All Over Albany

Interesting in 2008: the guy on the big pink bike

One of the best things about working on AOA this past year is that we've had the chance to meet a lot of interesting people. We'll be highlighting a handful of them between now and the start of 2009.

Hey, look-- there he is! Andrew Franciosa gets around-- on a tall pink bike. Earlier this year the U-Albany physics student pimped his ride and became the best known cyclist in the Capital Region.

He built it because he could. And because he wanted to call attention to the cycling and the Troy Bike Rescue. In one afternoon Andrew and a buddy welded two bike frames together,
painted them and created the infamous tall pink bike. Since then he's become the subject of a lot of curiosity and a little bit of road rage. Everywhere he goes Andrew says he gets asked about the bike, which gives him an opportunity to promote cycling.

Has he had enough of the attention? Not yet. In a recent email he told us "it just means that people still find it interesting and more interest in bikes is always good."

But having the region's tallest pink bike wasn't enough. Since the pink bike, Andrew and his buddies have built a tall mountain bike which, he says, "came out really well and is super fun to pedal around on."

What's next? "A tall-tandem, meaning two tall bikes welded together, so two people can ride it at the same time." Look for it this spring on a roadway near you.