39th Michigan HPV Rally - June 15-16, 2024

 Action in Sunday morning's 25-lap race for streamliners and streetliners. In front is Jonathan Walters in a built-in-Romania Bulk velomobile. He finished second in the race, but first in the street liner class for the weekend. (Mike Eliasohn photo)

COMPLETE RESULTS, VIDEOS AND MORE PHOTOS CAN BE SEEN on the HPRA: Human Powered Race America Facebook page. For results only, click on:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fVg3sPRuCqgc2vH8u_uAXnWqX-ypaqb5bMjcl5x23ns/htmlview

By Mike Eliasohn

The 39th annual Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Rally at the Waterford Hills sports car racing track in Clarkston – the location since 1986 – drew its best turnout in years with 33 competitors.

The big turnout was due in large part to 14 students from the University of Toronto HPV Design Team, of whom 13 raced (someone has to take the photos). There also were at least four newcomers, including Thomas Bergeron and Charles-Antoine Daignault, who came from Quebec, Canada – about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), they said. Another first-timer, Larry Seidman, came from Colorado, but he flew.

Other competitors came from Michigan, of course, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio,  Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Maryland. (Apologies to any states I missed.)

Here's the top three finishers in each class:

Streamliners (8 entries) – 1) Dennis Grelk, Donnellson, Iowa, 290 points; John Simon, Portland, 275; Bryce Warren, Univ. of Toronto, 202.  Streetliner (5 entries) – 1) Jonathan Walters, Cincinnati, Ohio, Bulk velomobile, 300; 2) Rick Toler, Dayton, Ohio,  W9 velomobile, 275; 3) Jeff Hunn, North Manchester, Ind., DFXL velomobile.

Stock (20 entries) – 1) Daryl Hanger, Mooresville, Ind., NoCom Velocraft, 265; 2) Dennis Grelk, homebuilt low racer, 264; 3) Rob Lloyd, Whitmore Lake, homebuilt low racer, 215. 

Daryl Hanger of Mooresville, Ind., on his Velokraft NoCom won the stock class over 19 competitors. His 265 total points from five events was only 1 point more scored by Dennis Grelk. (Dan Glatch photo)

Women (1 entrant) – 1) Peggy Thompson, Bel Aire, Md., G4 front-wheel-drive recumbent, 300. Note: Jane Hunn of North Manchester participated in a Bulk Mk1 velomobile with electric assist, so points were not counted.

Tricycles (4 entries) – 1) Larry Seidman, Colorado Springs, Colo., TerraTrike Spyder, 280; 2) Craig Siebe, Dayton, Ohio, ICE Adventure, 275; 3) Marshall Randall, Rockford, GreenSpeed Aero, 60 (one-hour only).  No entries in junior or multi-rider classes.

Almost ready to start the first one-hour time trial on Saturday morning. (Mike E. photo)

Following are the top two in each class in each event. If only one name is listed, only that person participated:

SATURDAY:

One-hour time trial (two separate time trials were conducted. The track is 1.4 miles around.):  Streamliner – 1) Dennis Grelk, 24 laps, average speed 32.75 mph / 52.71 kph RALLY RECORD, 2) John Simon, 21 laps. Streetliner – 1) Jonathan Walters, 21 laps, 28.67 mph / 46.13 kph CLASS RECORD, 2) Rick Toler, 20 laps.

Stock – 1) Jonathan Walters, NoCom low racer, 19 laps, 25.99 mph/ 41.82 kph, 2) Dennis Grelk, 19 laps, 25.59 mph / 41.18 kph. Tricycles – Marshall Randall, 16 laps, 21.45 mph / 34.52, 2) Joe Pixley, 15 laps.  (Note; Marshall also raced his GreenSpeed Aero in the first one-hour for mostly streamliners and streetliners, 18 laps, 23.23 mph / 37.39 kph.) Women – Peggy Thompson, 14 laps, 19.32 mph / 31.10 kph.

