Ben Bikin'
World's Largest Bicyclist Marking Sparta's Claim as Bicycle Capital of the World
Photos
Ben Bikin
This 32' tall sculpture welcomes you to Sparta - northern head of the world-famous Sparta-Elroy Trail and the western head of the La Crosse River Trail.
Photo taken by J.R. Manning in August 2013
Map
Description
This 32' tall fiberglass figure is a Gay Nineties bicyclist riding a high-wheeler in a small park in Sparta. Sparta claims to be the Bicycle Capital of the World, with some good reason. The statue is located at the junction of the La Crosse River State Bicycle Trail and the Elroy-Sparta Trail.The Elroy-Sparta Trail was one of the first, if not the first, rails-to-trail conversion and the first such trail to be recognized by the US Department of the Interior.
Ben Bikin welcomes riders to Sparta, close to a wooden through-truss bridge that carries the La Crosse River State Trail across the La Crosse River.
Ben Bikin was a special project of a company called F.A.S.T. Corporation in Sparta. The company is known for creating fiberglass structures and figures for many years. A smaller version of Ben Bikin has been mounted in front of the pavillion, not far from the large statue.
This page's URL is http://landmarkhunter.com/200212-ben-bikin/