Some UF students took a bicycle built for two to the next level.
Engineering seniors Thomas Reed and Chad Hughes can be seen riding the “quadralator,” a four-person, orange-and-blue bicycle they built earlier this year, around campus with two other friends on game days.
Reed said the idea came about when he was sitting in Marston Library with Hughes one day, adding that he originally got the idea from a movie.
“I saw ‘Beerfest,’ actually, and they made a five seater, so it was definitely possible,” he said.
Hughes had a bicycle he was willing to donate to the endeavor, and Reed along with two other friends, Andrew Cain and Michael Powers, all bought identical bicycles to combine to the four seater.
Reed said it took him about three days before the beginning of the fall semester to build the superbicycle. He then handed it off to Hughes to add the finishing touches.
“I got it to work first and then Chad took about two days just taking it apart and painting it,” Reed said.
The four friends ride their orange and blue masterpiece up Gale Lemerand Drive to the stadium, dressed in wacky getups, for each home game.
“We always try to look kind of ridiculous,” Reed said.
Reed said they dressed in Daisy Dukes denim shorts for the UF-Georgia game, just to go along with the stereotype.
People laugh and cheer when they ride by on their bicycle, he said.
“They always are amazed at the number of guys we can put on a bicycle,” Reed said.
But don’t be fooled by their silly appearances; Hughes said the bicycle is difficult to ride because there’s more weight to pedal around.
“You’d think with four people you’d have four times the speed,” he said, “but in reality it’s more work.”
