When Michael Cizek graduates in May, he’s saying goodbye to more than just the UF campus. He’s parting ways with an icon: an orange and blue 1968 Schwinn Twinn dubbed the Gator Tandem.
Cizek, a UF international business senior, has ridden the Gator Tandem across the Homecoming stage, down Southwest 34th Street and on the 50-yard line of the football field.
Cizek posted the bike for sale on the UF Student Football Ticket Exchange with a price tag of $1,000 April 8. Since his post, four students and university staff members showed interest in the bike.
Cizek rode the Gator Tandem on occasion around campus, usually offering rides to friends or picking up strangers on the way to class.
He’s known for honking its little blue horn to greet people.
“You get to meet a new friend. You get to go someplace you weren’t expecting,” he said. “It’s like Uber driving but way more fun.”
Ben Gonzalez, a UF sports management graduate student and Cizek’s freshman-year roommate, wasn’t surprised when Cizek bought the bike their freshman year. He said Cizek had a habit of impulse buying on Craigslist.
The 22-year-old said seeing the bike brings him back to freshman year.
“Things didn’t matter as much, and we were able to enjoy the college experience before getting all wrapped up in doing well in school and finding jobs,” Gonzalez said.
Contact Amanda Rosa at arosa@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @AmandaNicRosa.
Michael Cizek
![Photo of the missing Leachianus “Leachie” gecko. [Photo courtesy of Mike Southwick]](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/ufa/907bd92a-0b29-40eb-a5fb-d7db7cf98b2f.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1500&ar=16%3A9&fit=crop&crop=faces&facepad=3&auto=format)
