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The Tennessee Zip Line

The Tennessee Zip Line uses several knots you can easily learn:

• The Bowline
• The Timber Hitch
• The Manharness Knot
• The Clove Hitch

Before you start your Tennessee Zip Line, find a length of rope and practice until you can easily tie these knots without looking at the instruction. This will save you a great deal of frustration and provide an opportunity to commit the knots to memory.

Now are going to build a simple trolley to swiftly travel along a length of rope stretched between two trees. Rustle up a heavy rope like 3/4 inch Manilla twisted rope. You can buy this rope just about anywhere, including your local Home Depot or Lowes. Purchase enough rope for the distance between the two trees, plus an additional 15 to 20 feet for rounding each tree and tying the knots. A thick rope will better fit the contour of the bicycle wheel that we are going to recycle. Tie the end of the rope to one tree with the Bowline Knot.

Pull the rope to the second tree. Tie the Manharness Knot a foot or two from the second tree. Wrap the rope once around the tree and through the loop, like in the center picture to the right. Pull tight. Using the Manharness Knot in this way will enable you to obtain more tension on the rope. A tight rope will give a smoother ride than a loose rope.

Wrap around the tree the opposite direction and finish with the Timber Hitch. Using the Manharness Knot in this way, you can get the rope tighter than if you just pulled the rope around the tree. The loop is acting as a simple pulley. These loops can be placed anywhere along the length of a rope.

Look at the third picture to the right. The Timber Hitch has just been started. This knot will finish up the rope attachment to the sencond tree.

The next step is to find an old bicycle. A child's size bike will do nicely. We wll only be using the front end. Once you have selected a bicycle, cut through the tubular supports connecting the handlebar and front tire to the back end of the bike, right along the front post. We used a metal cutting tool to make this cut. A cut-off wheel, sawzall, oxy-acetylene torch, or hacksaw are handy for making the necessary frame cut. We are going to keep the handlebars, wheel, forks, and front post and dispose of the remainder responsibly.

Once the unneeded parts are removed, file down the sharp edges of your cuts and tape them over with electrical or duct tape to cover any sharp edges.

Also let all the air out of the tire. Removing the tire will be easier if the tire is not inflated.

Using two screw drivers, remove the tire and inner tube from the wheel. This task will be easier if you first disassemble the wheel from the forks. What is left is the handlebar and fork assembly, and the wheel assembly.

An Important Safety Note:

Most bikes nowadays use safety washers on the front axle. If the threaded nuts become loose, the wheel will wobble, but not come off the forks. Do not use a bycyle for this project without these safety washer. A pair of these washers is shown on the right.

The last thing you will do before riding this rig into the sunset is to add a measure of safety by lashing the handlebars to the forks.

They are connected by a bolt, but we want to be extra safe. A sturdy nylon cord will do the job. If you use a longer piece, like ten feet, you will have enough to wrap around the taped frame cuts, further protecting the user from injury. Start around one of the fork members with a Bowline Knot. Connect to the handlebars with several tight turns, and connect to the other fork member. You can repeat this once, then wrap the extra cord around the sharp places where the frame cuts were made. Finish with two Clove Hitches. Pull tight! Now, if the handlebar bolt fails, the handlebars will not seperate from the forks. Now back to our zip line.

Using a step ladder, reassemble the wheel and forks while the wheel is resting on the zip line rope. After several test runs with an adult, fine tune the rope position so that the ride is not too fast and so that all users have a good time. Small children will definitely need a spotter.

Yeee Haaahh! 

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