38th annual Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Rally

The picnic pavilion at the Waterford Hills sports car racing track also made a fine work area for the University of Toronto Human-Powered Vehicles Design Team, which came with 14 students and seven vehicles – five of them student built.  (Charles Brown photo)

By Mike Eliasohn

The 38th annual Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Rally June 17-18, 2023, was marked by good weather, good turnout and some records being set.

Complete results can be seen by clicking on:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B2221AShyvPTBR3MS0w3P8PpT0O39ey6K8hmbl5o8us/edit?usp=drivesdk

Or go to recumbents.com, then HPRA racing results and photos, then 2023 Michigan HPRA Racing results.

About half the participants were from the University of Toronto Human-Powered Vehicles Design Team (www.hpvdt.ca), which came with 14 students (not all raced) and seven vehicles, three of them streamliners.  Of the 11 or so years the U-T has participated in our event, I (Mike E.) think that's the most students ever.

Due to lack of time, interest or entrants, three scheduled events on Saturday were not held – hot laps, tricycle race and the urban transportation contest. There were no junior class entrants (15 and younger).

Jonathan Walters of Cincinnati on his NoCom low racer waits for the start of the hill climb on Saturday afternoon. He won the stock class (18 entries) and set a record  for the stock class 1-hour, 28.2 miles. (Mike Eliasohn photo)

Here's the top finishers in each class:

Streamliners (5 entries) – 1) Dennis Grelk, Donnellson, Iowa, Cuda W streamliner, built by Warren Beauchamp, 337 points; 2) John Simon, Portland, Moby streamliner, 297; 3) Univ. of Toronto, various riders, 220.

Streetliner (2 entries) – 1) Jeff Hunn, North Manchester, Ind., DF XL velomobile, 300; 2) Charles Brown, Southfield, homebuilt two wheeler with silver "torso" fairing, 110.

Stock (18 entries) – 1) Jonathan Walters, Cincinnati, Ohio, NoCom low racer, 340; 2) Dennis Grelk, homebuilt low racer, 700c wheels, 311; 3) Thom Ollinger, West Milton, Ohio, Morciglio Raptor, 286.

Women (1 entry) – 1) Claire Nolet, Univ. of Toronto, Speedmachine recumbent, 180.

Tricycles (1 entry) – 1) Marshall Randall, Rockford, GreenSpeed Aero, 60 points.

Marshall Randall on his GreenSpeed Aero only had time for the 1-hour time trial Saturday morning before having to leave. His average of 23.5 miles was a record for the tricycle class; the old mark of 20.5 miles was set in 2008. Marshall is director of sales and marketing for WizWheelz in Grand Rapids, maker of TerraTrike and GreenSpeed recumbent tricycles. (Marilyn Solomon photo)

Here's the top two in each class in each event (if only one is listed, that's all who competed):

One-hour time trials: Stock – 1) Dennis Grelk, 28.62 miles/46.06 km, 2) Jonathan Walters, 28.207/ 45.39. Streamliner – 1) Dennis Grelk, 31.8 miles/51.18 km, 2) John Simon, 27.51 / 44.27. Streetliner – 1) Jeff Hunn, 25.44 miles/40.85 km. Women – 1) Claire Nolet, 19.922 miles/32.06 km. Trike – 1) Marshall Randall, 23.47 miles / 37.77 km (record).

Dennis' bike fits the requirements of the now defunct super stock class and he exceeded the old super stock record of 26.7 miles, set in 2004. Meanwhile, Jonathan broke the old stock class record of 27.7 miles, set in 2005.  Both old marks were held by Frank Geyer, aka "Franknspeed."

Lining up for the start of the first 1-hour time trial on Saturday morning. Winner Dennis Grelk (28.62 miles) is on the low racer on the right (orange vertical stripe). (Mike E. photo)

Hill climb: Stock – 1) J. Walters, 19.522 seconds, 2) Mike Mowett, Detroit, Cervelo upright bike, 20.272 sec.  Streamliner – 1) Ethan Elba, U-T Tempest, 23.315, 2) Lincoln MacDonald, U-T, Tempest, 24.211. Streetliner – 1) J. Hunn, 29.778, dnf) Charles Brown, chain broke.  Women – 1) C. Nolet, 28.018 sec,

Coast down (when riders get to top of hill, they stop pedaling, the coast as far as they can go, then mark where they stopped with chalk mark on pavement. Finishing order recorded, but not how far they coasted.  Some U-T riders chose to keep pedaling back to the start line for another hill climb attempt or to the pits, so didn't compete in the coast down):  Streamliner – 1) D. Grelk, 2) L. MacDonald. Stock – 1) D. Grelk, 2) T. Ollinger. Streetliner – 1) J. Hunn.

