Record moves

By Melissa Meehan
GEMBROOK’S Jeff Nielsen is on top of the world.
Not only is he the world’s fastest man in a human powered vehicle but he has raised more than $3000 for the Heart Foundation.
Over the Easter weekend, Jeff rode his human powered vehicle for 24 hours in a world record attempt at the Edithvale Velodrome.
He beat the record, with an hour to spare. “I rode 1109 kilometres in 24 hours,” he said.
“It was fantastic, the first 12 hours went much better than I planned – I was able to sit at 50 kilometres per hour.”
He said while the ride was mostly comfortable, burning heat rash became “really irritating”.
“I rode twelve-and-a-half hours straight, stopped and had a shower and put on a long sleeved jersey.”
The decision of the 27-year-old to raise money for the Heart Foundation comes from personal loss.
Jeff lost his mum to heart disease when he was just 16 years old.
“It’s something I can only really describe as unfair,” he said.
“I say unfair because up until the night she passed away, I never thought there was anything wrong with my mother.
“In fact, due to my father suffering from cancer, she had been talking to me about the possibility of him passing away – not the other way round.”
While riding around in circles for 24 hours may not be for everyone, Jeff said he got involved while he attended Wonthaggi High School.
“I started racing with school,” he said.
“And it just went on from there; I have been planning this for some time.”
What’s next for the Gembrook rider?
“My wife is 27 weeks pregnant, fatherhood and things that brings – I think the record breaking is on hold for now,” he said.
Jeff is still waiting on the Guinness Book of Records to confirm he is the fastest man.