McClatchy Washington Bureau

As a boy, Ryan Klinger was always tinkering at his Huntersville home — building a newfangled ramp for his skateboard, or taking apart a Briggs & Stratton motor and rebuilding it for a go-kart.

Now, as a junior at Appalachian State in Boone, Klinger put all his puttering to good use as a member of an ASU team that built a bicycle from plastic bottles.

It won a collegiate competition in which teams used “throw-away” items to build commercially viable products. The team's grand prize: next month, they get a trip to Google's California headquarters to present their product — and make a pitch for its commercial viability.

Read the full story at CharlotteObserver.com.