Trikes aren't just for kids anymore

Most people in North America learn to ride a bicycle when they're a child. Before they finally discover the thrill of balancing on two wheels without skidding down the pavement on their knees, many go through a phase of riding a tricycle and/or a bicycle with training wheels. The appeal of trikes dies out fairly quickly once bikes are discovered, simply because they are slow and cumbersome in comparison. However, they don't have to be.

Recumbent bicycles have been around since the early 20th century. They were quite quickly found to be faster than conventional upright bikes, and just as quickly they were banned from the racing scene as a result. The conventional upright bicycle took over in popularity because everyone wants something like what the racers have (hence the popularity of 600cc and 1000cc sport bikes for cruising around town). Recumbent bikes never did die out though, and may different configurations of pedal powered vehicles were created over the decades, many of which perform much better than what you see in the Tour de France (most Human Powered Vehicle records are set with fully faired recumbents).