My Challenge - HurricaneGregg's Hurricane Recumbent from Challenge Bikes
2001 year stuff


1500 miles later... (Oct 2001)

Well, I've put 1500 miles on the bike as of Oct 2001.  This particular bike is a real thrill on rolling hills. I had a chance to ride with another Challenge owner, a Taifun, on the Tulsa Area MS-150 ride.  We had a good time rolling through some hills and doing some flat out 25+mph riding.  I did about 1200 miles of training to get ready for the 2001 MS-150, since the bike was new to me.  It really paid off, I had an enjoyable ride, and was 2 full hours faster than I was on my mountain bike in 2000 (go figure).

MS-150 Stats
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Average Speed: 17.4 mph
Distance: 145
Elapsed Time: 8:21:10
Max Speed: 47mph

This bike really takes off on downhills.  I've had it up to 52mph on one of the local hills here (killer hill out of the Port of Catoosa).  On many other hills, I coast away from the standups because of my reduced drag, and because I way 210lbs compared to the 165lbs of most of the standup jockeys that I've been riding with.  Up hill grades have gotten considerably less stressful for me as I've done more training.  There are still some grades in the area that are extra work.  But, I'm looking forward to conquering them and training to the next level.

My Hurricane
My Hurricane Deluxe by Challenge bikes as of July 2001

In the Beginning (June 2001)

I recently bought a Challenge, Hurricane Deluxe recumbent bicycle.  Challenge is a company out of the Netherlands.  There are a handful of dealers here in the U.S.  I ordered mine from Zach Kaplan Cycles.  Zach's an accomidating guy who helped me get the bike configured how I needed it.

This vehicle is a rather fast bike, and it has some challenging attributes (interesting play on the company name).  For those who have not ridden a recumbent, the primary difference that you will notice immediately is that balance is about stearing the vehicle back underneath your body.  And in particular, the lower the recumbent is, the more dramatic this can get.

Currently, I am about 6-10mph faster than I was on my mountain bike riding into average wind, and I am about 3-5mph overall.

Here are several (large okay, I know) photos of various modification and/or issues with the bike that I have dealt with/fixed.  If you'd like to know more about my experience or otherwise, you can contact be via email.

w5ggw at qsl.net