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from the holding-the-bumper-doesn't-count dept.
Velonews reports that experienced cycle racer Denise Mueller of San Diego, California was successful in setting the first woman's paced (drafting behind a car) cycling record. The record is the culmination of at least two years of training and planning.
Mueller set the new women's speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats where she rode a highly customized bike that includes two 60-tooth chainrings and double-speedup gearing (the article mistakenly calls this double reduction). The article claims the bike had a 488 inch gear (equivalent wheel diameter for a direct-drive wheel) which translates to a cadence of 102 RPM at 147 miles per hour.
While she hoped to go even faster, the article mentions that they were only able to use a four mile long course. They had hoped for 6 miles but it seems that conditions on the salt this year don't make that possible.
(Score: 1, Redundant) by aristarchus on Wednesday September 14 2016, @06:46AM
Feats like this are impressive, no matter the gender of the athlete. It does make some of our more "sensitive" and "emo" males cringe, and have their "gonads" retreat even further up into someone's abdominal cavity. But, wow, 147mph, on a bicycle? Did anyone see "The Fastest Indian" with Anthony Hopkins? Kind of the inverse scenario, gender wise. And not human powered. But the lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, ... . .
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Bogsnoticus on Wednesday September 14 2016, @06:52AM
Big deal. I can run faster than that.
Admittedly, I'm running on a treadmill that's on the back of a truck going 180mph, but nevertheless, I'm running at over 180mph.
If she, or anyone else can achieve these speeds without being caught in the slipstream vortex of a drafting vehicle, THEN I'll be impressed.
Genius by birth. Evil by choice.
(Score: 2) by julian on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:08AM
I won't be impressed until a person achieves such fitness that they can fly under their own power, unaided.
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:38AM
I've flown 150 miles without any kind of engine, and I didn't cheat like a sailplane pilot and get pulled up by one. Does that qualify?
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday September 14 2016, @09:39AM
I won't be impressed until a person achieves such fitness that they can fly under their own power, unaided.
Holly Jones would be happy to demonstrate [baen.com].
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bradley13 on Wednesday September 14 2016, @09:01AM
This. As with lots of records, it's hard to see the point. She's not bicycling 147mph, she's being sucked along by a specially prepared car. Granted, she has to stabilize the bicycle and maintain an optimal distance, both of which are likely not easy. Still, maybe it's more interesting that dispensing milkshakes through your nose [guinnessworldrecords.com].
Plus, of course, she's marking herself as a candidate for a Darwin award. Snorting milkshakes is less likely to result in death, unless you can die of grossness.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday September 14 2016, @04:58PM
The non-drafting version is pretty impressive: http://newatlas.com/cyclist-human-powered-speed-record/39472/ [newatlas.com]
What's the point of going on the salt flats to draft a car? Get on the side of the mountain instead.
(Score: 3, Funny) by NotSanguine on Wednesday September 14 2016, @09:50AM
Big deal. I can run faster than that.
Admittedly, I'm running on a treadmill that's on the back of a truck going 180mph, but nevertheless, I'm running at over 180mph.
That's nothing! I'm sitting on my fat ass at home and either moving at ~1040 miles per hour [wikipedia.org] or ~67,000 miles per hour [cornell.edu], depending on whether you want to look at the earth's rotational velocity or earth/sun orbital velocity, respectively.
So pick up the pace, slowpoke!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @12:35PM
Stop typing and running and watch out for that underpass.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:10AM
I was just talking to someone who was there and had photographs of the bike in question and details on the SUV.
The SUV had rear overhangs on the roof and sides to help create and stabilize the drafting bubble.
The bike was a carbon fiber frame that had a double reduction sprocket setup (I don't remember the exact sprocket tooth counts) and downhill racing front fork with shocks. Tires looked smaller diameter (4-8" less than stock adult mountain/road race bike, so maybe 20" or so?) Regular spoked rims, not any weird alloy rims.
Also another member of the team was the man who set the men's record in that class around 30 years ago, apparently they ran over 150 miles per hour. So something to look forward to for next year, but sadly I don't think they will get a jacket unless they also break 200 mph for the 200 mph club (Qualifications require both breating the class record AND posting a speed over 200 mph, so many classes at bonneville either will never reach it, or will reach it and only be beaten once due to the difficulty involved.)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @11:19AM
Just wanted to add: A whole day and there are only 37 posts on this article, most of them negative to either the whole human powered vehicle in a draft, or just to the female version of it.
