Necessity the grandmother of a Pinellas Park invention

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

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Jean Ulrey displays her invention.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Jean Ulrey simply wanted a way to take her granddaughter with her while she was biking.

As it turned out, she became an inventor and now an entrepreneur.

Ulrey, who lives in Pinellas Park, came up with using the old motorcycle sidecar idea and adapting it to a bicycle.

"We tried the trailer and she kept getting the dirt off the tires and she kept getting all the water off the tires,' Ulrey said. "And I didn't want to zipper her up in a little plastic thing."

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So Ulrey, who owns a welding business, came up with her own design. She designed a bike with seat adjacent to the rider instead of behind.

"The best thing is while you're riding it and you turn corners the child stays up," Ulrey said. "She sits right up next to us. I can talk to her, I'm right here next to her and she loves it."

Next came all of the attention.

Ulrey said she was stopped by many people while biking around Pinellas Park with her 2-year-old granddaughter. That inspired Ulrey to apply for a patent and begin selling her design.

Ulrey out on the road with her granddaughter.

"There were so many people coming outside and asking me about it,' she said. "And wanting to know where I got it and how we built it. And where they could buy one."

Ulrey admits her sidecar is still a work in progress but is excited about her potential side business, which would sell the bikes for about $250.

"There's still a lot of new things we can add to it and stuff we can change,' she said. "I hope to get a lot more parents going out for a ride with their kids."