I’ve definitely got at thing for HPVs, (human powered vehicles) so when I read this article about the HPV team at Missouri’s Rolla university, I had to have a peek at their site, and see what they’re up to.
That’s their little land rocket, clocked at a hair over 59 MPH. Their goal is to break the standing collegiate record of 61.5 MPH, and it looks like their fearless pilot, Jerrod Bouchard, should be able to achieve that.
Granted, he’s got a team of very bright university students on his side, along with the kind of aerodynamic advantages that a 16″ wide, fully enclosed, Rohloff-equipped recumbent can provide.
Let’s wish him luck in breaking that record.
Thanks for passing along your good wishes to Jerrod and crew. They will try again no doubt, but if you want to see more about their attempt at Battle Mountain, Nevada, earlier this month (videos, photos, text), please visit our blog, Experience This! ( http://experiencethis.umr.edu ). Or go directly to the section labeled Land Speed Challenge ( http://experiencethis.umr.edu/land_speed_challenge/ ).