With the Zephyr project, University of Toronto Human Powered Vehicles Team attempted to realize the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Human Powered Vehicle Challenge’s (ASME HPVC) goal of designing practical, efficient, sustainable human powered transport by optimizing for performance in the ASME HPVC’s sprint and endurance races. An upright bicycle configuration was selected based on a favourable balance of maneuverability, pilot familiarity, and acceleration. The upright configuration is also the most popular form of human powered vehicular transport in the world and is a good candidate for widespread adoption.