Not many extreme performance records are held by women, but as of Sept 16, 2018, the unofficial title of world’s fastest cyclist belongs to a woman – 45 year old mom of three, Denise Mueller-Koronek. She went for a bike ride in Utah, and topped out around the take-off speed of a Boeing 747 – setting the Paced Bicycle Land Speed Record at 183.9 mph.

It was no ordinary ride, as you might imagine, and Mueller-Koronek joined a very exclusive club with this feat. Since “Mile-a-Minute Murphy” set the bar at 60 mph in 1899, riding behind a locomotive, only 11 people have set new marks for the record. That hints at the difficulties involved: not only the physical effort required, but the organization and infrastructure needed to prepare and stage an attempt.