Funny Worl Records - cycling backwards & playing violin

In German
Amazing World Record

Amazing World Record

The rather unusual idea of cycling backwards came to violinmaker Christian Adam (neé Patzig) at the age of 16 during his spare time in a youth orchestra. This strange and funny record took place over a distance of 54 km in Dithmarschen along the coastline of the North Sea, under the watch of interested sheep and Mr Ehlers, the deputy mayor of Farnewinkel. As a notary, he was able to certify the Guinness World Record ride in 1981.

On a side note: During the ride, his tailcoat suffered greatly as the front wheel flicked up sheep droppings from the road. His inability to see the direction he was travelling in unfortunately meant that he was unable to avoid the droppings.

As part of the Swiss television programme “Supertreffer” with Kurt Felix, this record was later broken in 1987 on the (fortunately closed) motorway in the St. Gallen Rosenberg Tunnel, covering a distance of 60.45 km in 5 hours and 08 minutes. Thanks to the excellent acoustics inside the tunnel, he played works by Bach, Beethoven and the piece "Ja, wir san mit'm Radel da" (English: Yes, we’re coming by bike) at the same time.

Amazing world record in northern Germany - between the sea and sheep

THE FIRST WORLD RECORD RIDE WITH NO VIOLIN BUT AN UNPLEASANT ENDING

The letter

The letter

On 7 October 1979, Christian Adam set a Guinness World Record for cycling backwards, albeit without a violin, under the supervision of local mayor Sprengel. The whole thing took a good 6 hours and ended after 113.3 kilometers with an unpleasant incident. A weekend vacationer was riding along the same, non-blocked off route with his wife and turned out to be a chief inspector in the neighbouring police force, who was unaware of the record attempt. He cautioned the road hogger and sent a letter containing a fine (40 DM) to his parents.

The bike

The bike was a normal road bike with racing handlebars and a rear brake. The only modification to the bike was the replacement of the seat with a music stand.

About the rider

Christian Adam learned to play the violin at the age of 6. This instrument has accompanied him throughout his life journey, not only as first violinist with the Schleswig-Holstein Youth Symphony Orchestra, but also during his later musical studies in Hamburg and many concert trips.

His enthusiasm for craft work led him to a career as a violin maker. Since 2003, Christian Adam has been running his workshop in Ahrensburg, near Hamburg.

More information is available here

  • LEARNED TO PLAY VIOLIN AGED 6

  • WORLD RECORD FOR CYCLING BACKWARDS 113.3 KM

  • WORLD RECORD FOR CYCLING BACKWARDS 60.45 KM

  • MUSIC STUDIES - VIOLIN 1981-88

  • VIOLINMAKER - INDEPENDENT IN AHRENSBURG SINCE 2003

    www.geigenbau.com

You'd never have guessed it!

You'd never have guessed it!

This short clip from a quiz show with Johannes B. Kerner from 2018 proves that the feat still works well years later without any training.