new world speed record

No, another celebrity didn't get a ticket for attempting to reach terminal velocity in their Prius. I've just read that Sam Whittingham pedalled his bicycle 82.3 mph to set a new record. Yes, pedalled! That's on flat ground, with no wind, no motor, and very sophisticated aerodynamics that make the Prius look like a brick. Here's a site with pictures of the annual week-long event, which should be updated shortly with today's results. Click on 'Thursday' to see the latest pictures. Congratulations, Sam!

 

Motor pacing just isn't the same thing. People have done that behind cars and even a train, with specially prepared track, but it's really no comparison. I've done 70 myself, but that involved no more effort than aiming straight downhill and holding very still.

Here are a couple of pictures. The first is of the record run, and the second is of George Georgiev, the designer and builder of these renowned craft, with rider Sam Whittingham.

 

Yes, the gears are huge. Most of the speedbikes are front wheel drive, with an intermediate set of sprockets to step up the ratio even more.

I think the umbrella was just a sunshade, Spectra. I'm not aware of any parachutes for stopping - regular brakes seem to work fine. At the start, the riders are taped in and held for launch. Team members are waiting at the finish to catch them at the right moment so they don't fall over.

 

70 is a guesstimate. I had the speedometer on metric, and it pegged out at 99.5 kmh about a third of the way down the hill. I'm sure I was still picking up speed. I've read that if the unprotected human head hits anything solid at over about 20 kmh, it's done for. At 120 kmh, everything happens that much faster, so the pain is over with quicker, and it hurts less.

 

Did I mention the prize money was over $25,000, for the long awaited DeciMach award?