On 1 November, British cycling charity staff member Ross Adams plans to ride from London to Brighton on a Coventry Machinist Company bicycle built in 1891. The roughly 97-kilometre journey forms part of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which admits a small number of cyclists alongside its historic cars. For Adams, the ride is both a personal endurance challenge and a chance to raise funds for the organisation where he has worked for 16 years.
His machine belongs to the generation known as safety bicycles: two similarly sized wheels and a chain drive set it apart from the high-wheelers that preceded it. Yet it feels far removed from a modern bicycle. It has solid tyres, a single fixed gear, wooden grips and a simple front spoon brake. There is no easier gear for a climb, while speed on descents must be managed well in advance. Even stopping and mounting again take a technique of their own.
The route runs through Croydon, Gatwick and Crawley before crossing the South Downs to the Brighton seafront. The climbs and hours of vibration through narrow solid tyres may prove the hardest parts of the day. Adams has been practising on the bicycle itself to learn its handling. The attempt turns cycling history into a moving experience rather than a museum display: equipment has become far more comfortable, but terrain, weather and a rider’s patience still shape the journey.