Driving a landrover 147 mph I imagine is pretty unsettling by itself. Bicycling behind one, where one small misstep can kill you is doubly so. Furthermore, a detail I haven't seen mentioned before that my pp mentioned friend spoke of: She was bicycling 147 mph while WEARING ESSENTIALLY FULL MOTORCYCLE LEATHERS WITH A FULL FACE HELMET. Go try bicycling at regular speeds in that getup and see how far you bunch of pasty faced pissants can get. Having actually bicycled around the pits in a race suit (not leather however!), I can tell you it isn't easy. They provide restricted mobility in exchange for enhanced survivability in case of a crash, abrasive full body slide, or fire, depending on the concerns of your particular class of racing. Bicyclists wear what they do for weight reduction, cooling, reduced chafing over long distances, and range of motion purposes. Outside of the helmet however, they are not made to protect in case of a crash.
The SCTA who runs those events is a stickler about safety, and generally adds a few new rules every year due to crashes that happen during these timing events. As an example a 400mph car had a partial drivetrain failure during that same series of runs. It blew out a rear coupler on the drivetrain of a turbine powered car, which in turn blew out the front differential when the full brunt of the engine was shifted to the front (I assume the center differential shifted all power to the front as a result of the rear power takeoff on the center differential freewheeling), which resulted in shrapnel puncturing a front tire which in turn blew up, causing the entire frontend bodywork of the car to blow off, causing a failure in one of the brake cyclinders and the shrapnel into the helmet of the driver. Due to the way the front and rear brake master cylinders were linked for braking adjustment, in the case of a failure, like happened, the brake system would not actuate properly from the driver's seat. The car managed not to crash, despite veering off course, nor plough into highway 80 (which was a couple miles further out, but certainly a short distance away for something travellng at 400 mph.) But at the time it was believed all stopping devices had failed (the first failure was believed to have involved the parachute, I didn't hear mention that deployment of it to stop was attempted, so given the lack of brakes, it very well might have coasted to a stop.)
Point being: don't diss what they achieved here. To reach equivalent speeds on a motorcycle, even with streamliner bodywork would require 100+ horsepower. Street bikes that can reach those speeds are generally 160+ with a curb weight of 350-500 pounds. Doing this with around 1 horsepower equivalent in full racing leathers with a bicycle is impressive, even it if was in a draft. And I would also like to point out that the first record attempt at this was done behind a train in either the late 19th, or early 20th century, so it is a well established challenge of human ingenuity, engineering, and endurance, even if you scoff at it like a bunch of elitist yuppie douchebags on the internet.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:10PM
The World's Fastest Indian [wikipedia.org] was awesome.. While not a woman, he was a crotchety old man on a shoestring budget... Both feats took place at the salt flats, so there's our connection to stay on topic.. :)
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:37PM
Not really.
This smacks of creating an artificial scenario to claim a "record". I find these things somewhat desperate for attention.
Adding the "female" part to it in a sad attempt at relevance...ugh...a triumph for gender equality...not.
For example: I just broke the record for the most characters typed while sitting at this keyboard at this time. Amazing. Where is my click-bait article?
Can't we celebrate something meaningful?
Also your post was the saddest most desperate attempt at cheer-leading just for the sake of it I have seen in a long while...outside of politics of course.
NB: Yes I will be modded down, no I don't give a fuck.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday September 15 2016, @05:18AM
You sad, sad, sorry excuse for a human being? Why do you not just give it up right now?
your post was the saddest most desperate attempt at cheer-leading just for the sake of it I have seen in a long while...outside of politics of course.
NB: Yes I will be modded down, no I don't give
Cheer-leading? Did you see how tight and form-fitting my sweater is? Almost approached George W. Bush levels! No, mostly I was taunting, yes! taunting the MRA (Men's Right's Asshole's) evidenced in the frost pist. If you cannot see that, and took my post way too seriously, I cannot be held responsible for your mental confusion.
Also, you failed to get modded down. That is some new level of epic fail right there! Wish you better in the future, when your testicles descend!