This was just a brief snippet from western New York, as we were enroute from Buffalo to the Finger Lakes and Ithaca. Local newspapers would often get wind of our passage and send a photographer to meet us on the road; this one had almost no accompanying story.
That little mirror trick in the photo, by the way, was something I often did… ever since it happened accidentally back in Seattle during one of the first interviews around the Winnebiko II.
Computer Cycling
by Victor Spangler
Batavia NY Daily News – August 15, 1987
Photo
above shows the dashboard of a bicycle Steven K. Roberts propels around the U.S. The electronic center includes five computers, a ham radio, telephone and CB radio. The cyclist, who visited Batavia Friday, can be seen in the mirror to the bottom left of his control panel. At right is friend Maggie Victor, who travels with the computer whiz/author/cyclist.
A Batavia boy rides his old-fashioned bicycle next to Steven K. Roberts, a self-proclaimed high-tech nomad, who rode through Genesee County Friday on his computerized recumbent bicycle. The 220-pound cycle has been Mr. Roberts’ home and office since 1983, taking him over 13,000 miles. The former Columbus, Ohio, resident writes books while cycling across America. At rear is friend Maggie Victor.
Random posts from the archives:
This photo was taken while BEHEMOTH was under development in the Bikelab at Sun Microsystems (clues include the Zzipper fairing instead of the fiberglass one custom-molded to the console, and the lack of harness connectors at the four Lemo sockets on the underside). Nomadman Details Magazine - Aug...
The first 10,000 miles of my adventure yielded the Computing Across America book, which I am about to re-issue for the Kindle (now that I have this nifty scanner that is creating all these Anarchive entries!). This is one of my favorite reviews... Book Review by Michael A. Banks Computer Shopper -...
This article came at a pivotal time in both the evolution of the cellular industry and the design of my bike. Added to the Winnebiko II for testing, the Oki 491 phone did so well that it became fully integrated into BEHEMOTH... even to the point of deriving an RJ-11 phone line and distributing it ar...
