Peter Heal at the end of this ride from Fremantle in Western Australia to Bondi Beach in New South Wales, 6 August 2009

Bicycles where the rider is in a laid-back or reclined position are called recumbents, or human powered vehicles. Various designs exist with either two or three wheels. Recumbents first became popular when cyclists began using them to break speed records in Europe in the 1920s. They were probably first used in Australia in the 1930s. People who ride recumbents like them because they are comfortable and fast, and allow them to ride further than if they were riding a conventional, or upright, bicycle.

In 1934, the world cycling governing body for sports cycling, the UCI (or Union Cycliste Internationale), banned recumbents from all competitive racing due to their aerodynamic advantages. The ban is still in place today. Nevertheless, outside UCI sanctioned competitions, recumbents hold every unpaced, human-powered distance and speed record in the world. A fully faired recumbent bicycle has been pedalled at over 133 km per hour on flat terrain in the United States of America.

In 2000, Eric Barone set a new land speed record for a bicycle, using a specially designed aerodynamic upright bike, helmet and clothing, to record a top speed of 222 km per hour, riding downhill on snow in the French Alps.