Tuesday, July 20, 2004 (Part 1)
World's largest bicycle enthusiast
Sparta, Wisconsin, "Bicycling Capital of America," is allegedly the home of the World's Largest Bicycle. We visited the bicycle, and it is big, but can a fixed-position bicycle made of fiberglass honestly be called a bicycle? Well, I guess we let Collinsville slide by with the World's Largest Catsup Bottle claim, even though, to my knowledge, it never held catsup, so I guess we'll give Sparta a pass as well. Let the Guinness people be the sticklers. We're just trying to have fun.
Tiananmen Square, Wisconsin
What roadside-oddity road trip would be complete without a visit to the birthplace of the oddities itself, F.A.S.T., Fiberglass Animals, Shapes & Trademarks, Corp.? If you've seen a big, probably tacky, fiberglass thingamajig, chances are it was made just outside of Sparta at F.A.S.T. Corp. Visitors are welcome to roam around the grounds, a graveyard to used molds, damaged titans, and a few newly-made, not-yet-shipped creations. Words cannot describe the splendor of the World's Most Awesome Junkyard, so we took a couple dozen pictures, each worth a thousand words. Here are some of the highlights:
Skull in a fiberglass graveyard
Lone Wolf
Funky chicken
Beam me up, E.T.
Jana's house
Mr. Tom's wild ride
Got wood?
Santa, I am your father
Americana cow
Mr. Escargot
Dracula's cousin
Continue to Day 4, Part 2