At this point eccentric (were talking about a man who once gambled over 60,000 on the turn of a single card in 1922) engineer Ernest Eldridge arrived on the scene. Denise Mueller-Korenek shattered a world record that had stood since 1995, riding her custom pedal-bike across the salt flats at an average speed of 183.932 miles per hour. [4], Until 1903, trains held the land speed record for fastest vehicles in which people could travel.[5]. 3, 1980,