Congratulations to our team of five female cyclists, Denise Mueller, Lenita Anthony, Barbara Sullivan, Lori Hoechlin, Char Yarnall for breaking the Women’s World Record in human-powered land speed three times over at the 2023 World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC) on Highway 305 outside Battle Mountain, Nevada.
At their best and highest, they peddled the 750 pound, 45’ long Sprocket Rocket up to a speed of 61.94mph!
We officially created the Women’s Multi-Rider, Multi-Track World Record, as well as beat the World Records for the Women’s Multiple-Rider (originally 45.79 mph) and Women’s Single Rider, Multi-Track (originally 56.42mph).
Lastly, the Sprocket Rocket is the Fastest Quad Cycle in the World!!!
This was all accomplished by 5 women who have an average age of 60 and all of whom are grandmothers, which is truly inspiring!
Land Speed Record, LLC was co-founded by two long time friends, Ivan Gundersen and Charles "Chuck" Johnston after thinking there must be a way for multiple riders to break the Land Speed Record via human power (83.13 mph at the time held by a single rider and currently 89.59 mph). After years of discussions while riding the trails and streets of Southern California, Ivan and Chuck made it their goal to break the world record by designing, engineering, and building the world’s fastest human powered vehicle with more than two riders.
Our mission is to redefine the boundaries of speed and innovation in the world of high-speed cycling. With a passion for pushing limits and challenging the status quo, we created a revolutionary speed cycle that captures imaginations and breaks records. We are dedicated to revolutionizing the world of high-speed cycling through the groundbreaking design and meticulous engineering of the Sprocket Rocket.
The Sprocket Rocket is a five person human-powered speed cycle. It has four wheels with two tires each, an aluminum frame, poly carbonate skin, fiberglass nose and tail cones, and 3-D printed wheel pants. The tires are bicycle road racing tubeless tires. The cyclists are all behind one another in a recumbent position. Cyclist number one has steering, braking, camera monitor and radio, while cyclist number five has a rear camera monitor, braking and shifting. All of the cyclists have pedals, intercoms, and bicycle computers.
Teams from around the world gather at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge (WHPSC), sanctioned by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) on Highway 305—the fastest stretch of road in the world— to see who can break the world record of human-powered land speed.
In 2019, Team Sprocket Rocket competed at the WHPSC in Battle Mountain, Nevada in their first attempt at the World Record. This team consisted of five male cyclists, who cycled 56.7 mph, whereas 63 mph would have been a world record in their class.
In 2023, our team of 5 female cyclists competed for the world record in human-powered land speed at the WHPSC. They broke the Women’s World Record three times over with their best and highest at 61.94mph.
With improved aerodynamics and wheel fairings, we beat the 2019 Men’s Team who peddled the Sprocket Rocket up to 56.73 mph. We are the Second Fastest Multiple-Rider, Multi-Track vehicle, only one mile per hour away from the Overall Men’s Record set by Dave Grylls and Leigh Barczewski in 1980. We officially created the Women’s
Multi-Rider, Multi-Track World Record, as well as beat the World Records for the Women’s Multiple-Rider (originally 45.79 mph) and Women’s Single Rider, Multi-Track (originally 56.42mph).
With the same goal in mind, the five cyclists, two engineers, and support crew worked together positively, efficiently, and synergistically to make this all happen. We are immensely proud of our team!!
