Steely Dan

i had one of the most unusual bicycle dreams of my life last night.

my commuter bike had a busted rear wheel, so i went to a bike shop looking for a new wheel, but the bike shop i went to was this odd-ball place with 20-something year old hipsters working there dressed up like genuine 19th century members of the league of american wheelmen. however, i hadn't stepped into a full-blown time warp or anything because there were still contemporary bicycles being sold there along with all kinds of old-timey stuff. i could tell that the hipsters, and the store itself, were the ones out of time.

i started talking to one of the clerks, explaining that i was a bicycle commuter and that i needed a new wheel for my bike. he tells me that they could certainly sort me out with a new wheel, but he also had a far more intriguing offer to make me as well. he went on to tell me that penny-farthings are right on the cusp of becoming the next big trend in cycling and that they're perfect for commuting because the large diameter wheels just roll right over every pavement imperfection and the extra height improves visibility. he then let me in on a little secret. he tells me that he has a real-deal refurbished 19th century penny-farthing in the back of the shop that he could let me have for $250!!!!!!! (dreams are so wonderfully absurd). not being a dumb-ass, i totally jumped on the offer and he went and got the bike from the back of the shop and we went out in front of the shop where he gave me a quick tutorial about getting off and on the thing (it's amazing how fast i picked it up) and i paid him the money and rode my new bike home.

the next morning i woke up all excited to hop on my penny-farthing for my first commute into work with it. i get going and quickly realize that the best course of action at stop lights is to just track-stand on the bike instead of getting down and having to start from the ground position. not ever having been on a penny-farthing in real life, i have no idea if it's easy or difficult to track-stand on one, but because i can track stand on a conventional bicycle fairly well in real life, track-standing on a penny-farthing in my dream is super easy and second nature for me. the best part of the experience was being up so much higher than the surrounding car traffic. the height made me feel like i was in charge, like i could push the cars around instead of vice-versa. it truly was an awesome feeling!

unfortunately, some distance into my commute, the right pedal on the bike came completely off the crank arm, making the bicycle impossible to ride. however, i realized i was lucky to be be very close to the bike shop where i had bought the bike (i love it when dreams are all convenient like that) so i walked it over to the shop. i leaned the bike up against a wall outside of the shop and went in to find the clerk who had sold me the bike the day before. after some searching for a bit (for some reason the store was gigantic and spread across 2 floor levels) i found the clerk and explained the situation with the pedal. we walked out of the shop to look at the bike, but when we got outside the bike was gone, nowhere to be seen. i had not locked it up because who would lock up a penny-farthing, how silly and incongruent. i started scrambling around the immediate area around the store to see if i could find the bike or the person riding off on it. nothing. it was gone.

dejected and heartbroken, i went back to the shop but it wasn't there either anymore. it had vanished as well. within my dream i said to myself: "i guess it was all just a dream".

ThermionicScott 

That's a good one! Amazing how things like that will make perfect sense in the dream.

B. Carfree

You could always choose to live the dream, minus the defective parts. https://www.hiwheel.com/antique_repli...r_standard.htm

However, there is a reason the ordinaries went out of vogue when the safety bike came along. I suppose the name of the modern bike gives it away, but think for a moment what happens when you hit something with that large front wheel that you are sitting atop. If the wheel stops, the angular momentum continues, with you being sent on a quick journey into the ground. Since your legs are somewhat trapped by the handlebars, you may well break your neck, which is what ended many a cyclist's life back in the day.

Your feeling of power in your dream is quite close to what I experienced when I rode my friend's high-wheeler for a few weeks many years ago. However, I much preferred the "upside down" bike he made me that was the same height but didn't have the safety issues of an ordinary. (Upside down bike: flip the fork/stem upside down, then weld on extensions for a seat post to what was the bottom of the bottom bracket and to the handlebars.)

Steely Dan

wow, those replicas really aren't all that unaffordable. i know the real-deal antiques go for thousands, but i didn't realize that there were replica penny-farthings to be had for much more modest sums.

hmmmmmmmmm............... N+1 lust takes on a whole new level of absurdity.



"but sweetie, i really could use a high-wheeler. it'll help with my visibility in traffic, and you're always talking about how you want me to be safe when i'm riding to work."

CommuteCommando

I rode a 1/2 C last November and there was a guy that did the ride on one, period tweed suit and all.

Surrealdeal

I came across a guy riding a P-Far on the century loop of the 1991 RAGBRAI of all places. I chatted with him for a mile or so, watched him take a downhill - he just lifted his feet up out of the way & let her fly.

no motor?

I bet commuting along the Lake Front Path on that in any kind of wind would be pretty adventurous.

Steely Dan

aero bars.

chefisaac

now that's freaking awesome!

Surrealdeal

...And training wheels... That's cheating! But props to the guy if he can get at that bidon w/o breaking aero.

no motor?

I had this weird thought of you riding the penny farthing down the Lake Front Path while I was riding in this morning. You were the 2 wheeled equivalent of a monster truck running over everything in your path ala one of those 60's Ed Roth cartoons. It was pretty funny.

fietsbob

Seen a rider of a 36" wheel unicycle keeping up with traffic through town.. 2nd wheel is optional..

phughes

Why commute on one when you can tour the world?



https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...ml?doc_id=1451