Wisconsin Native Pushing To Break Land Speed Records

NORTH HUDSON, WI -- Ashley Woodford was an absolute blur racing down the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Crouched aboard her black-and-yellow Buell Sisters bike, Woodford's eyes peered a fraction of an inch above her windshield as she glided along the salt flats. Out there, it was just her, the wind and the expanse: no lines to guide her, and only distant reference points to mark her progress.

"When you are going down the salt it's like nothing you have done before," she told Patch. "It's just you and the bike. You hear every shift, every sound your bike is making, and tucking as much as you can for aerodynamics all at the same time."

Woodford, 32, grew up in North Hudson and graduated from North Hudson High in 2005. She picked up racing a little later in life after watching her husband Drew compete.

She wanted to race.

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Help Ashley reach her funding goal for the 2019 Landspeed Record time trials.

She started out with her first high-speed bike - a 95 Buell S2 Thunderbolt. "I haven't stopped since," she said.

The 2017 racing season was her first, and she worked her way up to a top speed of 137.192 miles per hour in the Production Pushrod 1350 class. "Judging by my reaction, it’s easy to say that I am hooked," she said.

There are different bike classes in the American Motorcyclist Association and Southern California Timing Association, and a number of records to assail on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Woodford qualified to make a run at her first-ever speed record in 2018: a 126 mile-per-hour sprint in the Production Production-Gas (P-PG) class. Tragedy struck when a an engine part broke during her run. The engine on her bike blew up on the track right before the timed mile.

"On a run your wanting smooth shifts, remembering to breathe, getting in the correct position, and pushing your bike just to the breaking point but not to much that you blow up your engine," she told Patch. "It's the most nerve wracking but amazing feeling all at the same time. It's one of the hardest things I have done in my life when it comes to pushing myself mentally, physically, and emotionally."

She's back at it in 2019, and this year has an opportunity to go after three different records. "Our team which consists of my husband Drew and a few amazing friends have been working so hard to help this goal happen," she said.

Woodford's goal is to break two records in 2019: 150 miles per hour in the Production Production-Pushrod (P-PP) class and 126 miles per hour in the Production Production-Gas (P-PG) class.

Breaking the 126 mile-per-hour record would be a sweet reward after last year's setback. "That's all part of racing," she said. "This year I am pushing myself, my team, and my bike to go after these records with AMA and SCTA."