Edmonton woman sets new motorcycle speed records

"I'm almost there. Just hang on." 

This is what Liane Langlois, 50, said she repeated to herself as she rapidly accelerated on her motorcycle to speeds faster than 200 kilometres per hour on a salt flat.

Langlois was pushing for a new speed record at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Aug. 26. But she said conditions on the salt flat were extra rough that day, and it was the first time since she started riding motorcycles that she felt nervous. 

"We had weather problems all week," Langlois recalled. "[The salt flat] was all chewed up. It was wet, it was slippery and it didn't feel good."

However, despite the challenging conditions, Langlois was able to establish a new motorcycle land speed world record of just over 136 miles per hour, or about 219 km/h, over a timed mile (about 1.6 kilometres). She also broke the record for speed over a timed kilometre in the same run as well. 

The record set in the 2500cc sidecar class was certified by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), which is a global governing body for motorcycle sports. 

Langlois, who is also the president and founder of the Alberta Motorcycle Safety Society, said members of the FIM confirmed to her that she is the first Canadian woman to set an official FIM-accredited motorcycle speed record.

"I got the call to run this crazy huge motorcycle with a sidecar and I'm the smallest girl on the loudest bike and making records. It's pretty cool," Langlois said.

The motorcycle she was riding for the feat was a 2295cc Triumph Rocket 111 Roadster with a weighted sidecar. Jeremy Ragle, the owner of the race team Langlois competes with, said its engine is larger than the engines of most small cars.

"[It's] pushing