Our Favorite Things: High Wire Bike

MOSI volunteer Sarah is riding a bicycle over 30 feet above the ground with only a one inch thick steel cable beneath her and she is smiling while she pedals!

So why does Sarah feel so comfortable on this bicycle so far above the ground? Well the net and the five point harness really help, but there is no way for the bike to tip over or fall off that wire. Hanging beneath the bicycle is a 350 pound counter weight which keeps the bike right side up.

Even with the weight of Sarah combined with the bicycle, the counterweight weighs much more and will always be pulling the bike back into the upright position even if Sarah were to get very brave and rock the bike back and forth.

So why is the net there? Two reasons: It makes people feel better and also catches shoes which might fall off before they land on someone standing on the main floor.

MOSI's High Wire Bike is the longest High Wire Bike ride in a US museum with a 98 foot long cable and is truly science in motion! The High Wire Bike is the favorite thing of Vicki Ahrens, Senior Vice President of Operations who has been with MOSI for 16 and a half years and counting.