Alex Roys "US Express" Record Smashed

[mrdelmonti]

For those of you that don't know Alex Roy set the fastest time across the US on the original cannonball run route in 2006, his time was 31 hours, 4 minutes beating the previous record of 32:07.

This took Alex Roy years of preparation and equipment to complete including a failed attempt, he pretty much took it to the point of obsession, he even required the use of a spotter plane at one point although that didn't go quite as smoothly as he'd hoped.

It was a phenomenal achievement for Alex but his record has not only been beaten but smashed.

A team are claiming they have managed to do it in 28 hours, 50 minutes!

Not only that but there wasn't even that much planning.

I don't know how you guys feel about it but I'm just staggered by it.

More info here http://jalopnik.com/meet-the-guy-who-drove-across-the-u-s-in-a-record-28-h-1454092837

 

[clivehorridge]

Very interesting read, enjoyed the comments after the article too!

Thanks for posting MrD

 

[mrdelmonti]

No problem, it's something that I get really excited about. It's like the ultimate illegal road rally and all done with a single kitten being killed.

 

[Lorin]

No problem, it's something that I get really excited about. It's like the ultimate illegal road rally and all done with a single kitten being killed.

They killed a kitten!!!!!!

 

[mrdelmonti]

Bugger, that'll be the autocorrect on my phone

 

[clivehorridge]

They killed a kitten!!!!!!

Damn! Thought I'd missed something in the blog there!

Don't understand why they couldn't fit gas-tight tanks?

 

[mrdelmonti]

Damn! Thought I'd missed something in the blog there!

Don't understand why they couldn't fit gas-tight tanks?

Every petrol tank has to allow a bit of breathing else you'd cause a vacuum in the tank as the petrol is pulled out.

 

[wobbly]

Putting the breathers to the outside would've been a good idea then.

Interesting article, glad there wasn't the usual hysteria in the comments.

 

[clivehorridge]

Putting the breathers to the outside would've been a good idea then.

Interesting article, glad there wasn't the usual hysteria in the comments.

That's what I was thinking.

And yes, none of the "!?@/;& ing mutha f....in" messages that often end up on blogs like this.

Enjoyed!

 

[goodoldboy]

ive read roys book , called "the driver" a good read & ive got to admire craft but as he readily admits the sort of driving is highly dangerous - two people were killed in the 2007 gumball

 

[clivehorridge]

ive read roys book , called "the driver" a good read & ive got to admire craft but as he readily admits the sort of driving is highly dangerous - two people were killed in the 2007 gumball

Can't be denied, but 3 people were killed when an idiot hit an ambulance the other day close by my place. Accidents happen and often some of the faster drivers are the safest.

The truly dangerous drivers are everywhere all the time IMO.

 

[yogi]

Fully agree Clive, its not speed that kills, its bad driving and bad roads coupled with excess speed. Speed is just a quantifiable thing and can therefore be used as an easy revenue generator both for governments and insurance companies.

Actually excessively slow driving causes accidents more so than speed as it is difficult to predict what those sort of 'lunatics' will do.

A little off topic, but its a very funny story
I have an Aunt that lives in Yorkshire, lovely lady, pedantic retired school teacher type
So one night herself and my Uncle are driving home from a meeting or such and she pulls over when the blue lights shine behind her. The police man asks her why she is doing 7 (yes that is a 7 not a typo) mph on a dual carriage way. "Its because of the <light> fog Constable" she says. Anyway she is still so incensed about the telling off she got in November that she is still giving out about it the following Easter.
And she didn't get a ticket or anything, crazy. Oh and she is also one of these clowns that won't turn on her lights until its full dark because it 'uses up the battery'.

 

[clivehorridge]

Great story yogi, God bless your Aunt!

The truth is IMO that there are idiots everywhere doing everything, fast idiots, slow idiots, careless idiots and careful idiots. It's the idiots that kill, not the speed in good hands.

In Eastern Europe I've noticed an almost total unawareness that overtaking on the inside is not such a good idea. This is exemplified in most of the car crash videos from Romania and Russia, but I'm sure they're not alone.

Time after time here, there's a crash or someone killed on a zebra, or someone knocked off their bike, just because of "undertaking" which is as illegal here as it is in the West.

Quite incredible. Anyway, sorry to stray from the post a bit...