SPORT THE QUILTER CHEVIOT ETAPE ROYALE
Traversing the Highlands on a penny farthing? “It just seemed like a natural, obvious thing to do”
Fox-Pitt said the inspiration for
WildFox Events is luring riders to the second annual Etape Royale with the help of a Victorian-era two wheeler
BY NICOLA STOW T
he man behind Scot- land’s only closed-road cycle ‘sportive’ is going to extreme lengths to promote this year’s event –
by riding across the UK on a penny farthing. David Fox-Pitt cuts a curious fig-
ure as he rolls through cities, towns and villages, peddling his wares: the Etape Royale. Te 51-year-old even takes the
Victorian-era bike on the sleeper train to London, where he drums up more publicity – and stops traffic – by cycling around Euston for the day. Tus far, his quirky stunt has proved highly successful, with more than 600 participants signed up for the 102-mile circuit through the north-east of Scotland.
his marketing campaign came after he completed last year’s inaugural Etape Royale on a penny farthing along with Scottish adventurer and record-breaking cyclist Mark Beaumont. “It just seemed like a natural,
obvious thing to do,” he said. “Since Mark and I took part in the Etape, the penny farthing has become an icon for the event. It’s a trigger, if you like, for people to recognise the event. It’s a great publicity stunt. I wear an Etape logo on my shirt and I just cycle around on the penny, at- tracting lots of attention. I did think about attaching a sales flag to the
“I DO GET SOME STRANGE LOOKS SOMETIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN I TAKE THE PENNY FARTHING ON THE SLEEPER TRAIN TO LONDON”
David Fox-Pitt, Director, Wildfox Events
18 | EVENTSBASE | SUMMER 2016
bike, but then realised that could cause an accident. “Te response I receive is terrific
– I get tooted-up by drivers, and people stop to speak to me and, as a result, more people sign up for the event. I do get some strange looks sometimes, especially when I take the penny farthing on the sleeper train to London, but that’s a good thing as it becomes a talk- ing point and therefore generates more interest. Te London trips are great. I arrive in London in the morning, attend my meetings, then ride around Euston before getting the sleeper back to Scotland in the evening. It’s great fun.”
THE QUILTER Cheviot Etape Royale, organised by David’s adven- ture challenge company WildFox Events, takes cyclists on a 102-mile closed-road circular route through Aberdeenshire and Moray, starting and finishing at Ballater. Te event takes place on Septem-
ber 18, and participants will ride through Tarland, Muir of Fowlis, Bridge of Alford and Rhynie before heading west into Moray, over the Lecht and through Corgarff. A record number of participants
are expected to get on their bikes for this year’s ride, which raises money for local charities and com- munity projects along the route. David said support from local
The Quilter Cheviot Etape Royale takes cyclists on a 102-mile closed road circular route through stunning Aberdeenshire and Moray, starting and finishing at Ballater
communities has been “over- whelming”, especially in Ballater, where more than 300 homes were devastated by flooding caused by Storm Frank in December. He explained: “Last year’s Etape
Royale attracted 1,000 cyclists. Tis year we’re expecting around double that amount. People pay £71 to register and we take ten per cent of that and give it to local communi- ties. Tis seems to work really well and community groups all along the route get involved. We’re taking ownership of the event rather than have a big outside company come in and take a large portion of the profits. “Te support we’ve received from
the local communities has been phenomenal. “We’ve got about £2,000 going
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