Usually you see how long you can ride before the wheel hits the ground. Other than that, wheelies aren’t too exciting.However, an Oshkosh teenager has changed the thought on that, at least when he’s popping a wheelie. Jake Drummond, a sophomore-to-be at Oshkosh West, has taken wheelies to a level likely few have ever imagined.
On Monday at West’s track, Drummond entered the Guinness Book of World Records, when he broke the record for fastest wheelie ever ridden on a bicycle over 100 meters. The record to beat was 16.68 seconds and Drummond had no problem beating that as he broke the record three times.
After a failed first attempt, in which Drummond couldn’t keep the wheelie going, he broke the record with a time of 16.01. He later followed with times of 15.69 and 15.21.
Afterward, he wasn’t jumping around and yelling, “I’m going to Disney World!” He knew this was a done deal.
“The wind is the biggest factor,” Drummond said. “I could’ve gotten in the 14s, for sure.”
There was a cross wind which affected his balance, but in the end it didn’t matter.
The record-setting day was about a year in the making. Drummond said he came up with the idea in school.
“We were doing a school project and we were doing a news report,” Drummond said. “We looked through the Guinness book and some guy in Barbados did it and I thought I would try it for fun. I beat it by a lot.”
Drummond has been on a bike without training wheels since he was three, and according to his parents, he rides all the time. In addition to riding wheelies, Drummond has jumps in his backyard, ramps, berms, you name it.“He has loved bicycles his whole life,” said Cathy Drummond, Jake’s mother. “It just made sense. When we happened to come across this fact he could ride this fast, it was easy.
“We’ll see what happens. We have to go through all the protocol, the witnesses … they have to accept it.”
Which shouldn’t be an issue since the Drummonds took all the necessary steps.
Prior to attempting the record ride, the Drummonds had to contact the Guinness Book of World Records to make sure everything they did was official.
They needed to have electronic timing, video of the event and video had to be taken of Drummond’s bike to prove there weren’t any alterations made to the bike. It must be standard.
Also, Drummond could attempt to break the record as many times as he wanted.