The penny-farthing, aka high wheeler, is quite amazing. How did people ride them? A penny-farthing doesn’t look like it would be easy to mount in the first place!

This is the kind of bicycle that Mark Twain wrote about, and it seems that his experience with the machine was not a positive one. If you’re eager to give it a go, this video provides advice.

That gentleman sure makes it look easy. I wonder whether the “cowboy mount” that some people use when starting their bicycles has its origins in the way a rider mounts a “PF”.

I’m not sure that I’m up to the PF challenge. I know I wouldn’t dare try it without a helmet! I wonder how many PF riders suffered fatal head injuries during the PF’s heyday. After all, when you’re on one of those contraptions you’ve got much farther to fall than you do when you’re on a “safety”.

I don’t remember ever seeing anyone actually riding a PF, but one of the local bike shops has one — or a replica — hanging from the ceiling. That big wheel looks like it’s almost as tall as I am!

Oh, and I guess a PF wouldn’t be a good idea if you suffer from acrophobia.