G
Garrison Hillia
Guest
Thunder Bay, Ont. man into the record books with bike-building pastime
Tue Mar 2, 3:33 PM ET
THUNDER BAY, Ont. (CP) - A local cycling enthusiast is riding his hobby right into the Guinness Book
of Records with the world's tallest rideable bicycle.
"The hard part is actually getting over your fear of heights," said Brad Graham, the inventor of the
bike that stands more than four metres tall. "Balancing the bike is just like any other bike, it
almost rides itself."
Graham collected all the documentation for the Guinness people during his first 15-minute ride on
the bike last July. It took about six months and tonnes of paperwork before the record was confirmed
early last month, beating out the three-metre-tall bike that held the previous record.
"The tall bike itself is actually part of a project for a book that I wrote. Somebody told me that
may be the world's tallest bike, so I contacted Guinness and apparently it was," said Graham, 35,
who has been building bikes for about 20 years.
Graham says getting used to it was easy.
"If you stop dead on this bike, you're 15 feet off the ground. It would take you literally 10
seconds to start falling."
The network engineer is also the owner of a Website - www.atomiczombie.com - which is dedicated to
flamboyant bikes and other inventions.
The bike was built in three days in Graham's backyard in 2003. The contraption is designed in the
same way a regular bike is built, but with larger wheels.
The frame, made of steel tubing, includes a ladder, used by the rider to get on and off the bike.
He says he leans the record-breaking bike against a large telephone pole in order to get on board
because he wants to be able to do it all independently.
Graham says he plans to continue experimenting with strange and different bikes. But he recognizes
there's a limit.
"I think I got a couple more to go yet," he says.
He adds he's also checking to see if he's the first resident of this northern Ontario city to get
into the Guinness Book of World Records.
-30-
Tue Mar 2, 3:33 PM ET
THUNDER BAY, Ont. (CP) - A local cycling enthusiast is riding his hobby right into the Guinness Book
of Records with the world's tallest rideable bicycle.
"The hard part is actually getting over your fear of heights," said Brad Graham, the inventor of the
bike that stands more than four metres tall. "Balancing the bike is just like any other bike, it
almost rides itself."
Graham collected all the documentation for the Guinness people during his first 15-minute ride on
the bike last July. It took about six months and tonnes of paperwork before the record was confirmed
early last month, beating out the three-metre-tall bike that held the previous record.
"The tall bike itself is actually part of a project for a book that I wrote. Somebody told me that
may be the world's tallest bike, so I contacted Guinness and apparently it was," said Graham, 35,
who has been building bikes for about 20 years.
Graham says getting used to it was easy.
"If you stop dead on this bike, you're 15 feet off the ground. It would take you literally 10
seconds to start falling."
The network engineer is also the owner of a Website - www.atomiczombie.com - which is dedicated to
flamboyant bikes and other inventions.
The bike was built in three days in Graham's backyard in 2003. The contraption is designed in the
same way a regular bike is built, but with larger wheels.
The frame, made of steel tubing, includes a ladder, used by the rider to get on and off the bike.
He says he leans the record-breaking bike against a large telephone pole in order to get on board
because he wants to be able to do it all independently.
Graham says he plans to continue experimenting with strange and different bikes. But he recognizes
there's a limit.
"I think I got a couple more to go yet," he says.
He adds he's also checking to see if he's the first resident of this northern Ontario city to get
into the Guinness Book of World Records.
-30-
