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Bicycling In Peru: An Art of Adaption

ecoworldly.com — In some places in Peru it is just as common to see people bicycling as it is driving cars. Peruvians are masters at modifying their bicycles in creative ways so that they can be used to transport goods and tools for their work and businesses.

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  • Michiko280, on 06/08/2008, -0/+16Is that a bicycle food stand?! Wow...impressive! That rider must have some serious muscles.
    • deenoop, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3this is not an uncommon sight by any means. i don't understand how this makes it to front page. I've seen hundreds of these in india.

      Don't forget, they have some that carry people too.
    • memper, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1I think it is a tricycle food stand. Is the word bicycle in the linked and pretty much throughout the comments used wrong? Depicted is a tricycle food stand. Bicycles have two wheels. Maybe the word bicycle's been more generally accepted as anything pushed by two feet or two legs or...uhg... someone troll me for being insensitive to people with less than two feet now...

      Anyways here's more um wiki (sorry) info on the subject of Utility Cycling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_cycling

      • Greengoo, on 06/09/2008, -0/+2Wait... Bicycles have TWO wheels?? What are the other two on the sides of my bike?
    • thecheatah, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1I cant believe you guys are impressed with this. This is just common sense. I guess I am just used to seeing stuff like this all the time coming from India and all.
      • memper, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1I don't know if it's an impression or we like the subject. I hope more people try out cycling as a result of such knowledge being written about. Our economy and culture needs ideas, even old ones.

    • Markpdotcom, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Sorry for the thread abuse, but do American's call it "Bicycling"? I've always known it as just "Cycling". I've also seen Biking used, which again, I don't get :) Just wondered if it was in common use outside of the UK?
    • yuanzhoulu, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1peruvians? dude, everyone modifies bicycles except in the americas. you ought to see some of the wacky but practical bicycle contraptions in india, china, and vietnam. necessity is the mother of invention. i've seen far more involved bicycle-related adaptions in india than in peru (both of which i have travelled plenty in). bicycle food stands are an everyday sight in much of asia, too.

      europe also has its fair share of bicycle contraptions; after all the bicycle was invented there and the sprit is still there in many people.

      in the americas you just get wierd looks. (although around MIT and Boston you'll see plenty of some of the wierdest bicycles in the world.)
  • GardenMandy, on 06/08/2008, -1/+20Sure beats $4.50 a gallon.
  • ibeckett, on 06/08/2008, -0/+11ecological, economical, and healthy!
    • darrenprog, on 06/09/2008, -0/+2That would be great here in the states. Health I agree with, until the putz that drives a hummer runs ya down.
  • alapoet, on 06/08/2008, -0/+13It'd be great to see more of this here in the States!

    There are quite a few bicyclists in Seattle, and with the price of gas, I expect to see more than ever this summer.
    • ibeckett, on 06/09/2008, -0/+6there are a lot of bikers in Austin too. I have noticed though that folks from other cities around the country often scoff at the idea of using a bike and even laugh at people that they see riding bikes. A lot of people think it is too goofy.

      Sure beats Mr Garrison's gyroscopic cycle though!!
      • gavinhudson, on 06/09/2008, -0/+4Well I won't say that I don't look kind of goofy in my helmet and business casual, but I love the ride! ;)
        • theaceoffire, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3You must not live in the mountains.
      • azurechaos, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1We worked on building trailers out of bike parts at Bikes across Borders here in Austin, there is definitely stuff like this going on. One of my coworkers actually saw a huge glowing dinosaur going down the street by her house, and realized that it was being propelled by a group of people pedaling it underneath.
    • unicronband, on 06/09/2008, -0/+6I'm in Columbus and despite the city being so spread out, our bike community is growing pretty rapidly. It probably helps that the city is dumping a lot of money into creating bike paths/lanes to connect all the 'burbs. As someone who has been commuting by bike for years, I watch with a kind of smug amusement as the people who 2 years ago were hollering "get a car fag" out the window of their SUV are dusting off the old Schwinns and snapping on the spandex. Whatever. If it takes obscene gas prices to get peoples' fat lazy asses on bikes, then I for one welcome our price-gouging, petrol-wielding overlords.
    • MindTrigger, on 06/09/2008, -0/+5It works great in cities mostly, but a large portion of our country is suburbia. We need some infrastructure changes for this to work outside of cities. For example, I wouldn't mind riding my bike to work, but I would have to be able to shower and change once I got there. This means employers would need to have locker rooms or shower rooms available.

