*Festival-goers Alex Woodman and Taylor Johnston, both 12, pedal the tandem two-seater on Saturday's Maker Faire.
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SAN MATEO, California -- Any good carnival wouldn't be complete without rides, and at the Maker Faire, a 21st century experiment in artistry, science and sideshow acts, the Unwheeldy, a two-wheeled cycle, was in high demand.
Festival attendees waited in lines weaving through fire sculptures and roboart for their turn to climb aboard the double-seater.
Bay Area computer software engineer Matthew Blaine, 34, co-designed and built the vehicle, which he called a "giant tandem dicycle." The dicycle's wheels are each 9-feet tall and positioned 5-feet apart from one another, set in a steel frame. Blaine and his friend Dave Hershberger spent three months constructing the big wheeled contraption after work and on the weekends in their backyards and garages.
The hardest part about building a monstrous bike? Finding super-sized materials. "Most bike shops don't carry giant, 4-foot spokes," laughed Blaine. "So we made them out of salvaged steel."
Photo: Kat Wade/Wired.com