Dennis Grelk has successfully raced his homebuilt low racer for many years, but has added fabric to cover any "gaps" for added streamlining, which is legal in the stock class. He finished second in the class. He also raced his streamliner, ran the timing system and drove with his mother, Mary, from Donnellson, Iowa – more than 1,000 miles round-trip. (Marilyn S. photo)

Standing start kilometer:  Stock – 1) G. Walters, 70.943 seconds, 2) Ron Wyatt, ?, Morciglio Raptor mid racer, 75.1. Streamliner – 1) D. Grelk, 81.1 sec., 2) J. Simon, 84.0 sec.  No streetliner, women's or tricycle entries.

Dennis Grelk won the streamliner class in his Cuda W streamliner, built by Warren Beauchamp. (Charles B. photo)

SUNDAY EVENTS

A new "non-hill" course was used for the road races, in place of the course used for the past several years. A lap was .624 mile, or just over 1 kilometer.

20-lap road race (12.5 miles/20 km): Stock – 1) D. Grelk, 27 minutes at an average speed of 27.7 mph/44.6 kph, 2) J. Walters.  Streamliner – 1) L. MacDonald, U-T Vortex, 17 laps completed, 22.25 mph/35.8 kph, 2) C. Nolet, U-T Tempest, 4 laps completed.

One of the three University of Toronto streamliners. (Marilyn S. photo)

25-lap road race (15,6 miles/25 km): Streamliners – 1) D. Grelk, 33.16 minutes at average speed of 28.13 mph / 45.26 kph, 2) J. Simon. Streetliner – 1) J. Hunn, 22 laps at average speed of 34.4 mph / 38.2 kph. Stock – 1) C. Nolet, Speedmachiner, 19 laps at average speed of 20.4 mph / 32.8 kph. 2) Ian Wu and Dylan Ngan (change of riders), U-T, Baron low racer, 16 laps.

200 foot sprints (top speed event): Streamliner – 1) Bill Kong, U-T Vortex, 44.22 mph / 71.16 kph. (Note: Final run of the day and Kong's only run), 2) D. Grelk, 41.99 mph /67.57 kph. Stock – 1) J. Walters, 41.51 mph / 66.81 kph, 2) D. Grelk, 39.61 mph / 63.74 kph. Streetliner –1) J. Hunn, 38.05 mph / 61.24 kph.  No women's or tricycle entries.

It's been a few years since Cyrus Furbush competed at the Michigan HPV Rally. He made his return by pedaling his M5 high racer 66.5 miles / 107 km from his home in Tecumseh to the track.  He said he started about 7 p.m. Friday and arrived at 4 a.m. Saturday. At the track, he had to remove the lights and rear carrier rack and everything he carried for two nights of camping, then Sunday afternoon, reverse the process. He then pedaled home, arriving about 1 a.m. Monday. He's shown here waiting to start the hill climb Saturday afternoon.

Jeff Hunn of North Manchester, Ind., had the only velomobile at this year's rally, a carbon fiber DF XL, and won the streetliner class over one other competitor. Vehicles in the class can have any number of wheels, any number of riders, wheel discs/covers and some type of fairing. (Mike E. photo)

It was not the best of Michigan HPV Rallies for Charles Brown of Southfield, the other streetliner competitor. He started Saturday morning with his wearable fairing made of 1-inch construction foam (that is, he puts the fairing on, then gets on the bike). (Marilyn S. photo) 

But he had problems with the fairing, so by Saturday afternoon's hill climb, his homebuilt bike was naked. But on one of three rides up the hill, the chain broke. (Mike E.)

Rally co-organizer Mike Mowett of Detroit gets an assist from Tedd Wheeler to stay upright before starting the hillclimb.  Mike also competed on his Morciglio M1 low racer. He and Dennis Grelk, in addition to handling timing and scoring and other duties, were the only solo (that is, non U-T) competitors to race their own two bikes. (Hannah Dempster photo)

Here's Mike on his Morciglio M1, waiting to start the hill climb.

