20220723 Cyclopark: Penny-Farthing.org ‘s admin is on the right

Site Admin’s Penny-Farthing Cycling Experience:

An obvious question for any visitor to this site is: “Why should I trust what you have to say about learning to ride Penny-Farthings?!?” I- Terrence Houlahan– have thousands of miles experience cycling a Penny-Farthing on extremely busy UK urban roads-including Central London & Cambridge- at night and in all weather conditions as well as racing them on some really tricky courses. Independent evidence of my cycling competence:

  • I’m a sponsored rider: I’m a Brand Ambassador Owayo, one of the most popular cycling jersey companies. Most club- and probably pro– cyclists will have had their custom jerseys produced by Owayo. They’re very circumspect about who they allow to represent their brand. Being fit & looking good in a a cycling jersey isn’t enough…
  • 8th Place, 2023 The Great Knutsford Race: Many consider this the toughest of all Penny-Farthing races: a gruelling 3 hour bag of hurt held once every 10 YEARS. I covered 37 miles (67 laps) in 3 hrs; 12.33/MPH. The course is tight & technically challenging. This Knutsford there were 111 racers who battled through blistering heat the 1st half & rain the 2nd half which made the course even more dangerous. I placed above all team riders- who divide the 3 hrs between the cyclists– except for the winners “Essex Ordinary Riders“. A top-10 finish at Knutsford isn’t shabby; lots of great cyclists at Knutsford. And in order to do well you have to take that back hill at-speed- and the sharp turn at the end of it– every lap for THREE HOURS. In my case that was 67 times.
  • 3rd Place, 2022 British Open Penny-Farthing Championships Race (Cyclopark, Kent). Racing involves sharing a track with other Penny-Farthings cyclists pedalling furiously and passing each other. A collision at these speeds- between 15-20 MPH- on a 5 foot high PF could result in serious injury or death. So racing Penny-Farthings at very high speeds on a track with other cyclists requires a certain minimum baseline of competence.
  • 3rd Place, 2022 British Open Penny-Farthing Championships Slalom (Cyclopark, Kent). This involves navigating obstacles- cones- at high speed. I’d say this fairly evidences technical skill navigating hazards at high speeds. Strike a cone and you’re going over the handle bars. Here’s a video of the Slalom Trial Run which present a splitscreen view of track-side video with helmet camera video navigating the obstacles.
  • 3rd Place, 2022 Penny-Farthing Hill Climb World Championships. This involves cycling a Penny Farthing up a continuously sloping (3) mile route starting on the Eastbourne Seafront to the top of Beachy Head. One part of the course has a 12% gradient- and it appears at the 2/3 point. Cyclists with standard GEARED bicycles can be seen walking them up Upper Dukes Drive. One cannot be an average cyclist and complete this epic race.
  • 3rd Place, 2022 Pickwick Penny-Farthing Race (Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, W. London). This race is 12 laps on twisty track with a long, fast straight competing with a crowded field of about 20 Penny-Farthing cyclists. It’s a fast race- the top 3 places exceed 18 MPH- where competitors have to communicate numerous lane changes to their fellow racers. Participation is by invitation and limited to experienced Penny-Farthing cyclists.

My first Penny-Farthing was a “QU-AX” with a 36″ pressurized tire. Although smaller than a proper Penny-Farthing, the mechanics of mounting, dismounting and cycling it were (roughly) the same as a full-size Penny-Farthing. So I learned the fundamentals  on a smaller 36″ PF before graduating to a full-sized 50″ UDC PF model that I train & race with now. If you watch 2023 The Great Knutsford Race video in the link above, you’ll see a little Penny-Farthing; this is a 36″ QU-AX.

And I’ve also been mowed-down by an SUV that didn’t see me despite wearing a Pro-Viz jacket with flashing rear and front lights and even a flashing light on my helmet.  Hence the big emphasis on road cycling safety here and my desure to pass-on my accumulated experience. I’ve earned my bones road cycling & racing Penny-Farthings…

Site Admin’s Social Media Handles & Links:

If you want to subscribe to my Rumble Channel where I post Penny-Farthing Racing & Safety videos or follow my Penny-Farthing cycles & cycling rants on social media:

Kamoot: “PennyFarthingGB“
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