> Motorcyclist clocked at 205 mph on Hwy. 61 , Associated Press
>
> WABASHA, Minn. -- With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a Stillwater  
> motorcyclist hit the throttle and possibly set the informal record for  
> the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history: 205 mph.
>
> On Saturday afternoon, State Patrol pilot Al Loney was flying near  
> Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the Wisconsin border, watching  
> two motorcyclists racing along U.S. Highway 61.
>
> When one of the riders shot forward, Loney was ready with his  
> stopwatch. He clicked it once when the motorcycle reached a white  
> marker on the road and again a quarter-mile later. The watch read 4.39  
> seconds, which Loney calculated to be 205 mph.
>
> ``I was in total disbelief,'' Loney told the St. Paul Pioneer Press  
> for today's editions. ``I had to double-check my watch because in
> 27 years I'd
> never seen anything move that fast.''
>
> Several law enforcement sources told the newspaper that, although no  
> official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever  
> written in the state.
>
> After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to about 100  
> mph and let the other cycle catch up. By then Loney had radioed ahead  
> to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward.
>
> The State Patrol officer arrested the faster rider, 20-year-old  
> Stillwater resident Samuel Armstrong Tilley, for reckless driving,  
> driving without a motorcycle license - and driving 140 miles per hour  
> over the posted speed limit of 65 mph.
>
> A search of speeding tickets written by state troopers, who patrol  
> most of the state's highways, between 1990 and February 2004 shows the  
> next fastest ticket was for 150 mph in 1994 in Lake of the Woods  
> County.
>
> Tilley did not return calls from the newspaper to his home Monday. A  
> working number for him could not immediately be found by The  
> Associated Press today.
>
> Only a handful of exotic sports cars can reach 200 mph, but many  
> high-performance motorcycles can top 175 mph. With minor  
> modifications, they can hit 200 mph. Tilley was riding a Honda 1000,  
> Loney said.
>
> Kathy Swanson of the state Office of Traffic Safety said unless Tilley  
> was wearing the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers  
> wear, he was courting death at 200 mph.
>
> ``I'm not entirely sure what would happen if you crashed at 200 miles  
> per hour,'' Swanson said. ``But it wouldn't be pretty, that's for  
> sure.''
>
> ---
>
> Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http:// www.twincities.com
 

> Motorcyclist clocked at 205 mph on Hwy. 61 , Associated Press
>
> WABASHA, Minn. -- With a State Patrol airplane overhead, a Stillwater  
> motorcyclist hit the throttle and possibly set the informal record for  
> the fastest speeding ticket in Minnesota history: 205 mph.
>
> On Saturday afternoon, State Patrol pilot Al Loney was flying near  
> Wabasha, in southeastern Minnesota on the Wisconsin border, watching  
> two motorcyclists racing along U.S. Highway 61.
>
> When one of the riders shot forward, Loney was ready with his  
> stopwatch. He clicked it once when the motorcycle reached a white  
> marker on the road and again a quarter-mile later. The watch read 4.39  
> seconds, which Loney calculated to be 205 mph.
>
> ``I was in total disbelief,'' Loney told the St. Paul Pioneer Press  
> for today's editions. ``I had to double-check my watch because in
> 27 years I'd
> never seen anything move that fast.''
>
> Several law enforcement sources told the newspaper that, although no  
> official records are kept, it was probably the fastest ticket ever  
> written in the state.
>
> After about three-quarters of a mile, the biker slowed to about 100  
> mph and let the other cycle catch up. By then Loney had radioed ahead  
> to another state trooper, who pulled the two over soon afterward.
>
> The State Patrol officer arrested the faster rider, 20-year-old  
> Stillwater resident Samuel Armstrong Tilley, for reckless driving,  
> driving without a motorcycle license - and driving 140 miles per hour  
> over the posted speed limit of 65 mph.
>
> A search of speeding tickets written by state troopers, who patrol  
> most of the state's highways, between 1990 and February 2004 shows the  
> next fastest ticket was for 150 mph in 1994 in Lake of the Woods  
> County.
>
> Tilley did not return calls from the newspaper to his home Monday. A  
> working number for him could not immediately be found by The  
> Associated Press today.
>
> Only a handful of exotic sports cars can reach 200 mph, but many  
> high-performance motorcycles can top 175 mph. With minor  
> modifications, they can hit 200 mph. Tilley was riding a Honda 1000,  
> Loney said.
>
> Kathy Swanson of the state Office of Traffic Safety said unless Tilley  
> was wearing the kind of protective gear professional motorcycle racers  
> wear, he was courting death at 200 mph.
>
> ``I'm not entirely sure what would happen if you crashed at 200 miles  
> per hour,'' Swanson said. ``But it wouldn't be pretty, that's for  
> sure.''
>
> ---
>
> Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http:// www.twincities.com