Competitors came from Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Iowa, Indiana and Virginia (although Bill Shaw was working temporarily in Toledo and had his short wheelbase Burley Hepcat with him, so didn't drive all the way from his home in Barboursville, Va.).

Official results are at www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/racing2006/waterford2006_results.htm. (Notes: I wrote this article using the tentative results received from Bill Frey, available as an Excel file here. I didn't have the patience to compare them to the results on the WISIL site, so if there are any discrepancies, use the posted results. However, the posted results do have some misspellings of names and misidentifications of vehicles.)

EVENTS
The first event was the sprints through the 200-foot timing trap. Rick Gritters of Pella, Iowa, won the streamliner class in his home and set a record in doing so -- 45.914 mph. Second was John Simon of Portland in his venerable Moby at 43.567 mph.

The top two in the other classes were: Superstreet -- 1) Rich Sadler, Quakerstown, Pa., homebuilt streamliner, 37.2 mph, 2) Mike Mowett, St. Clair Shores, Trek with AeroEdge fairing/body sock, 37.5 mph. Superstock -- 1) Paul Bruneau, Portage, MI, Velokraft VK2 with tailbox, 37.6 mph; 2) Chris Cortez, Chicago, Sunset low racer with M5 tailbox, 31.5 mph. Stock -- Sean Costin, Arlington Heights, Ill., Challenge NME, 41.1 mph, 2) Dennis Grelk, Donnellson, Iowa, Rick Gritters-built low racer, 39.2 mph. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers, Holly, Trek upright bike, 23.4 mph. Tandem -- 1) Jeff and Jane Hunn, North Manchester, Ind., Double Vision, 31.348 mph; 2) Dan Thorne and Julie Pitko (father and daughter), Sault Ste. Marie, Tandem Terra Trike, 31.276 mph. Women -- 1) Dora Cortez, Chicago, Lightning Stealth, 27.2 mph; 2) Jane Hunn, Sunset low racer, 27.0 mph.

Notes: 11-year-old Nick Myers was the lone junior class competitor. There were four women competitors, but HPRA rules say only stock class bikes are allowed in the "women's" class. So Becky Aulenbach, racing a streamlined Catrike Pocket, was in the superstreet class and Maria Castrejon on a big wheel recumbent with tail fairing, built by friend Tony Levand, was in superstock.

Next was a 12 lap/16.8 mile race, with riders running across the track to get in or on their vehicles (LeMans start). The race ended for all competitors when first place John Simon crossed the finish line.

Streamliner -- 1) John Simon, 33 minutes, 32.2 seconds, average speed of 30.5 mph, 2) Tony Levand, Elgin, Ill., homebuilt long wheelbase, 27-inch or 700c wheels front and rear. Superstreet -- 1) Rich Sadler, 10 laps, 25.0 mph, 2) Wally Kiehler, Grosse Pointe Woods. Superstock -- 1) Paul Bruneau, 10 laps, 23.6 mph; 2) Chris Cortez. Stock -- Sean Costin, 11 laps, 26.3 mph, 2) Warren Beauchamp, Big Rock, Ill., Velokraft NoCom. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers, 6 laps, 13.5 . Tandem -- 1) Thorne/Pitko, 8 laps, 18.2 mph. (Jeff and Jane Hunn competed on their solo bikes.) Women -- 1) Dora Cortez, 7 laps, 16.6 mph, 2) Jane Hunn.

After lunch was the hill climb/coast down
Hill climb: Streamliners -- 1) Rick Gritters, 21.15 seconds, 2) John Simon. Superstreet -- 1) Mike Mowell, 18.5 seconds (class record), 2) Wally Kiehler. Superstock -- 1) Paul Bruneau, 22.2 seconds (class record), 2) Chris Cortez, Stock -- 1) Sean Costin, 18.06 seconds (TRACK record), 2) Dennis Grelk. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers, 26 seconds. Women -- 1) Dora Cortez, 26.05 seconds (class record), 2) Jane Hunn. Tandem -- 1) Hunn/Hunn, 25.4 seconds (class record), 2) Thorne/Pitko.

Coast down: Streamliner -- 1) As usual, John Simon coasted farther than anyone else, coming within about 50 feet of the slight final peak on the course. Had he crested that peak (he hasn't yet), he probably would have coasted back to the starting line; 2) Rick Gritters. Superstreet -- 1) Wally Kiehler, 2) Rich Sadler. Superstock -- 1) Chris Cortez, 2) Paul Bruneau. Stock -- 1) Sean Costin, 2) Warren Beauchamp. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers. Women -- 1) Jane Hunn, 2) Dora Cortez. Tandem -- 1) Thorne/Pitko, 2) Hunn/Hunn.

The final event was the standing start 1-kilometer: Streamliner -- 1) John Simon, 1 minute, 17.7 seconds, 28.8 mph, 2) Rick Gritters. Superstreet -- 1) Mike Mowett, 1 minute, 23.7 seconds, 26.7 mph, 2) Rich Sadler. Superstock -- 1) Paul Bruneau, 1 minute, 27.3 seconds, 25.6 mph, 2) Chris Cortez. Stock -- 1) Sean Costin, 1 minute, 12 seconds, 31.1 mph (class record), 2) Dennis Grelk. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers, 2 minutes, 8.2 seconds, 17.4 mph. Women -- 1) Jane Hunn, 2 minutes, 1.2 seconds, 18.4 mph, 2) Dora Cortez. Tandem -- 1) Hunn/Hunn, 1 minute, 43 seconds, 21.7 mph, 2) Thorne/Pitko.

