Decorate your bike, or your child’s bike for the 4th of July festivities. Whether or not you are attending a parade, it is always fun to have an excuse to “pimp your ride.” Strategically placed accessories can transform a ho-hum functional two-wheeler into a parade-worthy edition. Add some personality to your bicycle with some common items;
Party Supplies. Wrap streamers around the handle bars. Tie balloons and ribbons to the bike seat. Add curly ribbon streamers to the ends of the handle bars. It doesn’t matter how old you are, streamers make people smile! Garlands from any holiday can be added to your bike for another look. Silver tinsel garland goes especially well with red and blue or fireworks theme.
Craft Supplies. Add stickers to the frame. (Baby oil will take them off when you are tired of looking at them.) Pipe cleaners can be poked through a bike helmet, curled around a pencil and then have a pom-pom or small foam ball attached to the end. Make a Mohawk of pom-poms, or stick with the antennae look.
Bike Accessories. Purchase glow in the dark spoke-lights for an easy to spot vehicle. Spoke lights also come in the flashing, spinning and solid varieties. Plastic clip-on charms for the spokes, horns, bells and bike flags are some of the other common choices.
Recyclables. Tie a collection of decorated aluminum cans to the back of your bike seat for a noisy effect. Simply wrap colored tape around several aluminum cans, affix string to the pull tab, (or poke a hole in the can) and tie a bundle to the post of your seat. This is good for a parade, not for every day. The old trusty “playing cards in the spokes” works well as a noise maker too.
Crafts. Make pin wheels from card stock, dowels, straw and small nails. Simply cut a square from a piece of colored card stock. Cut a diagonal line from each corner to within 1 inch of the center and then pull every other flap toward the center. Secure these flaps with a nail. Cut a small piece of straw to go over the back of the nail before hammering it into the dowel to act as the axle.
Create a bike spinner to the front of your bike with a 1 liter plastic bottle, colored electrical tape, dowel, paper towel tube, milk cap and push pin. Start by decorating the plastic bottle with electrical tape. Alternate red, white and blue for a patriotic look that is perfect for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or any day!
Bike Spinner Directions:
Remove 2-inches from the bottom of the plastic bottle, and then cut 5 sections from the bottom to the neck. Round out the edges and then bend into a fan-like shape around the mouth. This is the spinner.
Attach to the bike with a dowel. Start by wrapping a 1-inch section of paper towel tube around the dowel, 1 ½ inches from the end. Secure with electrical tape.
Tape the dowel on the handlebars, cardboard tube side facing out. Let it overhang the front by about 4-inches.
Put the spinner on the end of the dowel. Place the milk cap over top securing with a thumb tack. Spin to be sure it clears the brake cables and is not in the line of vision. Adjust if necessary.
Feel the breeze and enjoy your fancy bike!
