Why do some of us name our bicycles? Well, for some of us—for me, anyway—bicycles are companions in our journeys. Thus, our bicycles have stories, and it only seems fitting that anything with a narrative, or narratives, should also have a name.
Our bicycles’ sagas include epic rides and errands, life-changing events and daily routines. Also, our bikes have, if you will, their origin stories, whether with robots in a Southeast Asian factory or a craft shop in Portland. Or, in the case of one machine, specifically a “skyscraper” bike, its conception, if you will, took place in a Midwestern university’s engineering class.
Wynn Grame “saw an image” of a double-decker bike like the one he built “and it just stuck in my head.” Once friends donated bikes, he recalled, he “just had to do it.” And so his class project, and current mode of transportation, began.
From cutting up the frames to taking his first ride, Grame’s build took six weeks during which he squeezed in shop time while working on his summer internship and on weekends.
Sometimes, our bike stories include learning something new, whether about a custom in some place where we take a ride or a skill which may or not be related to the bike. In Grame’s case, it was something essential to the origin of his bike: Before he started building it, he had never welded. Not even once.
I have seen “crane” or “giraffe” bikes like his, but have never ridden one. So it was very interesting to learn that, aside from the “cool” factor, there are benefits to riding his creation. It “offers excellent visibility on the road,” he explained, “because cars can see you immediately” and are “very cautious around you.” Hmm…Does that make “blinkies” and reflective clothing unnecessary?
I’ll take his word for it and give him “props” for building a bike. But with so many interesting stories already part of its identity, I wonder whether Wynn Grame has given his bike a name.
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