06/06/2019 It’s a long ride to the top – Western Independent

Western Independent
STORIES FRO M CURT IN UNIVERSIT Y 'S JO URNALISM PROGRAM

T H U R S DAY, J U N E 6 T H , 2 0 1 9

SPORT

It’s a long ride to the top

BY W I R E P O RT E R S O N M AY 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 • ( L E AV E A C O M M E N T )

RACHAEL CLIFFORD AND PETE MAZANEC

Recumbent triking is offering riders with injuries and health conditions a safer way to enjoy the benefits of
pedal powered transport around Perth.

Glen Lacey, 52, of Thornlie, claimed the one-hour masters distance world record on a non-
covered recumbent trike in Geelong on April 15, travelling a distance of 36.38km in 60 minutes, breaking
Finnish record holder Pekka Heimonen’s distance of 35.57km.

Lacey discovered recumbent cycling 20 years ago through his sister-in-law Jacky who took up the sport
because she had arthritis.

The structure of a recumbent bike allows people with all

kinds of disabilities to keep active and enjoy cycling.

Sales representative at a Sydney-based business called

Recumbent and Specialised Cycling, Brett Danver, said
there were many benefits of recumbent cycling that may
even outweigh those of upright riding.

“I believe there are a lot more benefits like … visibility,

Mr Lacey with his recumbent trike. (Photo: Rachael
safety, you can stop and not fall off… it’s more practical
Clifford)
and user friendly,” he said.

Mr Danver said up to three-quarters of his customers lived with disabilities that made it difficult for them
to ride a mainstream bike.

“[We have] all sorts of disabilities – cerebral palsy, crash and spinal injury victims, brain injuries … the list
goes on,” he said.

Other riders, like Lacey simply have a passion for recumbent cycling.

Lacey is part of a vibrant community of riders and began his journey to break the record after reading
about it in an online forum last year.

“I looked at it and thought: ‘Well, you know, the upright record is in the low fifties [km] and it doesn’t really
seem that fast, and I made the mistake of making that comment on the forum’,” Lacey said.

“Well, that’s the masters record,” a user replied and Lacey stated he thought he could better it.

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06/06/2019 It’s a long ride to the top – Western Independent

“I typed back: ‘Well, I’m 52 and I reckon I can do it.’, and hit the enter
button then thought: ‘Oh, perhaps I shouldn’t have done that’,” he said.

“So, yeah, it really went from there.

“I thought: ‘I’ll put my money where my mouth is and see if I can

actually do this’.”

Lacey, who normally rides endurance events, covering 18,000 km last

year alone, began what was a gruelling training program in late
November 2016 to prepare for the recent record attempt.

“I did lots of interval training, basically to get my body used to doing

one hour – all-out efforts rather than 12 or 20-hour-long efforts,” he Lacey enjoys the spoils of success.
(Photo: Peter Mazanec)
said.

The record attempt took place at You Yangs Ford Proving Ground in Geelong, a track specially set up for the
world record attempts by the World Recumbent Racing Association.

Lacey admitted that during the last stages of his attempt he was worried he had not quite done enough to
claim the record after struggling on the back straight whilst riding in to the wind.

“I finished, and then did a lap to cool down, so when I pulled in I wasn’t sure that I’d done enough to
actually break it,” he said.

“So, when [the WRRA official] came up, it felt pretty

good for him to say: ‘You’ve actually broken the record’,”
Lacey said.

When asked if he was interested in attempting another

world record, Lacey said he was satisfied with his recent
world-beating achievement.

“Nah, once is enough.

Lacey rides his recumbent trike. (Photo: Rachael
Clifford) “I just thought [before the record attempt]: ‘You know, I
reckon I can do faster than [the old record]!’

“So I did”.

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06/06/2019 It’s a long ride to the top – Western Independent

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