Cyclist Hits New Speed Record, Riding 183.932 MPH on a Bike

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We cover a lot of speed records in the outdoor space here at the Adventure Blog, but this one just might be the most impressive yet. This past weekend, while I was off riding a bike in Colorado, a cyclist was busy setting a new land speed record, hitting a mind-blowing 183.932 mph (296 km/h) on her bike.

Denise Mueller-Korenek made her record setting run on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, riding a bike designed to withstand the challenges of traveling at such speeds. To do that, it has specially reinforced tires and uses motorcycle rims, not to mention a custom made frame built to add additional stability and balance.

The ride began with Mueller-Korenek being pulled behind a car that helped get her up to a speed of 100 mph (160 km/h). From there, she drafted off of that vehicle over the course of 3.5 miles (5.6 km), reaching the new record speed over the final mile of the ride. During that stage of the speed record attempt, she completely pedaled the bike under her own power, with the support vehicle only serving as a wind break.

The new speed record smashes the old mark of 167 mph (268 km/h) and Mueller-Korenek says herself that the plan was to only go 175 mph (281 km/h). But, things went so well that she just kept picking up speed. The result was a new FKT that is far faster than what most of us will ever do in our cars, let alone on a bike.

Want to know what it looks like to go 183 mph on a bike? Check out the video below.

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Kraig Becker

Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.