Thursday, September 20, 2018

Woman Rides Bicycle To 183.9 MPH — A World Record

Huh.
From NPR:
The fastest human to ride a bicycle over open ground is named Denise Mueller-Korenek, who rode a custom bike at an average of 183.932 miles per hour – shattering a world record that had stood since 1995.
Mueller-Korenek, 45, set the record for fastest speed riding in a slipstream, teaming up with Shea Holbrook, a professional race car driver who piloted a dragster that led the cyclist across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

"Good job, Mom," Mueller-Korenek's son, Daniel, said in a video he recorded as he joined his mother in the finish area on Sunday.

"That was rough," she said. In addition to getting bounced around at speeds only supercars can aspire to, Mueller-Korenek said the salt dust had entirely coated her throat.
The dragster has fairing on the back that essentially looks like a closet, to protect the cyclist from the wind. Behind it, Mueller-Korenek sat on a bike with gearing so steep that she needed to be towed to about 100 mph before taking over under her own power.
The tow rope was released some 1.5 miles into the run, Mueller-Korenek said on Facebook, "leaving 3.5 miles in the draft to achieve an average speed for the last mile of 183.9mph (between mile 4 & 5)!"...
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