Sam Whittingham last night rode his fully enclosed streamlined bike to a speed of 82.4mph at the WHPSC (world human powered speed challenge) in Battle Mountain, Nevada.
Last year he reached a 82.33mph, this year hopes to be better as the road has been resurfaced and more records could go be broken before the week is out.
Barbara Bautois broke the womans record by 3mph but with an illegal wind speed.
I'll be watching with anticipation.
Sam writes on his blog
Mon, Sept 15, 2009 11:30pm NEW WORLD RECORD 82.4 MPH!!! Evening Runs. Perfect Weather (almost!) Tonight was the first real test for team Varna at this years event. We loaded into the truck at about 4pm and headed south to our asphalt arena with the usual anxiety about what might or might not be possible this early in the week. The sun has been shining hard and the wind low. Barbara, in the Varna Diablo III was first off in the first session. She had a bit of a shaky beginning with several miss-starts. We where to learn later that she was having some trouble with the gears, which certainly was not helping! She had an otherwise very good run and went an amazing 69mph! This is faster than the previous women's record of Lisa Veterlain (sp?) by 4 mph. However, the wind was just slightly to high. The record is sure to fall officially in the next few days. I headed off the second heat at about 6:40 just as the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. The tarmac was still warm and the winds where non-existent. The stage was set for a record but was I? As many people know, I tend to get faster as the week goes on. The dry air and elevation of 4600 ft always takes me 5 or so days to get used to and needless to say I am still feeling a bit sluggish. I was also distracted by the fact that the front tire we are using was becoming dangerously thin in places and I could see the actual thread in under the rubber! Nothing to do but hope that it held for one last waltz down the dance floor. I went quite hard but not maximum. I was missing the "kick" I rely on for most record runs. Even so, I managed to hang on for a new record. I can only hope that we have similar conditions throughout the week as I get my form and confidence. 85mph would be nice wouldn't it? I think I will put on a new tire first………………. All runs had legal wind except Barbara Otherwise record count would have been 2! * Sam Whittingham, Tempest 82.4 (with poohball guy) * Barbara Bautois, Diablo III 69 (illegal winds) * Fred Markham, Mephisto 75 * Yannick Lutz, Altair II 70 * Jason Erickson, Varnator 67 * Eric Ware, Wedge 65 * Larry Lem, Scimitar DNF (Mechanical?) * Specter 57??? (unsure. Cleats coming out. Flat tire right at end in catch!!) * Bobby Erman Cal Poly Atlas (unsure of time) * Barclay Henry White Backslider (unsure of time) Another Salad bar dinner at the Owl club, one celebratory pint of Fat Tire Beer (or as our french friends keep calling it "Flat Tire"), glue on a new tire and off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day……………
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