# Pelican Ride: Pelican Riding a Bicycle, the playable 3D game

> Pelican Ride is a free 3D browser game based on the “pelican riding a bicycle” AI benchmark. Steer, collect fish and unlock hats. No download needed.

Pelican Ride is a free browser game based on Simon Willison's "pelican riding a bicycle" AI benchmark. It runs in any modern browser on phones and desktops, with no download and no account.

## Pages

- [Pelican Riding a Bicycle: Free 3D Game Online | Pelican Ride](https://pelican-bicycle.com/): English
- [鹈鹕骑自行车 - 免费在线 3D 网页游戏｜鹈鹕兜风](https://pelican-bicycle.com/zh): 简体中文
- [鵜鶘騎腳踏車 - 免費線上 3D 腳踏車遊戲｜鵜鶘兜風](https://pelican-bicycle.com/zh-tw): 繁體中文
- [自転車に乗るペリカン｜無料3D自転車ゲーム・ダウンロードなし](https://pelican-bicycle.com/ja): 日本語
- [자전거 타는 펠리컨 - 무료 자전거 게임 | 펠리컨 라이드](https://pelican-bicycle.com/ko): 한국어
- [Pelícano en bicicleta: juego 3D gratis online | Pelican Ride](https://pelican-bicycle.com/es): Español
- [Pelicano andando de bicicleta: jogo 3D grátis | Pelican Ride](https://pelican-bicycle.com/pt): Português
- [Pélican à vélo – Jeu de vélo gratuit en ligne, en 3D](https://pelican-bicycle.com/fr): Français
- [Pelikan auf dem Fahrrad – Kostenloses 3D-Fahrradspiel online](https://pelican-bicycle.com/de): Deutsch
- [About Pelican Ride](https://pelican-bicycle.com/about): Who makes Pelican Ride, how the pelican bike game was built, and how to get in touch.
- [Privacy Policy](https://pelican-bicycle.com/privacy): What Pelican Ride stores and what it does not: no accounts, no ads, no analytics, progress kept in your browser.
- [Terms of Use](https://pelican-bicycle.com/terms): The simple terms for playing Pelican Ride, a free browser game.

## What Is the Pelican Riding a Bicycle Benchmark?

Developer Simon Willison gives new AI language models the same prompt: “Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle.” By September 2026 his blog had more than 140 posts under the pelican-riding-a-bicycle tag, and the prompt has become a running test across the AI community.

The prompt is deliberately difficult. A pelican has short legs, a very large bill and wings instead of hands, so a convincing result needs both a plausible bicycle frame and a believable bird positioned on it.

Pelican Ride interprets the prompt in three dimensions. The pelican's legs use two-bone inverse kinematics so its webbed feet stay on the pedals, its wings hold the handlebars, and the chain is animated link by link at the standard half-inch pitch.

> "Pelicans can't ride bicycles. They're the wrong shape!" (Simon Willison, “The last six months in LLMs, illustrated by pelicans on bicycles”, June 2025, https://simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/6/six-months-in-llms/)

## How the game works

Each run ends when the pelican loses all 3 hearts. Speed increases with distance, and the scene moves gradually from sunset into night. The chase camera gives the clearest view of the road ahead; side, close-up, head-on and orbit views are also available.

