Get on your Bike and Ride!

I for one am already incredibly excited for this weekend. Life doesn't get much better than a virtually perfect weather forecast and bike events galore! In honor of this excitement, I have decided to feature today a contraption that always boggles my mind. Often refered to as 'freakbikes', 'mutantbikes', or my personal choice of terminology, the 'frankinbike', enthusiasts have been taking old junkers and piecing them together in somewhat absurd ways for almost as long as bicycles themselves have been around.

My favorite frankinbike is known as the 'double-decker bike', also referred to as a 'tall bike'. Everytime I see one of these contraptions, I can't help but think, "wow, what kind of crazy adventurous fool first came up with this idea?"



As, you can see a double-decker is constructed from two old bikes, one artfully mounted atop another, usually by welding or brazing. This really is a combination of my two loves, biking and architecture. These bikes always amaze me, usually first for their somewhat outlandish and dangerous appearance, but also for their simple and elegant beauty and construction.

Although, the modern day finds these bikes coveted by hipsters wishing to stand out from the crowd, the design was actually created as a practical one. One of the first uses of the tall bike was as a late 1800s lamp lighting system! Workers would mount this contraption equipped with a torch for lighting gas lamps. The worker would then proceed from lamp to lamp, leaning against the lamp post to light the lamp, and then riding to the next. Upon completing the circuit of lamps, an assistant would help the rider dismount.

I can't explain to you how to ride one of these gems, for I myself would never risk my life atop such a contraption. I can say that modern double-decker riders do not travel with assistants, but rather serve as acrobats of sorts, leaping to and from their seats in the sky. If you attend any of the biking events this weekend, you are sure to see a few tall bikes out there; after all, they are hard to miss.

As a preview for the coming fun, Critical Mass takes place on Friday and will meet in Daley plaza around 6 PM, come one come all. CM is a free event open to anyone will wheels! Also this weekend, the Urban Assault bike ride comes to Chicago! This ride takes place Sunday morning, and riders must register as part of a two person team and pay an entry fee. However, you will be rewarded with tons of cool shwag, a wild and crazy race, and a free after party involving beer and burritos! All of this plus, plus proceeds benefiting local bikers, makes Sunday a great day to GET ON YOU BIKE AND RIDE!

Check back for my updates on these events, and more to come, and while your at it, click over to qbike.com for all of your biking needs. I have just signed on as a contributing writer for the site, and will be doling out advice for all you commuters out there!