Spring Break
'Tall bike buy' brings smiles to the road [VIDEO]
Kaeli West
Issue date: 5/11/09 Section: News
"It brings out this youth, this smile, this excitement," Siegrist said. "It's the greatest icebreaker."
"It brings communities together," he added.
Riding the tall bike gives him empowerment to make people's day, he said, and to get that person who normally stares at the concrete to raise their head and smile.
Siegrist recalled one time riding down Mulberry Street when an entire Greyhound-sized bus stopped so the passengers could snap some photos and take in the rare tall bike.
But most often, people are just curious to know how he mounts the bike.
Like Travis Bottini, a senior landscape and horticulture major, who saw Siegrist walking the bike near CSU's west lawn in late April.
"How the hell do you get on this thing?" he said.
It's invariably the first question he's asked. And it's one worth asking.
As Siegrist describes it, getting on the tall bike is a lot like mounting a horse - run along side the bike, build momentum, climb up the frame and put the right foot on a low level bar, left foot on the pedal, and swing the right leg over.
It seems easy enough, and it usually is for Siegrist, but don't be fooled. Even a pro like Siegrist can struggle at times, not just with getting on but also with staying on and getting off.
"It's not a moment to moment (ride), it's definitely a block to block ride."
When Siegrist rides he is always on the lookout for a sign or a light pole to stop and catch his balance on, which one of the engineers of Siegrist's tall bike, Taylor Nixon, explained is actually easier than most might think.
Nixon, a CSU mechanical engineering graduate, compared riding the tall bike to balancing a baseball bat in the palm of your hand versus a pencil; the bat is actually easier to control because of its greater weight and height.
As long as the rider can deal with the fear factor part of the equation, he says it can even be easier than riding a regular sized bike.
"It brings communities together," he added.
Riding the tall bike gives him empowerment to make people's day, he said, and to get that person who normally stares at the concrete to raise their head and smile.
Siegrist recalled one time riding down Mulberry Street when an entire Greyhound-sized bus stopped so the passengers could snap some photos and take in the rare tall bike.
But most often, people are just curious to know how he mounts the bike.
Like Travis Bottini, a senior landscape and horticulture major, who saw Siegrist walking the bike near CSU's west lawn in late April.
"How the hell do you get on this thing?" he said.
It's invariably the first question he's asked. And it's one worth asking.
As Siegrist describes it, getting on the tall bike is a lot like mounting a horse - run along side the bike, build momentum, climb up the frame and put the right foot on a low level bar, left foot on the pedal, and swing the right leg over.
It seems easy enough, and it usually is for Siegrist, but don't be fooled. Even a pro like Siegrist can struggle at times, not just with getting on but also with staying on and getting off.
"It's not a moment to moment (ride), it's definitely a block to block ride."
When Siegrist rides he is always on the lookout for a sign or a light pole to stop and catch his balance on, which one of the engineers of Siegrist's tall bike, Taylor Nixon, explained is actually easier than most might think.
Nixon, a CSU mechanical engineering graduate, compared riding the tall bike to balancing a baseball bat in the palm of your hand versus a pencil; the bat is actually easier to control because of its greater weight and height.
As long as the rider can deal with the fear factor part of the equation, he says it can even be easier than riding a regular sized bike.
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