It’s not every day you walk out onto Bridge St to see a man riding a penny-farthing bicycle — well not since 1900, at least.
However that is exactly what happened outside the Benalla Ensign office on Tuesday, November 29.
Rod Scott is a classic bicycle enthusiast who had recently completed a 60 mile (96.5km) ride along the Murray to Mountain Rail Trail.
He is part of a group which does an annual ride on the rail trail, which runs from Rutherglen to Bright.
However, the ride begins at Wangaratta.
Mr Scott said while a penny-farthing was not a difficult bike to ride it did take some getting used to.
“The thing is, you cannot stop. It has no brakes,” Mr Scott said.
“If you need to stop in a hurry you jump off the seat and stand on the back pegs.
“Then you’ve got control and you can either jump back on the seat or you can step onto the ground.
“If you’re riding and suddenly stop you might have to lean against a tree, or something else tall in order to stay upright.”
Mr Scott said the bike was hand made, specifically for the rider, by Dan Bolwell in Maddingley, Victoria.
“He makes maybe 60 or so bikes a year and they’re all hand made specifically to the rider’s height,” he said.
“It’s your height, or at least your leg length, that decides how big the front wheel can be.
“A couple of inches either way affects if you can reach the pedal, and if you knock your knees on the handle bars.
“In my case I have a 48 inch bike. If you look, you can see that the handle bars are arched so my legs fit under when I ride.”
Mr Scott said while he rode 60 miles, others completed the 100 mile (160km) route.
“COVID has sadly thinned the numbers out,” he said.
“But it’s a great ride and great fun.
“People tend to love a penny-farthing so I get a lot of smiles, and stop to take a lot of photos.”
Find out more about penny-farthings, or even order your own, at www.pennyfarthingdan.com.au