*
>> For Tammy Simonson, life is
best lived on two wheels.
>> Just the freedom of
that bike.
>> Today, Tammy is riding
through a park in Eagle,
near Waukesha, but she spends
plenty of time on the open road.
>> The furthest I've ever gone?
It was supposed to be a century
ride, so it was supposed to be
100 miles, but I did get lost,
so I went 102 miles.
[laughs]
>> Tammy is part of a unique
group of cyclists,
not because of her routes,
but because of her ride.
>> It's a 1880-ish,
Singer high-wheel.
it's from Coventry, England.
And it's, it was more of a speed
bike, I guess you'd call it.
It's got some upgrades to it,
but it's a lot of fun.
I had some help putting it
back together.
It came from a bike shop
in New York, and a gentleman
in Michigan bought it,
and then I bought it from him.
High-wheels were probably
popular around the late 1870s
to about 1910, and the reason
they became more popular was
bikes started out with wheels
that were the same size, and
they thought, well I can't
propel this bike without moving
forward, so let's put some
pedals on the front wheel, and
that's where they started.
But you couldn't go very fast,
very far, because you were
limited by how small the wheel
was with your distance.
There was no chain at the time.
And the idea was, let's just
make the front wheel bigger.
That way I can get further with
each pedal stroke.
>> When bikes like this were in
their prime, odds are Tammy
wouldn't have had the chance
to ride.
>> Women were not supposed to be
riding bikes.
If they did go out, they had to
have someone with them or they
rode a bike that was adjusted
for their skirts, because if you
showed ankles, oh, that was
horrendous at the time.
But they wanted to get out just
as badly as the guys did.
We made accommodations for them,
and I think that kind of moved
women forward in history, was
just through the bicycle.
>> Those taboos are long gone.
On this day Tammy is gearing up
for the annual meet of
the Wheelmen, a group of
riders from around the country
who show and preserve
antique bikes.
>> I first saw the Wheelmen
in the Great Circus parade
in Milwaukee,
and I fell in love with it.
I could not get enough.
They were always the first unit
to go through, and after that,
the parade was disappointing
to me.
I always kind of drew back to
that, and that's what I wanted
to do after I would graduate
from college.
at was when I first got
my bike.
>> How do you ride those things?
>> There's a small step on the
back of the bike and you kind of
scoot along on the scooter
to get on.
Then once you kind of have
momentum, that's when you can
hop up into the saddle.
To get off, it's all in reverse.
You just have to reach your leg
back, find that step and kind of
come off.
But it took about a week to
learn how to get off of it.
For a while it was just jumping
off randomly into ditches,
and now we can do it a little
more gracefully, and it's
a lot more fun.
There's really no brakes
on the bike.
Because it's direct drive you're
able to slow down with the bike,
but you really kind of
gotta jump off.
>> After a few years of riding,
Tammy traveled to her first
national Wheelmen's meet
in New Jersey.
>> It was like I met all my
family members that I didn't
know I had, because everyone
has this passion for high-wheels
and for biking,
It was an instant connection,
an instant connection.
It was awesome.
>> But Tammy's bike family and
her biological family are
starting to blend.
Her sister rides as well.
And the next generation?
They're getting in the
saddle too.
>> I'm Emily.
>> Michaela.
>> I'm Lindsey,
and Tammy's our aunt.
>> It's just really cool because
not many people get the chance
to ride these bikes.
>> It's something that most
people don't see everyday.
>> I like being different,
and no one else does
ride these bikes.
>> It's fun because I get to
spend a lot of time with
my sisters, and it's fun getting
to see all the people going,
"Oh, look at them!"
>> I love having my nieces here.
They bring so much joy
to the ride.
We recently did a parade, and
it's funny to watch the
teenagers now, because they
start to get a little
embarrassed about their friends
seeing them on parade.
But they're still having
a great time doing it.
It's always a happy day when
you're riding a high-wheel
because everyone's smiling
and waving and, you know,
yelling out and asking questions
or saying "good job"
or "nice bike," or something
like that.
So it's always a happy day when
you're on a high-wheel.