High and low – Ishtey Amminger of Memphis, Tenn., on his CruzBike Vendetta and Marshall Randall on his GreenSpeed Aero in the second one hour for unfaired vehicles.  (Dan Glatch  photo)

Riders line up, ready to start the hill climb. At right is Charles Brown of Southfield, Behind him is Peggy Thompson of Bel Aire, Md. (Mike E. photo)

In the hill climb / coast down, riders start at the bottom of the hill, are timed getting to the top of the hill (a distance of about 605 feet), then stop pedaling, then see how far they can coast before their vehicle comes to a stop. (Riders mark where they stopped, writing their vehicle numbers with chalk on the pavement.) Thus, it's a test of a vehicle and rider's hill climbing abilities, followed by a test of their vehicle's aerodynamics and rolling resistance.

Hill climb: Stock – 1) Ethan Elbaz, U-T, 18.803 seconds, 2) Daryl Hanger, 20.573. Streetllner – 1) Jonathan Walters, 21.012 CLASS RECORD, 2) Rick Toler, 23.172. Streamliner – 1) Bryce Warren, U-T, 24.916, 2) Dennis Grelk, 26.673. Women – Peggy Thompson, 38.612. Tricycles –  1) Larry Seidman, 40.19, 2) Craig Siebe, 47.762.

Coast down: Streamliner – 1) Dennis Grelk (1st overall); 2) John Simon (7th overall). Streetliner – 1) Jonathan Walters (2nd overall), 2) Rick Toler (3rd overall). Stock – 1) Dennis Grelk (6th overall), 2) Ron Thompson (10th overall). Women – 1) Peggy Thompson (15th overall). Tricycles – 1) Craig Siebe (23rd overall), 2) Larry Seidman (28th overall).

All five velomobiles competing at the rally were made at the Velomobileworld.com factory in Romania. From left: Jane Hunn (Bülk), John Burrell (Bülk), Jeff Hunn (DFXL), Jonathan Walters (Bülk) and Rick Toler (W9). (Dan Glatch photo)

Events on Saturday ran behind schedule, resulting in cancellation of the standing start kilometer and the urban transportation contest.

The three streamliners from the University of Toronto HPV Design Team. Students have a fourth streamliner under construction (plus a two-rider pedal-powered airplane), but didn't get it done in time for the rally. (U-T photo)

And a rear view. 

SUNDAY

Flying start 200-foot sprint: Streetliner – 1) Jonathan Walters, 45.139 mph / 72.644 kph (1st overall), CLASS RECORD, 2) Rick Toler, 40.119 mph / 64.565 kph.  Streamliner – 1) Dennis Grelk, 43,428 mph / 69.981 (2nd overall). Stock – 1 tie) Daryl Hanger and Dennis Grelk, both 37.753 mph / 60.758 kph. Women - 1) Peggy Thompson, 25.652 mph / 41.282 kph. Tricycles – 1) Larry Seidman, 23.430 / 37.707 kph, 2) Craig Siebe, 20.737 mph / 33.372 kph.

In addition to competing in the stock class (shown here) on his home-built bike, Dennis Grelk of Donnellson, Iowa, completed in his Cuda W streamliner (built by Warren Beauchamp). And, he operated the scoring system for all events. He won the streamliner class and finished second in the stock class, "losing" by only 1 point. (Dan Glatch photo)

Two road races end when the winner completes the set number of laps. Following riders complete the lap they are on. Course does not include the hill:

20 lap road race (12.5 miles): Stock – 1) Dennis Grelk, 29:39.680, 25.25 mph / 40.63 kph, 2) Daryl Hanger, 20 laps completed. Women – 1) Peggy Thompson, 15 laps, 18.65 mph / 30.02 kph (8th overall), CLASS RECORD. Tricycles – Larry Seidman, 15 laps, 17.75 mph / 28.56 kph. 2) Craig Siebe.

25 lap road race (15.6 miles): Streamliner – Dennis Grelk, 25 laps, 28.012 mph / 45.08 kph, 1st overall, 2) John Simon, 24 laps, 26.316 / 42.35 kph, 3rd overall. Streetliner – 1) Jonathan Walters, 24 laps, 26.342 mph / 42.39 kph, 2nd overall, CLASS RECORD, 2) Rick Toler, 22 laps, 24.296 mph / 39.10 kph.

