If you’ve driven on Highway 34 between Seward and Utica, you may have seen a man on a high-wheeled bicycle.
That’s Mike Hughes of Utica. He’s been riding these bikes since about 1993 when he bought his first bike from a person in New York.
He rode modern bikes before then (and still does today). Since buying his first high-wheeled bike, Hughes has gotten six more with another coming this year. Five are originals, two are restored. The one he was riding May 27 was from 1886.
It has been restored with new spokes, new handlebars and new rubber tires. He said club members are often able to help with specific work on the bicycles.
“We are pretty self-sufficient,” he said. “We want to keep them on the road and keep them safe.”
The high-wheeled bikes are direct drive, which means they don’t have gears, and you can’t coast. Bicycles are sized from 44 inches to 60 inches based on a person’s inseam.
Hughes was riding a 51-inch bike and said he can ride a 52, but when he turns the wheel, his outside foot can’t reach the pedal.
“It’s a little too tall,” he said.
The old-fashioned bicycles require different muscles, as well, compared to the modern bikes, he said.
He got started when he saw an article in a bicycling magazine. Originally, he was only going to display the bicycle, but a fellow bicyclist in Nebraska City said he would help Hughes find a high-wheeled bike if he would ride it.
He agreed.
Hughes has built a timber-frame barn to display his two-wheeled vehicles both antique and modern. He is a member of The Wheelmen, a national organization that focuses on antique bicycles.
He has ridden a century, 100 miles, a couple times. The first one was on a Friday the 13th and took 12 hours and 57 minutes.
Hughes said people often stop him when he’s riding to ask about the bicycle. He is getting antique bike No. 8 this summer from a pharmacist in Ohio. That owner has every size from 44-60 and is always upgrading. He currently has two 49s, Hughes said, and one will be coming to Nebraska.
