Category: roulotte

Bicycle Powered Micro Vardo

~ George Crawford ~ 3 Comments

A very interesting vardo build by artist Barry Howard.  He created a guest post on Tiny House Talk earlier this summer to discuss his ultra-light, fold-down, micro vardo to tow behind his bike.  It provides about 12 square feet (1.1 square meters) which is about the minimum needed for an average size human or two to sleep.  As an artist, he uses it for carrying art supplies, transporting his finished paintings, and as a bedroom.  With a fold down table inside, it provides a place out of the weather and a table outside to cook on.

bikevardo0

I’ll bet he gets even more gawkers than us gas powered travelers.

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Note the standard mounted bottle opener.  No self respecting vardo traveler is without one.

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Great details in the paint, and even a stained glass window.  I wish I had these skills myself.

bikevardo3I love the mini mollycroft.  It gives it a very classy look.

foldingCreating a folding box like this adds a real degree of difficulty, especially while keeping it lightweight.  He seems to have manged it beautifully.

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Folded, it presents a low profile for less wind resistance and a low center of gravity.

Visit Barry Howard’s Facebook page for more photos or check out his blog to see what  he’s up to with his very cool vardo.

selfBH
Click the self portrait
to visit the Aimlessly Wandering Artist’s blog.

Vardo News, Russian Style

~ George Crawford ~ 3 Comments

вардо, that’s Russian for Vardo; and it certainly looks more interesting in Cyrillic. Searching some Russian pages for vardo information yielded a wealth of photos and some interesting information about Traveler culture in Eastern Europe.  There’s as much fascination with the Traveler lifestyle in the largest country on Earth as there is on this side of the globe as we are more alike than we are different, despite what politicians might say.

trav02The enchantment that some of us have for life on the road spans the world.  Our ancestors were all nomads but some seek the comforts of permanent roots.

trav06It’s only in our recent past to settle for a permanent dwelling when the Earth is our canvas on which we write our lives largely and bold.  Most of us in the “New World” certainly wouldn’t be here at all had our ancestors been stay-at-homes or successful and steadfast.  I think we have it in our genes to look for greener pastures.

horsefaireThat’s why so many of us (1 in 300 according to U.S. statistical data) at some point in our lives choose an itinerant life against the image portrayed as “typical” and settled.

92477527_Gypsy_002This feeling is certainly not exceptional, from Reading Wagon to Winnebago, it’s relatively easy to make one’s home on the road.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMaybe not as spacious as a spec home in Los Angeles but when the outdoors is your home then the real luxury can be limited in square footage.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd, of course, there is the romance of the Road.  Think of Steinbeck, Kerouac, McCarthy, or Tolkien; the great adventure stories of the Road that never ends.  We need nothing but our rolling universe and the few things we bring along.

Reading RomanceFor western Europeans, there is a special romance with the horse, wagon, and music that makes this lifestyle especially enticing to some, leading to the immense sales of caravans that will rarely see actual use but represent a freedom most of us may never get to know.

Horses graze in a field next to travellers during the horse fair in Appleby in Westmorland, Cumbria.

So if it’s in you, you are not alone in looking for some adventure on the open road that is your life.