h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

seems to have been completely forgotten about, and was certainly overshadowed by chris boardman (who, let's not forget, had lots of sponsorship money and knew the right people). anyway: graeme obree got the cycling hour record in 1993 and 1994 (it's all about who can cycle the furthest in 1 hr). obree made his own bike, fer flipssake! and i quote: "The steel X-frame had been built by himself, the cranks contained a piece of metal found roadside, for the custom half-width bottom bracket he used parts of a washing machine, the handlebar was from a BMX bike. His unique, compact riding position allowed him to rest his torso on his tucked forearms. In this way, folding his arms under his chest, he eliminated them from the aerodynamic equation. Because of the narrow bottom bracket (68 mm), he rode almost knock-kneed which reduced the drag also." (from http://ida1.physik.uni-siegen.de/menn/obreepos.htm)

he's not just a cyclist, he's a designer, engineer, mechanic... and his achievements deserve not to be forgotten.

there's a great explanation of it all here: http://www.failuremag.com/arch_sports_graeme_obree.html