I first met Mark at one of the Niagara Velomobile Happening events a few years back and his interest in recumbents, and velomobiles in particular, was obvious. At that time he was working in Quality Assurance for a company producing precision optical measuring devices. He was also putting his machining background to work producing parts (very very nice parts) for his own velomobile project. Anyway, to cut to the chase, we would see each other at the same venue each September, kept in touch, and when a position opened up at our shop this past Spring, things all came together and now he's a permanent fixture at bluevelo.

In the interest of letting you all know a little more about how he has made his way to the world of velomobiles, I asked him to put it in his own words:

“I became a cycling fanatic from a young age, and starting in my teen years, worked in bike shops, competed in road races and generally lived and breathed bikes year round. I can’t imagine a life that’s not centred around bicycles. I’m enamoured with the mechanical aspect of bikes, the fact that simple mechanisms coupled with a little human power can propel one at incredible speeds.

In the late 1980’s, I was introduced to recumbents when one of my cycling buddies started experimenting with stretched-out frames and different pedalling positions. A creative spark was ignited, leading to a discovery and exploration of the fascinating world of human powered vehicles. Naturally we were attracted to the competitive aspect of HPVs, and participated in many HPV races with the bikes we built. One of the recumbent designs (a unique monotube aluminum frame with suspension) received many favourable comments from bike shops and at shows and we marketed that design from 1992 to 1998.

Our experimentation also continued with tricycles and fairings for racing. One of them included a plug for a Leitra-like fairing, which sat shelved for a number of years until I  began to dream about a practical velomobile that would make my winter commutes a bit more comfortable. This sparked a renewed passion for velomobiles, with many hours of design, followed by fabrication of a fairing and then the mechanical components. Now I'm incredibly thrilled to have joined bluevelo and to be building these amazing machines that can do such amazing things.”

So, WELCOME MARK! Over the past couple of months he's already demonstrated what an amazing addition he is to our team. For those of you on BROL, Mark goes by the tag “pedal_smart”, so you can watch for his input there in the future as well.

 

VELOMOBILE MAP

Is there a velomobile in your neighbourhood? Check out our map
showing some of the owners in North America and around
the world here.



CAB-BIKE/ BIONX

Here's a few photos from our latest Cab-Bike build, with a 500W BionX assist. Watch for it if you live in the Scarborough area of Toronto. Note that nice
comfy mesh seat, now available for the Cab-Bike or Team models.










DAVID CRUISES FOR CHARITY

Here's a couple shots of our friend David, of Martha's Vineyard,
as he cruises (actually flies!) through a 100km
ride in support of MS. Way to go David!







CHECK OUT  OUR NEW
RIDER'S CORNER

We'll be using this new page on our website to post photos and
write-ups sent to us by our customers.


ANOTHER HAPPY CUSTOMER

A Quest rises to new heights in this photo
from North Carolina. The proud owner has also provided us with a
great review that we'll be posting on our new "Rider's Corner"
page. Stay tuned......



QUEST TOUR PHOTO





HOW MUCH FASTER?

If you're considering a Quest, then you've probably got speed on
your mind. But just how much faster than your current bike
will it be? Well, here's your chance to check it out using
a handy dandy online calculator. Have fun! 



QUEST REVIEW



A special thanks to Peter Eland of VELOVISION for allowing us to post
this review of the Quest by Tony Eastwood. For access
to the complete article click here.