Winnebacycle

Eugenians really dig alternative transportation. When I first moved here, I wondered about that french fry smell every time a Mercedes Benz diesel drove by and I much later learned about the whole BioFuel thing. Eugene seemed to be a couple of decades in front of that trend.

Eugenians also really like bicycles. Most of my neighbors bike to work and the street next to mine is actually closed off to cars--it's a dedicated bike "lane" (city street). There is an extensive system of bike trails that will take you anywhere in town and people don't look at you funny if you show up to work all sweaty and with a big line of mud that runs up the back of your pants ("Dude, I should have known that tofu was bad!"). In fact, they kind of look at you funny if you don't.

So I was driving today and I bump into the most interesting and rarefied of vehicles. I had seen this around town but had taken no notice previously. I assumed it was some sort of food kiosk or something of that sort. Well, I was wrong. This is no less than a solely man-powered fully mobile RV (you've heard of the "horseless carriage," but have you heard of the "manful 1 br"?). If Mr. Winnebago and Ms. Recumbent Bicycle had offspring, it very well may resemble this. I would apologize for the substandard quality of these photos, but since it's now illegal to use your phone while driving, I'll just say you are lucky to be seeing this at all, if you haven't already.

They say the RV industry has crashed, but for the industry of this man, who got a remarkable amount of life out of aluminum tape and reflectors, he is able to cruise in style.

Approaching the Winnebacycle:

(Note: parked car=no blur, moving van = blur, Winnebacycle = no blur)

The curtains are drawn, so somebody must be home.

"I'm bad ass enough that I made a skull design out of plexiglass and aluminum tape. Woe unto thee who sees The Skull in their rear view mirror going 3 miles per hour."