      This would go a long way to combat obesity and many other health problems as well.
  • granolajoe, on 06/09/2008, -0/+16The dutch do the same - there's lots of bicycles adapted to all sorts of trades
    • tjsgigante, on 06/09/2008, -1/+3Brasilieros também (Brazillians too)
    • BeforeSputnik, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1there are two things i can't stand; people who are intolerant of other people's culture, and the dutch.
  • niccha, on 06/09/2008, -0/+10Gotta love cultures with a passion for their bikes.
  • chemrat, on 06/09/2008, -0/+9Peru can be at pretty high altitude, too. That takes lungs as well as legs!
    • Whatup, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Yep, really big lungs.
    • cadentsoul, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Almost all of Peru´s major cities are along the cost. This doesn´t look like it was taken in Cusco or in the jungle, consequently he´s probably riding at about sea level.
  • CoffeeJoost, on 06/09/2008, -1/+10While I admire their creativity, they are a developing country with around 40% poverty.
  • Surferess, on 06/09/2008, -0/+4That looks like more than just a lunch on that bike.
  • tbhurst, on 06/09/2008, -1/+4Great piece about bicycling as a means of transporting people and things in Peru. Thanks!
  • HuskyPuzzle, on 06/09/2008, -0/+4Peruvians could bring great things to Burning Man. Venga..
  • ElAssoWipo, on 06/09/2008, -0/+12Peruvians are the toughest people in the world. Those guys will bike 200 pounds of inventory up a hill, drunk, and then they'll fight you. And win.

    Every year, they have a fist fight festival. Think about that for a second. They purposely gather, wearing makeshift protection, and they beat the crap out of each other, as a group. Women too.

    Here's a video of it:
    http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ac6_1198825123
    • had3l, on 06/09/2008, -2/+1like... we have boxing?
    • crashbang, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Come to South Philly on Saturday night by Pat's and Geno's. It's not so much a festival as a drunken mess...with fist fights
  • Shawshanksr, on 06/09/2008, -0/+5many of these in india although they look nice when they collapse in the hectic traffic of india they cause mayhem....
  • marklad2020, on 06/09/2008, -0/+2Often in the West we just seem to forget how differently cycling is seen around the world...
    • trer, on 06/09/2008, -0/+2Strange. I thought Peru was part of the "West". It is geographically.
  • wunderdog, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3Is that anything like adaptation?
  • xchaoskittyx, on 06/09/2008, -0/+0Im sure its more-so Culture not adaption.
  • Tonohono, on 06/09/2008, -1/+3Is that a Peruvian Batmobile in the background?
  • TheCarDude, on 06/09/2008, -1/+1My friend cruises a bike modified smoothie maker.
  • satyarth, on 06/09/2008, -1/+1I think its called 'cycling'.
  • ike6116, on 06/09/2008, -3/+1Ohh poverty!
  • phorty40, on 06/09/2008, -1/+2according to the Onion movie's little known stereotypes
    Peruvians are best known for saving the day at the last minute and shooting lasers out of there eyes .
    True.
  • phorty40, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1i dont think this constitutes as racism. its more of a cultural observation by outsiders.
  • OJdidntdoIT, on 06/09/2008, -0/+7My wife is from peru and I go frequently. It is not uncommon to see somebody riding a bike full of propane tanks.

    I'll take pictures next time it's pretty amazing.

    You should see how they turn a moped into a full blown 3 seater taxi.

    It looks something like this ....

    http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/PWO1616.jpg
  • JargonScott, on 06/09/2008, -0/+6Something that makes me giggle. Most of the comments here I would assume are 1st world people, speaking about how this is healthy, ecological, economical, etc. It's interesting how us in countries like this look on them as "visionaries" of how transportation should be handled, all the while those same Peruvian peddlers are probably secretly wishing for a stinkin' Ford that has lockable bins for goods, and air conditioning. You know, what we already have and are taking for granted.

    It's a big difference between doing something you have to, versus want to.
    • phorty40, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1the fascination is comming from a respect for ingenuity .
      its not on the same level as watching a wild animal with arrogance , its a mutual respect for humanitys will to survive and adapt.
  • ysss, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3Pick one: Adoption or Adaptation.
    • Zachariah, on 06/10/2008, -0/+2CTRL+C ... CTRL+V
      would have prevented this
  • Whackly, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3adaption?
  • crazy0, on 06/09/2008, -0/+3RIGHT HERE, BIKING.......THE SOLUTION TO AMERICA'S FAT ASS PROBLEM......

    and thats just not Peru, its all of Latin America and abroad....where the real men and women survive....developed nation denizens are pussies when compared to them...and yes that means all of us
  • iLEZ, on 06/09/2008, -1/+1Teh text! Is too long!
  • mejusthavin, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1I don't understand I went to Peru saw this and was not surprised. Have you ever been to any other 3rd World Country?

    Peru has plenty of cars btw.
  • cadentsoul, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Funny how poverty spurs ingenuity like that...
  • somberwolf, on 06/09/2008, -0/+1Um, ... How does it steer? And how does it move forward by pedaling when there is no chain on the sprocket? And what is that blue thing in the lower part of the frame? (A motor?)

    I dunno... It looks like this one is pushed or motorized, but not peddle-powered.
    • zenthax, on 09/19/2008, -0/+1ahaha, is it really impossible to imagine a person steering this thing? I mean, I see these all day long in Lima
  • nomadbea, on 06/10/2008, -0/+1Excellent article. I'm more interested in the biking tours. I wonder how those go.
  • itraveller, on 06/10/2008, -0/+0Excellent, when travel, use bicycle iansted rent a car, save petrol. used electric bicycle..

    Cheers
    http://malaga-car-rental.blogspot.com/
  • TeamoDreamo, on 06/10/2008, -0/+1This is brilliant!
  •  

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