The start of a Pedal Prix race in Australla. Notice the large number of trikes / riders participating. (Trisled photo)
MICHIGAN HPV RALLY INFORMATION IS THE FOURTH ENTRY DOWN.By Ray Mickevicius
Mike Eliasohn asked me to share a bit of history and information about Pedal Prix racing and the efforts we're making to get a series started in Ontario, Canada.
When I first stumbled across the Australian Pedal Prix races about seven years ago, I was immediately hooked.
It's a series that dates its first race to 1985, in a parking lot at the University of Australia with approximately a dozen participants.
It has since grown to include races with hundreds of teams participating on closed circuit courses across Australia. The format is a bit different from our own North American HPV races. It is a team relay event, where multiple riders take shifts in adjustable fully faired trikes (and an occasional quad) over a number of hours, capping out at 24 hours for the annual Murray Bridge race.
While Pedal Prix racing took some time to gain traction in Australia, participation has grown significantly over the past 10 years, including an impressive bounce back following the COVID break.
The series now draws participants from a broad age demographic, including elementary schools, high schools, universities and community teams.
Parents support school teams with fund-raising to buy trikes and they've reached the enviable point where, rather than facing challenges recruiting riders, organizers and participants debate whether it's time to split races into different age groups to reflect the range of speeds and number of riders on a course.
It's a true success story in the HPV world. They've managed to achieve an amazing blend of sport and community and it's contagious to watch. We wanted to be a part of that experience, but we live on the other side of the globe...
An interior view. The seat-to-pedals distance is easily adjustable to accommodate different-sized riders.
So obviously we needed to bring Pedal Prix trikes and racing to North America. We also decided that we would take a slightly different approach to introducing a series in Canada,
By funding a core fleet of trikes for use by the Canadian Pedal Prix Club, we aimed to address what we considered two of the main barriers to participation – the up-front cost of securing a ride, and having enough trikes available in the early days to make it fun out there on the track.
Working together with a few amazing individuals from Down Under, including Jason Nottle (Trump Trikes) and Ben Goodall and Rebecca Lardner (Trisled) we've now accumulated six Pedal Prix trikes just north of Toronto, with two more currently on a freighter somewhere on the Pacific.
Half our current trikes have composite fairings, and the others sport the rotomoulded Skyhawk fairing developed by Trisled last year. All are quick.
The bottom bracket position on each of our trikes can be adjusted with the simple pull of a lever, so that a significant range of rider heights can be accommodated by a single trike without adjusting chain length.
We also have moulds to produce additional composite fairings as needed because, well, sometimes stuff happens out there when you’re pushing the limits.
Our goal is to have 10 trikes available for club use by the summer of 2027 and, with an established base of riders, encourage other teams to add additional trikes from there.
Lining up the starting grid for a race at Waterford Hills. Ray's Pedal Prix trike is at left.
With the numbers we need for some club racing, (4-6 members per trike team), we are now experimenting with different race formats and venues.
I was very fortunate to join the amazing Michigan HPV crowd at Waterford Hills last year. It’s a fantastic race venue and top notch event.
Greg and I will be bringing four trikes with us this year and inviting participants to join in some friendly relay racing on the shorter course Saturday evening.
We're looking forward to mixing our trikes with your HPV racing experience, and perhaps convince someone that a US-based Pedal Prix club would be the logical next step :)
Looking forward to seeing you all in Waterford Hills in June!
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