Pete Penseyres was the winner of the bicycle Race Across America, or RAAM, in 1984 and 1986, setting a world record of 3107 miles (5000 km) in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes. His average speed of 15.40 miles per hour (24.8 km/h) was the record for 27 years, finally being broken by

Christoph Strasser Christoph Strasser (born 4 November 1982 in Leoben, Austria) is an Austrian ultra cyclist who is a six-time winner and record holder for the fastest time in the Race Across America. From 16 to 17 July 2021, he became the first person to ride mor ...

in 2013, who averaged 15.58 miles per hour. Penseyres trained for years by cycling 65 miles to work each day. Penseyres's performance is particularly remarkable for several reasons. The RAAM is continuous from start to finish with no breaks; Penseyres was notable for his ability to forgo sleep to improve his time. Equipment at the time was primitive by today's standards: Penseyres introduced the use of aerobarsAerobars description in a glossary
/ref> to mimic a downhill skier's wind resistance advantage. Nutrition during the race was also not nearly as advanced as it is today.

References

American male cyclists Living people Ultra-distance cyclists Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-cycling-bio-stub