Bike trailers, big loads show Portland spirit
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Editor) on March 21st, 2007 at 10:20 am
In the past, I’ve brought you stories of the ingenious trailers and cargo-bike contraptions used by Portland’s homeless and low-income population.
Remember Bill and Buster and their bike move that never ends? Or how about Mike Colhour’s bike-based scrap metal recycling business? And we can’t forget Allen’s shopping-cart trailer, or the “flip-flop fender” and baseball bat trailer hitch.
And then there’s the mother of them all, Brian’s motorhome bike, a creation that continues to captivate readers from around the world (I actually got contacted by a London-based tabloid service about that one!).
Recently I’ve come across a few more terrific examples of how Portlanders haul their stuff by bike.
Portland bike blogger Kate Gawf, spotted this load recently and wrote,
“This guy sure isn’t worried about excess weight, there were three cables, five padlocks, several steel tools, silverware, a chin-up bar, and a heavy-duty safety vest nailed onto the back for visibility.”
And reader Patrick Wilder sent me this photo of a trailer he spotted in north Portland,
“This thing was HUGE. It must be built off a platfrom 8.5 X 11 sheet of plywood. It looks like a mini RV trailer, I assume somebody is living out of it.”
And finally, a photo of what happens when local bike builder Ira Ryan does some spring cleaning and hauls away “all the beer from the last five months.”
Speaking of beer…remember when Sara Stout and I hauled two full kegs across town (that’s 360 lbs)?
I find these photos, and the stories behind them, both poignant and inspiring. They make me more conscious about all the stuff I own and about using my car, or even having one to begin with.
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March 21st, 2007 10:38
Yes!
I like to see more focus on cargo bikes and trailers.
I've been an avid commuter for years but it wasn't until I got a bike that I could *haul stuff* on that I really started to have always have an option besides driving.
So many things we do require us to *carry a load*, which in most cases rules out the bicycle.
Things like:
* large grocery shopping trips
* building supplies for the house
* buying mulch or large plants at the nursery
* carrying a keg for the party
* and so much more...
It seem that things are starting to *shift*.
* Surly is now making a bike that fits the popular xtracycle kit.
http://www.xtracycle.com/
* Clever Cycles (a local company) is now importing sweet cargo bikes.
http://clevercycles.com/
* And as this blog post shows more and more people are getting creative with their cargo hauling.
Thanks for the post Jonathan-
MJ
March 21st, 2007 13:42
This spring I plan to build a bamboo trailer bamboo trailerwith directions from Carry Freedom>, an English trailer company.
March 23rd, 2007 11:01
I love clevercycles! That is my new goal now, thanks for the link. I've been trying to figure out a way to get my gf out of a car and onto/into a bike for years, she doesn't have the knees to ride but I sure have the legs to push her 'round town in one of those.