100-Year-Old Man Sets 100-Kilometer Cycling Record

Now this is a goal I think I will shoot for. 

Robert Marchand, 100, riding into the record books in Lyon on Friday. (Getty Images)

LYON, Sept 28, 2012 (AFP) — A French centenarian on Friday set a record for the fastest 100-year-old to cycle 100 kilometers (62 miles) and said he had outdone himself.

Robert Marchand, an amateur cyclist who claims to have clocked tens of thousands of kilometers in the saddle, finished the distance in 4 hours, 17 minutes and 27 seconds.

“I did a little better than I hoped,” he said. “However, the going was tough in the last few kilometers.”

Marchand, who has lived in Canada and Venezuela and whose professional life has included stints as a market gardener, shoe salesman, and wine dealer, said he only took to cycling when he bought his first bike in 1978.

His bid for the centenarian record was certified by the French national cycling federation.

In February, Marchand rode 24.25 kilometers (15.1 miles) in one hour, setting a one-hour speed record in the new over-100s category created by the International Cycling Union (UCI), cycling’s governing body.