Hill climbing (on penny-farthing)

A MAN from Henley took part in an international penny-farthing competition.

Bill Pollard, 59, of Deanfield Road, finished 10th in the World Championship Penny-Farthing Hill Climb held in Sussex on Sunday.

He is often seen cycling around Henley on a penny-farthing with his friend Matt Richardson. He was one of 38 riders to take part in the international competition, now in its eighth year.

The hill climb is the only event of its kind in the world, specifically for penny-farthings and riders have to take on a steep, winding route from Eastbourne seafront up to Beachy Head.

Cyclists came from all over the world, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, USA, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and Germany to take on the 4.69km course, which has an elevation gain of 150m.

The route has three hairpin bends, which is a challenge for penny-farthing riders as the bikes are heavy and only have one gear.

The bikes  were popular in the 1870s and 1880s and their large front wheel is typically about 1.5m tall.

The race was won by Frenchman Alexandre Voisine in a time of 11 minutes and 58 seconds.

Mr Pollard was riding dressed in a striped Victorian bathing suit but had to wear a helmet rather than a boater as he had planned, due to the course rules.

He finished the course in 15 minutes and 48 seconds and despite competitors being set off at one-minute intervals, he managed to overtake three riders along the route.

Mr Pollard said: “After crossing the finish line, I started to feel quite a lot of pain. You have been having to breathe really hard to get as much air in as you can for a final push. So when you come over the line, you just absolutely empty your tank.

“But it’s not until both feet have touched the ground that you’re feeling finished on a penny-farthing.

“I was really pleased with my time considering my 60th birthday is next year and I was against some considerably younger people.”

Mr Pollard said he struggled at the steepest part of the race, which has a gradient of about 13 per cent.

He said: “The route starts off very gently for about a mile but then you do the really hard work. It is quite wiggly on the middle section. My wheel started spinning so I was a bit concerned at that point, but got through it.

“You’ve also got about another mile at the top where you think you’re there but you’re not and you have to keep going.”

Mr Pollard, who runs a student lettings business and drove to the event with his penny-farthing attached to the car roof, said there was plenty of support for riders.

He said: “There was loads of people — not all cycling enthusiasts by any means — just people who came along for the show.

“To start off with, I was just waving at them all and thanking them and then I thought ‘I’ve got to keep my hands on the handlebars’.”

Mr Pollard said riding up steep hills is difficult because it is a fixed gear bike, with the pedals directly connected to the wheel.

He rides a 52-inch standard high wheel, which was made by a small Swedish manufacturer, Standard High Wheels.

Mr Pollard said: “You have to lean forward because if you lean back too much, your weight goes on to the back wheel and then you could get into a situation where the wheel is spinning, so you always have to be sitting well forward.”

To train for the race, Mr Pollard has been cycling on hills around Henley, including Icehouse Lane and Dolesden Lane and from Henley to the top of Pishill without getting off.

But the father-of-two said he was defeated however by hills in Swyncombe, Britwell and Streatley.

Mr Pollard said: “I’ve done some practice around the Chilterns but nothing quite prepares you for doing it in race conditions because that’s when you really go for it and you are not sure if you are going to make it when you’re halfway there.

“If you grind to a halt, you're in a lot of trouble. You can't just put your feet down, you have got to do a proper dismount.”

Mr Pollard first started penny-farthing riding in 2023 alongside Mr Richardson, whom he met at York University in 1985.

Mr Richardson, 59, of Deanfield Avenue, first rode a penny-farthing for his 50th birthday and bought his own after recovering from cancer treatment.

Mr Pollard said: “Matt couldn’t do what he used to be able to do on a bike so the penny-farthing was a fun way of taking it gently. Of course, I couldn’t let him do it on his own, so very soon we became a double act.”

The pair rode from Henley to Paris in June last year and raised more than £20,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.