Mike Mowett of Detroit not only competed on his Morciglio M1, finishing 4th in the stock class, he also was co-organizer of the rally, compiled the results, set up timing traps, traffic cones, etc.for events and did other tasks. (Dan Glatch photo)

Ron Thompson of Bel Aire, Md., competed on two of his innovative G4 front wheel drive bikes and his wife, Peggy, on another G4 (below). In the stock class, he finished 6th with the old bike and 13th with his latest version, shown here. The new bike has a steel frame, with wheels, seat and faring made of carbon fiber. For more information, www.g4bikes,com. (Dan Glatch photo)

Coming all the way from Quebec, Canada, were Charles-Antoine Daignault (left) from Laval on his Optima Baron and Thomas Bergeron from Granby on his Optima Lynx. (Mike E. photo)

The dates of the 2025 Michigan HPV Rally – the 40th annual – probably won't be known until January. Car events get priority in setting the schedule at the Waterford Hills track. After the 2025 schedule is set for the car events, rally organizers Mike Mowett and Mike Eliasohn get a choice of still open weekends (usually three). 

Thank you to all who helped conduct the rally, plus those who competed; some did both. In addition to Mike Mowett and Dennis Grelk, already mentioned, Garrie Hill did the technical inspections and arranged the insurance, and Dan Glatch helped with some events and took photos, in addition to competing.

If you have any thoughts about next year's rally, or related topics, please contact Mike E. at mikethebike2325@comcast.net or Mike M. at mowett@aol.com.

If you spot anything that needs correcting, please contact the author, Mike E. And I'm always looking for articles or topics for this blog, so submissions or suggestions are welcome.

After the competition was over, all 14 members of the University of Toronto HPV Design Team posed for this photo, with some of their vehicles. This was the 12th year the U-T has participated in the Michigan rally (not all years were consecutive). (U-T photo)

RECORDS SET at the 2024 Michigan HPV Rally, by Mike Mowett

Dennis Grelk ONE-HOUR STREAMLINER, 32.75 miles (52.71 km), in Warren Beauchamp's old Cuda-W streamliner.  This broke the old record of 32.52 miles set by Dennis in 2011 in the Barracuda. That mark was just ahead 0.02 miles (some could say a tie depending on how they navigated each turn) with the 32.50 miles ridden by Rick Gritters' 32.50 miles in 2005.  

Note: there are racers held by upright riders on the track several times a year. The fastest packs have averaged 28-29 mph for races lasting about an hour. So I think it's safe to say that Dennis holds the track record. 

Then after this, Dennis raced the Unfaired One hour, where both he and Jonathan Walters set one-hour records last year, breaking the long-standing SuperStock and Stock records of Frank Geyer. 

Jonathan Walters ONE-HOUR STREETLINER, 28.67 miles (46.13 km), in his new Bulk velomobile acquired only a month ago. This broke Tony Levand's 26.97 miles record set in his self-built Carp Coroplast liner, set in 2019. Jonathan has done an incredible course record over 35 mph for 10 miles at the long-running Cleves time trial near his home. The previous record holder is the current USA national 40K record holder. Jonathan also says he was "saving some energy" for the unfaired one-hour that followed this race, where he again raced Dennis. 

Jonathan Walters, 200-FOOT SPRINT STREET-LINER (VELO), 45.14 mph (72.64 kph) in his Bulk velomobile (see above). He broke the record of Michael Hinterseher 41.15 mph set in 2018 in his Milan velomobile. (Michael made a guest appearance on Sunday.)  Jonathan also tied the Strava KOM over the segment that starts from the top of the hill to the end of the back straightaway which is used for this event. He averaged almost 40 mph doing that stretch in 40 seconds. The other guy who did that was likely in one of the strong upright racing groups that flew over the top of the hill in a pack. This was opposed to a standing start used in our event. 

