MY RIDE- Christian Breeden: Custom 'tall bike'

CHRISTIAN BREEDEN

"I didn't know until I built it how fun it is to be this high," jokes Christian Breeden, who welded his one-of-a-kind tall bike this year from "a Mongoose, a Giant, and various other bike parts."

Breeden says custom bikes like this one are common in bigger cities and are named for their particular traits: tall bikes, long bikes, car bikes, wobbly bikes. He was inspired to create his tall bike because "I needed a classy ride for Burning Man," the infamous annual arts festival in Nevada.

With his head more than 10 feet above the ground, Breeden has nearly a bird's eye view of the road. Not surprisingly, safety is an issue. While he cops to falling off many times, he's been fortunate: "no major injuries," he says.

Questions about the bike are frequent, but Breeden says most times he can't slow down to answer. "I need to focus on not scratching anyone's paint job," he says.

The best thing about the bike?

"It's one of a kind," he says. "Vehicles that are truly unique are what all Americans strive for."
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