An Amusement & Diversion for The Genteel Cyclist. Daily.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Answer!

From yesterday's quiz -- which, by the way, had a lot of hilarious answers in the comments :

That cyclist is Frank Bartell, a Czechoslovakian stage racer, and he's setting a world land speed record behind a motorpace. In June of 1935, the rider (and car) reached 100 mph.

It was on a boulevard in Los Angeles.

The current holder of this dubious record is John Howard, who in 1985 spun up to 152.2 mph behind a 500 HP race car. This is the scene:














I have to say, John's outfit lacks the European panache of Frank's classic sweater and shorts.

2 comments:

Matt said...

Is that a fixie he's ridin'?

Anonymous said...

Naw, JHs bike used a jackshaft and odd gearing to get him up to speed.