Old Town

Back in 1972 my family spent 11 months bouncing around the South Pacific on our 57' wooden ketch "Sugar Ray". My dad was an early hippie/beatnick type and thought such an experience would do his three children some good. (it did) I was the youngest at 15, along with two older sisters ages 17 and 18. We stopped at about every major island group out there and always carried bikes onboard to get around on whatever island we landed on. Unlike this country, most of islands out that way, along with all of Southeast Asia, are bike cultures. One time in the Philippines north of Manila, my sisters and me got to ride a custom bike composed of two tandems welded side by side. Four riding positions. If that was not enough, the local farmers were using two such creations linked together end to end like train engines to pull larger wagons filled with what looked like sugar cane. Eight riders teamed together like this was quite a sight. I'm sorry I never got a photo of it. Has anyone ever seen such a thing?

It always amazed me during that time of travel the kinds of human-powered vehicles natives cobbled together for work purposes. Many of the people on this forum who like to make strange cycle vehicles would love the island of Java. Those folks could go to the moon on a handfull of used bike parts. What we think is fun is a living to them.