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'Land yacht' cruises into sea of curiosity Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Brian Campbell of Chicago has created a 135-gear bike house that takes him wherever he desires, in any kind of weather. Bicycling through the Rogue Valley from California Thursday, he catches the attention of shopper Ruth Sauer at the Phoenix Minute Market. "I call this my land yacht � my house bike,�� he says of the machine he built by hand. "This is my home." Combination bicycle, home allows visitor to handle on energy issues By Paul Fattig PHOENIX � Brian Campbell doesn�t give a fig about the soaring cost of fuel. When he hits the road, he simply puts his feet on the pedals and pumps away. Nor is he concerned when no motel looms on the horizon over the handle bars. He merely pulls over to a safe place off the road and catches a few Zs. "I call this my land yacht � my house bike,�� he says of the machine he built by hand. "This is my home." His home looks like a cross between a miniature international space station and a bicycle. It�s also as friendly to the environment as the gregarious Campbell is to people he meets along the way. "In this day and age when it costs so much to drive, this is ideal," he says. "People want to cut down on fossil fuel, reduce pollution. This is like right in the middle of the whole conversation.�" His contraption is certainly a conversation piece. When he stopped at a corner grocery in Phoenix after pedaling north from California on Thursday, few passers-by failed to gawk or stop. "This is something else," observed Phoenix resident Betty Moore, who stopped by with her friend Ruth Sauer to peer into the back of the machine. "It�s wonderful," Moore concluded. Campbell, 43, who hails from Chicago although he has been on the road for more than half his life, has no lengthy resume, no impressive degree from a prestigious university. "This is all self-taught � I quit school after the eighth grade," he says. "My job application looks like none-slash-no. I�ve never paid rent in my life. I�ve never had a driver�s license. I wouldn�t even know how to put gasoline in an automobile." But he knows how to build a human-powered machine that serves as both his home and transport. "It�s all modified leg power," he says. "It works with a two-stage weight-reactor assist with multi-gears. And I use the internal weight of the car tire on back to move the thing forward. "There is a little physics involved there," he adds. There are also 135 different gears to enable Campbell to move the 430-pound vehicle. "You don�t have to be in super shape to ride this � I don�t use my body from my waist on up," he says. The camper box, which weighs about 13 pounds empty, is constructed of Styrofoam and aluminum foil. "This is probably the lightest camper box in the world," he says. Inside is a boom box operated by a generator powered by his legs. He even has a small ice chest and a shower, albeit the latter involves using a washing pail. He has built a roof over the driver�s seat and a windshield in front. "I go against headwinds � I drive in the rain," he says. "I take it everywhere." He figures he has some 30,000 miles on the machine he built in Humboldt County nearly five years ago. He spent a year pedaling around Davis, Calif., and has taken it along the entire California coast. This marks house bike No. 13 for Campbell, who stops to work when he needs a little cash along the way. "I build these things and take off on the open highway," he says, then adds that someday he might settle down and build them commercially. "But I like not having to be anywhere right now," he says. "I got a roof over my head and everything I need. I go where I want and stop when I want.�� Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA