The Bike

When this journey was initially birthed, the bike was, and is, a huge part of the trip. It's limitations and capabilities will play a major role in how the rest of the trip is planned and executed.
Last fall I picked up a Schwinn World Tourist, a 30 year old 10 speed, for $15. It rides great, has full fenders for riding in the rain, and is build very tough. A great bike for a long trip. Now for this trip to work as I hope, I really need a gas motor to help out. And I will be carrying a good amount of stuff with me, so I need space as well.

This is the Schwinn

Nice, right? I love vintage things. Always have. I remember when I was a kid, maybe 13 years old, I heard a friends mom threw away the old (like 1950's old) bike they had that I used to ride all the time. I asked why, because I loved riding that thing! She said "It was so old". I was like "It rode like a dream! So what if it was OLD!!!!" Ugh I was so disgusted!

Anyway, if u look closely, you don't see much space for an engine, and big saddlebags, and still leave room for a rider, do you?  Yeah, neither did I. Now, there is a great product, called a Freeradical, by Xtracycle. It is designed to give a regular bicycle the cargo hauling capabilities of a car, or more! It's a pretty incredible system, and since the first time I saw one, I knew I wanted one!

The Xtracycle system, called the FreeRadicle, and the panniers and snapdeck. 

Now there's room for me to haul everything I need, and plenty of room for the engine too. The problem with this system is my budget. What you see here will run roughly $650, not including the bike! Nope, thats out of my reach for this trip!

So, the other option is one I thought of a while ago, but never built. Then, on www.instructables.com , I saw this

A homebuilt SUB (Sport Utility Bike)

A great idea, and exactly what I intended on doing to my Schwinn. It is a great solution for what I need a bike to do, for much less than $650. Not that I think the cost of the Xtracycle system is overpriced. It's just too rich for me!

But then, I have always thought that a tandem bicycle is a much better choice for several reasons.
1) The frame and wheels are already designed to carry an additional 200 lbs at the rear, in the form of the second rider, called a stroker.
2) They typically have heavier duty brakes because they are designed for heavier loads. What goes must stop too!
3) They are actually a little longer that the SUB, and so there's a bit more flexibility in what to do with all the extra space.
4) If done properly, a tandem bike can be converted easily from load hauling monster into a two person recreation machine and back again with very little work.

Of course, a tandem, even an old one, used, is easily going to be $300 or more, and at that price point, will likely need tires and cables and maybe even long, expensive chains.

But, on craigslist, I saw this!

The ad said $75. So I sent the poster, Justin, an email asking several questions. Mainly, was it ridable, were both cranks free and what shape were the chains in. He said it was ridable, good chains, crap for brakes. I asked him if he would consider trading my Schwinn for it. He jumped at it! So, there it is. I have a tandem bike that is ridable, needs brakes and tires, for $15 (thats what I paid for the Schwinn last fall)! Man what a sweet deal!

I'll do another blog post in a few days as I repack the cranks and wheels and fix the brakes, and probably repaint it too, but for now, there is what this meat motor is going to power down to Florida on! Sweet huh?!