The story behind that bike: Why a new Cape resident rides on a 6-foot cycle

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a ... 6-foot-tall bicycle?

Commuters and pedestrians may have noticed a rather tall road bike making its way across town in the last several months.

In fact, spectators at the Parade of Lights last month may have seen several like it there.

That’s because these unusual modes of transportation are handcrafted by new Cape Girardeau resident Parker Bond.

“It’s like being a kid on a bike for the first time, every time,” Bond said.

Parker Bond, 26, stands in his outside workshop where he constructs his tall bikes that are usually made from the parts of several other bicycles Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Made from old junk bikes Bond said are deemed “unsalvageable,” tall bikes are a subcategory of what he called “freak bikes.”

These low-budget vehicles are made with spare parts he collects and keeps in his backyard.

Bond said a tall bike is meant to be a fiscally and environmentally responsible method of transportation. He even rides his to Baristas Coffee Bar, where he often works in the early hours of the morning. The choice to bicycle to work is one he said gives him a boost of energy to begin his day right.

The only difference between it and a standard bicycle, he said, is getting on and off it.

“It’s 100 percent commitment every time you get on and off that bike,” Bond said. “Once your foot hits the pedal, if you hesitate, you’re going to fall.”

Sparks fly as Parker Bond welds together his tall bike Thursday in Cape Girardeau. When the weather is warmer, Bond and his friends play bike polo at Arena Park. He said he eventually would like to use his tall bike during the game.Andrew J. Whitaker

He first discovered tall bikes in New Orleans about five years ago. After repairing one, he was hooked.

“I was immediately enthralled by tall bikes. Right after that, my best friend wrecked the bike,” Bond said.

An accident on a tall bike means falling 5 or 6 feet to the ground below — a risk Bond is willing to take.

“I would definitely encourage wearing a helmet,” Bond said.

Because he didn’t have the financial means at age 20 to begin creating his own tall bikes, the now 26-year-old did not build his first one until June 6, 2016.

Since then, he’s gone on to build several more like it, even a few for his friends.

Bond said he hopes to build each new bike a bit taller than the last. Now, he’s got his heart set on a bike that will stand 9 feet tall.

“That’s the ridiculous, punk-rock side of the whole thing. It’s about doing something just because it’s ridiculous,” Bond said.

Ridiculous though they may be, tall bikes are something Bond said people in Cape Girardeau seem excited about.

He said he almost never encounters problems with other motorists when he’s traveling on a tall bike. And it’s a good thing, because he prefers a bicycle as a means of transportation over his pickup truck, and he’ll often ride one all the way across town.

“No one ever gets mad at you on a tall bike,” Bond said. “Most people are just so stoked to see one or they are trying to figure out what’s going on.”

While Bond didn’t invent the tall bike, he said he is facilitating the creation of a “tall bike scene” in Cape Girardeau in hopes more people become interested in them in the future.

His fascination with creating new things doesn’t stop at tall bikes. Before moving to town in March, Bond lived in four other states and had a handmade leather-goods business. He even built his mother a tiny house when she decided to sell her home in Texas.

His nomadic lifestyle is one Bond said he has enjoyed, but he’s about ready to settle down.

For now, he said, Cape Girardeau is a great place to do just that.

“It’s been a really cool trade-off in my life,” Bond said. “I got to discover a new sport and bring tall bikes to Cape.”

He is referring to bike polo, or as he puts it, the “greatest sport on Earth.” Bond is member of the Cape Girardeau Bike Polo Club that meets at Arena Park to play.

The game is played on standard bikes and involves a ball, mallets and an enclosed space in which to play. For this, Bond said, he wears a helmet.

Bond said the polo club is full of “super welcoming people” who usually have extra bikes around for anyone who wants to join a game.

That sense of welcoming is something Bond tries to adopt when talking to people about tall bikes. He said he’ll teach anyone to make or ride one, but he never would make a business out of it. That, he said, would spoil them being just for fun.

“It’s really just [about] trying to redeem something that’s otherwise useless,” Bond said.