world's fastest cyclist

the world of recumbent bicycles has grown in leaps and bounds in the past few years as technology, design, and most especially need have driven individuals and manufacturers to improve drivetrains, materials, and considerations relevant to the comfort of the cyclist.

sam whittingham hails from british columbia on the west coast of canada where he is the owner of high-end bike manufacturer naked bicycles (don't panic it's just a name!) sam has been setting speed records for the past handful of years, continuing a tradition of record breaking that is documented here in a list that chronicles those who cracked the fifty mile per hour barrier. fifty miles per hour on anything with thin tires is an experience i can only begin to imagine but which must leave the participant(s) wavering between sheer excitement and terror!

interestingly, the fifty mile per hour barrier was first cracked by a tandem.

whittingham's latest record saw him attain an astonishing speed of over eighty miles per hour. speed junkies might like to watch this brief but amazing clip of sam blowing by at top speed . . . to read more about this achievement, race over here. here's a pic of sam whittingham hoovering down some much-needed oxygen.