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Freddy Markham and daughter Tanya with their Easy Racer retail and racing models. Sentinel Photo by Bill Lovejoy

SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT

SOQUEL — Tanya Markham went around to her teachers at Soquel High in late September to let them know she was going on a trip with her father.

A 15-year-old sophomore, Markham was going to miss a week’s worth of school and was hoping her teachers would let her have her homework assignments in advance.

According to Markham, they were happy to oblige. After all, they were aware Tanya was the daughter of "Fast" Freddy Markham, a former Olympian and one-time professional cyclist. Chances were good Tanya wasn’t missing school for a trip to Disneyland.

Indeed, the high rates of speed the Markhams enjoyed on their vacation were generated by their own power, not the amusement-park variety.

Tanya set two world records during her one-week hiatus and Freddy set three as they competed in the World Human Powered Speed Challenge, held in October in Battle Mountain, Nev.

Aboard the human-powered vehicle (HPV) named Gold Rush Le Tour, Tanya set a speed record of 51.27 miles per hour in the Women’s Flying Kilo race. Her speed of 50.58 mph in the Women’s Flying Mile was also the fastest-ever speed recorded for the distance.

Freddy and co-pilot Chris Springer, who resides in the Santa Cruz Mountains, raced in a tandem HPV named Double Gold Rush. They set records in the Men’s Flying 200 meters (68.36 mph), the Men’s Flying 1,000 meters (68.91) and the Men’s Flying Mile (68.5).

Tanya said that while her teachers may know a little about her racing, her fellow students would probably be surprised to learn that a world record holder roams the campus alongside them.

"People at school know I don’t do school sports," she said. "My friends don’t know anything about recumbents. I tell them it’s a reclining bike inside of a shell. It’s like reclining in a big LA-Z-BOY chair with the footstool up."

The recent records are not the first for either Markham. Tanya set a junior tandem record at 43.86 mph in the 200 meters during the Watsonville Fly-In. She paired with Mac Martin — the nephew of Gardner Martin, her godfather and Freddy’s long-time friend.

Gardner Martin is also Freddy’s boss at Watsonville’s Easy Racers, Inc., the nation’s oldest recumbent bike manufacturer. The two met in 1978, when Freddy was a member of the U.S. National Cycling team.

A Los Gatos native, Freddy moved to Soquel in 1984. He began bike racing at the age of 16 and earned a spot on the 1976 Olympic cycling team. After his five-year stint with the national team, Freddy turned pro in 1983.

Freddy estimated he won over 300 road and criterion races and set several national records during his 13-year pro career.

"I retired from active cycling in 1996," said Freddy, who works as a production assistant at Easy Racers. "In a way, I came out of retirement for this event. I hadn’t done anything of any importance in five years. Now that I’m back working at Easy Racers, it’s kind of natural for me to get going."

Although his primary focus was cycling during his amateur and pro careers, Freddy dabbled in HPV racing. He was introduced to the sport in 1978 by Martin and competed in three or four events a year.

His part-time participation paid off as he set 18 world records and became the first person on two wheels to exceed 50 mph. He then broke the 60-mph barrier and followed it up by breaking 65 — all on a Gardner Martin-designed recumbent bike.

"The original Gold Rush is in the Smithsonian Institute on permanent display because we won the DuPont Prize in 1986," Freddy said. "It was $18,000 to the first bike to exceed 65 mph, and I did that.

"In 1991, we set a record for a HPV in the Tour de France. We set a record in Lyon, France, for 1,000 meters at 53 mph."

In Battle Mountain, which is 2½ hours east of Reno, Freddy said the event’s organizers shut down a portion of the state highway for half an hour every evening for the race. Five teams took a 5¼ -mile run, with a team launched every three minutes.

After Freddy and Springer took their places back-to-back in the tandem HPV with Freddy facing front, the Gold Rush crew taped them securely inside. After a Plexiglas hatch was taped on, the crew would give the 400-pound vehicle — the bike weighs 75 pounds by itself — a push until Freddy was able to balance the bike on his own.

With a follow car trailing 100 feet behind, the duo went through their paces.

"I know what speed I want to be at for each mile mark," Freddy said. "I’m trying to breathe and relax. I’m trying to keep it as straight as possible, and we slowly accelerate for five miles with the last two covered at an all-out sprint. That’s a long time to be going full out. It’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever done.

"It’s really loud, but I have a radio to talk to Chris and the follow car. My follow car tells Chris things like ‘Mile One.’ Chris watches the speedometer and shifts gears and pedals. He’s not steering. He tries not to wiggle. He becomes one with the bike."

During the same continuous run, the HPV’s speed is recorded for each of the varying distances. A mile after the finish, a crew of 10 is needed to catch the bike.

"In a kilo event on a regular bike, you’re at full speed in about 30 seconds or less," Freddy said. "Then you basically gut it out until the end. The whole event is probably over in a minute and 10 seconds.

"This lasts a lot longer, and there’s no real point you can relax. It’s very bitter at the end. Every night, I’d climb out and say, ‘I’m retiring.’ But a half an hour later, I’d always say ‘I changed my mind.’ "

Although the competitors don’t have to worry about colliding with other vehicles, conditions should beideal for HPV racing.

"The bike is so light that any cross wind upsets it," Freddy said. "I’ve crashed a bunch of times. I’ve had two 60-mph-plus crashes, but I got hurt less than falling at 30 mph on a regular bike.

"The shell weighs about 30 pounds and is made of Kevlar. Kevlar is the most abrasive-resistant material that we know of. When the bike goes over on its side, it won’t crack or really wear through for the most part. It’s like wearing a helmet."

Unlike her father who rides recumbents daily, Tanya spends her free time studying dance and occasionally riding her mountain bike.

"I don’t ride recumbents at all — just during training time," Tanya said. "I usually get three months advance notice, so every night I get on my trainer for half an hour.

"Competing is so much fun. The people we ride against are so supportive. The last run I did (in Battle Mountain) was the most tiring thing I’ve ever done. I couldn’t even click out of my pedals. But it’s like a family. Everyone helps you out. It’s not competitive at all."

As the only woman competing at the Challenge, Tanya raced against records set by a 30-year-old Canadian woman who skipped the event. Because of her youth and the fact she’s one of the few women in the sport, Tanya attracts quite a bit of attention.

"Whenever I see a girl at these events, I run over and try to make friends with them," Tanya said. "It’s pretty overwhelming because I’m also the youngest.

"At Battle Mountain, there were these six little girls who came out and watched every night. They had me sign things, and I gave them my e-mail address. They were really excited."

At present, it’s unlikely that Tanya’s two younger sisters will follow her lead and take up HPV racing with their father.

"They don’t want to get into that bike," Freddy said. "Tara is 11 and likes soccer. Mary’s 7 and she rides her little mountain bike all over. And my wife, Dee, is very tolerant of this whole thing. I couldn’t race for some 20 years — well, I owe her a lot for not putting a stop to it 20 years ago."

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