and terminal velocity is...
Posted on 09/19/2007 11:27:39 PM PDT by Squidpup
Heard the one about the cyclist who rode his bike at 130mph? He must be on drugs - right?
Wrong. Instead of EPO, nandrolone or a host of other illegal stimulants, Austrian rider Markus Stoeckl used a Chilean ski slope with a 45 degree drop to get up to speed.
The 33-year-old broke the world record for downhill series mountain bikes by clocking a speed of 130.7mph (210.4km/h) on the La Parva run in Chile last Friday.
Stoeckl, nicknamed 'Hercules', had to hold his breath for the 40-second trip to prevent the visor on his helmet from steaming up.
'At the end of the run, I had the feeling that I was somehow watching the run myself,' he explained.
'The planning for the trip to Chile was so hurried that I ended up having to use my street shoes for the world record run!'
It's a great achievement, you have to admit. But cycling up the hill must have been even more impressive.
Years ago some local clowns smoked too much dope and decided to try a similar downhill event. They went to a tobaggan run at Pakagon State Park in Indiana. One was chosen to ride the slide on a bike. All was well except he hadn’t counted on a cross bar at the bottom. He was kinda bent in half. Not to worry, he survived. *
*Healy was not involved or present at the event. Mother Healy never raised such a foolish child.
Hard to believe!
Hold muh beer!
I wonder where you find bike tires rated at 130mph.
I am impressed. I hit 50 mph on my Diamond Back a few years ago, and that was thrill enough for me. I was on a bit of a downgrade and had the wind at my back. And btw, I peddled up the same hill earlier going the opposite direction. Age then, mid 50’s.
50 is more than enough, heh. I don’t want to be on a bike going 130 that’s for sure.
ouch I remember that one - hate it when those pranksters remove the bolts holding your frame together
I’ve been on that toboggan slide. It’s amazing what some people do to themselves out of drug induced stupidity.
I did 52 mph going down the Powder River Pass in Wyoming a few years ago. You want to let loose after hours and hours of climbing. Totally exhilarating but then it hits you that if your slick 100 psi front tire hits one little pebble or patch of debris the wrong way it’s broken bones, skin grafts or death. Life’s too precious...Only did it for a half mile.
I did about 55 going down Pacific Island Drive in South Orange County, CA. It was on a Davidson road bike. It suddenly hit a resonance and started to vibrate uncontrollably. I thought I was dead as it weaved. Luckily I got it slowed down and the vibration stopped.
I have never been so scared in my life!
Two words: Road rash. ow ow ow. I have a firm policy — I don’t start anything i can’t stop. Preferably without dying.
That’s why I’ll never be next to Steve Fossett chasing a world record. It’s also not lying beside Steve Fossett dead in the desert. No guts, no glory — no brains, no longevity.
I did the same thing on a wide fire road at a ski resort 12 years ago on my Bridgestone MB-0(w/out suspension). Then I hit some washboard and moved sideways across the road before I got it back under control. btw, I took the chairlift up.
At 130mph, who needs tires? Wings maybe.
and terminal velocity is...
I think most cyclists terminate when they rapidly decelerate from over 50 mph to 0 ...
” I don’t start anything i can’t stop. “
How long do you think it will be before someone tries it on a ski jump with a bike and a parachute?
This is the dude.
And I did not find a caption explaining why that big brown spot was on the FRONT of his suit, not the back.
P.S. Click the pic to see the YouTube video.
I just read about reasonance vibration in a magazine. To control it, squeeze your legs together onto the top tube of your frame.
I’ve never been above about 40mph but 130 is insane. I did go on a little “midnight tubing run” down the landing ramp of a 100 meter ski jump. Looks like about the same slope as the bike ride. It was pretty fun but I lost my car keys on the hill somewhere.
And yes, I was sober. Trespassing and somewhat dumb, but completely sober.
HA! What a two-wheeled pansy! I did that on a Unicycle!
Years ago, when I was thinner and more fit, I hit 61 mph coming down Monitor Pass during one the Markleeville Death Rides.
The bike was a Botecchia (still have it), tires were Conty sew-ups.
Rode down the big hill outside town at over 60 mph many times. One day another tried it with me and he noted that my tires touched the ground about once every 30 feet.
Highway 58 coming into Bakersfield Ca has a nice 3000 foot drop that would make a wonderful place to crank a bike up to something fierce.
Is there a bike forum of FReep?
I like to mountain bike here in the hills of Southern Oregon. I’ve got a Trek 6700 and my girlfriend has a Trek 4300.
Ed
“Totally exhilarating but then it hits you that if your slick 100 psi front tire hits one little pebble or patch of debris the wrong way...”
Yes, one begins to notice every imperfection in the road surface on a bike at these speeds. I didn’t do the shuddering until after my experience, and I doubt I would choose to do it now. No regrets though for having experienced it!
I had fat, slick, 85 psi tires on my bike at the time. Still have the bike, still ride it. In Ohio now, mostly on the Ohio/Erie Canal bike path, near where I live. My 50 mph experience was in Nebraska, just south of Lincoln, where I lived at the time.
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