(clears throat) - Are you on?

- Not really.

- Well, adjust!

- Help me get up.

Okay.

Okay, I think I'm good.

I'm leaving go!

(melodic wistful music) - When you're riding on the high wheel bike it's functional art.

You're part of the scenery, as the scenery becomes part of you.

My first Circus Parade was '97.

I did all of them from '97 to the end.

- Got it?

- Well, Andy saw me doing it and I told Andy, well maybe he should get a high wheel.

And he said, "Okay."

And we went out and he tried it and he liked it.

- We've gone all over the country because of the bikes and met a lot of people because of the bikes.

Actually, I was like, what, 12, 13 at the time?

And I said that I just wanted to do something with him.

Plus I just thought it was really fascinating.

(crowds enjoying parade) - (Newscaster) Look at the bicycles.

The Wheel Men preserving the history of the early days of bicycles.

Isn't that amazing?

- This is called an "Ordinary" or a penny-farthing.

The reason why they were called "Ordinaries," were because they were so common that they were just ordinary to see.

And the term "penny-farthing," is actually an English term referring to the "penny" and the "farthing."

The "penny," being the large wheel and the "farthing," one fourth of a penny.

So referring to the little wheel.

The little wheel rotates about four times to every one rotation of the big wheel, thus "penny-farthing."

They started making them because basically this was the first thing from horse and buggy and walking.

And they really didn't have a concept of chains or gears and the chains and gears that they did have were way too big and bulky.

By 1889, 1886, 1887, they already had a concept of these chains, got it down a lot thinner, and you could get a bicycle like you see today.

A lot of sayings actually come from these bicycles.

For instance, with this one it's a common practice when going downhill to put your feet over the handlebars for coasting.

And when you would do that, people would, you'd go fast, and people would be like, "Hey look at that guy, flying by the seat of his pants!"

And that's literally where that saying came from.

Also, the kerosene lanterns were really more used for people to see you, not for you to see.

So they had this idea of the kerosene lanterns in the hub right in the center there and would hang right from there.

And what would happen is they would spill, somebody would crash.

Kerosene would spill out and it would ignite.

And you would literally "crash and burn."

- Where am I stopping you?

- With Andy around being as big as he is, I feel comfortable that he can help me because I used to help him when he was learning how to ride his bike.

I used to help him get on, get off, get on, get off, until he could finally do it on his own.

And now, payback!

(chuckles) (soothing guitar music)