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The 2022 British Open Penny-Farthing Championships were held at the Cyclopark track in Gravesend and we gratefully acknowledge Matt Trott of Trott & Sons who manufacturer beautiful & robust Penny-Farthings for organizing the event.
The Slalom
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The first race was the Slalom, a test of navigating obstacles- cones in this case- at speed. We first had a timed downhill practice run, after which the competition was held. The Slalom course was a loop with an uphill start with a sharp turn at the top and a downhill finish. Slalom can be dangerous as if you nail one of the cones or turn too sharply you’re going over the handlebars.
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Brian representing the Met Police handily won the event. Yours truly was the second loser managing to secure a third place finish. Big thanks to Ed Knight who helped Matt officiate throughout the day. To give you an idea of what it’s like doing slalom on a Penny-Farthing, please watch the below video.
The track race was 30 minutes +3 laps on a fast track in blazing heat. The race was even International with (2) Americans in the field. Barak- a former US Army guy like myself- was representing the Wheelmen. Racing a Penny-Farthing all-out for over a half hour is hard enough, but the head was oppressive; it was punishing. Also, (10) riders screaming around a short track have to take extreme care in both passing & maintaining lane discipline; crashing at between 15-20 MPH on a 5′ high PF is not good . But the riders were all very experienced & safe and there were no collisions of injuries. I’ve got some video clips of the race, but haven’t had time to stitch it all together into an edited video yet. I do however have pictures which are offered below.
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It was a great day and again, many thanks to Matt Trott without whose efforts the day never would have happened. And thanks to my lovely wifey for taking all the pictures!
-Terrence Houlahan
Amat Victoria Magnus Rota