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Vine helps break Penny Farthings world records

BBC Broadcaster Jeremy Vine in a floral shirt, brown jacket, flat cap style bicycle helmet and glasses sits on a Penny Farthing in a group of riders.BBC
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine took part in one of the day's world record attempts

Cyclists on Penny Farthings have broken 12 Guinness World Records at a gathering in east London on Sunday.

The 140-strong group, which included BBC presenter Jeremy Vine, made up the largest number of Penny Farthing riders in an upright stack, which previously stood at 131.

All riders in the stack had to stay in position for more than three minutes, before they cycled from the Herne Hill velodrome to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velodrome.

A spokesperson for Guinness World Records confirmed that a total of 12 world record attempts by the group and individuals during the event were broken, including the largest number of Penny Farthing racers in a velodrome.

Organisers called the event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velodrome in Stratford the "greatest gathering of Penny Farthing riders in London since the 1880s".

the riders line up at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velodrome
The group gathered at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park velodrome to make the world record attempt

'I ride nothing else'

Cyclist Robert ON Torto said the Penny Farthing was his "primary mode of transport".

"This is the only thing I ride," he said.

"So if I'm going to work, if I'm going on any kind of errand, this is my mode of transportation, I ride nothing else."

Fellow enthusiast Stuart Horth said: "It looks scary but once you're used to it it's just a great way of getting around really, and a bit of fun."

A man in a beige blazer, yellow shirt, patterned waistcoat and matching bow tie holds the handlebars of a Penny Farthing. People stand in the background.
Robert ON Torto said he uses a Penny Farthing to get to work and run errands

Neil Laughton, founder of the Penny Farthing Club, said: "The bike is extraordinary.

"It's just a great invention, it's very simple. It has no brakes, gears, it's solid rubber tyre, no suspension - it's the original bicycle.

"And we've got people from all over Europe, some from the States and further afield."

A long row of riders sat on Penny Farthing bicycles hold each other's handle bars.
The stack of riders had to stay upright for at least three minutes to break the world record

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