Rajflyboy

I’m sure this has been posted at some point. It’s worth another look. Scary stuff

bpcyclist

Wow. She is either extremely brave or something else entirely. I did think it was quite interesting how relaxed her legs seemed to appear to be while she was reaching or at those incredible speeds. Amazing. Thanks for posting this.

delbiker1 

I see no point in this.

nomadmax 

Call me when she does it for an hour.

indyfabz

Family forum. Reported!

BlazingPedals

fify.

nomadmax 

True. But it's as good as a Lance Armstrong TDF "win"

livedarklions

It obviously requires a high level of bike handling skill and confidence, but I honestly don't know how to rate this as an athletic accomplishment. Obviously, the equipment is the biggest factor here in determining how fast someone can go.

Miele Man

I often wonder hos much money is spent to attempt these record breaking rides. The bicycle is quite interesting too. I think I saw Schrader valves on her wheels.

Cheers

Road Fan

???

thumpism 

I recall people being impressed with John Howard's paced record on the Pepsi Challenge, so how come they aren't impressed by this woman?

livedarklions

I'm impressed by all of it, but in all of these paced records, I'm just not sure I understand how much of it is athleticism and how much is mechanical engineering, excellent control skills, and just sheer chutzpah. I'd never have the guts to ride a bike over 75 mph in any setting but I have no idea how fast my legs could propel me in those contraptions.

burnthesheep

So.....about this. This was posted a while back on another forum by one of their "promoters". There was some dubious claims in one video and a link they provided in terms of the power the person was using to do this feat.

I think they said something silly stupid like 650w for 2min for a female. There's one or two world tour men who can do that.

When asked about this dubious item.......they evaporated into thin air. No response. The one link with the dubious claims suddenly disappeared.

Honestly, it's only bike related because it has two wheels and a drivetrain. I file this under "Guiness Records bull-hockey" and weirdness. Or for me.........mehhhh, whatever.

terrafirma

Exciting.

jimincalif

I met her at the Solvang Century last year, she was there with her bike and talking about the whole process. She said that lots of riders could train for the physical challenge, but to go this fast the rider needs a bit of a "crazy factor". I think these were her words. Basically not many would have the nerve to do it. I enjoyed meeting her and listening to her. Good on her for setting out to do this, accomplish it and live to tell about it. Why? Like any other sort of extreme sport (or other) record, because it's there!

TiHabanero

As a former speed junkie, I appreciate what she has done! Drafting trucks at 50mph was enough for me, cannot fathom 180+ mph and just would not have the nerve for anything beyond 60mph. Now, put me in the dragster and I will push it as fast as it will go! Takes less nerve to sit in the cocoon vs. sitting exposed on a bike.
On the flip side, I do hope her children were grown and on their own before undertaking this try.

Rajflyboy

Joys of drafting and gearing on the bicycle that doesn’t begin to be effective until 110mph and above

I think this is deserving of racing stripes in thy underwear

Miele Man

Trying for a land speed record with a bicycle without drafting can be quite dangerous too. As evidenced in these attempts.



At least those two could see where they were going and perhaps have a far beter chance at spotting any hazard than this woman drafting that dragster and thus having virtually no forward vision at all. I can't imagine the consequences had she crashed at those speeds on salt.

Cheers

livedarklions

Looks like the salt is a far more uniform surface than what these guys were trying. No question, though, that what these guys are doing is more a test of handling skills and sheer insanity than athleticism.

dmanthree

Riding behind a vehicle like that is like using a two rope. Yeah, she went fast. But I'd like to see a *real* speed test where it's 100% on the rider to get up to and maintain speed. This is pointless.

livedarklions

It's a daredevil stunt, mostly, but a pretty cool one. She isn't actually pulled by the car, so the tow rope comparison isn't correct.

But if you want purely human powered efforts--here you go: IHPVA - International Human Powered Vehicle Association

dmanthree

No, there is no rope, but there is a specially designed vehicle to remove wind resistance from the process. That's nonsense. This still makes no sense to me.

livedarklions

Right, she still has to generate enough power to get the vehicle to that speed, and she could definitely be killed if she makes a mistake.

It's a feat of engineering to get a bike that can be pedaled that fast regardless of wind resistance, whether there's any point is probably a philosophical question you could ask about any record setting.

zjrog

Drafting such as this dates back to boards laid between rails and drafting a train. Crazy stuff, beyond my capabilitiy, I wish I'd been there to see it is it is only 100 miles from my home...

General Geoff

Nope. If you watch the video, she is, in fact, towed up to speed. Only when they're at the target speed is she released to basically just keep pace with the dragster in front of her for a couple minutes.