In 1951, Gustaf Håkansson entered an endurance race traversing the entirety of Sweden, but his entry was rejected because of his age. Compared to the 50 other racers half his age, the 66-year-old was told he didn’t have the strength or stamina to compete. Nevertheless, after riding 600 miles to the start line, Gustaf was there on race day, riding his roadster with mudguards, a headlamp (which helped him win), and panniers.

He wore a homemade bib with the number 0, probably to convey to the officials that he wasn’t joking and expected to be treated like a competitor.

At the end of the race, a figure rounding the last corner was spotted by spectators five days, five hours, and 1,000 miles later. As they cheered, they went to greet him and give him food and water — expecting him to be so exhausted after biking so far for so long. However, the receiving crowd was a little perplexed to see a frail old man wobble over the finish line on a rusty old roadster with a flat tire and not a 20 or 30-something fit man. Not only that, but he arrived a full day ahead of the second-place rider.

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In reality, Håkansson cheated. Well, technically, since he wasn’t an official competitor, he didn’t cheat. But he neglected one rule the others were required to follow.

Gustav hadn’t slept. Race regulations required competitors to stop at a designated checkpoint at the end of the day to recharge for the next day. Gustaf rested for an hour before setting off again in the middle of the night. His time allowed him to catch up for the 10 miles he was behind, putting a 20-mile advantage between him and the rest of the pack after 300 miles.

Gustaf’s glorious win quickly became public. People were more interested in whether Gustaf would keel over and die at any time than in the race itself. Surely his little old heart couldn’t take that much strain for much longer. With virtually no sleep, how would he maintain a good pace?

After three days and only five hours of sleep, Gustaf led the field by more than 120 miles. He laughed when the police attempted to persuade him to stop for a medical examination and pedaled on regardless.

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“Steel grandpa” (as he became known) eventually came to a halt with only 800 yards to go. After all that, the older man’s bicycle suffered its first and only flat tire.

The unperturbed Gustaf dismounted and headed towards the finish line where, with just a few yards to go, he remounted and crossed the line at 2:15 pm.

Despite the unofficial victory, an audience with the king of Sweden, fame, and honor, Gustaf’s greatest victory was proving the doctors who had thought he was better suited in a rocking chair than in a saddle very, very wrong. Instead, steel Grandpa rode bicycles until his death in 1987 at 102. If that isn’t a testament to the health benefits of riding a bike, we don’t know what is.

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