Overall standings: Streamliner -- 1) John Simon, 7 points; 2) Rick Gritters, 10. Superstreet -- 1) tie: Wally Kiehler and Rich Sadler, 11 points. Superstock -- 1) Paul Bruneau, 6 points; 2) Chris Cortez, 9. Stock -- 1) Sean Costin, 5 points (first in every event); 2) Dennis Grelk, 12. Junior -- 1) Nick Myers, 5. Women -- 1) Dora Cortez, 7 points; 2) Jane Hunn, 8. Tandem -- 1) Hunn/Hunn, 7 points; 2) Thorne/Pitko.

Letters soliciting sponsorship were sent to 29 HPV manufacturers, distributors and retailers, of whom two generously donated, both from California. Bent Up Cycles (www.bentupcycles.com), U.S. distributor of Velokraft cycles from Poland, and seller of several other makes, donated $150. Mueller Human-Power, maker of Windwrap fairings (www.windwrap.com), gave $100. The rest of the prize money came from entry fees and the MHPVA treasury.

Products from both of our sponsors were in the race. Paul Bruneau and Warren Beauchamp both raced Velokrafts and Dave Belfour's streamliner utilized a Windwrap fairing as the windshield, with the rest of the body made from corrugated plastic.

Distribution of the prize money was: First place overall, $100; second, $65; third, $35. For each class, $30 for first, $25 for second and $20 for third. The classes were: Men, age 39 and under, 40-55 and 56 and older; and women.

As mentioned, Rick Gritters from Pella, Iowa, won the race and his class (age 40-55), so won $130. But Rick, in his homebuilt streamliner with fabric fairing, couldn't take it easy because John Simon of Portland in his much heavier Moby streamliner wasn't too far behind. Rick did the 51.2 miles in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 21.4 seconds, at an average speed of 30.287 mph. John, who won $90, finished in 1 hour, 41 minutes, 48.069 seconds at an average speed of 30.179 mph.

Third overall was Dennis Grelk of Donnellson, Iowa, on a stock class (no added streamlining) low racer built by Rick. He also won the 39-and-under age group for a total of $65. (Rick and Dennis came together from Iowa in a minivan. The money they won was almost enough to pay for their gasoline.)

Here's the top three in each class: Men, 39 and under (three competitors) -- 1) Grelk, 31 laps, 25.8 mph, 2) Mike Mowett, 28 laps, 23.4 mph, 3) Paul Bruneau, 24 laps, 19.9 mph.

Age 40-55 (10 competitors) -- 1) Dennis Grelk, 31 laps, 25.8 mph, 2) John Simon, 3) Sean Costin, 30 laps, 25.1 mph.

Age 56 and older (three competitors) -- 1) Rich Sadler, 27 laps, 21.9 mph, 2) Bruce Gordon, Centralia, Ill., Zox20x20 low racer, 24 laps, 19.5 mph, 3) Bill Frey, TourEasy Fold Gold, 21 laps, 16.9 mph.

Women -- Maria Castrejon, Oak Park, Ill., was the only competitor. She completed 16 laps at an average speed of 13.0 mph. She was riding a bike built by friend Tony Levand. It has 27 inch wheels front and back, an approximate 78 inch wheelbase and a tail fairing.

WHAT'S NEXT?
There were 29 competitors at the rally on Saturday. The last time we had had fewer was 26 in 1999. As mentioned, despite efforts and prize money to attract lots of competitors to the Michigan Fast 50 on Sunday, the 17 we had all competed on Saturday.

Discussion by competitors after the "big race" on Sunday was that although some racers liked racing 50 miles, a majority preferred something shorter. Another comment was that an earlier start was needed. The race was supposed to start at 9:30 and, if I (Mike E.) remember correctly, it started about 20 minutes late. As the morning progressed, it got warmer and windier, which were less than ideal for the streamliner riders.

MHPVA board members exchanged numerous e-mails after the rally. The concensus was/is that we should return to what we've done in the past. No 50-mile race and likely two one-hour time trials on Saturday, which will enable competitors to either race two bikes or one bike with and without fairing.

And no prize money, just prizes and maybe gift certificates.

As for the low turnout, hopefully because it was many of the regulars who usually come every year didn't because of conflicts, such as weddings, graduations or graduation open houses.

But perhaps some people didn't come because they didn't want to race 50 miles.

So anyone reading this who didn't come to the rally wants to let your board members know why should send his/her comments to editor@mhpva.org

MISCELLANEOUS
A big thank-you to everyone who helped conduct or organize the rally and Michigan Fast 50, compile results, etc., with apologies to anyone we missed: Bill Frey, Jon Stinson, Terry Gerweck, Garrie Hill, Warren Beauchamp, Luke Gilberts, Paul Pancella, Paul Bruneau, Mike Mowell, John Simon, Wally Kiehler, Jane Hunn and Mike Eliasohn.

This was the third year at the rally that there was a prize for the "best homebuilt," a copy of "Atomic Zombie's Bicycle Builder's Bonanza." The winner was Rick Gritters, who not only raced two bikes he built, a streamliner and a new front-wheel-drive low racer, but also built two bikes raced by others, Dennis Grelk's stock class entry and Dave Balfour's streamliner. (Dave made the fairing.)

Briefly spotted at the rally was a made-in-Australia Tri-Sled Nitro front-wheel-drive low-racer with one flat tire. Whose is it, and would whomever it is like to write something about it for the next newsletter? Contact Mike Eliasohn at editor@mhpva.org