I have been reliably told that the magic potion mentioned for the 6-dayers was a combination of caffeine, coca cola syrup, cocaine and vaseline inserted with a rubber glove. Eeewwww. Made you numb and hyper at the same time.
Steve Leitgen La Crosse, WI
On Jan 6, 2006, at 5:51 PM, Mark Poore wrote:
>
> Chuck is right on here. Consider that in 1914 a Six Day record was set
> at 2,759 miles that stood at least until Peter Nye wrote the book
> "Hearts Of Lions" in 1988. Not sure if the record still stands. Road
> racing is a bit different and many other factors come into play, but
> the gains have been small but have allowed for the fastest rides and
> Tours ever, but by how much ummmmmmmmm!? Not sure. Now drugs have
> always played a part in the cycling world. Would you believe cocaine
> was the secret ingredient in the salve for the riders of the Sixes.
> Numb it and ya can pedal faster and longer.
>
> Mark Poore just sticks it in the snow for 5 minutes and can't feel a
> thing in
> Slatyfork, WV
>
>
> Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Bianca Pratorius wrote:
>>
>> (cut) My instinct is that all this modern technology is faster
>> on some measurable level, but when push comes to shove, short of an
>> aero helmet, a skin suit, tri-bars, and disk wheels the pay off is
>> tiny
>> for mild aero section wheels, sleek brake levers. aero brake levers
>> and
>> blade like seat posts. Also, those clunky aero wheels end up looking
>> slower visually.
>
>
> The bicycle had reached its idealized form in the 1890s so any
> improvements over the last 100+ years have been thousands of very small
> improvements. Check the times for the hour record over the same period
> and you'll see what I mean. But these seemingly insignificant
> improvements _always_ add up and there is no point in giving away an
> advantage when the amount of power you are dealing with for propulsion
> is so absurdly low.
>
> But all this drifts towards subjects that are off topic in the end...
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> South Pasadena, Southern California
>
> .
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