One time I did win. On a major, roundabout trip from the West Coast to
the midwest and back I had tailwinds or essentially no winds on every
leg but one. The details are lost in the mists of time, but I
definitely recall being amazed about it when it occurred.

Another time I saw 175 knots groundspeed (in a 182) in perfectly
smooth air over Iowa/Illinois. We thought the DME was out of whack -
but it wasn't!

Yet another time I got an even faster ride flying from Northern CA to
Southern - but it was rather bumpy that day.

David Johnson