Edmonton Rider Sets New World Record at Bonneville Salt Flats

Edmonton has just become a lot faster, all thanks to Liane Langlois. The 50-year-old rider returned from Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats with a fresh world record in hand. And let's be honest, this achievement deserves more than just a polite round of applause. She is now the first Canadian woman, and only the fourth Canadian overall, to secure an official Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme motorcycle land speed record. Her top speed reached 136.331 mph, or 219.403 km/h in metric units.

If you've never heard of Bonneville, imagine a blinding white desert, flat as glass, stretching endlessly under the Utah sun. It may seem like a mirage until you stand on it, squinting through the heat. For over a century, this salty expanse has been where dreamers and daredevils gather to push beyond limits. Legends like Burt Munro made history here in the 60s, inspiring the film "The World's Fastest Indian." This is where records are broken, where legends are born, and where every run feels like a part of something greater.

That's the world Liane entered.

And it wasn't a spontaneous joyride. For the past eleven years, she has been making the trek to Bonneville every August, slowly carving her own path on the salt. Last year, she set two national U.S. records. This year, she aimed higher. With a custom-built bike from JKR Powersports in North Dakota, she finally had the machine to match her determination. She lined up, twisted the throttle, and rode straight into history.

What makes her story even more remarkable is that she doesn't live in the high-speed world full-time. In Edmonton, she works as a senior advisor at Chrysalis, an organization supporting individuals with disabilities. She jokes about her workplace giving her time off to "do crazy things like set world records," but it's clear that she finds fulfillment in both aspects of her life. Chasing history one week, giving back to her community the next—that's grounding.

Her achievement isn't just personal. It connects her to a lineage of women who have tackled Bonneville with grit and determination. Women like Jessi Combs, the fastest woman on four wheels, who tragically lost her life pursuing another record. Denise Mueller-Korenek, who rode a bicycle past 180 mph on the same salt stretch. Bonneville has always attracted the bold, but women like these demonstrate that speed isn't limited to a specific type of rider.

So yes, Liane's record is significant. It's not just about the numbers on a timing slip—although 136 mph is impressive. It's about a Canadian rider entering one of the most iconic venues in motorsport and making her mark. It proves that dreams from Edmonton can reach just as far as those from California, New Zealand, or anywhere else. Bonneville is about pushing boundaries, and this year, Liane showed the world that Canadians are right in the mix.

In her own words, it was the coolest thing she's ever done. For the rest of us, it serves as a reminder: records are meant to be broken, history is meant to be made, and the salt will always be there, waiting for the next brave soul willing to go a little faster.