Welcome to the Home Page of the Penny Farthing
World Tour.

I leave on May1st 2006 on my 3rd attempt to cycle around the world! See DIARY+PHOTO'S  for updates..

Please donate to the Born Free Foundation here, thank you.
About our charity:
Born Free Foundation
The Born Free Foundation is a dynamic international wildlife charity working throughout the wild to save lives, stop suffering, conserve species, protect wild animals and keep wildlife in the wild.

My first book has just been published and is available at Amazon!
Morrising Around America
Click below to go directly to the book..

UK amazon.co.uk
USA amazon.com

Please visit my new Bicycle Bookshop! 

Timeline of this journey.

1998 Cycle to Amsterdam on my old BSA, and decide to cycle around the world.
1999 Build my first Mk-1 Penny Farthing.
1999 Hit by a car, destroying front wheel.
1999 Ride to Paris for the millennium celebrations, and realise that the Mk-1 is way to heavy.
2000 Savings stolen in house burglary, trip delayed.
2000 New Mk-2 machine built
2001 Mk-3 built and I leave to cycle around the world. Disaster on first day when knees give out and I have to come back after only 26 miles. I have Illio tibal band friction syndrome.
2002 After much physiotherapy do a three day ride up the Grand union canal with friends, knees are fine.
2003 New Mk-4 built and leave for the second time to cycle around the world. Two and a half months later my knees give out again in Budapest with Patello femoral syndrome and I have to fly home.
2004 (feb) First knee operated on.
         (May) Riding again now, doing a few 15 mile rides during the week all seems ok!
2004 (Nov) Have done some cycling over the summer but to be honest not that much. I decided to give the knees a good rest and let them get back to their good ways. Now in November I'm getting out two or three times  a week which feels good. I've also bought from the states some special knee straps which I now always wear while cycling.
2005 (Jan) I have just taken on a workshop in Greenwich London, here I will be going into production of my Mk-4 machine.
2005 (Jan) My first book has been published, see it at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
2005 (April) Just starting to get fit again then took a splendid header off my Penny. Fractured knee and elbow was the outcome of this, so off the bike again for a while! 
2005 (August) Have rebuilt my Penny with new solid forks and a smaller rear wheel to match the production bikes. Now with the knee pretty much healed I can start riding again and get prepared for the off next Easter!
2006 (January) Have now sold the last of the Penny's that I have been building, so I can now concentrate on getting my own machine ready for the off  at the end of April.
2006 (March) I have finished the new trailer that I will be towing with the panniers on, seems very stable which is great. 
Made a visit to Cyclefit with the Penny, they are a company in London who specialize in measuring you on your bike to help among other things you knees! My new position feels much better, and this can only help with my problem joints.
2006 (March) Out on a test ride when the hub lamp fell off and jammed in the wheel, result a splendid header, and a broken arm and wrist! 

New jet powered Penny Farthing Pages!

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Or would you like to make a donation towards the journey for any amount from anywhere in the world? 
Visit

and use my email address which is joffslegs@hotmail.com
 Whatever you decide, a big thank you from me.

The question that is usually the first to be asked, is why?
           The answer is obviously, "Why not"?

The journey around the world on a Penny Farthing will, I do realize, be rather a test in endurance for myself and the bicycle, but I have felt for quite a while, the long road ahead calling my name.  Please browse through this site, check out the Born Free Foundation who hopefully you will help to support, and also please click on my sponsors to learn about them as well. If you would like to meet me and say hello, talk of adventures and dreams then I can be found on the weekends selling Wheat Bags outside of the Jewelry shop at Greenwich Craft Market in London.
Just ask for Joff.

This photo was taken in July 1999, and was the first time that I ever sat across a Penny Farthing. The bike is the 3 speed version which I later rode to Paris.

If you would like to email me with any suggestions for the trip, or the site I can be found at joffslegs@hotmail.com