In an amazing coordination of dragster, driver, cyclist, and bike, this amazing woman became the fastest person to pedal on two wheels.
The land speed record for pedaling is equal parts crazy, a show of athleticism, and downright luck for the right conditions to come together. But for 45-year-old mother of three who also happens to be a former junior cycling champion, Denise Mueller-Korenek, breaking this land speed record was only a matter of time. As per the Wall Street Journal in an article they put out earlier today (Sept. 17,2018) while the rest of the world was glued to their screens taking in a world record performance for the men’s marathon in Berlin, a new land speed record for pedaling was also broken across the world at a blistering 184 MPH. Check out the short video highlighting her record-breaking attempt below.
As the video shows, this particular record takes the bicycle to the absolute known limits of its engineering, a true triumph of the human will. The record, called a motor-paced record, uses a vehicle to cut through the wind at an amazing speed.
Past a certain speed, the cyclist cuts a cord which tethers her to the front of the vehicle. To achieve world record speeds in the shortest amount of time, specialty dragsters are used.
The bicycle itself is also something quite special. Using a double reduction chainring on a specially engineered bicycle with motorcycle wheels on a carbon fibre frame, this bike has one mission, to go as fast as humanly possible.
Not so coincidentally, Wired put out a great video that goes into a bit more depth than NY Times’s article and really does a good job profiling this amazing woman.
When all was said and done, her final speed of 183.93 MPH eclipsed the former record by 17 MPH essentially shattering the old record. She broke the overall record and entered the history books.
Props to you, Denise for doing something no ordinary cyclist could pull off.
The old record stood for 23 years. The question is, how long will Denise’s record stand?
