IT'S NOT JUST A NUMBER

FOR SURE, THE FASTEST I EVER COVERED THE DISTANCE THROUGH CAMP PENDLETON MARINE BASE WAS NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO.  I know what you're thinking, that it would be impossible because today's bikes are so much faster...

... not as fast as this bike.

First off, it was powered by not one rider but two.  Not just any two riders, but John Howard and some other superstar...

... and the bike had a fairing!

Yep, and tandem with a fairing.

This was on the world famous Swami's Wednesday ride - still one of the fastest rides around.  Back in those days all the top pro triathletes hit that ride:  Scott Tinley, Scott Molina, Dave Scott.

On this particular day, it was said tandem on the front doing major damage.

Tacked on their wheel was the incredible Kenny Souza, World Champion duathlete.

Behind him, little ol' me.

We burst through the final gate into San Onofre Campground, pegged the whole way over 30mph.

It was all I, or Kenny, could do to hang on.  

Nobody was sharing pulls.

As we cleared the gate, I looked back...

... mainly to see if I could fall back a few wheels and recover.

Nobody there.

50+ cats, gone.

Obliterated.

Now, I think about that fairing a lot.  To this day, it's an impressive memory.

Every time I zip tie a numberplate on my bike I put it as vertical and square as possible.  There is absolutely no science behind it, just the memory of that insanely fast bike...

... until today!

A company called Ribble announced a bike with a handlebar designed to create drag to break up the air around a racer's leg.  Kinda like a handlebar acting like a mini-fairing.

I suppose I could do some low budget wind testing coasting with and without a plate down a local hill.

But, I think the real point is not to fret that our aero bike just got slower because the race promoter wants a number plate up front...

... or maybe it's just a way for me to share a story about the fastest I ever rode that famous section.

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/helmets

Hard to believe, but this was pre-helmet days.  Maybe a hairnet.  These days I'm all for helmets, especially KASK.

The Protone is a great all arounder.  The Valegro I like for MTB.  The Utopia for speed.  The Rapido a great value.

Use promo code FAIRING

https://pedalindustries.com/collections/helmets

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