Pete Penseyres is an American cyclist who was the winner of Race Across America (RAAM) in 1984 and 1986, setting a world record of in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes. His average speed of was the record for 27 years, finally being broken by Christoph Strasser in 2013, who averaged . Penseyres trained for years by cycling to work each day.
Penseyres's performance is particularly remarkable for several reasons. The RAAM is continuous from start to finish with no breaks; Penseyres was notable for his ability to forgo sleep to improve his time. Equipment at the time was primitive by today's standards: Penseyres introduced the use of aerobars to mimic a downhill skier's wind resistance advantage. Nutrition during the race was also not nearly as advanced as it is today.