Norfolk penny farthing cyclist beats continuous ride record

A cyclist has gone the extra (two) miles to scoop a world record after attempting two challenges in the space of 24 hours – while riding a penny farthing.

Norfolk-born Richard Thoday, 62, who now lives near Belper in Derbyshire, set out to break two Guinness World Records at Reading Velodrome in recent days – the longest continuous ride on the 19th Century bicycle and the greatest distance covered in 24 hours.

He managed to scoop a place in the record books for a continuous penny farthing cycle of 236 miles (380km) – beating a distance set in 1886 by two miles (3.2km).

He said: “Physically it’s difficult and technically there’s all sorts of challenges — it’s not for the faint-hearted.”

Thoday already has one record under his belt after he made the fastest journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats on a penny farthing – in four days, 11 hours and 52 minutes – in 2019.

But his endeavours are not just about the glory of breaking records, as Thoday has raised more than £3,400 for the Ashgate Hospice in memory of his sister.

The rules were set by Guinness, who stated Thoday had to stay on the bike at all times and that if at any point he stepped on the ground, it “would have been game over”, he said.