Riders, intrigued onlookers and a host of media were drawn to Palmer Park Velodrome in Reading, England, last week to witness four Guinness World Records being broken by riders of the Penny Farthing Club.
Club riders made eight record attempts in total, and despite the high-wheeled bikes’ ‘Old Ordinary’ designation, there was nothing ordinary about any of the record attempts, which included 100 kilometres no-handed and setting a new 24-hour benchmark.
In the event neither of those was successful, but four others were. The most visually intriguing was surely the tandem penny farthing hour record. Tim Maltin and Rufus Flann propelled their three-wheeled machine to a new mark of 21.97km (13.6 miles). Meanwhile, Guy Banham set a new 100m penny farthing speed record of 42.15kph (26.2mph), while Rolf Woodward rode his machine to a new 100km record of 4hr 55min 54sec.
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However, the new ‘longest ride without dismounting’ record set by Richard Thoday dwarfed even Woodward’s 100km attempt in the endurance stakes: Thoday, the holder of the penny farthing Land’s End to John o’ Groats record, completed a record unbroken ride of 382.3km.
“Richard Thoday was our main star, and he was attempting a 24-hour furthest distance, which is a shockingly long distance that I don’t even like to think about,” explains Penny Farthing Club founder Neil Laughton. “He did an extraordinary job. He was also after a historic record of staying on the bike for the furthest distance without dismounting. He broke that at 382 kilometres, it took him 17 hours on the bike which is extraordinary. He had a break at that point, and then his body wouldn’t allow him to get back on the bike, so he couldn’t complete the 24 hours.”
(Image credit: Rory Hitchens)
It was the third such day held by the club, Laughton explained, and its members kicked proceedings off by taking part in a demonstration ride-out through Reading town centre, to pique the interest of locals. It seemed to work, he said.
He talked about some of the unique challenges of penny farthing riding, which he said was exacerbated by the windy and hot conditions on the day.
“The main thing is obviously penny farthings are designed from the 19th century, so it’s pretty rudimentary. Generally speaking, you’re seven or eight foot up in the air, riding a kind of generally a rather upright riding style. You have a solid rubber tyre, you have no suspension, you have no brakes, no gears. It’s one gear, and you know, it’s really quite painful sitting on the saddle, let alone riding around in the conditions.”
“It was well supported,” Laughton said of the event. “During the course of the two days, we had a good few hundred people turn up.” Mainstream TV news was also in attendance, he said: “It was very much a success from that perspective, given that we’re a minority genre of the cycling world. And we were supporting a charity called Keep Me Breathing, and I think they were very happy as well.”
The new Guinness records are currently being ratified, and the club will probably hold another records day in due course. In the meantime, Thoday intends to climb into the saddle for another go at the 24 hour record and Laughton will re-attempt the 100km no-handed. This time around, he explained, he managed 22km, and in the hot and windy conditions, that was more than enough.
“I started blacking out from the pain and dehydration, so I had to stop,” Laughton said, which seems like a more than sufficient excuse to us. “I will have another go in due course, but probably in cooler conditions.”
As Laughton emphasises, the Penny Farthing Club is very much that – a club. So you’re welcome to join and learn how to ride one of its 24 replica machines. Find out more at pennyfarthingclub.com
