2022 Queen’s Lying-in-State

20220916-17 Terrence Houlahan cycles to London on his 50″ UDC Penny-Farthing to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth at The Queen’s Lying-in-State (“LISQ”). Pictures from the media reporting on the event can be found HERE

2024 London-to-Brighton VCR

I rode my 54″ 1885 Singer “Challenge” Penny-Farthing on this impromptu cycle and captured video of the ride from the start at Hyde Park in London to the finish at the Brighton seafront. Has some interesting video of a gear malfunction of an antique Penny-Farthing, cycling down a 4-lane motorway on a Penny-Farthing, and of course me getting shouted at by the event steward at the finishline. The blog with pics for the 2024 VCR can be found HERE:

Short trailer VCR video:

Full length VCR video:

2025 Ride for Helen – 65 Mile cycle

During the winter months you need something to train for, and doing a 65 miler will get you in shape for the races in the summer time- assuming you don’t get injured as I did this year. I suffered a calf-strain about the halfway mark in Finchingfield cycling up Church Hill which would be tough even on a fresh pair of legs. The first 30 miles are (mostly) flat, but the back half of the ride has endless hills. You definitely need to train for this one. Also, the last probably 4 years I’ve don it, the weather has been boiling hot, but the water stops few. in 2025, there was just TWO: one at barely the 1-hour mark, and the final one at the 55 mile marker. Had I not bought some “Back Bottles” – water bottles that fit in your cycle jersey’s back pockets- I’d have been screwed. I thought the calf strain was just cramps from dehydration & potassium depletion so continued cycling when I should have stopped to avoid aggrevating the injury. My summer was spent on the bench waiting for the claf strain to heal.