If not a Truck, Maybe a Bike Trailer

By Eric Rempel  (be sure to look at the photos at the end of this article.)

Last week Wade responded to the comment he frequently hears when he appears somewhere to carry an item “You need a truck”. Wade says he can get it all done with his Elantra. 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. - not everything, but a bike can be used for much more than just biking.

Not long after I first took 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 had more to carry. So I bought a trailer, a Wike. a basic trailer. I find this trailer, as is, useful for grocery shopping, but I have used it to haul 16 ft lumber by strapping one end of the lumber to the trailer and the other end to the rear carrier of my bike. I have built my own 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.

I have also built two trailers using 1x1 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. - not in a hilly area, but a flat city like Steinbach is ideal 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 long a pedal 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. This 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 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 can simply not 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.

I brought all the material I needed for my deck home this way.

Mulch for the garden

Curbside pickup

This box was too big for the trunk of my car.