seen on Ragbrai XXXIII
#2
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Damn, thats a long way to go on a pennyfarthing!
I met a guy a few years ago who rode across the entire US on his penny farthing. He had a tattoo on his leg commemorating his achievement. Hardcore!
They are really hard to ride, harder than my tall bikes! Of course, the one I've had the most opportunities to ride is too big for me, so my feet actually leave the pedal a bit during the bottom of the stroke, and it has no brake, so resisting is very hard to do. However, I've only crashed it once, so I figure I'm doing pretty well.
peace,
sam
I met a guy a few years ago who rode across the entire US on his penny farthing. He had a tattoo on his leg commemorating his achievement. Hardcore!
They are really hard to ride, harder than my tall bikes! Of course, the one I've had the most opportunities to ride is too big for me, so my feet actually leave the pedal a bit during the bottom of the stroke, and it has no brake, so resisting is very hard to do. However, I've only crashed it once, so I figure I'm doing pretty well.

peace,
sam
#3
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Originally Posted by phidauex
Damn, thats a long way to go on a pennyfarthing!...
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Did any of you see the pic of Gus posted at RAGBRAI.org? Here's the link:
https://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...rams=Itemnr=20
View the picture at your own risk.....
https://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...rams=Itemnr=20
View the picture at your own risk.....
#5
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I was in Vienna looking desperately for mutant bikes or jousting or something and all i could find was a page about a group of dudes who build their own penny farthings - hochraeder (high bikes).
https://www.wuk.at/hochrad/
https://www.wuk.at/hochrad/
#6
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Originally Posted by Tree Trunk
Did any of you see the pic of Gus posted at RAGBRAI.org? Here's the link:
https://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...rams=Itemnr=20
View the picture at your own risk.....
https://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...rams=Itemnr=20
View the picture at your own risk.....
Another member of our team (Afterburners) was in the paper the day before...
https://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...rams=Itemnr=23
We identified him because of his Jersey, shoes and I was waiting for him to finish his impromptu shower so we could hit the next town for another "cool one"!
Last edited by Gus Riley; 08-02-05 at 01:35 PM.
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TT you missed out on our traditional smoothy this year... Strawberry smoothy with a spot (actually a bucket) of Capt Morgan...Lovely!
#8
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These little sleds were fast!! They stated there were only around 10 of them in the states. They cost around 6-7K! The riders told us that they averaged 19mph and that average included the slow pace through towns...wow!! I know they were fast, they passed us a couple of times in headwind conditions, looked like we were going backwards.
I know TT, I probably was going backwards!!
I know TT, I probably was going backwards!!

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You know the scene in the Wizard of OZ where the old school marm is riding her bike inside the tornado?! I swear, I might have saw something like that on Sunday night in Sheldon!!
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I know those guys on the unicycles. One of those guys is Kai, a regular customer in the shop I work at. The ISUUC (Iowa State University Unicycling Club) is very active with many members and some pretty serious riders. This is the second or third time they have had people on Ragbrai.
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Originally Posted by Gus Riley
TT you missed out on our traditional smoothy this year... Strawberry smoothy with a spot (actually a bucket) of Capt Morgan...Lovely!
#12
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Originally Posted by Gus Riley
These little sleds were fast!! They stated there were only around 10 of them in the states. They cost around 6-7K! The riders told us that they averaged 19mph and that average included the slow pace through towns...wow!! I know they were fast, they passed us a couple of times in headwind conditions, looked like we were going backwards.
I know TT, I probably was going backwards!!
I know TT, I probably was going backwards!!

And yes, I have always thought you were riding backwards, Gus.

#13
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Originally Posted by Tree Trunk
...By the way, did anyone tell you that your tent is supposed to be set up on the ground? (or is that a sleeping bag behind you?)

#15
holyrollin'
Originally Posted by glinmaleldur
I was in Vienna looking desperately for mutant bikes or jousting or something and all i could find was a page about a group of dudes who build their own penny farthings - hochraeder (high bikes).
https://www.wuk.at/hochrad/
https://www.wuk.at/hochrad/
My favorite pic is
https://www.wuk.at/hochrad/artistik/jonglieren.jpg
Are those some coordinated mofos or what?!
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Originally Posted by phidauex
Damn, thats a long way to go on a pennyfarthing!
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Originally Posted by Gus Riley
This was the smoothie vendor's accommodations along side the road. I realize these things can be confusing. 


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To actually contribute something halfway related to this thread, those guys are the most ambitious I have "seen" on RAGBRAI (I didn't ride this year). There always seems to be at least one person riding a pennyfarthing every year. One year, a guy rode his in full turn of the century garb, the entire route. It was fun to follow him into town as he was a very popular sight.