I have ridden a penny farthing... actually, I have ridden a penny farthing more than once... Twice is was a small one, so I could put a fut on the road in case of wobble/having to stop quickly...
The third time it was a proper sized one... as in you had to have 34 ins inside leg length in order to reach the pedals! It was damn scary, I tell you! First, in order to get on, you run with the thing, with your hand on the handlebars high on top of that huge front wheel... then you sort of hop skip and jump via a small pedal thing sticking out, onto the saddle and quickly find the pedals that are turning around, to put your feet on them to gain control of the bike. Riding the thing through Chelsea, in London, down a narrow one way street with cars parked on both sides. Most scary was having to turn the cornerand hit King's Road
Defo a never again thing, I tell ya!
The guy who owns the penny farthing tends to hold onto lamposts and the like when stopped for traffic lights, as it is such a b*gger getting on and of...






and hit King's Road
Reply With Quote
and congrats on winning, I always wonder if these competitions actually get won by real people, so now I know! Think I MUST have one 