Another Bicycling Contraption

When you live in a town as sopped in bicycle culture as this one, you run into a lot of contraptions. (Lila was one of these, getting me through a tough spot when I’d had my Achilles reattachment surgery.)

Today at the Coop we saw a tricycle that had five 12-volt batteries apparently powered by a battery charger that was attached to the wheel rotation up front. (Like Lila, this trike had two wheels in front, one behind.) The owner came out while we were admiring his bike: he had just returned two kegs from a party the night before. The bike was his master’s thesis. He was in the department of Mechanical Engineering but had a lot of help from the Technology and Transportation folks.

I had no camera with me but happened to have a sketchbook in my pocket. It gives no sense of the multiple electrical cables or the perspex divider between the front and cargo section which doubles up as a tandem spot. (Our young friend said there was also a roof which wasn’t attached because it was 75 degrees today, sorry those of you in chilly climes.)