 Peggy Thompson 20-LAP WOMEN, 18.65 mph on her husband's Ron Thompson's self-built G4 front-wheel-drive recumbent. This broke Jane Hunn's record of 17.87 mph on a Sunset lowracer set way back in 2004, when we used that course on a regular basis. Jane is now riding a velomobile with e-assist. 

Jonathan Walters, 25-LAP STREETLINER (VELO), 26.34 mph in his Bulk velomobile, breaking Jeff Hunn's 23.73 mph set in his DF velomobile in 2023. 

Jonathan Walters, HILL CLIMB - STREETLINER (VELO), 21.01 seconds kind of broke my own hill climb record of 18.50 seconds set on a Trek upright with bodysock. I'll have to give Jonathan this record because he DERAILLED LIKE 4 TIMES trying the hill climb with his NoCom (STOCK CLASS) before discovering the boom was cracked, causing the issue.

Monroe Bicycle Show and Swap meet – May 5, 2024

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MICHIGAN HPV RALLY AND ONLINE REGISTRATION IS BELOW, DATED FEB. 10, 2024

By Mike Eliasohn (text and photos, unless noted)

I like to say there are cycle enthusiasts and cycling enthusiasts, though some are both.

To some cycling enthusiasts, it's not a good Saturday unless they pedaled at least 50 miles. 

But to cycle enthusiasts, the bike is the thing – it's historic, or reminds them of their first bike they owned as a kid, or is just interesting. To them, a perfect Saturday is spent in their garage or basement, working on their bikes (or one of them).

It's for the latter that the Monroe Bicycle Show and Swap (the official name) exists. The 43rd annual took place Sunday, May 5, at the Monroe County fairgrounds.  (For the unknowing, that's in the southeast corner of Michigan.)

One of the older bikes at the show, a 1911 Racycle track racing bike with 60 tooth chainring and wood rims. Not quite ready yet for sale, said Edwin Moses of Ed's Vintage and Classic Bikes in Philadelphia.

This 1902 Columbia Model 81 shaft drive was for sale by Moses (at left), for $1,600. Wheel rims are wood. He also had another shaft drive for sale.

It was the Ann Arbor-Saline Classic Bicycle Show and Swap Meet, held at the Washtenaw County fairgrounds, through 2019. There was no show in 2020 and 2021, then under new promoters, it moved to the Monroe County fairgrounds in 2022.

The latter is a big improvement over the former location. Unlike Washtenaw, all the roads are paved (great for test rides) and the main Expo Building and two smaller exhibition buildings are only used for that purpose during the Monroe County Fair. Some of the exhibit buildings at the Washtenaw grounds housed livestock during the Washtenaw County Fair, had dirt floors, and many months later, retained the odor, when bikes were on display.

The renamed 44th annual Monroe Classic Bicycle and Minibike Show, Swap Meet and Auction will be April 27, 2025, at the Monroe County fairgrounds.

Recumbents for sale were few, but there was this Infinity, made by Ace Tool & Engineering in Mooresville, Ind. This was the original version, with rear stays made from sections of straight square tubing.  Production started in 1981. The second version, with rear stays made of bent round tubing, started in 1987. At right is a Bickerton Portable folding bike, manufactured in the United Kingdom, then in Australia, then back in the U.K., from 1972-89. Asking price for the Infinity was $1,250 and if unsold, the would-be seller said he would content to take it home to Wisconsin, which he ended up doing.  The Bickerton was priced at $85. I (Mike E.) don't know if it sold. Frames of the Infinity and Bickerton are aluminum.

Had there been a prize for "biggest chainring," this GreenSpeed Aero would have won. Intended for racing, the rider is very low to the ground.  I don't know the price, or if it sold. (Photo was taken in the Expo Building the day before the show, when I was helping a vendor set up.)