Ishtey Amminger, who started competing in the Michigan rally in the junior class in 2015 at age 12, this year had to drive from his job at a summer camp in Arkansas to the home of his father, Peter, in Memphis, Tenn., and they then drove to Waterford Hills (and the reverse). On his Cruzbike Vendetta, Ishtey finished 6th in the stock class. (Hannah D. photo

Dan Glatch of Waterford, Wis., competed on the front-wheel-drive Milwaukee Flyer, minus its usual full fairing, which made transporting it much easier. It was designed and built by Mike Kramer of South Africa for Wimpie van den Merwe,also from S.A., who raced it at an HPV event in Minnesota in the early 1990s, then sold it to Dennis Northey, rather than taking it back home.  Dan and Bob Jung are now the owners. Dan said it was maybe only the second time he has raced the Flyer minus the fairing. (Hannah D. photo)

Mike Denninger of Bedford, Mass. (about 1,640 miles round-trip) first raced his homebuilt low racer at the 2017 Michigan rally, then returned this year.  For more information, see the article on this blog, "Two nice homebuilts at Michigan HPV Rally," posted July 16, 2017. (Mike E. photo)

John Simon of Portland, finished second in the streamliner class in his Moby streamliner. Terry Hreno of Connorsville, Ind., built it in 1984 and sold it to John in 1988, He's been racing it ever since. (Marilyn S. photo)

After the racing was over Sunday, the University of Toronto Human-Powered Vehicles Design Team posed for this photo. (Mike E. photo)

Gary and Marilyn Solomon of Laidback Bike Report were at the rally both days, recording and photographing the event and talking to people. Gary's report is part of the Laidback Bike Report broadcast on July 9, which can still be seen on the website (laidbackbikereport.com).  Some of the photos in this report were taken by Marilyn.

Note:  If you see anything in this report that needs correcting or should be added, please email me at mikethebike2325@comcast.net.               Mike E.

More photos and/or videos from:

Hannah Dempster, University of Toronto:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gt92KeiXnQtn1C329

Marilyn Solomon:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ikgS9Rqe8VCbA3TM8

Rob Lloyd:   https://www.flickr.com/gp/146396513@N07/65S1vVrP09

McKinley Thompson: Auto designer, HPV builder

McKinley Thompson Jr. and rider Brooke Linford, his then son-in-law, first showed up with this tricycle at the International Human Powered Speed Championships in Indianapolis in September 1985, but didn't race. The tricycle had suspension on each wheel. They next appeared, along with the Orca fairing, at the Maple City Metric ride in Adrian in May 1986.

By Mike Eliasohn

Us HPV old-timers remember McKinley Thompson Jr., who showed up at the Michigan HPV Rallies and other HPV events in the 1980s and early 1990s with some interesting vehicles he designed and built.

He likely is the only person to have created HPVs with two, three, four and five wheels.

I knew McKinley, who lived in Detroit, worked for Ford Motor Co., but I don’t remember if I knew what he did at Ford.

Then in February of this year, the Automotive Hall of Fame (automotivehalloffame.org) in Dearborn, announced six inductees for this year into its Hall of Fame, including:

McKinley Thompson is a 1956 graduate from Art Center College of Design and made history by becoming one of the first African American automotive designers. Upon graduation, he landed a dream job at Ford’s legendary Advanced Design Studio, and went on to spend the next 28-years of his career as a designer for Ford. He was pivotal in shaping some of the company’s most iconic consumer products ever– including the Thunderbird, Mustang and Bronco. His acumen and aesthetic left an indelible mark on the automotive world and his timeless designs have been studied by generations of automotive designers.

The other inductees will be Mary Barra, General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive officer; five-time world Formula 1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio; Honda Motor Co. co-founder Takeo Fujisawa; Larry R. Wood, who designed Hot Wheels cars for 50 years; and Fred Bauer, founder of Gentex, manufacturer of auto-dimming rearview mirrors and automotive electronics.

The induction ceremony will be July 20 at the Fillmore in Detroit.

