Stuart Kettell waves goodbye to Doreen Thompson, his wife Debbie, daughter Sophie, aged seven, son Scott, aged 12, and Dan Thompson at the start of his 874-mile ride on a
penny-farthing. Picture: Joe Bailey DJ200908PENN1
One woman, a one-time
penny-farthing world champion, travelled from Australia to take part in the race while her home country was taken over by Olympic fever.
Stuart had seen an early
penny-farthing in Coventry Transport Museum but quickly realised that even if he could beg, borrow or buy one, the old machines would never stand up to the journey.
"This
penny-farthing is rare as it was not built until 1891, which is quite late for this type, and was probably constructed with a specific owner in mind.
With a 53in front wheel and 20in rear wheel, this classic
penny-farthing - named after the largest and smallest copper coins of the time - is valued between pounds 3,000 and pounds 5,000.
Examples of boneshakers and
penny-farthings can be seen at Coventry Transport Museum in Millennium Place, in the city centre.
He confided: "Learning to ride a
penny-farthing involved a lot of falling off.
From the bone shakers and
penny-farthings of yesteryear to the lightweight racing machines of today, cycling has evolved enormously
Around 130 cycles, including Victorian 'high ordinaries' which later became known as
penny-farthings, plus boneshakers dating from the 1860s, front-wheel pedal bicycles and even the odd tandem, filled the country roads on the 17-mile tour from Shenstone, near Bromsgrove yesterday.
But Mr McElvogue has been left heartbroken by the loss of his rare, priceless bikes, which included
penny-farthings and Sunbeams, which he thinks were worth about pounds 8,000.