Czech visitor on a rare steed
The Czech Ivan Burkert on his unusual mount, cycling across countries to support children with cancer. Photo/Sent to mbl.is
“Ivan Burkert has cycled from Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic, where he set off on July 25, riding through Poland, Germany, and Denmark,” Jirka Hynek told mbl.is . Hynek is Burkert’s assistant and press officer. Burkert is currently touring Europe and Iceland on a so-called penny-farthing bicycle.
The two men, both Czech, explained that their route to Iceland took them by ferry with Norræna from Hirtshals in Jutland to Seyðisfjörður. From there, Burkert mounted his bicycle and rode to Akureyri before continuing on a circuit of Iceland that is now nearing its end. The journey is a charity ride to raise funds for children with cancer in his home country, and this is his eighth such cycling tour. He has published a book about each of his previous journeys.
More about the Czechs’ adventure will be reported on mbl.is . The classic penny-farthing — known above all for its enormous front wheel — became obsolete in the 1880s, when bicycles resembling the modern design began to take over.
Here you can see the situation some time before this interview was conducted, when the Czechs were on their way from Reykjavík heading toward Seyðisfjörður, where they will take the Norræna ferry to the mainland. Screenshot/Suunto.com
The father of this bicycle is now considered to be Parisian Eugène Meyer, who patented a spoked wheel in 1869, rather than the Briton James Starley, long thought to hold that title, although Starley is still often referred to as the father of the bicycle.
Burkert shares photos from his journey on his Facebook page , though the text is in Czech.
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