I haven’t owned a car since before Skunkadelia, sometime around late 1999. While almost all of my transportation is me-powered, my art is really heavy, so I’ve had to rent a car for larger shows. For many of the smaller shows I’m proud to say I’ve hauled several hundred pounds in a steamer trunk; sometimes in snow. The Skunkamobile is the latest of several heavyweight cruisers turned pickup-truck. I’d lay the steamer trunk across my full (but not overfull) Wald 157 Giant Delivery Front Handlebar Bike Basket.
In January 2013 I worked out a trade of art for an older model Bikes at Work trailer. This turned into a massive increase in cargo-capacity, which spurned need for a higher-quality wheelset, and more importantly, lower gears and better brakes, considering Somerville is known for its hills. The Phantomaton show was the first to utilize this new increase.
One of two hauls from my studio at the Artisan’s Asylum to the Phantomaton Show at the Nave Gallery Annex.
It took two trips to haul the art and pedestals for the show, but the way home we managed to get everything hauled away in one trip.
Too Many Yard Sales, and the Mother of Invention
A “yard sale” is a mountain biking term when you crash hard enough to spread your gear all over the woods. With a heavy load on the front basket, the handlebars are likely to swing around violently, dumping the Skunkamobile and all it’s precious heavy-metal cargo. Sometimes it even rolls the trailer. After this happens a few dozen times, even the most easily-distracted artist needs to take the time to come up with a solution.
I’m proud to say, the steering dampener was made entirely from reused material.