The HPV community suffered a great loss in October with the death of Gardner Martin, the creator of the classic Tour Easy long wheelbase recumbent bicycle, as well as many other recumbent cycles, including the first HPVs to exceed 50 and 65 miles per hour.

He died, according to a notice on the Easy Racers Web site (navigate to forums/announcements or www.easyracers.com/gardner.htm), “After a long, long battle with mantle cell lymphoma ... He was hospitalized for the last few days and suffered very little pain.” That was posted Oct. 11, so I’m assuming he died within a few days before that.

According to the notice, Gardner’s final words were, “Grow recumbent --- faster.”

Fortunately, for those who haven’t bought a Tour Easy yet (like me), and those who have, Easy Racers Inc. will continue, under the direction of his widow, Sandra; his brother, Mac; and the rest of the staff.

I met Gardner in June 1982 at the then Easy Racers shop (a former chicken coop) in Watsonville, Calif. I and the friend I was with (from California, who already knew Gardner) got to ride two of the first Tour Easys.

By then, Gardner already was an old-timer in the then fairly new world of HPVs. At the first International Human Powered Speed Championships in 1975, he competed with a prone bike he built. (I don’t believe Gardner ever raced himself; he always had presumably faster riders do the pedaling.) After many modifications, Fred Markham rode the

prone bike to 50.85 mph at the 1979 Speed Championships -- the first rider to exceed 50 mph.

In 1986, Fast Freddy won the $18,000+ Du Pont Prize for the Easy Racers team by being the first to pedal an HPV 65 mph (65.484 mph). His Gold Rush was basically a modified aluminum frame Tour Easy inside a streamlined shell.

At the International Human Powered Speed Championships in 1989, conducted by the Michigan HPV Association at the Michigan International Speedway, Fred in another Gold Rush set a world record of 45.366 miles pedaled in one hour.

Gardner started building drag racing cars at 17, switched to racing motorcycles and finally to HPVs.

What evolved into the Tour Easy started in 1976 as an upright tandem bicycle. Gardner removed the front seat and rear pedals and extended the handlebars, and a supine recumbent was created. Before production of Tour Easys started, he was making Easy Racers -- the same design as the Tour Easy, but more or less handmade. He also sold do-it-yourself plans for making an Easy Racer.

In recent years, Gardner designed lower cost recumbents (2- and 3-wheel), the EZ series, for Sun Bicycles.

Gardner and I had occasional contact over the years, at a Speed Championships or by phone or mail for an article I was writing for an International HPV Association publication. He was always friendly and helpful and I know Tour Easy owners were appreciative that when they called Easy Racers, Gardner was always willing to talk to them.

I still remember Gardner telling me during a casual conversation at the Speed Championships that year that he was only making about $10,000 a year, but “i’m having great fun.” (Quote may not be exact.)

I suspect up to the end, Gardner was still having fun.

GARDNER MARTIN stands beside Fred Markham in the Gold Rush at the International Human Powered Speed Championships at Michigan International Speedway in September 1989. At MIS, Fred set a then world record of 45.366 miles in an hour, had the fastest 200-meter time of 56.92 mph and in a different Gold Rush, won the 20-mile road race.