Editor’s note: For those of you who don’t know Frank Geyer, also known as Franknspeed, he’s one of the fastest HPV racers in the Midwest. For instance, in the stock class at this year’s Michigan HPV Rally, he won the 1-hour time trial with 27.66 miles in the hour and the 1-kilometer time trial, 30.46 mph and was second in the sprints at 37.46 mph.

The HPSC 2004 was held September 13-17 at Battle Mountain, Nevada. This is my report.

I flew in to Reno on Sept. 12 and got picked up by Steve Delaire, his brother Karl and the intern/mechanic Brendan. The bike, “Big Gun,” named after the large surfboards (Steve is a surfer) was in the back of an old Chevy camper. Big beast! (Steve Delaire makes Rotator recumbent bikes -Ed.)

It took about four hours to get to Battle Mountain, a small mining town in the high desert of Nevada. The race headquarter and main lodging place was the local Motel 8.

The first thing we did was try to see if I actually would fit in the bike. It didn’t look as if I would, but the bike is bigger inside than you would expect. Quite roomy, so that first hurdle was passed. The second one was if my shoes/pedals would work inside. That went well, too.

So with me fitting inside, we did some test runs with the tub chassis in the parking lot to check out the steering. After a while I got the hang of it and could start without help.

Monday, Sept. 13:
The first day of the event and all new riders and bikes have to qualify. That was done on a service road next to Interstate 80, a long straight stretch of road with barely any traffic. Three miles had to be riden to prove that the rider is in control of the vehicle. My first time in a streamliner!

The start went well, as I trained at home with the trainer bike (sans body, same geometry) and the team knew what to do. The road was bumpy, so after an initial boost I backed off and just pedaled to the catch area. Afterwards I was told that actual speed traps had been set up. Oh well, the official speed was around 35 mph, but I had the bike up to 59 mph according to the speedo. Team Rotator with the Big Gun was qualified!

Later that afternoon was the first speed run. It was terribly windy, with cross winds up to 15-20 mph. There was no “legal” wind, so pushing the bike was not necessary. For the first run, we used the tall top for better visibility. I rode the bike to get some more time in. The speed was low to keep the bike on the road. My hands cramped at the end from counter steering the big bike down the road. The course is smooth and very fast. The start and catch went well.

Tuesday, Sept. 14
Lower winds made the outlook for this day more promising. Starting in the second group, we had the lower winds, typical for this race, as the winds die down when the sun goes down. For this run we had the “training canopy” mounted, which gives better visibility than the racing top and is about 2 inches taller, with a steep windshield. The start went well and for the first time (third time in a streamliner) I went fast in the bike. Not knowing the bike or course, I just checked out how it feels and managed a 63.47 mph speed through the traps. A new record for the bike and myself, over 100 kph!

Interestingly I was completely missing any kind of fear or uneasiness during the race. The long wheelbase and front wheel drive make the bike very easy to drive, so I can focus on the power.

A good design, if a bloody beginner can go 60+, I’d say!

My power output was maybe around 80 percent, hard to say, as the vent started to oscillate at 50 mph and then simply went shut with two miles to go. I was running out of air.

Seeing the speedo going 40, 50, 60 is exciting, to say the least. I really wanted to break 70 on the first run, but without air, oh well.

Wednesday, Sept. 15
For this day’s run, we put the racing top on. That canopy has a shallower windshield angle and is about 2 inches lower than the tall top. Also the team wet sanded the bike after filling some paint voids and then waxed the whole thing. We also sealed the gaps in the wheel fairings with foam and Teflon tape running on the carbon disc wheels. Very tight fit. The foam makes touching of the body with the tires impossible, which is crucial when running in crosswinds.

The weather was looking good, hot with light winds. The second session riders were lined up, some taped in already, waiting for the confirmation that the road was clear. Then we heard that two trucks had stopped half way. Apparently one ran out of fuel. No one believed that, as the drivers had shouted profanities at us when they passed by. A mine truck running out of fuel in the desert, yeah right. So we got out of the bikes.

After Department of Transportation personnel told the drivers they would contact police, the truck “miraculously” started again and the trucks moved on. By that time, we lost about 30 minutes, important when you consider the timing with the sun down and the wind.

So we started in low light. Sam Whittingham went, then I started. For some reason the bike fell over, although it was already rolling and stable. No idea what happened. So we decided to wait until the others were gone. Freddy Markham fell, too, but my second start went well. Ellen van Vugt started and so did Hans Wessels.

(See "Battle Mountain", next page)