Close to the Aero, and presumably the same seller, was this low racer without a name. I (Mike E.) emailed the photo to Mike Mowett, since he races one, to ask if he knew the make. Here's his reply: John Morciglio confirms that’s his very first M1 lowracer, built in about 2008. This was after Chris Evans on his Velokraft NoCom infamously passed John at a local Michigan park. John got up to him in the parking lot of the park, talked to him and studied the NoCom and said “I can build something like that”. What we see in that photo is the result!  It was done without molds, just carbon over foam construction. I have those same gunfighter handlebars on my M1 built by him (with male and female molds) within a year. Actually before this carbon one,  John did build a wooden M1 that was rideable and painted red. It was primarily to get a feel for legs, pedals, hand reach etc. Updates: When built, John lived in Waterford. He now lives in Florida. For more, go to John's Facebook page, Fast Bikes Loud Guitars.

Update: Since the Monroe show, the owner, in Ann Arbor, sold the bike to recumbent builder and racer Rob Lloyd of nearby Whitmore Lake, who already has started modifications.

The deal of the day, at least to recumbent or semi-recumbent enthusiasts. I photographed this CCM (Canadian brand) Evo earlier in the day. As 3 p.m. closing time was approaching and people were leaving, the buyer of the CCM wheeled it past me. He told me it was priced at $75, but bought it for $40. It did need some repair. The Evo has a "restraint" to keep the rider from sliding off the back of the seat, but lacks a backrest.

ReBike, introduced in the1990s, was an effort to produce an entry level low-cost recumbent, compared to what else was on the market at the time.  But it was heavy. An undated price sheet I have from a dealer listed it at $390 + $35 shipping. This one was priced at $100.

Schwinn Stringrays, which date back to the late 1960S, are very popular. Not only suitable for kids, they also can be ridden – and are – by short adults, who want to look cool. If you want to buy a vintage one in good condition, expect to pay several hundred dollars for a 1-speed, and lots more for a 5-speed. Schwinn still makes a similar Stringray, but it's the model with a 20-inch back wheel and 16-inch front, with springer fork. These two Stingrays were entered in the judging; they were not for sale. (Photo from monroebikeshow.com Facebook page.)

Schwinn MiniTwinns, dating to the late 1960s, are popular among at least some collectors.

I saw another one at the show priced at $1,200 and one listed on eBay at $2,000.

Brian Pikielek (right), owner of BikeTech bicycle shop in Detroit, with the buyer of a 1960s Schwinn Town & Country triple Brian was selling. Brian let me (Mike E.) use some of the outdoor vendor space he paid for to set up a table in my futile effort to sell some cycling books and other items. But I was able to give away some files containing brochures, articles, etc., about various bicycle topics.

If you need some bicycle parts, common or rare, Brian probably has it in stock – as well as new and used bicycles. He also does repairs. BikeTech is at 18401 E. Warren Ave., Detroit; phone number 313-884-2453.

I didn't have time to find the person who knew something about this interesting creation, which appeared to be a custom built. Obviously intended for off-road use, but not on narrow trails.

Need a part or parts, be it wheels or anything else for a bicycle. Chances are it could be found  at the Monroe show.

The following photos, taken inside the Expo Building, are from the monroebikeshow.com Facebook page.

These bikes were entered in the judging in various categories; they were not for sale. Photos of the winners in nine categories can be seen on the website (under "photos").

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Charles Brown: Thoughts on recumbent bicycle design

By Charles Brown, Southfield, Mich. 

      I started building recumbent bicycles in the early 1980s.  Back then, everyone was building long-wheelbase recumbents, and I became enamored of the design. 

      I think most unsuspended short wheelbase recumbents have too rough a ride.  I built three SWBs with front suspension; all climbed hills slower than unsuspended bikes. 

     The pedaling motion seems to activate the suspension, so not all power goes to the back wheel.  Some people claim to have overcome this, but don’t seem to have measured it. 

     It seems to me a front wheel that moves straight back when you hit a bump might work. That is, it would take longer for the bike to rise up over the bump, smoothing the ride without a real suspension. It would give a smoother ride by acting like a bigger wheel, yet not be affected by pedaling forces. But I haven’t tried it yet. 

