When fast is not enough

Here is a vid of these guys hittig over 70 miles per hour because of the power of drag draft.
check it out...

 

That's nuts... In episode 2, we'll see a video of the stain they leave on the highway!

 

That's exactly what I kept thinking.....I kept skipping forward to see the crash.

I know I have done 50 mph drafting behind a Jeep with very little effort......70 is tough because you run out of gear.

 

That's where my weight comes in to play.

 

Clearly "gears", are what they have run out of. I was thinking brains...
Especially With no helmet to boot.

 

I don't think he had any to begin with......

 

I did a lot of that in my road biking days, but I doubt over upper 50's mph. You need to stay close but should be able to look around or through the draft vehicle or you can't anticipate it's stopping. You also can't have a hostile or inattentive driver.

A friend and I did it once coming down a long straightaway toward Mentone from Angeles Oaks and were easily in the mid-50's, but we were watching the road ahead. It's only when you drift off the wheel that you need gears, and then you have to spin up fast to get back in the pocket. I inhaled lots of diesel fumes from city buses back in the day, but preferred big trucks. The classic reference is "Breaking Away."

 

Fastest speed I've EVER hit on a bicycle was about 45 mph, and that was going down a fairly steep and winding asphalt road above Bass Lake (Beasore Rd from Cold Springs Summit to Rd 274, for those familiar with the area).

I admit I cackled like a demented hyena when I passed the van and pickup truck...

 

Winner of quote of the day!

 

124km/hr is actually 77.05mph. That's pretty crazy on the open road, with or without a helmet.

In a more "controlled" environment, here are some noteworthy drafters (from LIVESTRONG.com):

"Fred Rompelberg of the Netherlands.. blazed across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats at 167 mph in 1995. Rompelberg set his record while drafting behind a special pace vehicle that created a space with zero wind resistance. Rompelberg had posted several previous speeds of well over 100 mph on the salt flats.

John Howard, the record-holder who preceded Rompelberg, rode to 152.2 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1985. Like Rompelberg, Howard rode behind a pace vehicle. In an interview, he described the experience as "terrifying and exhilarating … like riding a pair of bumpy rollers as fast as you can possibly go where your margin of control is limited. I was turning about 120 revolutions per minute at 152 mph."

 

When you are going at that speed, a helmet is not going to help, probably just extend the agony before death sets in.

 

Did that guy just put his phone on the back of the truck?
Pretty risky to lose your phone bouncing off of the truck.
Unless he's got a RokForm case like I do that has the magnet. Still, not sure I'd trust that.
Plus, if you can't hold the draft, say bye bye phone (or camera)

I did like how he bunny hops the Bott's dots.