The fastest human on two wheels is:
Lance Armstrong — No. Alberto Contador — No. Sam Whittingham — Yes.
The Canadian bicyclist achieved a decade-long quest by pedaling his kevlar encased recumbent bicycle at more than one-tenth the speed of sound last week in the Nevada desert.
The achievement earned for him the $25,000 .deciMach Prize for human-powered speed.
Whittingham exceeded 82 mph in a run Sept. 18 at Battle Mountain, Nevada, on a stretch of flat highway popular with cyclists attempting the record.
Terrifying
Although the speed of sound is 767 mph, cyclists at Battle Mountain are required to reach at least 82 mph for the decimach to compensate for the 4,000-foot altitude and slight downhill slope.
This is how Whittingham described his ride to the Vancouver Sun:
“On the one hand it's terrifying, but also completely exhilarating. It's like going down the steepest hill you can find on your bike, but you get to do that all the time.”
Whittingham set the record in the Varna Diablo III, a bike designed by Georgi Georgiev of Gabriola Island. As you probably guessed, it's the third version of a recumbent with a carbon fiber frame and kevlar skin.
Naked
Before he decided to go for the 1/10 speed of sound record, Whittingham raced with the Canadian national cycling team. Now he makes and sells handmade bicycles from his home on Quadra Island, British Columbia.
The company, Naked Bicycles, won the President's Award, the People's Choice Award and the Best of Show Award at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland for a fixed-gear bicycle later sold to Armstrong.
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