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VeloNews reports: Mueller-Korenek rides 183.9mph, smashing world record
On the Bonneville Salt Flats, tucked in behind a 1,000-horsepower drag race car, Denise Mueller-Korenek hit 183.932 miles per hour, smashing a 23-year-old world record.
"It was a crazy wild ride to 183.9 mph, but so worth the sacrifice and years of focus on becoming the fastest human on a bicycle in the world," said Mueller-Korenek after breaking the record on September 16.
She hit the record speed on her second attempt, breaking Fred Rompelberg's 1995 Paced Bicycle Speed Record, 167mph.
Mueller-Korenek, 45, is familiar to top speeds on Utah's salt flats. She previously set a women's world record of 147.75mph in 2016. This Sunday, the mother of two took the world record outright, paced by an overhauled version of the dragster that paced Rompelberg to his record speed.
Also at NPR.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by RS3 on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:40PM (1 child)
I shouldn't admit this, but many years ago while driving my girlfriend's very small car (and her) on a very flat portion of a major highway, I got within a few feet of the back of an 18-wheeler (lorry for some of you) and depressed the clutch and found I needed to touch the brakes to prevent being pulled into the back of the trailer. I've always been an experimenter. Books and math are great, but I had to try these things for myself, and to report it so that others don't need to try it.
In racing, esp. NASCAR "restrictor-plate" races, cars will pair up and ride bumper-to-bumper, getting more speed and better gas mileage (yes, it matters). Even the lead car gets a boost from reduced aerodynamic drag: the air falling behind the front car, which would otherwise create somewhat of a vacuum, doesn't fall as much because there's a 2nd car right there.
(Score: 2) by ElizabethGreene on Thursday September 20 2018, @03:19AM
In Nascar, ever the hotbed of innovation, it isn't uncommon for a team of drivers to work together like this on restrictor plate tracks. The car in the back isn't just drafting, but will in fact bumper-to-bumper push the car in the front. That lets them go significantly faster (10-15mph) as a pair.
Clever.