It’s a Banana! It’s a Trike! It’s a Yellow Velo!
Elusive bike-mobile identified
By Pam Glass | Photos by Daniel Coston
“Have you seen that banana-shaped car on the road? What is it?” These questions have been shared among locals lucky enough to have caught a glimpse of a fast-trekking, screaming yellow UDO — or unidentified driving object.
The vehicle, conspicuous in design and color yet unrecognizable, has caught the attention of South Charlotteans everywhere. Be it near the Ballantyne campus, on the Greenway or down in Waxhaw, the sighting of this peculiar bike-mobile is causing a stir.
The velomobile, as it is called, is a pedal-powered vehicle — in other words, a bike. It can be called a velo (French for bike) for short, and it’s a recumbent bike in which the rider has the major advantage of enclosure. The enclosure protects the rider from unwelcome weather and collision and provides a more aerodynamic design, hence the banana shape.
The owner, Philip Bissette, bought the single-passenger three-wheeler nearly five years ago. “I wanted a velomobile for a long time. The main reason is that I don’t like riding in cold weather. I’ve been riding a bike seriously for over 40 years and was tired of being cold from November through early April.”
A South Charlotte resident, Bissette rides his velo when the temperature drops below 75 degrees. While he doesn’t always select the velo in his five-to-six-day-per-week biking routine, the monthly miles this 59-year-old puts on it are impressive.
“I have ridden from Winston-Salem to Charlotte a couple of times. It’s not unusual to go up to 65 miles once a month or so.”
When the temps rise, the velo takes the summer off, and Bissette rides one of his three open-air recumbent bikes.
Considered one of the fastest modes of human-powered transportation, the velo’s rocket shape design, small cross-sectional surface and fantastic aerodynamics allow speeds as high as 30 mph with much less effort than a bicycle. The aerospace and mechanical engineer adds, “I can easily hit 50 mph on some hills, and I average 25 to 27 mph, including stoplights and traffic.”
Bissette’s “Quest” model was made in the Netherlands, where its popularity soars. “Folks use bikes for everyday transport in Europe, and the roads and trails are designed for bikes.” Such demand hasn’t quite caught on in the United States yet, particularly not in North Carolina. “I’ve never seen another velo in Charlotte. I am only aware of one or two others in North Carolina right now,” says the husband and father of three.
The velomobile does not come cheap, which perhaps explains its slow growth in the U.S. The bike can cost anywhere from $8,000 on up. Yet, one cannot deny the lustrous attributes of this remarkable bike: It’s eco-friendly, a great form of exercise, self-transporting, protection from the elements, high speed with less effort, fun and, lest we forget, an eye-catching conversation piece for lucky onlookers to chat about.