This time the project is hardly about being a bicycle at all. It is a new absurd situation. I want a portable yard since I live in an apartment in Japan. I need a place to kick back and barbque. I could be flipping steaks while waiting for a traffic signal or rub my feet through the grass in rush hour traffic. Those activities are a ways off but the foundation has been laid. There are a few milestones in bicycle fabrication. The first is the connection and alignment of all the wheels so the bicycle can roll. In this case it is a tricycle and therefore has an intermediary milestone of fabricating the steering system. After this the connection of the chain and pedals nearly completes the bike. Usually the flimsy seat and inadequate brake are hastily fastened at this time for a premature test spin. Then everything is finalized and disassembled for painting and final greasing and assembly. This project is at milestone one.

After a test run at the University, I packed up my new inflatable suit, Big Red, and boarded the local train bound for Sakae in Nagoya, Japan. Sakae is a trendy shopping district and also has a large central park that runs north south through the city. Because of its central location many aspiring musicians, festivals, activists, takoyaki (breaded octopus) stands, and other people looking for a good time gather here. Everyone is looking for some Japanese magic.

Within one minute of flipping the switch on the 12v blower motors that power my suit, a group of young Japanese cyclists came over to investigate the ever increasing size of the red inflatable suit. The questions began in rapid fire succession, “What is that?” my answer, “It’s a suit.” again a question, “What is that?” answer, “It’s a suit.” again, “No, what is it?” final answer, “It’s a suit, and I will put it on right now.” I proceeded to hoist the large suit upon my shoulders and filled out the traffic corner. Instantly cell phones and other video recording devices went into overdrive and traffic stopped as I stepped into the crosswalk to begin my journey sourthward through the park.

The group of bicycle messengers invited me to a bicycle event, and since I am crazy about bicycles I went along. There were about ten cyclists as we made our procesion past many bands and food stands finally ariving at a more open area. This suit could be called a “pied piper” suit because children are drawn to it like magic and then stick to it like struggling insects on fly paper. Children caused new complications for this performance. The big red cones enticed the children to reach out and grab them as they swayed back and forth. This caused problems as a small sixty pound child could use the leverage gained by pulling on the cone and almost bring me to the ground. I tried to instruct the kids not to engage in this activity but short attention spans won out and we locked into a perpetuating dual.

After hanging out around the bike kids I decided to continue my journey southward. I reached a raised highway and turned left. Here the sidewalk narrowed and I turned my suit sideways in an attempt to squeeze through. Street lamps, traffic signals, bicycles, pedestrians, and other obstructions in the city made the journey difficult, but wherever I passed everyone ceased their activities and glued their faces to storefront windows to see my bounding redness pass by. Eventually I made my way to Tsurumai Park (鶴舞公園). Here I circled a fountain with a small band of children following step by step. Many parents had trouble getting their offspring to continue on their intended journey rather than remain captivated by my absurd presence. The first trial run of Big Red was a great success.

The two shoulder straps on the inside fit perfectly and balanced the weight of the awkward structure on my back. I could see from the three view ports and my legs moved freely in the space I carved out for them. The wind posed the only problem. I heard laughing and clapping and then began to put the suit through its paces. If something were to break I wanted it to happen now and not during a real performance.

I struggled against the wind and made a large circuit of the school grounds and even climbed a small flight of stair to test the limits of mobility of the suit. Remember the wind. The wind constantly tried to knock me over and this is not surprising considering the surface area of the suit. Twice it succeeded. The first time I recovered quickly but the second time the suit became airborne. Upon landing the wind continued to drag the suit with me held captive inside for another ten to fifteen meters. My legs waved frantically and eventually I came to a stop and ended to the testing program until nicer weather.

I deflated the suit and packed it into its custom made bag. Everything went fine. Now I have a very large portable performance object that can be transported by hand, bicycle or train. This will prove to be fun and I plan to take it into the city next week.