Pete Penseyres

Pete Penseyres was the winner of the bicycle Race Across America, or RAAM, in 1984 and 1986,[1] 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 in 2013, who averaged 15.58 miles per hour.[2] Penseyres trained for years by cycling 65 miles to work each day.[1]

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 aerobars[3] to mimic a downhill skier's wind resistance advantage. Nutrition during the race was also not nearly as advanced as it is today.