Circumnavigation on a Penny Farthing

Posted by Miss Cellania in Travel & Places on November 11, 2008 at 11:18 am


After two and a half years, Joff Summerfield has completed his quest to ride around the world on a penny farthing {wiki}. He built the bicycle himself.

Mr Summerfield, 40, visited 23 countries in four continents after setting off from 0 degrees longitude at the Greenwich Observatory.

He averaged 11mph and covered up to 40 miles a day as he cycled across Europe into Turkey before riding through Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia, he raced in the Penny Farthing World Championships and came second in one of the ‘novice’ categories.

From China – where he cycled without the correct permits – he managed to sneak across the border into Tibet despite his bike’s giant front wheel that is 1.2 metres in diameter.

He then took in India and Nepal, where he crossed the Himalayas at 17,000ft (5,200m) and made it to Everest base camp.

Mr Summerfield, who was forced to abort two previous attempts through injury, next rode through south-east Asia, the USA and Canada before heading for home.

Believe it or not, he is not the first to ride around the world on a penny farthing! Thomas Stevens did it in 1887. Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: Tim Stewart/TSW)


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COMMENT

17 comments to "Circumnavigation on a Penny Farthing"

  1. noahstrickland
    November 11th, 2008 at 11:44 am

    He then took in India and Nepal, where he crossed the Himalayas at 17,000ft (5,200m) and made it to Everest base camp.

    wonder how that thing handled in the snow......

  2. renderanything
    November 11th, 2008 at 12:11 pm

    I wonder how many giant solid rubber tires he wore out during his journey. Incredible.

  3. Sannhp
    November 11th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    Maybe he had All-terrain penny farthing tires.

  4. SenorMysterioso
    November 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    my legs hurt just reading this

  5. MENLOHEAVYWEIGHT
    November 11th, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Legs, how about but those bikes have no supension, you are looking at the most sterile man on the planet.

  6. silentwatcher24
    November 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    His butt still must to be sore. I don't think he'll ever be able sit, much less ride a bike ever again.

  7. avraamov
    November 11th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    near me is britain's oldest velodrome, where they race penny farthings once a year (including minature kids' ones.) they're surprisingly fast and efficient - there's no drive transmission to soak up energy. his one looks like it might even be carbon...i see the future and it's wearing a top hat.

  8. Rocky Rook
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

    I hope he took some Anti Monkey Butt Powder with him.

  9. Ali S.
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Ouch. Those things do not have any suspension capability so I can't imagine how it must feel.

  10. stormie24
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    at first I read that he rode a penny around the world and my interest was piqued but a penny farthing is just as impressive.

  11. Alli
    November 11th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Funny, saw a guy riding one of these Halloween eve in Croton on Hudson. Except he wasn't in costume (he was wearing shorts and a long sleeve shirt); looked as if this was his usual form of transportation.

  12. renderanything
    November 11th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

    They don't have any suspension, but the diameter of the wheel itself lend to its shock absorbing abilities, especially with those long wire spokes.
    It looks like he also adapted modern cantilevered brakes in place of the old leather spoonbrake against the tire method.

  13. Sid Morrison
    November 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm

    I wonder if his prior injury-aborted runs stemmed from tosses over the handlebars.

    Very cool. Very old school British adventurer too. Kudos.

  14. seekshelter
    November 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    i had never thought of finding out what those were called. .. i usually just referred to them as 'one of those crazy old timey bikes with the big wheel'

  15. DuckFat
    November 11th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    He kept an online journal on this popular bicycle touring site that has hundreds of trip logs:

    http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/joff1

  16. avraamov
    November 11th, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    why not try for yourself?

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PENNY-FARTHING-BIKE_W0QQitemZ160296464894QQcmdZV iewItem?hash=item160296464894&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301 |66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

  17. Sofar
    November 12th, 2008 at 5:22 am

    I've got a regular bicycle with no suspension and it's not that bad, most the bicycles I see have no suspension to speak of.


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