Here's Brooke racing Orca at the 4th annual Michigan HPV Rally on Aug. 9,1986 at Waterford Hills, the first rally held at the track in Clarkston.  Brooke, from Northville, finished 6th overall and participants voted Orca "most popular" vehicle. There weren't different vehicle classes in 1986, so all 31 participants were, in essence, racing in the same class, regardless of age, sex or type of vehicle. Then from Aug. 26-29, he and McKinley were at the International Human Powered Speed Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Brooke and Orca finished 28th overall of 39 entries. He competed in the 200 meter flying start sprints (25.36 mph), 15-kilometer criterium and commuter vehicle event.  

McKinley was born in 1922, grew up in Queens, New York, and had a keen interest in cars from when he was young, according to a Ford news release. “He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, learning drafting and working as an engineering layout coordinator. After the war, that work provided for him and his growing family, but Thompson’s love of cars and his dream of being a designer persisted.” In 1953, he entered a design contest in Motor Trend magazine, submitting a design for a gas turbine car with a reinforced plastic body,

He won the contest, the prize for which was a scholarship to the ArtCenter College of Design in  Pasadena, Calif. After graduating with a degree in transportation design in 1956, he started working for Ford.

He retired from Ford in 1984 and eventually moved with his wife, Theresa, to Arizona, where he died in 2006 at age 83. (If you want to read more about McKinley and his automotive design career, type in “McKinley Thompson Jr.” in Google, Yahoo or other search engine and you will find several articles.)

Going through my photos and what I wrote on the backs and Michigan HPV Association newsletters, McKinley and one of his pedal-powered creations – a recumbent tricycle – first appeared at the 11th annual International Human Powered Speed Championships in Indianapolis in September 1985. (Photo at top of this article.)

This was Rolling Thunder at the Michigan HPV Rally at Waterford Hills in August 1987.  It had single wheels front and rear, which was the drive wheel, and two outrigger wheels midway. Frame was made of aluminum tubing. Body was made of Lexan polycarbonate plastic, pop riveted together. With any vibration, the body panels rattled, hence the vehicle name. Rolling Thunder was selected "most popular entry." 

The final time was at the Michigan HPV Rally at Waterford Hills in June 1993, where McKinley showed, but didn’t race his Eagle Duo, a side-by-side two rider tricycle (two wheels in front).

McKinley and International Human Powered Vehicle Association President Marti Daily on his Parallel at the International HP Speed Championships in September 1989. Photo was probably taken at Michigan International Speedway, where most events were held. The other events were in Adrian.

McKinley entered Alien at the IHPSC in 1989.  Hollis Harris pedaled it to 28th place, 34.92 mph, in the 200-meter speed trials; 19th in the one-hour time trial (24.58 miles); and 23rd in the 9.5 mile LeMans start road race.

This "open" view of Alien shows the layout of the short wheelbase streamliner.

The then Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Association took part in the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs in October 1990, with McKinley's Gemenoid among the participating vehicles. (Notice the MHPVA banner on the front.) Gemenoid carried two riders, side by side. Originally a 3-wheeler with the single wheel in the rear, it was unstable. Rather than a complete rebuild to make it into a 4-wheeler, McKinley added two small outrigger wheels to add stability, making it a 5-wheeler. Body was made of ABS plastic, vacuum formed in a mold, then split vertically, with widening panels inserted.

How many people did it take to get two riders inside Gemenoid? Photo was taken prior to the start of the Red Flannel Festival parade in 1990. (Prior photo of Gemenoid apparently was taken in McKinley's driveway at his home in Detroit.)

According to his step-daughter, Trish Buzzone, Tom, as she called him, did most of the work on his HPVs himself, but when needed, had welders and  fiberglass/plastic specialists to help him.

“At the end of his journey, that (developing HPVs) was his greatest passion,” she said.

When he and his wife moved to Sun City, Arizona, Buzzone said, he took a couple of his creations with him that were best suited for pedaling around in a senior citizen community.

She said the rest he sold or gave away, but doesn’t know if any still exist or who has them.  (If anyone knows, please contact the author.)

In October 1992, the MHPVA returned to the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs, with five vehicles in the parade, including McKinley's latest, Eagle Duo. Frame was welded aluminum tubing. Tires were 26x2.125. Each crank had a 42 tooth chainring, with the chains going to a jackshaft with three chainrings, with the center sprocket chain driving the rear wheel. Eagle Duo weighed about 100 pounds.

This was apparently McKinley's final racing entry at the Michigan HPV Rally, at Waterford Hills in June 1993. Unfortunately, I (Mike E.) didn't write the name of the rider on the back of the photo.