Spotted in Longford: Jeremy and the velomobile

Both motorists and pedestrians in Lanesboro found themselves doing a double take after spotting a bright orange contraption parked along Main Street.

Sitting inside was a dapper-looking gentleman called Jeremy, who soon had heads turning again as he took it out onto the road and across the bridge, home to Roscommon.

The contraption in question is in fact a state-of-the-art velomobile, an enclosed, aerodynamic pedal-powered vehicle.

“They're made in Holland,” Jeremy explains. “I bought this (the Quest Velomobiel) last October and I rode it back from the Netherlands.”

“There was just a little stretch in the middle of England, which was going to be a bit tricky and a bit dangerous, so I decided to get a van just to transport it, but other than that, I cycled all the way back in it. The most difficult part was getting out of Dublin to be honest. That was really quite tricky because I got lost.”

He adds, “It's fully road legal. It's just a bicycle and falls under the same laws, so it can go anywhere that a bicycle can.”

“I've had one since 2009, so that's 17 years” he explain I have another one at home, which is 25 years old, and I though I'd treat myself to a new one, which is what I did.”

While the velomobile is generally quite a rare sight on the roads, there are in fact two of them in Roscommon.

“Another man bought one about four or five months ago so people will either see me or him,” Jeremy laughs. “There’s no one else that I’m aware of. They are quite rare. I think it requires a certain sort of personality really to want to ride one of these. Not everybody would want to.”

For Jeremy, the velomobile is far from a novelty, but rather a practical part of his everyday life.

“I use it most days, to be honest,” he explains. “I don't need to go far tonight. By the time I get back, I’ll probably have done about 35 miles or something like that, but you can go all day. It's so comfortable.”

While it may leave plenty of people puzzled, Jeremy enjoys the questions that come with travelling in such an unusual vehicle.

“It's a talking piece. I know a lot about it so I enjoy talking about it. You get all sorts of reactions though” he explains before adding with a laugh, “Some people are very, very enthusiastic and other people think it's ridiculous.”