FREDERICK, Md.– It鈥檚 a truly unique sport and Frederick, Maryland, takes great pride in hosting it. 聽A聽race involving vintage-style bikes, the kind with huge聽front wheels. They can be almost 5 feet聽tall, and have incredibly narrow tires.
Riding the pennyfarthings, or “ordinaries” as they鈥檙e sometimes called, takes skill: the narrow tires mean there isn鈥檛 much surface area gripping the road, and a collision can throw the rider forward with catastrophic results. But racers say the spectacle, and that element of danger, is part of the appeal.
This year, the winner of the Frederick Clustered Spires High Wheel Race is a newbie who rode to victory on a borrowed bike.
Winner Eric Cameron says a year ago at about this time, he was sitting in Brewer鈥檚 Alley, a downtown Frederick brew pub. In his words, he was 鈥榗aptivated鈥� when he saw the high wheel racers go by. He decided he would join them, but there was a hitch: he didn鈥檛 have a bike. A friend arranged for him聽to聽聽borrow one, and that鈥檚 what he rode to win in Saturday鈥檚 race.
Because聽he didn鈥檛 get his hands on the high wheel bike until about a month ago, his time in the saddle was minimal. At the awards ceremony after聽the race聽he said, 聽鈥淚鈥檓 on top of the world, I love it—and I love Frederick.鈥�
In the women鈥檚 category, Angela Long of West Friendship, Md. rode to victory on her her high wheel– in high heels. 鈥淎ctually, I use my heel to keep my foot on the pedal, and they鈥檙e thin enough soles that I can grab the pedals with my toes鈥� she explains.
Long was hungry for the win. She鈥檚 raced every year since the event was established four years ago, and has always come in second. Perhaps her bike shorts helped tell how she pulled off the win: anyone trailing behind her saw the message printed on the back of the shorts. It read:鈥滽ick butt鈥�–and she did.
The sport can be dangerous. The high wheeled bikes don鈥檛 leave riders a lot of margin for error. When聽in a race, riders turn up the speed, and when聽taking corners, 聽they lean hard. It looks as though a spill is imminent every time they turn. But safety is part of the race 聽as well. 聽During the course of the race, competitors were careful to call out their positions to each other to avoid crashing.
Despite the precautions, there was a collision. Rob Stull of Thomas, West Virginia collided with Larry Black of Mt. Airy, Md. Black left the race in an ambulance, but called race organizers hours later to say that while he had a dislocated shoulder and some lacerations, he was in good spirits. Stull had a bad scrape on his face and was a little unsteady at first, but got back on the bike to finish the race.
Stull says 聽the crash happened when he called out to his wife in the crowd聽to ask for聽a bottle of water in the next lap of the race. When he turned back around, he could see he and Black would collide. 鈥淗e was right in front of me,鈥� he says, referring to Black. 鈥淚 feel so bad–I didn鈥檛 have any opportunity to avoid it.”
The High Wheel Race in Frederick聽is the only one of its kind in the United States, and organizers say it鈥檚 grown dramatically in the few years since it was established. Riders say it鈥檚 a great chance to share a sport they love. And this year, proceeds from the event will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County.
