of Western WA, Valkyrie), Larry Lem (Beluga), Steven Day (UC Davis, Bessie III), and Jay Henry (Blue Jay). We heard that all made it down the course OK except Jerrod, who got hit with a big gust and went down. He had the good sense, however, to fall on the side of the vehicle that was already scratched, leaving one panel of their beautiful paint job untouched.
Our second group started out fine, as the wind had dropped somewhat and the reports were that there was little or none along the route. We set up the bike and I got sealed in by my crack crew. Sam W. made his usual smooth get-away. Damjan, who is normally just as smooth, fell as he left the start. His crew ran up and righted him for a second attempt , but he fell again. At that point, I was waved on by the starter and got away without a hitch, being careful not to run into Damjan as he lay there on the right side of the road.
Heading down the course, everything felt good. I was careful to keep to my speed schedule this time as I started out. The bike was moving well and it was certainly much nicer not being knocked around by the wind. I hit 45 a little late but was OK with it. I pressed harder, concentrating on breathing, which is a little of a chore with my shoulders compressed to about 16” across. Got to 55 at about 1.5 mi to go, and was working pretty hard, so 65 was out but 60 was doable. Made a final shift and went for broke. Speed climbed slowly and clicked over to 60 at about 500m. I held on through the 200m time trap with legs crying and breathing like a madman with my speedo reading 60.8. Yaaaa Hoooo!
Coasting and braking to the catch area, there seemed to be a lot more waving by the folks there than usual, but my oxygen-starved brain did not catch on. As soon as I stopped I was moved to the other side of the road, which is what they were trying to signal, before being un-taped and the lid lifted. There was a good deal of commotion behind me as I stood up, and found that Damjan had been launched after me and was right on my tail, as going 15 mph faster will tend to close any gap. The crew did an admirable job of sorting it all out and I would have applauded them if I'd had the strength.
Back at the meeting there were many loud rounds of applause. Sam at over 79 mph, Damjan with a personal best and new European record of a hair under 75, Larry Lem creeping toward 60 at 58.6, MUST within sight of a collegiate record with 59.3, and my 61. The biggest round was for Jay Henry, a 16 year old 6-footer who built his own bike and traveled out here with his very supportive family from somewhere 'back east' in an RV the size of a Greyhound. He pushed Blue Jay to 50.3 mph.
Let's see what happens tomorrow!
Things started out innocently enough, with the weather bright but cold and blustery. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Human Power Vehicle Association, of which I am a member, took up a good part of the morning. After lunch I lubed the chains on Orange and did some sanding on the bonnet to remove various rough spots. The wind intensity precluded any painting, however. The bike is running so well there was no need to tinker or change anything.
After a short nap we headed out to the starting area. I was scheduled to start 4th in the second group. The wind was still somewhat strong there, but reports were that the breeze was very light at the timing area. I completed my jog and spinning along with everyone else's warm-up. The wind lightened as the sun approached the hills in the west.
The first group went off like clockwork: Jerrod Bouchard (Missouri U. of Science & Tech, Streaminer), Dave Gertler (U. of Western WA, Valkyrie), Larry Lem (Beluga), Steven Day (UC Davis, Bessie III), and Jay Henry (Blue Jay). We heard that all made it down the course OK except Jerrod, who got hit with a big gust and went down. He had the good sense, however, to fall on the side of the vehicle that was already scratched, leaving one panel of their beautiful paint job untouched.
Our second group started out fine, as the wind had dropped somewhat and the reports were that there was little or none along the route. We set up the bike and I got sealed in by my crack crew. Sam W. made his usual smooth get-away. Damjan, who is normally just as smooth, fell as he left the start. His crew ran up and righted him for a second attempt , but he fell again. At that point, I was waved on by the starter and got away without a hitch, being careful not to run into Damjan as he lay there on the right side of the road.
Heading down the course, everything felt good. I was careful to keep to my speed schedule this time as I started out. The bike was moving well and it was certainly much nicer not being knocked around by the wind. I hit 45 a little late but was OK with it. I pressed harder, concentrating on breathing, which is a little of a chore with my shoulders compressed to about 16” across. Got to 55 at about 1.5 mi to go, and was working pretty hard, so 65 was out but 60 was doable. Made a final shift and went for broke. Speed climbed slowly and clicked over to 60 at about 500m. I held on through the 200m time trap with legs crying and breathing like a madman with my speedo reading 60.8. Yaaaa Hoooo!
Coasting and braking to the catch area, there seemed to be a lot more waving by the folks there than usual, but my oxygen-starved brain did not catch on. As soon as I stopped I was moved to the other side of the road, which is what they were trying to signal, before being un-taped and the lid lifted. There was a good deal of commotion behind me as I stood up, and found that Damjan had been launched after me and was right on my tail, as going 15 mph faster will tend to close any gap. The crew did an admirable job of sorting it all out and I would have applauded them if I'd had the strength.
Back at the meeting there were many loud rounds of applause. Sam at over 79 mph, Damjan with a personal best and new European record of a hair under 75, Larry Lem creeping toward 60 at 58.6, MUST within sight of a collegiate record with 59.3, and my 61. The biggest round was for Jay Henry, a 16 year old 6-footer who built his own bike and traveled out here with his very supportive family from somewhere 'back east' in an RV the size of a Greyhound. He pushed Blue Jay to 50.3 mph.
Let's see what happens tomorrow!