     Tom Traylor’s moving bottom bracket designs also give a good ride with short wheelbase.

     Having pretty much given up on suspension, I worked on modifying the usual long wheelbase bike.  I raised the bottom bracket to get the rider in a more aerodynamic position.  This also gave some room under the cranks to push the front wheel back, shortening the bike and getting some much-needed weight on the front wheel.  The resulting bike isn’t too much longer than a short wheelbase.

       This drawing shows what it would be if I did it over again.  (As a serial HPV builder, I can tell you the next one is always going to be perfect!)  (Editor's note: This drawing does not depict the bike under construction, shown in the final photo.The drawing shows what will be the bike after that, which will incorporate additional changes and a different front wheel.) 

       I’ve built many generations of this design.  Earlier ones used the front fork from a 27-inch wheel road bike, and I always wondered why the steering was never quite right.  It turns out that even though there’s less weight on the front wheel, the shallow steering angle puts more stress on the front fork, causing it to flex.  

      This was cured by using a shorter, stiffer fork.  I give mine more rake by sawing notches on the top, bending them, and welding them back together. 

Charles Brown at the 2022 Michigan HPV Rally. Look close at the front fork and you can see where he modified it by cutting and bending to give it more rake.

       The drawing shows how I’ve been making all my steel frames lately.  A main tube, only about 1-1/2 inches diameter, handles all the torsional and lateral loads.  Some very light truss work underneath adds strength in the vertical direction.  If you put the tube that goes from the head tube to the bottom bracket at just the right angle, the tube bends neither up nor down under pedaling forces.  More information on this and related topics in my articles posted Dec. 3, 2015, on www.recumbents.com.

Here's Charles' latest, under construction, which will use components off his 2022 bike, but is 3 pounds lighter than that bike.  He plans to race it at this year's Michigan HPV Rally.

       I believe a narrow, high pressure front tire improves the steering on a long wheelbase recumbent.

       I’ve built over 50 different recumbents, and like to delude myself into thinking I’ve learned something over the years.  This isn’t a bad design.

Bicycles at Autorama in the Motor City

 The 71st annual Autorama in downtown Detroit took place March 1-3 with 800 or so hot rods, customs, race cars and street machines on display at Huntington Place, formerly Cobo Center.

But for many years now, bicycles also have been part of the show.

The big display is in the basement, organized by Ronnie Whitt of Scrap Yard Productions in Fowlerville. Entries are judged, in the categories of customs, restored and original, and low riders.

Here’s Mike Mowett’s photos and account of the bicycle displays:

An interesting day….

Bikes, Bikes and Cars - there was the usual big display of bikes underneath the escalator in basement lower level area. Each year I’ve seen them there. They are a mix of custom builds like you might see at a Detroit Slow Roll, a freakbikers meet up and a mix of old vintage bikes from like the 1960s, 70s, 80s. They had signs on them indicating their owners (though few if any were actually present to talk to). 

There were maybe four from Lake Orion if I recall. One was an old bike, but the sign said it’s current owner was only 10 years old. 

One bike I liked had the same Detroit News canvas saddle bag for holding newspapers that I used for 3 years as a paperboy

Some other photos: 

In the world of freak bikes, this is what is known as a burrito bike (very low riding position) and a heel scraper (pedals very close to the ground). Notice the steering set-up. (Scrap Yard Productions photo)

There was another area for bikes on the main floor of the show. I’d label it as “show bikes” maybe intended to give entertainment to some like-minded kids. A set of creepy dolls kinda added to this effect.

Anyways we didn’t spend much time at this location as crowds, especially on Saturday always feel like they are moving or pushing you along. I checked the number of visitors for last year's Autorama in Detroit. It was over 140,000 visitors for the three-day weekend. Other shows on the custom car calendar circuit in places as far away as California and the East Coast don’t get close to that number.. Guess we still are “the Motor City”.

 Thirdly, there were some bikes on roof racks atop cars or vans at the show. 

For more photos and videos of the Autorama bike show and some bike builds, go to the Scrap Yard Productions Facebook page.