Around the Bay in a Day - from the seat of a streamliner
Amongst 6000ish upright cyclists, I had the greatest pleasure of piloting the Phantom P3 trike around Port Philip bay in the Around the Bay in a Day ride. Although the word "piloting" is perhaps a little misleading, the recumbent streamliner that I was riding certainly made the 220km stretch more than a little bit easier than the last time I made the pilgrimage on a upright bicycle way back in 1997.
To get things kicked off, I’ll start with some of the ’tasty’ morsels of information that almost everyone I went past wanted to know; "What the hell is THAT thing?"
As suggested– it’s a recumbent trike with a streamlined fairing, primarily designed as a race vehicle (HPV) for the Australian International Pedal Prix events. It’s constructed almost completely of carbon fibre and Kevlar, and is on the lighter end of the weight scales of most of the HPVs that we (the Deakin Pedal Prix Team) compete against. Fully faired, it weighs in at 22kg. Most of the trikes in our category weight between 26 and 36+kg. For the aero tech’s (as opposed to "air heads" -ed) out there, from the testing that we’ve conducted we’ve established that we have attached airflow over the whole body, although its been difficult to pin-point the transition from laminar to turbulent flow so far.
It’s very comfortable to ride– we took the time this year to remould the seat into something that’s easy to sit in. If it weren’t for the lack of internal ventilation, it would be a great everyday ride. We also coerced the seat angle and pedal height so that we could get the most efficient use of power from the human engine. A subtle point – we also re-positioned the steering controls further forward to open up the chest muscles and improve breathing capacity. Put the ergonomics with the aerodynamics, and you have a streamliner that’s very(!) quick. After some time comparing average speeds I’ve found that I cruise at 40 km/h or better. When I climb back on my road bike that figure drops back to about 28-29km/h.
Getting back to the bay ride, I met up with the three other riders that I was travelling with - Chris, Alby and Daniel (on road bikes) just before 5am at the Docklands, and we promptly headed off towards Sorrento. At that stage I was still eating breakfast – I missed out earlier in a panic attack – I had a large amount of trouble getting the trike out of the locked overnight parking structure – that wasn’t opening until 8am. I was lucky enough to find a flight of stairs that I could carry the monster up. Practicality in this sense is not one the Phantom’s selling points. Nor is the constant rumbling typical of monocoques. Most people had to speak up a bit so that I could hear them, which doesn’t help. We’ve found that most of the vibration stops when you stop pedalling and coast, so we’re currently taking a closer look at the idler gears that guide the chain below the seat. Anyways, I digress...
The early hours of the ride passed by faultlessly, travelling mostly at sub-warp speeds accompanying Chris, Alert and Daniel on their road bikes. There was the odd burst to catch up with them though, hitting 50km/h without much effort. Oliver’s hill wasn’t much fun, even though I took a sizable run-up I struggled a bit over the top. That’s the price you pay riding a vehicle set-up to race on flat circuits.
It was about then that Chris broke the drive cluster in his rear wheel and had to take the train back to Geelong – luckily the problem was fixed and we met up with him later in the day. I rode from Oliver’s hill most of the way to the ferry solo, and loving every minute of the downhill sections! I ran out of top end gears on several occasions. After meeting back with Alby and Daniel in Sorrento for a coffee, we jumped on the ferry to Sorrento at about 11 I think. Daniel’s rear tyre spontaneously went flat at that stage, so we were able to fix it easily before jumping off at Queenscliff.
I'd forgotten to pack my camera the night before, so I rode ahead to pick up my camera in Geelong – another chance to stretch my legs. I distinctly remember shouts of encouragement at the top of Leopold from a group riders that I was chatting to earlier in the day – they could tell I was winding up for something big. I cruised down the hill touching 80 clicks, unfortunately having to slow down for normal road traffic (and the 70km speed limit). It wasn’t long before I picked up my camera and again met up with the team, including Chris and his repaired rear wheel, at the Warf Shed for a second lunch.
About then I realised that I left my helmet behind when I picked up my camera. Not wanting a nasty fine, and after some quick deliberation, I rode past Chris’s house (adding even more km’s to the journey) and picked up his spare helmet. On the outskirts of Geelong heading for Melbourne, there were quizzed looks from most riders as I rode past them for the second time in as many hours. I had a quick chat at that stage with Damien and Frances Harkin who also feature in the ride reports, with their back-to-back Flevobike tandem.
The rest of the ride was pretty clean, and despite taking a wrong turn after Werribee (and riding all the way to the Westgate Bridge along the freeway) we arrived at the Docklands sometime around 5 for a well earned ale (for those of us not driving). Next year there’s a good chance we’ll be back with a second trike, and we’ll be looking to go much faster...
Click here to check out the site of the phantom 3 which is the name of the streamliner Tim piloted in Around the Bay in a Day.
