Dungog Pedalfest has been running for 28 years, bringing cyclists from all over Australia to the beautiful country town. This is the second year penny farthings and dandy horses have been part of the race and the new additions proved to be quite the spectacle.
Hundreds of cyclists took part in the cycling festival which included everything from endurance mountain bike rides to kids rides, social rides and even two family charity rides – the Fosterton Loop Ride and the Scones Jam and Cream Ride. The latter sounds sweet, but it was 18 kilometres long!
Crowds then gathered on Hooke Street on Sunday September 28 to witness an even tougher race.
Sunday was all about dandy horses, the first bicycles to be invented, and penny farthings, another early rendition of the bicycle.
Event Manager Nic McLaughlin who is also the Community and Environment Officer at Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) has been riding penny farthings for eight years.
He learnt after going to Queensland in 2016 and building a penny farthing from scratch.
After seeing a photo of himself on a penny farthing promoting Pedalfest, Nic said he was more than keen to get some events going for the event.
“It’s living history. Sure, you can go to a museum and look at penny farthings covered in dust and learn about bicycle evolution.
“But nothing compares to coming here and seeing them in action and watching an event called Rum Rebellion that is a part of our history not many people even know about!”
The races on Hooke Street included the NSW Penny Farthing State Championships, NSW Footbike State Championships and National Dandy Horse Championships culminating in the Mini Dandy Horse Derby – a race between children and adults on balance bikes.
“We hope people come along and have a go, watch the races and learn something about bicycling and Australian history.
“A big thank you to Quarry Mining, Event Cinemas, the Tinshed Brewery and Hunter Valley Operations for supporting us,” Nic said.
