The National Penny Farthing championship is held on the sidelines of the Evandale Village fair and the whole ambience is like that of a colonial country fair. The National Penny farthing Championship brings a lot of fun and excitement to the whole place, which has been organizing the championships for the past two decades.
The penny farthing bicycle had come out from the Velocipede or the Boneshaker, in the 1870's when people realized that a bigger front wheel would bring more momentum to the whole bicycle. In fact it was the first bicycle to be mass produced which though had to be imported to Australia since they didn't manufacture it themselves.
Tasmania has had a rich tradition in racing and regular race meetings were held in cricket grounds of Hobart and Launceston. In fact the state got its first biking club before the turn of the twentieth century.
The first event took place in 1983 and was inspired by an in Tunbridge, and the event has grown from strength to strength every year and today it attracts penny farthing enthusiasts from as far as New Zealand, USA, England, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Singapore and Japan
This is known internationally as the only race dedicated to racing antique cycles and the championship has already won five Tasmanian tourism awards and two commendations at the National Tourism Awards.
The three races which make up the championship include the century ride in which one has to cover nearly hundred miles or one hundred and sixty kilometers in one day. Riders may also opt for a hundred kilometer metric century also.
Then there is the Clarendon Road Race which takes nearly an hour to complete and people generally take this race in a leisurely manner.
There is also a ten mile foot race which is open to all; it has a paltry entry fee along with loads of free prizes to be won.
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