Sarah Sollinger, Special to The Denisonian—

There is nothing more humbling than getting passed by someone while you are walking to class. The self-conscious, gut-sinking feeling that you are that slow person monopolizing the sidewalk is highly unenjoyable.  

But what if that someone passing by you was on a bike?

And what if that bike was a banana yellow tandem bike with palm trees covering the metal frame and two swimmers peddling to their heart’s content on the seats? 

Well, for the lucky Denison students who are out and about right before Blake McDonald’s 11:30 a.m. class, that dream is a reality. 

If you live on East Quad, or ever walk past the Hoaglin Wellness Center, then you know about the mysterious tandem bike. The bright yellow bike popped up at the beginning of second semester this year, and has taken residence at the racks outside of Hoaglin. On a basically bikeless campus, the glowing yellow tandem sticks out like a sore thumb. 

The bike is the product of some friendly inspiration and the sheer willpower of Blake McDonald, a Junior from Louisville, Kentucky. After talking to a hometown friend about the joy of his tandem bike, McDonald was inspired to bring the two wheeled, chick magnet to Denison. 

“Honestly, I fell in love with the idea of it the moment my friend told me about it,” McDonald said.

With some slight, but probably unnecessary, convincing, McDonald got Connor Brown and Patrick Daly, two fellow teammates, in on the “investment.” 

And just like that, the three were business partners. They acquired their new mode of transportation on Facebook marketplace, buying it from a sweet old lady in Columbus at a scorching deal of $250. 

The bike, while undoubtedly a stylish piece, is a little run-down. 

“It is pretty s***** in general, it doesn’t roll that well, the tires – well it fits our vibe pretty well. It’s weird and it looks like s***, and I honestly think that makes it better,” McDonald said. 

“You can’t really do any sharp turns on it,” Brown, a junior from Cleveland, said. “And I wouldn’t go down hill on it either.” 

Unfortunately, our Home on The Hill doesn’t fit those conditions. 

While it has its practical uses, like clocking record-breaking times for the trip from Shaw Hall to Knapp, the bike is really about the feeling it provides. 

“Riding it around is just so much fun. You can’t really describe it unless you ride it to class. It is just one of the greatest feelings you have ever had,” said Brown. 

Along with making the riders happy, the sight of the boys peddling around campus is fun for everyone. 

The investment continues as the owners are currently in the process of creating a rental system. For a certain amount of money, they are still working on the specifics, one can rent the bike for the day and experience the exhilaration of riding on such a beautiful piece of machinery. 

This joy-inducing, unthinkably creative move is not the result of an excess of time. These student athletes put their minds together to inspire this life-changing investment. With a whimsical touch, and helmets on the way, these six-foot-tall boys are peddling their way across A-Quad and into Denison hearts. 

McDonald said what, perhaps, everyone has been thinking all along. 

“I think this is probably one of the top ten best ideas to ever come to Denisons campus in the last 100 years,” McDonald said. “Everyone loves that thing.”