Rethinking Lifestyle

In last week’s post, Wade told us that when he appears somewhere to carry something like a fridge, he frequently hears the comment “You need a truck”. Wade maintains he can get most of the necessary hauling done with his small car and trailer. I want to take this a step further. Whereas others may say “You need a Truck” I say you can do it with a bike (and trailer). Not everything, but a bike can be used for much more than just biking.

Not long after I first committed to biking as a a transportation option seriously, I realized that a bike, as designed, can be used for little more than carrying the rider. But I frequently found myself wanting to carry more, even when grocery shopping. So I bought a trailer, a Wike – a basic trailer. I find this trailer, as is, useful for grocery shopping, but I have also used it to haul 16 ft lumber by strapping one end of the 16 ft. pieces to the trailer and the other end to the rear carrier of my bile. I have built simple frames to mount on the trailer – one to accommodate the carrying of firewood, and another to accommodate the carrying of bulky stuff, such as leaves for mulch. It works well.

I have also built two trailers using 1×1 steel tubing and standard bicycle parts. One was built specifically to carry my garden tiller around, and the other to carry a sign in the annual Pioneer Day Parade. Although these trailers were built for a specific purpose, they have been useful to carry other cargo as well.

Others have been more ingenious. According to Wikipedia, bike trailers can be used to carry up to 1,000 lbs. – although not up and down hills. In a flat city like Steinbach it is possible to move heavy items with little power. Bike trailers are available to facilitate street vending, courier delivery, tradesmen and much more.

Outdoor enthusiasts are using bike trailers to enhance their experience. Bike trailers designed for the carrying of canoes and kayaks are available. The Whiteshell is too far away for a pedal for excursion for most of us, but if canoeing on the Seine River is an option, this is very accessible with a bike and trailer. Some cycling enthusiasts have built a caravan they pull with their bike. The caravan consists of an aerodynamic enclosed trailer, where the bottom is a sleeping platform, but the trailer is also fitted with storage for a gas burner and other items needed for camping. The bike caravan that caught my attention on the internet had been built almost entirely from political signs harvested after an election.

Why should we move in the direction of human powered transportation and recreation? Because our planet simply cannot tolerate the onslaught it is getting from humans on the long run. We need to move towards ways of living that will extract less energy and other resources from the earth.