My Railbike So Far

Isn't she a beaut?

Yep, I've been toiling away on my latest endeavor: the rail bike. What's a rail bike, you may well ask? It's a bike that rides on rails. Railroad tracks, that is, preferably of the abandoned kind. Mine will be a Bentley railbike, which is a regular bike outfitted with outriggers in the front and side to keep it glued to the track.

I spent today at three different hardware stores gathering up all the nuts, bolts, screws, nails, steel conduit, iron rods, etc. necessary for this thing. I was under the impression that this would be a simple slap-it-together affair, but it looks like it's going to keep me busy for quite some time. Think of the most difficult thing you had to assemble for some small relative for Christmas, and then think of manufacturing all the parts yourself. That's what I'm talking about.

So, as you can see, I'm off to an excellent start. I decided that the fancy sheet metal asked for in Bentley's plans wasn't really necessary (ignoring the plea, "Do Not Modify!"), and opted for a can of crushed tomatoes instead. The cowcatcher is integral to the design, by the way, especially here in Montana. Although a naysayer suggested it might be small for the cows in these parts (actually it's to keep weeds out of the works).

One part down, 789 to go!