SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Just outside Battle Mountain, Nev., there is a stretch of road called Route 305 that, according to some, is one of the straightest and smoothest roads in the world. That makes it the ideal venue for racing, not by car but by human-powered vehicle. For more than 20 years, competitors have flocked to Route 305 for a competition called the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge. This week, competitors from around the world have gathered to push the limits of human speed. It's all about breaking records, and our next guest, Lizanne Wilmot, did just that today, going 39.34 miles per hour in her categories race. She joins us now. Congratulations.
LIZANNE WILMOT: Yeah, thank you very much. It's been a tough week. The wind conditions have hindered a few record attempts. So to actually get the world record this morning on the last day is just, like, over the moon - and looking forward to hopefully doing another one this afternoon.
DETROW: For listeners who haven't seen pictures or videos of this, can you describe what the vehicles look like, what you were doing as you were trying to set these records and, for you, setting these records?
WILMOT: Yeah. So the vehicle that I'm in, it's a fully enclosed - you're lying down. It looks like a bullet kind of bike. I'm lying on my back and, like, I've got a lid on top of me, so I can't actually see. There's no windows. I've got a periscope at the top with, uh, two cameras. And I'm basically looking at screens, hoping that I'm seeing exactly what's going on outside and, yeah, just putting the power through the pedals and aiming straight.
DETROW: How did you find yourself in this position, where this is what you're doing? How did you get to the point of bikes like this?
WILMOT: So I've ridden bikes all my life.
DETROW: Yeah.
WILMOT: I'm a competitive track racer, so I race internationally on the velodrome, and yeah, a couple of years ago, a friend of a friend of mine literally threw me under a bus and said, hey, Lizanne's keen for anything. Give her a call, and see what she says. And, yeah, got contacted by Macquarie University and I was just like, sure, why not?
DETROW: You're talking about the way that you're kind of enclosed. I'm curious, when you set a record, do you have a gut feeling knowing in the moment that you got it? Or do you have to wait and see the measurements when the run is done?
WILMOT: Oh, you know.
DETROW: Yeah.
WILMOT: So on my screen, I've got speed, cadence, power, distance. So I know what the record is and what speeds I'm going through the traps at. So yeah. The only, I guess, iffy thing is whether or not it's wind legal. So if it's too windy, you don't get the record. So I've been plagued all week with, non-wind-legal runs and hitting records but not being able to break them.
DETROW: So I imagine that was a good feeling when the wind was just right, and you were able to get the runs in today.
WILMOT: Oh, absolutely. So the first time I broke the record was actually yesterday, and it wasn't wind legal. The second time I broke it was this morning, and it wasn't wind legal. And literally, it was the third try. Like, third time lucky - went through. We waited for the winds to die, and we're like, OK, right. Here we go (ph). And it was a scramble to the line through and completely wind legal. So it was such a good feeling.
DETROW: What, to you, so compelling about going this fast, about setting a record as going as fast as humanly possible?
WILMOT: Oh, it's just the adrenaline on any bike. So I ride track bikes. I ride a penny farthing. And give me anything with two wheels, and tell me to go fast. And I just - I love the buzz. I love the adrenaline. I just enjoy being, I guess, in the community and in the moment and having everyone celebrate with me.
DETROW: You not only ride a penny farthing, which people don't know is that old 19th century bicycle with the huge front wheel and the tiny wheel on the back. You were a world record holder in that as well.
WILMOT: (Laughter) Yeah.
DETROW: What is the top speed you can get on a penny farthing?
WILMOT: Oh, so sitting on the saddle and actually pedaling the pedals, back to kilometers an hour, I top at about 42, 43 kilometers an hour. But a mate of mine who descends, like, 80 kilometers an hour, which is just - it's insane. Like, those bikes are actually built to go further and faster, and they're not slow.
DETROW: And as we talk to you now, you say you've got a few more runs today.
WILMOT: Yeah. So I've got the 5 mile this afternoon. So I'm hoping to get a good wind-legal run and hopefully actually get the 5-mile record this evening.
DETROW: That is Lizanne Wilmot, competitor in the World Human-Powered Speed Challenge and a world record holder. Thanks for talking to us.
WILMOT: Yeah. No worries. Have a good rest of your day.
DETROW: I won't be going as fast as you, but I'll try.
WILMOT: Good luck. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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