A week ago, I read about a bizarre looking bicycle with an integrated camper. So, as a fan of synchronicity, I was elated to run across this unique vehicle while climbing up to the Rose Quarter from the Eastbank Esplanade. What followed was an afternoon of cherished conversation with its unique creator.
Brian, a lanky man with a permanent smile and neatly kept dreadlocks, built his 700 pound bicycle out of aluminum strut and styrofoam. It has a flywheel to store momentum, which Brian, 49, says has helped his bike reach speeds of 80 miles per hour. The entire camper section is modular, can grow in length by six or more feet for winter, and can even tow a trailer. Brian says he has been riding up and down the West Coast for three decades, although he claims that things are getting unbearable in California and in Seattle, and may stay in Oregon for a while.
It must be said that although the sophistication of this arrangement, with a roof over the saddle, passive solar heating in the camper, intricate storage nooks and crannies, and even a TV set, more than qualifies as mere shelter, that it has largely been Brian's only home for many years. He seemed to be someone compelled to the mendicant path out of a sincere disgust for the material world, several times criticizing the 'tainted' nature of our species, and bitterly complaining about the subjugation of minorities and the marginalization of freethinkers.
But my impression was that Brian has accepted the serious flaws in our world, and, as he claims, has adapted to them. His bicycle shows a keen sense for mechanical ingenuity, and he even spoke about attempting to build and sell ones like his, somewhat insincerely though, recognizing that the market may not be there. And for all the gravity of our conversation, ranging from Ecclesiastes to the upcoming elections, Brian frequently broke out into spasms of hearty laughter. Though I should tread carefully making any such claims about another person, especially one apparently so moved by the defects in our human design, and one who by modern standards has so little, Brian seemed to be an exuberantly happy person. He spoke of the Ten Commandments and its multiple reproaches concerning coveting, not as an Abrahamic matter of right versus wrong, but as gentle advice that greed is not how our energies are best used. And although I have little doubt that the Costcos and SUVs of the world fulfill ancient genetic dreams for cheap abundance and power, we need to recognize their obsolescence before they guide us to a mass nightmare.
Most of us reading WorldChanging are probably far removed from the horror of having too little, perhaps so much that we can now finally decide that we have gone too far, and to not be afraid of backtracking a bit. If the world is inexorably moving towards greater stability, and less uncertainty of supply, then the next stage of our evolution should include an adaptation for just enough.
