Over the weekend, nearly 3,800 bikers raced Hotter ’N Hell Hundred. But 83 other riders competed in the lesser-known 10K race, including one rider frequently seen around Wichita Falls, a biker who stole the spotlight.

Mack “The Infamous Bike Guy” Carter has been building custom bikes for the past 12 years in his “butcher shop,” a two-car garage behind his home in Iowa Park, Texas.

This year, he decided to enter the 10K race with his “Tallerbike” which towers above the rest at 7 feet 3 inches and cost him $3 to build from scrap parts.

“It’s exhilarating,” Carter said. “It’s like flying.’’

But he said getting on the bike does not require a ladder or any special equipment.

“I just give a shove and start climbing her while she’s rolling,” he said. “No poles or ladders, just me and Tallerbike, and a dash of awesomesauce.”

Carter said he owns more than 12 custom bikes, including his “Sofa King Awesome Bike,” crafted out of his grandmother’s old sofa, a hospital bed frame, 12 bikes for parts, a picnic table, some dining chairs and some metal tubing, which he rode in the HHH 10K two years ago.

“All my bikes are built from found objects,” Carter said. “If you can stick a magnet to it, I can build a bike out of it.”

Carter’s use of found items to create unique bicycles doesn’t stop at sofas. He even built one out of a Kenmore dryer.

“I was telling an artist friend that I could build a bike out of anything,” he said. “He pointed at my dryer and said, ‘build a bike out of that’ – so I did.”

Carter also said riding on a taller bike keeps him safer than the regular, low-riding bikes.

“The higher I go up, the safer I am,” he said. “I’ve been riding that bike for eight years. I was still teaching myself to weld (eight years ago), that’s why the welds are gross.”

Carter said he hopes to ride in the HHH next year as well. He is working on a reverse trike that has two front wheels and another tall bike that’s about 3 feet taller than “Tallerbike.”