Bruce Bursford (29 April 1958 – 9 February 2000) was a British sportsman from

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

, Norfolk who broke the record for the

fastest speed on a bicycle Certified and recognized cycling records are those verified by the Union Cycliste Internationale, International Human Powered Vehicle Association and World Human Powered Vehicle Association, Guinness World Records, International Olympic Committee ...

on a treadmill at 334.6 km/h in 1995. He designed the bicycles Ultimate and Millennium.

History

Bruce Bursford was a schoolboy cycling champion and claimed nine speed records. The idea for a bicycle to be made using the advanced materials and techniques usually found in

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

and

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

came from Bursford himself. In 1995 he achieved 334.6 km/h breaking the record by 88 km/h on a rolling road in the Malcolm Campbell building at

Brooklands Museum Brooklands Museum is a motoring and aviation museum occupying part of the former Brooklands Motor Course in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Formally opened in 1991, the museum is operated by the independent Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd, a private l ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. To achieve the speed, conditions were simulated whereby Burford was "towed" until he reached . The towline was then "released", and he was left to pedal. Bursford's speed was attained during a half-minute interval with him reaching in two seconds at the start of the attempt. This feat was achieved on his specially-built bike called the Millennium Cycle. The record-breaking machine used silica tyres filled with helium and ceramic bearings designed to revolve with minimum friction.Photo of Bruce and his bicycle
/ref> Bursford's 'Ultimate' bike won him a Millennium Product Award.

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; ; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions. Geller use ...

helped him train his mind during record bids. Bursford died in a collision with a truck while training on the A47 at Easton near his home in Dereham, Norfolk.BBC news http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/638297.stm Record-breaking cyclist killed

References

English male cyclists British male cyclists 1958 births 2000 deaths Sportspeople from Dereham Road incident deaths in England 20th-century English sportsmen {{UK-cycling-bio-stub

History

See also

References