Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Guiness World Records
The first time I tried to ride a bike without the training wheels, I ended up eating the pavement. It didn't taste good, especially because it was mixed with the tears flowing down my face.
The first time I tried to ride a bike with no hands, I ended up face down, though this time, I kept my mouth closed so I didn't taste the pavement. I already knew how it tasted, so I took the involuntary decision of sticking only with the flood of tears.
Canadian Robert Murray has recently proved that not everyone kisses the asphalt when riding a bike. With or without hands, that is.
The Alberta resident managed to ride no more, no less than 130.29 kilometers (that's 80.95 miles for our American reads) without touching the handlers, breaking the record in 5 hours and 37 minutes. The man, whose record attempt took part in an Alzheimer's Society of Calgary fundraising, trained in a parking lot.
The biggest challenge: sitting upright for extended periods of time (I can confirm, from the lazy and somewhat comfortable position in my office chair, that doing this is more difficult than it sounds). Finding a way to prevent and deal with pain in his legs was also a challenge, especially because, you know, a bike moves by pedaling, and you must move your legs to pedal. He eventually discovered that regular massages would do it, as he already had an available pair of hands that were literally doing nothing during this whole time.
The man says he had no problem riding the bike with no hands, so the first hour went by without him even noticing. However, the last eight kilometers were the most difficult.
He claims he started feeling the effort and the fatigue after passing the 122 km mark. It was the moment when he picked up the pace and started to pedal even faster. Throughout the journey, he massaged his legs regularly, as he didn't want the fatigue to set in too fast.
Murray says he reached for the handlebar only once during the nearly six hours spent on the bicycle. It happened after pedaling for 125 kilometers when he lost his focus and leaned forward, involuntarily trying to grab the handlebar. He realized touching the handlebars would end his record-breaking attempt, so he pulled back immediately.
As if pedaling for so long without touching the handlebar wasn't already difficult, the man now tries to attempt another record-breaking in 2024. Because he owns a business selling ice cream on a bicycle, he wants to beat the record for "the world's largest ice cream party/social."
I would gladly attend the party, as long as I'm not supposed to eat the ice cream with no hands.
Canadian Robert Murray has recently proved that not everyone kisses the asphalt when riding a bike. With or without hands, that is.
The Alberta resident managed to ride no more, no less than 130.29 kilometers (that's 80.95 miles for our American reads) without touching the handlers, breaking the record in 5 hours and 37 minutes. The man, whose record attempt took part in an Alzheimer's Society of Calgary fundraising, trained in a parking lot.
The biggest challenge: sitting upright for extended periods of time (I can confirm, from the lazy and somewhat comfortable position in my office chair, that doing this is more difficult than it sounds). Finding a way to prevent and deal with pain in his legs was also a challenge, especially because, you know, a bike moves by pedaling, and you must move your legs to pedal. He eventually discovered that regular massages would do it, as he already had an available pair of hands that were literally doing nothing during this whole time.
The man says he had no problem riding the bike with no hands, so the first hour went by without him even noticing. However, the last eight kilometers were the most difficult.
He claims he started feeling the effort and the fatigue after passing the 122 km mark. It was the moment when he picked up the pace and started to pedal even faster. Throughout the journey, he massaged his legs regularly, as he didn't want the fatigue to set in too fast.
Murray says he reached for the handlebar only once during the nearly six hours spent on the bicycle. It happened after pedaling for 125 kilometers when he lost his focus and leaned forward, involuntarily trying to grab the handlebar. He realized touching the handlebars would end his record-breaking attempt, so he pulled back immediately.
As if pedaling for so long without touching the handlebar wasn't already difficult, the man now tries to attempt another record-breaking in 2024. Because he owns a business selling ice cream on a bicycle, he wants to beat the record for "the world's largest ice cream party/social."
I would gladly attend the party, as long as I'm not supposed to eat the ice cream with no hands.
Google News