Francois Gissy broke his own world speed cycling record on November 7, on a rocket-powered bike. In his previous attempt, in 2013, he reached 163 mph on a similar bike.
鈥淚鈥檓 lucky my head is still bolted on the body,鈥 he of this year鈥檚 ride, explaining that riding so fast on a bicycle without aerodynamic features is a 鈥渢rue challenge.鈥
Gissy鈥檚 no-pedaling-required bike features a rocket built by Swiss company Exotic Thermal Engineering. He already has plans for an even more powerful machine, to be called 鈥淪pine Crusher,鈥 which would in theory reach 249 mph in less than two seconds.
Great power requires financial backing, which presented a small setback for Gissy this year. Watch company Hublot, which sponsored Gissy鈥檚 2013 run, was not involved this time for reasons the Frenchman could not elaborate on. 鈥淎sk them yourself; maybe they will give you the answer we are still waiting for,鈥 he told Gizmag. If Hublot had been involved, he added, the bike might have been 鈥渢hree to four times more powerful as it is today.鈥