June 26 (UPI) – A Dutch man has assembled a team of technical experts to realize his lifelong dream: to build the world’s longest bicycle, measuring 180 feet and 11 inches long.
Ivan Schalk, 39, said he has dreamed of building the world’s longest bicycle since he was a child.
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“I’ve been thinking about the idea for years. I once got a Guinness World Records book and came across this record,” he told Guinness World Records.
Schalk, who has experience in building carnival floats, finally set about making his dream a reality and recruited his fellow citizens from Prinsenbeek, Joost Sweep, Jimmy Vermeeren, Sander Vissers, Bas Zuidema, Steffie van de Riet, Daan Husson, Toine Kleemans, Jasper Korving and Op De Beek Hebben We De Langste to his cause.
“Prinsenbeek is known for its volunteers and its high technical capability,” said Schalk. “You can hang out in front of the TV, but that’s not how it is here in Prinsenbeek. We have the technical knowledge and we want to use that knowledge to the maximum.”
Schalk said designing and building the bike was a long process that was eventually paused for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team eventually broke the record by completing a 100-meter (328-foot) ride on their 180-foot, 11-inch bicycle, with one team member operating the handlebars in the front and another pedaling in the back.
The team then broke the record for the world’s longest tandem bicycle by adding extra pedals and more team members.
“We left nothing to chance when it comes to safety,” says Schalk. “You can see that, for example, in the fact that the cyclists are not outside the structure, but inside.”
The bicycle will now find a new home in the local museum in Prinsenbeek.
