STEVE GOLBER of Evanston, Ill., raced his Rat Racer, from famed British HPV designer/builder/critic Mike Burrows.. It comes as a partially assembled kit. Steve had to glue one joint and build the wheels. Both hubs are supported on one side only, which means he couldn't use a regular truing stand to build them. The crank is a 155mm TA. (Only old bicycle people remember TA cranks, which were made in France.)

BURROWS cuts the frame to fit the rider, which is essential since there's no way to move the seat forward or backwards. The seat and fairing are one piece. The rider makes any final seating "adjustment" by sliding up or down on the seat.

A CLOSEUP VIEW of the single carbon-fiber blade fork on Steve Golber's Rat Racer. Golber bought the bike about two years ago. In June, he bought a Burrows Ratcatcher 18/20, a similar but higher short-wheelbase bike intended for street use.

ACTION in the 100-lap race on the Northbrook velodrome. On the high side, Rick Gritters leads Warren Beauchamp as they lap Richard Meyers in his Moby Gee Bee and Dave Balfour. At lap 48, Rick and Warren made contact and both went down. Warren's bike slid in one of the posts supporting the outside wall, damaging the rear wheel and flattening the tire. Rick was able to continue and won at at average speed of 30.5 mph.. He and Warren both built their bikes. Dave made the fairing for his Gritters-built low racer.