Funny as hell: Derny racing

Before this week I'd neither seen or heard of derny racing, and man does it look like a hoot! I must find my way to one of these races so I can watch in person. Unfortunately, the only people odd enough to enjoy this sport seem to be European.

If you're not familiar, here's how it works: An out of shape (see image above) or old guy (see image below) on a funny looking moped thing paces a pro cyclist. The key for the pro cyclist is to tuck in behind their derny.



Dernys (dernies?) are also used in Kerin racing, a Japanese pasttime that seems as exciting as speed skating or biting off one's own nipples.

For a more detailed look into Derny racing -- like, did you know that Derny is the last name of the original maker of these pace "bikes" -- check out this site from the UK.

Here's a link to a good gallery of derny racing photos.

Here is a link
to some boring British derny photos.

Or, perhaps you'd prefer a YouTube video on the topic?



And, finally, here's a video of some gangmaker/derny driver/pacecar training: