Speed kills/thrills?

The fastest I’ve been was
The fastest I’ve been was 47.6mph down the String Road on Arran but that was a national speed limit road so I wasn’t braking the limit anyway and even if I was bikes can’t be prosecuted. My max last year was 44.4mph (somewhere in the Lammermuirs) I think it was the strength of the wind rather the steepness that made the difference. I’ve not broken the 40 yet this year though closest Ive been is 39.6mph down the Uquart Cut with a strong tail wind (its a short sharp hill which falls steeply but rises steeply).

madcarew wrote: but heavier

madcarew wrote:

but heavier people tend to descend faster than lighter people because of a greater mass vs surface area ration.

that explains why i can outpace bigger blokes uphill yet always get caught on the way down.. its a constant yo-yo-ing on a hilly sportive/audax/etc etc

well that and a lack of nerve whilst descending, tend to chicken out round the 35-40mph.

Re the OP: no there’s no
Re the OP: no there’s no speed limit for bikes so you can’t be done for going 40mph in a 30 zone for example. You can however be done for the wonderful “furious cycling” which I think a rider in Cambridge was charged with several years ago. (anyone remember?)

I think if you did that kind of speed through a town and knocked someone over the police would take a fairly dim view of it.

That said, I’ve had over 50mph plenty of times and just over 60mph on an Alpine descent in France. There were still French roadies coming past me even then, they reckoned that hill was good for about 70mph in places! :O

I like setting speed cameras
I like setting speed cameras off; there is one in Hayfield on the descent from Peep O Day. Set at 40mph – can set that off on my mountain bike. The road is fastest before the camera, I’m usually braking to trun into the village by the time I hit the speed camera.

On my road bike – a white van man hung out of his window and told me how impressed he was that I was doing 55mph, my reply “oh I can go a lot faster than that”. My cateye cordless tells me I have hit 65mph on that stretch – personally I think Peep O day is faster going down to Chinley.

When you stop and think about it – yes it is stupidly fast, lycra isn’t known for its protective proerties is it?

Down here in NZ I regularly
Down here in NZ I regularly hit 80kph + on a short hill going to work. My max ever is 122kph (76 mph) on a long down hill into Wellington with a fierce tail wind. I’ve regularly topped 100kph on flat roads behind trucks, with my max on the flat 108kph. And as a side note, when descending or going fast aerodynamics is everything unless drafting vehicle, but heavier people tend to descend faster than lighter people because of a greater mass vs surface area ration.

Clocked 69mph down a newly
B-) Clocked 69mph down a newly laid straight mountain road in Lanzarote. Paul lazenby who I was behind reckoned he reached 71mph. both of us agreed how stupid we had been when we safely reached the bottom.

52.3mph is my known person
52.3mph is my known person best 😀 and that was on a mountain bike! Ive never had a computer on a road bike yet, but, I never took a computer with me to Portugal on my new pinarello so I’m pretty sure I beat it! Especially defending in to Monchique.