The penny-farthing prodigy

FOR many, the sight of a penny-farthing may be deemed slightly unusual.

This, however, is not so much the case in Henley, thanks to the cycling duo Matt Richardson and Bill Pollard.

Since 2023, the pair have become a common sight cycling in and around the area and completing rides raising money for charity.

Perhaps what is more unusual is the sight of a child riding one.

Mr Pollard’s daughter Lara, nine, is believed to be the youngest regular penny-farthing rider in the UK.

She picked up the hobby almost a year ago, first practising on a vintage mini penny-farthing, which had a 27-inch wheel, before moving on to a bigger bike.

Since then, she has accompanied Mr Pollard and Mr Richardson on a number of rides in the area, including to Hambleden for Remembrance Sunday, up the cycle path on the Fair Mile and completing a demonstration at the Bix village show in June last year.

Along with her father’s help, she has even started teaching the skill to some of her friends.

Lara said that when she and her sister Rosie, 11, first discovered their father was riding a penny-farthing, they were “extremely shocked”.

Mr Pollard took up the hobby after his long-time friend Mr Richardson, whom he met at university, rode a penny-farthing for his 50th birthday.

Inspired, the pair bought their own bikes while Mr Richardson was recovering from cancer treatment.

Despite her initial surprise, soon Lara was eager to try it herself. She eventually had a go on a vintage children’s penny-farthing from the Seventies that her father had been given after delivering a talk at Henley Rotary Club.

Once Lara had mastered the basics, Mr Pollard contacted bespoke penny-farthing manufacturer Matthew Trott, of Trott and Sons, who provided her with a 36-inch wheel penny to borrow.

It is slightly smaller than the average modern penny-farthing wheels, which usually measure around 50 to
60 inches. She learned to ride the bike on the quiet side roads off Deanfield Road, where Mr Pollard lives.

Mr Pollard said: “Matthew Trott said he would lend it to me free of charge for six months. He didn’t want to sell it to me because he said Lara would grow out of it too quickly so I was very grateful to him.

“So I brought it back and I thought the chances are that Lara is going to be too scared to ride this or not be interested, but I thought it would be nice for her to have a go.”

Riding the machine for the first time, Lara recalled: “It was scary but also really exciting. Obviously I wasn’t too scared because, of course, Daddy was there. We were practising in quite a quiet area, where there are not many cars.”

Mr Pollard said he couldn’t believe how quickly Lara picked it up.

He said: “The amazing thing was that when Matt and I learned, we were terrified. It took me about a month to learn to take a hand off, which is a pretty important skill because you’ve got to be able to wave at people and signal... and to doff your hat.

“But Lara got on with it on the first or second ride that she did — it was no problem.

“She learned much, much quicker than I did. It was amazing. She was just completely at home straight away.”

Lara said that the hardest part of riding a penny-farthing was navigating hills as the bikes are heavy and only have one gear.

“It’s a fixed wheel,” she said. “So you slow down by pedalling slower.”

As soon as she was able to, Lara started to join her father and Mr Richardson on longer rides. She said: “We started riding into Henley and then after that I thought, ‘Oh, I think I’ll probably be able to go somewhere further’. And then we went to Hambleden, and then we just did that every week from there.”

Lara said that riding around on a penny-farthing doesn’t go without attention from passers-by. She said: “When we stop at a café, people ask us, “Can we take a photo of you on your penny-farthings?’.

“In Henley, we just get lots of odd and excited looks. We normally hear people saying, ‘Oh, wow, look, it’s a penny-farthing’.”

To accompany her new hobby, Lara also has an ensemble to match and is often seen riding in a tweed jacket with a matching tweed flat cap helmet cover.

For Remembrance Sunday, she wore a vintage Union flag jacket, matching jackets owned by her father and Mr Richardson.

Mr Pollard added: “The more eccentrically you dress, the more well-behaved traffic is because they give you lots of room and they’re always waving and taking pictures.”

Lara, who in Year 5 at Trinity Primary School. said that she had invited two of her school friends, Abigail and Aroha, to learn how to ride after they expressed some curiosity.

She said: “My friend Abigail saw me in town on a penny-farthing and she asked me at school if she could have a go.

“It’s little bit stressful thinking, ‘What if she falls off? Is she going be able to make that turn?’ but it has been quite fun teaching someone else.”

Lara is at the stage now where she is nearly tall enough to transition to a 42-inch wheel, although her legs can’t quite reach the pedals yet.

Mr Pollard said that it was very special to be able to share in his passion for the bikes with his daughter.

He said: “It makes me so amazingly proud to have her to do that with. To share something I love with somebody I love is very special.”

Asked why she enjoys riding a penny-farthing, Lara said: “I like that it’s so unique and that people really don’t expect it. I also like how it puts such a big smile on people’s faces.”