It's been two and a half years since I finished in an active role with Bendigo Youth Racing (BYR). So, I was a bit nervous (as you can see in my pic on the right) when I was back on the HPV race track on Saturday - albeit with a Ex-Pats Racing - at the 6 hour Casey Cycling Festival. Come ride with me...Hang on - What's a Human Powered Vehicle?
It's typically a three wheeled vehicle that you lie / sit in and pedal (although you can have more than three wheels, most teams don't).
Standard set-up is for the two front wheels to steer and the rear wheel to drive. That means a long chain running under your seat.
Those in the game call them HPVs (but don't Google that...)
I either attending or helped organise eight human powered vehicle (HPV) events last year. As much fun as spectating and organising is - being out there racing is a much bigger thrill. I contacted Tim Jones at Ex-Pats earlier this year and asked if he'd have a spare seat. He did. I raced the yellow and black one on the right here.
Did I enjoy it?
Yes!
It was great fun. I felt like I knew what the vehicle was going to do in terms of popping onto two wheels or making a turn.
How long did I ride for? Was it hard work?
I rode for an hour as the second rider in our team of six.
Yep, you are working hard inside even though they breeze by quietly at speeds of 40-55km/h. I got some cramps about half an hour in, which is partly due to the unique seat angle and also due to my fitness level.
How was it different to a BYR trike?
It was a lot thinner - about 15 centimetres in fact. This means it's a bit less stable (ie. keeping all three wheels on the deck), but I didn't notice it as much as I thought I would. I did roll the test vehicle in practice a month earlier though, so there is definitely a tipping point.
The seat a bit more reclined, but with they share the same steering design so I'm surprised at how similar they were!
Did we win?
Our team was fourth overall out of about 50 teams. We were convincingly beaten by a strong team from Mt Martha way called 'TruBlu' (they are in the right of the picture below right here), or sister team at Ex-Pats (titled 'Ooh La la')(they are in the left of the picture below right here) was second and third was a team from Trisled HPVs called 'Easy Tiger'.
So... what did I learn?
That I can still race a trike with some decent speed, and
- as I mentioned earlier, that I still enjoy it.
Special thanks to Aaron and Tim at Ex-Pats Racing for preparing a great vehicle and letting me fill a seat.
There's plenty more pics here too
PS. Just for the record in 2008, I got along to the:
- the Wonthaggi HPGP,
- the Casey Cycling Festival,
- the Cartridge World Bendigo Madison Pursuit,
- the Maroondah EIEP Grand Prix,
- the Maryborough Technology Challenge (in Queensland),
- the Australian International Pedal Prix (in South Australia),
- the CityLink Vehicle Efficiency Day, and
- the RACV Energy Breakthrough.
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