Pedal power on a penny farthing

Joff Summerfield of London takes a pause from his world tour, resting at the Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum. (Photo courtesy of the Sparta Herald)

Click here to see Wilton resident Betsy Schindler’s account of the visit.

By PAT MULVANEY

Courtesy of the Sparta Herald

Anyone traveling through Sparta on Friday afternoon could have caught sight of strange figure wearing a British Army pith helmet, sitting astride a big-wheel bicycle.

That jaunty chap was not Ben Bikin incognito but Joff Summerfield, a 46-year-old adventurer from London who is one month along on his second lap around the world on a big-wheeler.

The former race-car-engine builder turned big-wheel-bike manufacturer had just completed a jolly jaunt along the Elroy-Sparta State Trail on Friday and was visiting the Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum before continuing his journey west. He had spent the previous night in Wilton with Lyle and Betsy Schindler. 

His plan is to make his way to California, make a left-hand turn and head for the tip of South America. The itinerary gets a little hazy after that, but Summerfield is confident he’ll end up back in London, eventually.

After all, this is not his first time around the block. He traveled 2 ½ years, putting 22,000 miles on his penny-farthing bike as he crossed two-dozen countries during his first circumnavigation of the globe.

Summerfield is self-employed as Great Britain’s only manufacturer of the penny-farthing bikes, which gives him the flexibility to take off over two years to follow his passion – seeing the world.

He said he saves up enough money to make his trek before leaving London with a few British pounds and what he has on his back. He lives on an $8-a-day budget and plans to be completely broke when he returns to London in 2 ½ years – if all goes well.

“I don’t own any houses or cars or anything else,” he said while sitting back in the Deke Slayton Museum for a short time before resuming his 40-mile leg of the journey for the day.

“You get back, you don’t have any pounds in your pocket, but you’ve got a whole saddlebag of memories and some experiences, which is just priceless,” he said.

Though he was robbed in Prague and was the victim of an attempted robbery in Istanbul on his first trip, those experiences haven’t jaded Summerfield’s positive outlook on people.

“Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the people of the world are just lovely,” he said. “The bad news on TV gives you a false impression of what the world’s like.

“People are just like us. It doesn’t matter where they’re from. People are great, they’re generous, they’re friendly, they’re smiling and they may have nothing, but they’ll give you everything.”

Summerfield said he was possessed by a desire to see the world, but wanted to do it in a unique way, which is why he rides the penny, his affectionate expression for his anachronistic conveyance.

The only drawback Summerfield sees with his lifestyle is it’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re on the road for such long stretches of time. He is a single man with no attachments, but he’s a romantic at heart.

“Who knows? Maybe I’ll find someone on the road,” he said.

If that’s the case, he may want to look into trading in his penny farthing for a bicycle built for two.

Those interested in following his journey can access his website at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/calloftheroad or follow him on Facebook.

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