The Fastest Face-Down, Head-First, Human-Powered Vehicle | PopSci

Graeme "The Flying Dutchman" Obree's Beastie Bike



Graeme Obree doesn’t own a car. And why would he? The Scottish racing cyclist built a bike in his kitchen that can travel at highway speeds. Last year, it even broke a world record. 

Obree is no cycling novice. In 1993, he broke the world record for distance biked in an hour: He cycled 32 miles in 60 minutes on a closed track. Another cyclist broke the record later that year, but in 1994 Obree reclaimed the title. “Winning is almost like a drug you keep needing more of,” he says.

So Obree kept competing. And after winning two races in 2007, at age 42, he gained the confidence to try something few people had ever attempted: to build the planet’s fastest human-powered vehicle. It would have to exceed 82.819 mph, a record set in 2009 on a recumbent (feet-first, face-up) bike.






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