But unlike most cyclists, Jeff is among the rare few who ride a penny farthing.

And on Sunday, September 25, he hopped aboard his high-wheeler in Dubbo bound for Brisbane with nine other penny-farthing enthusiasts.

The group – which consists of two people from Sydney, two from New Zealand and five from Melbourne – is half way through their 10-day expedition, which works out to be a distance of just under 1000 kilometres.

They’ve been aiming to average about 100 kilometres per day.

And Jeff says it’s all just simply for the love of the ride.

“The idea to go on this ride came from Dan Bolwell who is from Melbourne and builds penny farthings, that’s how I met him,” Jeff said.

“He wants to ride around Australia but because of work he can’t really do that, so he’s doing it in stages with friends and people he’s built bikes for.”

The group left Dubbo, headed for Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Narrabri, Moree, North Star, Texas, Tenterfield, Casino, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads.

Their shortest trip in a day is 64 kilometres and their longest 138 kilometres.

It’s not the first time Jeff has set out for a road trip on his penny farthing.

This time last year Jeff and the group headed south for a leisurely 800 kilometre ride from Melbourne to Dubbo over eight days.

“I found it easier than I was expecting,” Jeff recalled his first trip.

“I was the only one who got to ride the whole way, some had mechanical failures and Dan was sick.

“That [route] was much flatter, it’s a bit harder course this time.

“It’s hard to train for, the only way to train for it is to do it.”

Jeff’s passion for penny farthings ignited about five years ago when he heard about a course in Brisbane teaching people how to build a penny farthing.

“That’s where it all started,” Jeff laughed.

“I hadn’t ridden one before that.”

But coincidentally, Jeff – being a physiotherapist – was treating one of his patients when the man told him his son had penny farthings on his farm in Peak Hill and could teach him to ride one.

“I like telling this story, it’s funny,” he said.

Jeff immediately accepted the offer prior to taking the course.

“After we took the course and built our penny farthings, we all went to an industrial yard to learn how to ride them,” he said.

“There were some of us who had learnt beforehand like myself and there were others who had never ridden before.

“And there was bloodshed, people were flying off.”

Jeff said in the years he’s been riding a penny farthing he’s only been thrown off twice and suffered a black eye.

“That’s it,” he laughed.

“It’s not hard to ride, it’s just like riding a bike.

“I really like riding it because you can ride it all day and you’re not expected to ride fast so you can take your time.” Jeff said he loved people’s reactions when they saw his penny farthing. 

“And I quite like talking about it,” he laughed.