British Columbia

B.C. longboarder breaks world speed record

A Vernon, B.C., man, dubbed "the human race car," has set a new Guiness World Record after hitting a speed of nearly 130 km/h on his longboard.
Mischo Erbane, of Vernon, B.C., broke a Guinness World Record going 129.94 km/h on his longboard on June 18, 2012. (Mischo.com)

A Vernon man has set a Guiness World Record for going nearly 130 km/h on his longboard.

Mischo Erban, 28, has been dubbed "the human race car" after speeding 129.94 km/h on his skateboard down a paved road near Les Eboulements, Que.

Erban says he first dreamed of trying to beat skateboard speed records in 2010. He did his first speed test with the International Gravity Sports Association that fall, and grew determined to break the Guiness record, set in 2007.

Urban accomplished that on June 18, beating a record set by Douglas da Silva, of Brazil, by just under 17km/h.

Still, Erban believes faster speeds are within his reach.

"I wish I could have tilted the road," said Erban.

"I'm pretty sure I could go faster, but as to how much, I'm not sure. Perfect conditions [on that road] could probably lend me another five, perhaps at most, 10km/h."

Erban says his goal is to hit 200 km/h, but says he'll need a bigger, steeper road than the one on which he set his world record.

Les Eboulements, which translates from French as "the landslide," has an 18-per-cent grade.

"Realistically, somebody needs to build me a hill to go much faster than that, and I definitely want to push the limits and go twice as fast."

Erban hopes he can find a sponsor to build the ultimate stretch of steep grade highway. In the meantime he's exploring wind tunnel testing and touring North America as he competes in the world cup of downhill skateboarding.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Sharkey

Journalist

Jackie Sharkey is the daytime radio news anchor for CBC News in her home province of P.E.I. She spent 10 years working as a producer, guest host and studio technician in Kitchener, Ont. and helped launch the station when it was created in 2013. She has also worked for CBC in Kelowna, B.C., Quebec City and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.

With files from the CBC's Brady Strachan