How fast can a person on a bicycle go without the aid of a motor? You might be surprised and terrified to learn. In 1962, French cyclist José Meiffret pedaled down the Autobahn at 127 miles per hour, or 204 km/h. He had been working to break the 200 km/h barrier for years. How he did it was the real story.
Meiffret loved competitive cycling, but he wasn't successful at distance races. Then he tried motor-paced racing. See, when I said "without the aid of a motor," I meant a motor on the bicycle. In motor-paced racing, the cyclist rides in the slipstream behind a motorcycle or a car equipped with a wind screen on the back to avoid air resistance. This means staying within 18 inches of the vehicle without touching it. The driver has to avoid any bumps or sudden movement. Any variation from those parameters would mean disaster, and the sport had plenty of those. It's even more dangerous when several cyclists are racing at the same time. Meiffret himself was injured badly in 1952 and suffered five skull fractures at once. Quite a few racers died.
For his record-breaking ride, Meiffret used a ridiculously-geared bike you can see above, specially designed for breaking records. He had a communication system set up with his team. But the race itself was a real nail-biter for the man whose life was on the line. The record Meiffret set that day would stand for 34 years, because there are still people doing this. Read about Meiffret's accomplishment at Amusing Planet.
