One of the things about Burning Man is that you can rationalize buying, building, scavenging, or “turning into art” nearly anything.
For years I’ve had a picture in my mind a four-wheeled pedal car. And of course I’ve never seen one that matched the picture – either they’re kiddy cars, or modified wheelchairs, or super-high-end-ultra (Which are very cool. And $5000 and up.). A pedal car (my thoughts went) would be great for Burning Man, because it should work better in the silty parts of the playa than a bicycle, but more imporantly, there isn’t the tenative am-I-stopping-here-or-not you get when you’re standing straddling your bike. Besides which it’d be cool to turn into art.
So I was going to build myself one. Somehow. I have no experience welding, but I can turn a wrench and I’m not bad when it comes to plywood and 2x4s. Fortunately, I never got to that.
Because one day while “surfing” I stumbled across the Trailmate Xcelerator. Which, as far as I could tell from what I could read about it, exactly perfect. I called the company and verified that it would work for a 6′ tall, 250 lb desert freak; then ordered one through my local bike shop.
That was about two months ago. Trailmate isn’t exactly speedy, and I ordered a custom paint color (green), and they have to ship it out ground, in a huge box. It arrived yesterday!
I took off work early (if you know me, you’ll be amazed at this), and drove the Pinz out to pick it up. It fits me perfectly, and its one gear (the three-speed would have been too difficult to install, they tell me) was great for flat, a bit much for a steep uphill, but otherwise perfect. I circled around in the parking lot, spun out a few times (the hand-steering is very cool, but a bit to get used to), and took it home.
So I was showing off for my neighbors (not the parking problem neighbors, the other ones) who were sitting out having their afternoon beers – let them try it out. Then I got in and raced down the street and back a few times, and was coming back; spun out and rolled it! Damage to vehicle – a few plastic spokes broken (which may be fixable with the wondrous five-minute epoxy aka liquid duck tape). Damage to me – a little road rash on the hands (builds character!). So much for the stress testing!
I’m planning to take PVC, zip ties, and garbage bags, and make wings and a tail so it looks like a stingray, then if I can find it, EL wire so it’ll light up at night. More pictures to follow, of course!