- **Steer**: Move across the boardwalk to line up with fish and avoid obstacles. The bicycle leans naturally into each turn.
- **Collect Fish**: Ride through a fish to catch it in the pelican's throat pouch. Every catch adds to your score.
- **Avoid Obstacles**: Crabs move sideways and surfboards block part of the boardwalk. Each collision costs 1 heart.
- **Use the Bell**: A shadow on the boards signals a diving gull. Ring the bell in time to scare it away and protect your catch.
- **Points**: Sardine 1 pt, Mackerel 3 pt, Golden fish 10 pt.
- **Hazards**: Crabs (Move sideways across the boardwalk. A collision costs 1 heart.) Surfboards (Block one side of the boardwalk. A collision costs 1 heart.) Seagulls (Dive for your catch. Ring the bell during the dive to earn 5 bonus points; otherwise the gull takes up to 5 fish.)
- **Wardrobe**: hats unlock at Straw Boater 0, Bucket Hat 40, Sailor Cap 120, Captain's Hat 250, Top Hat 500, Crown 1000 lifetime fish; scarves at Red Knit 0, Navy Stripes 60, Rainbow 200, Gold 400.
- **Controls**: Steer left or right: ← → or A D (keyboard) / Drag the steering slider, or enable tilt steering (touch); Sprint: ↑ or W (keyboard) / Hold the sprint button (touch); Slow down: ↓ or S (keyboard) / Release the sprint button (touch); Ring the bell: Space or B (keyboard) / Bell button (touch); Change camera: C (keyboard) / Camera buttons at the top of the screen (touch); Pause and accessories: Esc or P (keyboard) / Pause button (touch).

## Facts: The Pelican and the Bicycle

- Wingspan: 2.4 to 3 m
- Bill length: 26 to 39 cm (males longer)
- Weight: Usually 5 to 9 kg (3.5 to 13.6 kg overall)
- Breeding look: A flattened horn grows on the upper bill and is shed after the eggs are laid
- Voice: Adults grunt at the colony but are generally silent elsewhere
- Keeping cool: Gular flutter: rippling the throat pouch with the bill open
- Tires: 26 × 2.125 in balloon tires with whitewalls
- Drivetrain: 44-tooth chainring, 18-tooth cog
- Hub: 3-speed internal hub: 0.75, 1, 1.33
- Gear inches: 47.7, 63.6, 84.7
- Chain: 1/2 in pitch, animated link by link

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: American white pelican](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_white_pelican)
- [Wikipedia: Pelican (vocalisation, gular flutter)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican)
- [Wikipedia: Sturmey-Archer (AW hub ratios)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturmey-Archer)
- [Simon Willison: simonw/pelican-bicycle on GitHub](https://github.com/simonw/pelican-bicycle)
- [Simon Willison: The last six months in LLMs, illustrated by pelicans on bicycles](https://simonwillison.net/2025/Jun/6/six-months-in-llms/)

## FAQ

### What is the Pelican Riding a bicycle benchmark?

It is an informal AI test started by Simon Willison: ask a language model to “Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle” and compare the drawings. The subject is awkward to draw, so the results show quickly how well a model handles shapes and structure.

### How can I generate an SVG image of a pelican riding a bicycle?

Give an AI model the prompt “Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle”, save the code it returns as a .svg file and open it in a browser. This site takes a different route: the pelican and bike are a live 3D scene built with three.js.

### Is the pelican bike game free?

Yes. Pelican Ride is free to play, with no account, advertising or installation required.

### Does it work on phones?

Yes. On touch screens, a steering slider, a sprint button and a bell button appear at the bottom of the screen, and optional tilt steering is available. The game supports both portrait and landscape orientation. Tilt steering uses the angle you are holding the phone at when you switch it on as its centre.

### Can a pelican really ride a bicycle?

No. A pelican's legs are far too short to reach bicycle pedals, which is part of what makes the benchmark challenging. The pelican in this game is drawn with longer legs than a real bird.

### Where is my progress saved?

Progress is stored in your browser's local storage on this device. Clearing the site's data resets your fish total and accessories.

## 中文简介

鹈鹕兜风是一款免费 3D 网页游戏，灵感来自 AI 测试题“鹈鹕骑自行车”。操控鹈鹕沿海边木栈道骑行，收集鱼、躲避障碍、解锁帽子和围巾，无需下载，手机电脑均可游玩。

中文版：https://pelican-bicycle.com/zh

## Contact

hello@pelican-bicycle.com. Last updated 2026-09-24.