TWO friends from Henley will set off for Paris on Saturday riding penny farthings.
Matt Richardson, 58, of Deanfield Avenue, and Bill Pollard, 57, of Deanfield Road, are raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
They will leave from outside the town hall at 9am and hope to arrive in the French capital on Thursday after riding more than 322 miles.
The two former rowers will travel south to Newhaven in East Sussex where they will catch a ferry to Dieppe. They will then ride through the French countryside before reaching Paris and heading for the Eiffel Tower.
They plan to ride more than 40 miles a day and have been practising with rides in and around Henley.
Mr Richardson, a lawyer, who is a cancer survivor, said: “I am excited but I am also a bit worried.
“I used to be a national rowing champion and was very fit but if I try to do what I used to be able to, it takes me a long time to recover.
“The key is going to be making sure I do not exhaust myself too much.
“If it was flat the whole way we would probably average about 10 miles per hour but it is not.
“We will have to go up and down hills and with a penny farthing that means you have to get on and off, making it much slower.”
He said it would be vital to avoid hazards because falling off a penny farthing was potentially more dangerous than a normal bicycle.
Two years ago, Mr Richardson was diagnosed with tonsil and lymph node cancer, the same disease which claimed his father’s life in 1999.
He said: “I have done many cycling events to raise money for cancer charities.
“I had always worried about getting the same form of cancer as him and when I began to get the same symptoms I knew I had it. I had treatment in late 2022 and early 2023. I am currently cancer-free and still recovering from the treatment.
“I wanted to do this for Macmillan Cancer Support as they helped me through my recovery.
“It is also about raising awareness. Early detection is the key and the more people who get themselves checked, the better.”
Mr Richardson’s love for penny farthings began in 2016 when Mr Pollard, a friend from their university days together, organised a lesson on how to ride one for his 50th birthday.
He said: “I had a party where I rode one and it was brilliant fun. I knew I had to get one but life and children got in the way.
“But the second I found I was cancer-free I went to the penny farthing championships and bought one.
“The first time I rode it was from Henley to Hambleden on the Marlow road. It was absolutely terrifying but I loved it.
“It has no brake and only one gear, so at the beginning it is hard but after you have practised a bit you get used to it. People love to see this bizarre Victorian thing, which you can ride at quite high speed but the bigger the wheel the higher up you are, so the more danger that comes with it. People would ask about it and I realised that it was a fantastic vehicle for raising money.”
Mr Richardson said that when his children Felix and Didi saw the penny farthing they were stunned.
“Their eyes just lit up,” he said. “Felix has had a go on it as he can reach the pedals since he is taller than me. He also has great balance because he’s a surfer and a skateboarder.”
“When I told the kids that I was going to cycle to Paris, they weren’t surprised — they are used to these kinds of things now.”
Mr Pollard, a student lettings landlord, said his children, Rosie, 10, and Lara, eight, laughed at him. He said: “At first they thought me riding a silly bike was pretty embarrassing but now they think it’s quite cool having a famous dad.
“They have been on rides with me on the penny farthing and them on their bikes. They loved all the attention we got.
During their ride the men will have a support vehicle driven by Dave Chapman, an old school friend of Mr Richardson, who now lives in Australia so is flying over specially.
They will be sleeping each night in accommodation they have booked, a mixture of hotels and Airbnbs.
During their ride the men will be dressed in Victorian-style outfits, including safari jackets, long socks and pit helmets with sashes promoting the charity.
Mr Pollard said: “There will be a range of outfits including, top hats, bowler hats and tweed suits.
“It a bit eccentric but that’s what we love about it and people love too.
“We rode to Paris on Thirties bikes about 10 years ago but with the penny farthing it is much harder.
“The average speed is only about 10mph and you only have one gear and no brakes so there is a lot of getting on and off.
“The first time I had a go on one was at Matt’s 50th birthday. I had organised for a chap to bring some penny farthings to give us a lesson.
“Matt had done all sorts of cycling before but never a penny farthing. At that moment we knew we had to get one. It is great fun to ride one.”
Mr Richardson has taken part in bicycle-related fundraisers since 2007, including annual eight-day-long rides from Geneva to Cannes.
In 2014 he rode an original 1975 Raleigh Chopper up Mt. Ventoux.
Mr Pollard said: “We have both fundraised before and Matt realised the penny farthing is a great tool for that.
“Going to Paris is something that would impress any sponsor. You have heard of London to Paris but never Henley to Paris on a penny farthing.
“Macmillan helped Matt through his cancer treatment that took such a toll on him. They also helped him through the diagnosis stage when he was waiting for his results.
“It also me knowing they were helping Matt when I didn’t really know how to help him. For us to be able to give back is amazing.”
To make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/
penny2paris/qrcode
