“As long as you can ride a bike you can ride a Penny Farthing. You don’t have to be particularly fit. There are quite a few people manufacturing Penny Farthings now, so when you buy one the salesperson will usually spend half a day with you going through everything.”

Patsy Harrington, from London, is a relatively new to Penny Farthing riding.

“I love that you get people of all shapes and sizes, riding Penny Farthings. Some people are sporty, some less so, it’s very inclusive. My sons ride Penny Farthings as well, and we go out as a family and do Penny Farthing rides together. It’s a really exciting type of cycling, and one of the most interesting races to watch. The Nocturne was a bit tough because it was windy, but it was good fun and nice to catch up with other people in the Penny Farthing community.”

The League of Ordinary Riders will celebrate 200 years of the bicycle with a Penny Farthing ride at Good Easter on 15-16 July

Fixie Love

For Alexandra Diem, from Southampton, fixed-gear racing is more like an extension of track cycling but with slightly different gears.

“My first fixed-gear race was the Red Hook Criterium series. I enjoyed it so much that I have tried to race as much as possible, so I go to many different places to race. I don’t do specific training, as my training is really just from what I do at the track sessions. And then fixed-gear racing also helps me with my bike handling when I go back to my track races. I like fixed-gear racing because the atmosphere is so much more laid back than what you find in any other type of racing.”

Yewande Adesida from London only took up fixed-gear racing this year, after her team-mate, Eeva Saarlling encouraged her to have a go.

“The Nocturne was my first crit race on a fixed-gear. I was a bit scared as there were a lot of sharp turns. I got dropped but then I did what I could to try and get ahead of the group I was with. The race was interrupted due to a crash and I got a bit nervous and ended up hitting the crash barriers, but I was okay. I am really glad I did it though, and Eeva Sarlin came third, which is great. I wasn’t sure about racing at the Nocturne, but people have been really supportive. I would recommend this to other people, as the support from the other bikers is great.”

The winner of the race was the Italian former elite road racer, Jasmine Dotti, a regular on the fixed-gear racing circuit. And why does she compete in this discipline? “I love it because it’s fast and there are no brakes. There’s just so much more adrenaline than in normal road racing!”

Red Hook Fixed-Gear Races will take place on Greenwich Peninsula, London on 22 July.

The next round of the Rapha Nocturne will take place in Copenhagen on 19 August.

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