Hello,
I don't know if this is a randonnee; looks like a real race and is portrayed as such.
In the PBP almost any human powered vehicle with lights (and fenders used to be) is allowed. In 1983 plenty (not many) recumbents were present. Even full cowled HPV's were allowed. There was a neat fully enclosed Danish pedal car riding the course.
The best recumbents seemed to be USA made in those days. They were not common but very visible in the masses. Alex Moulton's space frame bikes were launched the year before and were also visible and a few more in 1987. A suspended bike designed for the road has an advantage over a hundred miles so it would seem.
The most interesting rider bike combo was ridden by a Frenchman on a home made recumbent who really loved the American recumbent seats in 1983 PBP. It seems his seat was mounted above both full size wheels. He rode very high in the saddle so to speak.
His saddle was carpet tacked over a 2x 4 or a 5x10cm board rigged up as a lazy L shape. Carpet tacks anchored his cover. After 750 miles that seat must have felt like a board for sure. He kept pointing to the American recumbent seats which were much as today and not too bad. One fellow that year I know of rode barefoot successfully.
This past 2003 PBP event a fellow rode or kicked a German made big wheel scooter all 750 miles. There are always some eccentrics. I'll ride a normal Alex Moulton bike next time. I prefer luxury when suffering.
Yours in Cycling,
Gilbert Anderson
North Road Bicycle Company
519 W. North St.
Raleigh, NC 27603
USA
Toll Free Ph: 800\u2022321\u20225511
Local Ph: 919\u2022828\u20228999
E-mail: cyclestore@aol.com
In a message dated 9/24/04 9:07:42 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
<< Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 22:16:59 +0000
From: olyoop@comcast.net
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Pic of the day/Racing recumbent
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I'm most curious about the picture of the day Aldo posted yesterday, captioned "Moran and his recumbent string out the field during the 1934 Paris-Vichy".
Was the Paris-Vichy a "true" race or an event contested by randonneurs? If the former, was Moran a pacer, using a recumbent to fulfill a role later performed by riders on dernys? Or did recumbents occasionally sneak into races, pre-UCI? If so, was it largely peer pressure that made them so rare, were they banned after a certain point, or were they considered impractical for anything beyond long, flat slogs?
For that matter, are recumbent bikes permitted in the current PBP? (For the record, I'm not much attracted to wheeled lawnchairs, but regret a little that our sport's evolution has been so unnaturally constrained.)
Thanks, Aldo, for these absolutely wonderful photos.
Kris "so many questions, so little knowledge" Hicks-Green
Enjoying an Indian summer in Olympia, Washington
olyoop@comcast.net
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