National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race sees new champion

Jul. 15—On a warm Saturday afternoon, spectators gathered in downtown Frederick for the National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race. People pressed up against the metal railings closing off the streets, some sitting on the sidewalk and others carrying signs or wearing shirts to support a specific racer.

The crowd was relatively calm when the streets were empty — but when the competitors came rushing across the asphalt, sitting high above the ground on their bikes, the crowd lit up, cheered and rang cowbells.

The National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race, advertised on its website as the only race of its kind in the U.S., celebrated its 9th anniversary on Saturday.

This year's competition featured 54 racers from the U.S. and other countries. They came from as close by as Frederick and as far as Puerto Rico and England, according to the race's website.

The race consisted of two qualifying heats, followed by a championship race, on a 0.4-mile course that looped through Frederick's historic downtown.

Towards the end of the final race, previous two-time winner Per Olaf Kippel from Sweden held the lead while several other racers tailed right behind him.

But just before it came to a close, a new winner emerged: Chris Meacham, who hails from Perkasie, Pennsylvania.

Meacham said this year is his first time competing in the National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race. He has cycled professionally before on regular bikes, according to his bio on the race's website.

Meacham said the entire experience at this race was "energetic" with a smile across his face. For him, he keeps high wheeling because of the community.

"Every lap, the crowd was just giving me energy, so that was really cool," he said. "The camaraderie of it is really nice. It's obviously very fun, too."

Some of the racers had handfuls of friends and family coming out to support them, such as Finnie Wagaman from Pennsylvania. Her daughter, Evelyn Wagaman, and sister, Peg Wagaman, brought outdoor chairs to sit on the sidewalk.

The entire group wore shirts with a picture of Finnie Wagaman on the front, with the phrase "Team Finnie" underneath the image. Evelyn Wagaman also said her mother made 3D-printed high wheel earrings for everyone to wear for the race.

Both Evelyn and Peg Wagaman said this is their first year coming to the event. Peg Wagaman said she loved seeing the racers' outfits and admired their stamina and ability to ride high wheel bikes.

"It's not like a regular bike where you can kind of coast. They are hardwired, they are, and it's very dangerous," she said. "Look at them go! Look at the confidence. To me, it's unbelievable."

The racers' outfits ranged from athletic biking gear to long sleeves and bow ties. Greg Boll from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, wore a black and white checkered print long sleeve shirt and socks.

Boll said this year was his fourth year competing in the high wheel race, but he started riding a couple years before he began competing.

Boll's interest in high wheeling began when he was searching for vintage horse saddles for his saddle-making business, and he said he stumbled across vintage bike saddles, leading him to discover high wheel bikes.

Boll said the race is always exciting every year and seems to bring out more people each time. For him, competing in the race is just about having fun.

"It's just really a neat event, and that's mostly why I'm here," he said. "I'm not here to win. I'm here to just really experience this and feel like I'm a celebrity for a day."