Tallbike Mass
Here’s another one I can check off on my life’s “to-do” list: riding a tallbike bedecked in Christmas lights in Critical Mass—and living to tell about it.
Yesterday, I wrapped the Deathtrap II in a couple strands of battery-operated Christmas lights that Jen had in her Burning Man box and then rode through rush hour traffic on Capitol Hill to join in November’s Critical Mass ride. About a hundred cyclists showed up at Westlake Center for a leisurely tour through downtown, celebrating bike love and flaunting traffic laws, if not common sense, as well.
I was one of two tall bikes in the parade, which had a especially festive feel to it, due, I think, in part to the season, and in part because—after last months controversial ride which saw Mass take over a piece of Highway 99 usually inaccessible to two-wheelers—people just wanted to have fun and be silly.
That was my motivation, anyway, sitting eight or so feet in the air, commanding a fantastic view of rows of blinky tail lights winking at me from scores of bicycles up ahead.
It was sorta scary maneuvering the Deathtrap II through the Mass of cyclists; oddly enough, it’s relatively easy to not notice a tallbike when it’s next to you; because there are only wheels and no rider on your shoulder as it sneaks by, you’re apt to not register it; this happened a couple of times to me, as riders would suddenly look up and say, “Whoa! Ooops! Yikes!” as I barely avoided crashing down on them.
Surprisingly, I only fell once, and that was as I tried to do a running mount of the bike on an uphill grade; a feat I now take to be essentially impossible, unless you’ve got a telephone pole or SUV to lean on.
Having done the tallbike Mass, I may or may not reprise it; I still haven’t done a trailer with the massive soundsystem; maybe that’s next.
Yesterday, I wrapped the Deathtrap II in a couple strands of battery-operated Christmas lights that Jen had in her Burning Man box and then rode through rush hour traffic on Capitol Hill to join in November’s Critical Mass ride. About a hundred cyclists showed up at Westlake Center for a leisurely tour through downtown, celebrating bike love and flaunting traffic laws, if not common sense, as well.
I was one of two tall bikes in the parade, which had a especially festive feel to it, due, I think, in part to the season, and in part because—after last months controversial ride which saw Mass take over a piece of Highway 99 usually inaccessible to two-wheelers—people just wanted to have fun and be silly.
That was my motivation, anyway, sitting eight or so feet in the air, commanding a fantastic view of rows of blinky tail lights winking at me from scores of bicycles up ahead.
It was sorta scary maneuvering the Deathtrap II through the Mass of cyclists; oddly enough, it’s relatively easy to not notice a tallbike when it’s next to you; because there are only wheels and no rider on your shoulder as it sneaks by, you’re apt to not register it; this happened a couple of times to me, as riders would suddenly look up and say, “Whoa! Ooops! Yikes!” as I barely avoided crashing down on them.
Surprisingly, I only fell once, and that was as I tried to do a running mount of the bike on an uphill grade; a feat I now take to be essentially impossible, unless you’ve got a telephone pole or SUV to lean on.
Having done the tallbike Mass, I may or may not reprise it; I still haven’t done a trailer with the massive soundsystem; maybe that’s next.
posted by Professor Dave at 12:20 PM
2 Comments:
the trailer would be cool, but what about one of these http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/nyregion/29bikes.html
making bikes taller? I dont get it.
making bikes shorter; now that is cool. Moosh (mike Kurtinitis) tried very unsuccessfully to build a comfort/recumb out of some spare steel frames. on the test ride, i destroyed every weld with the first peddle stroke. we dont know how to weld as well as we thought.
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