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ONE OF THE FASTEST CATS ON THE PLANET. Rob English, Cat 1 racer and HPV champ trained in Italy for the 2002 HPV Speed Challenge (Nevada) - and is currently doing the Coast to Coast
Some of you will already know of HPV racer, engineer and bike builder Rob English, "one of the fastest cats on the planet" , who's dabbled in HPV Championships way more than is healthy we suspect... Read about his beating a fully fared Goldrush recumbent (OK, tongue firmly in cheek) from a standing start here.
UPDATE July 17, 2003, 2:00 pm:
I am as of this minute on the phone with Rob, who is sitting on a sofa in Washington DC, having ridden 3,900 miles in 5 weeks across the USA (most people do the Bicycle Adventure routes in 3 months), averaging 130 miles/day. His longest day was 189 miles on Monday. What kind of day was that? Flat as a tortilla under a sumo wrestler?
"Not quite, but it was only 7000 feet of climbing. Did 70 before lunch then 100 in the afternoon."
Cinch really. He says having an altimeter on his computer is handy for spots like Colorado so you can get an idea of how hard's the holy gruel. Before the next holy gruel.
"One thing that really stood out on the trip was this: very few people I met had heard of a Bike Friday - "less than 5%."
"What really winds me up is that most people still think these bikes are not performance bikes. I said, look, it works. Even the local bike store in DC here said "What are you riding that Bike Friday for [you poor thing]?"
"All I can say is the bike ROCKED!"
A bit about Rob's bike: it's a standard Pocket Rocket, set up with triple chainrings, originally all Campy Daytona, now a mixture of Ultegra cranks, 1 Campy Chorus lever, 1 Daytona lever, Campag 11-23 cassette, 30,44,56 chainrings, which gives around a 27" lowest gear.
"Last year I did the Alps with the Rocket and a double chainring, with a 42 on the front, but I really recommend a triple for touring. [Even an HPV world champ like Rob needs to bail out occasionally, carrying 30 lbs of gear and going up a 15% grade - Ed]. My slowest speed on this trip was about 4 mile an hour, fastest was 56 mph downhill."
So how's he feeling at both ends now after such an easy amble 'cross 'merica?
"I'm feeling really fit - that 190 mile day felt like no big deal, I averaged 16.5 mph. Also, I used to think 6 hours was a long day. Now 11.5 seems more like it. The hilly desert section of the southern tier route was great - there's an 80 mile stretch with absolutely no services - I did 80 in the morning and 70 after lunch."
Gulp. So where to now Rob?
"I ride to western Mass, then back to Boston, then fly home and earn some cash for the next long fast ride." Just as a reminder, Rob is the UK rep for the company that makes the trailer hitch for the Bike Friday TravelSystem, BicycleR Evolution in the UK.
You haven't seen or heard the fast, I mean, last from Rob ... who just might be at Lon Haldeman's Bike Friday Training Camp slated for early 2004...stay tuned...
UPDATE July 2, 2003, 1:00 pm:
Rob called in and with an inspired idea: Get a BF team together to do RAAM 2004. He's going to work on it when he finished this trip, so if anyone reading is interested, contact Rob. I also asked him if we make this little trip report more juicy - has he any on-road romance to report? He said:
"Hey, my life is not a soap opera! The nearest I got was meeting my first female transam rider yesterday; only a five minute conversation as she was going the other way, but she was very cute!"
All we can say Rob, and you probably cannot help yourself, is that you are riding way too fast....
UPDATE: July 1, 2003, 2:00 pm:
Almost done with Kansas - I'm in Girad right now so only a few miles to Missouri. Hopefully be picking up my tyres in Pittsburg shortly. Lots of miles last week - 900, which is the biggest week I have ever done. Got very very wet yesterday, big storms, and the lightening was getting worringly close at times! Just overcast so far today, but with a headwind.... albeit a not too strong one, thankfully.
Met another biker heading West yesterday; he like most people was surprised at how little I am carrying, but I haven't been short of anything yet. Except for fuel - it seems you cannot buy the gas cannisters for my stove in Kansas, even the huuuuge WalMart doesn't have them. Had my fourth puncture yesterday too - probably my own fault for cutting the corner and doing 15 miles of dirt roads, but it made a change from the blacktop.
Rightho, better get back out in the heat (definitely getting a lot more humid) and get on with it, 'laters, Rob.
UPDATE: June 25, 2003, 11:32am: Rob called us from the side of the road in Boon, Colorado (is that where 'the Boonies?' originated) to say he's alive and well, and has already been offered bed and breakfast from an admirer of his small wheels. Technical Report: Rob's Stevio Kevlar 451 rear tire wore thin after 1600 miles from San Francisco to Pueblo, Colorado, under a weight of around 30lbs luggage. Ben sent him out a new pair .... he expects the front one to last twice as long. We'll see...
~~~
Well, just because you're a Cat 1 racer doesn't mean you don't want to go slow and smell the roses (and truckie stop toilets, Jack-in-the-Box burgers and exhaust fumes when you can't avoid it) occasionally, and right now, Rob is touring across the USA on his trusty Pocket Rocket.
He writes:
"As long as the maps turn up in time I'm doing the Adventure Cycling Associations Western Express route, reckoning on about six weeks for the 3800 miles. Should be good for a laugh anyway."
That was a couple of weeks ago.
You can follow him on his trip website - that is, if you can keep up. We doubt that this cross-country caper is a loiter for thunder thighs Rob.
He has already praised us for snapping to attention when his shifter broke (now what was he doing with that shifter, we hesitate to ask...). He wrote:
Dear Ben, Alan, anyone else involved,
Thanks so much for sorting out a new shifter for me with such efficiency. It makes life so much easier knowing there is a helpful team just on the end of a phone when needed. I ended up at a motel just around the corner from the bike store (camping was almost as expensive), and when I called in there this morning, the package was already waiting for me. So it is now installed and all working sweetly, so I am all set for the next 3000 miles.....
The tyres are also holding up very well, despite a few dirt roads. They are definitely much more durable than the Primos. We'll see what mileage I get from the rear one with the load.
I'm throwing up updates on my progress when I get a chance - take a look at my site if you like: http://rob.bikerevuk.com/tour.html
Rob
IN case you're wondering about those tires, he's using the speedy Kevlar Stelvio 451's, which you can buy from our e-catalog or just call Customer Service on 1-800-777-0258.
For the record, Rob is also the UK distributer for BicycleR Evolution trailers - makers of the Bike Friday suitcase trailer kit and the kind with the Rubbermaid box on top. BicycleR Evolution is owned by the middle Scholz brother Ian - so you can see what a talented and hardworking bunch these Scholz's are.
Please send all emails of encouragement to Rob, rje56@yahoo.com - he'd sure appreciate an offer of a place to pitch his tent on his journey across the nation. It's worth meeting him even just to measure the girth of those thighs...
Rob trains in Italy with the serious bike that you can take with you ... For more information, follow this link http://rob.bikerevuk.com/tour.html.