During a sleepy Sunday drive through Squamish, BC’s downtown core, a man on a bright red, six foot tall chopper rides by. Darcy MacNeil, 52, a carpenter by trade, made the bike from other old bikes and junk he found at the Squamish scrap yard. MacNeil said the waste of resources has been driving him nuts for years and he finally started to collect the old bikes and junk to re-bicycle about four years ago.
“People throw too much away. One guy left a $5,000 mountain bike there. No one takes time anymore to reuse anything, and that is what I rebel against most,” he said. Admirably, the brilliant eccentric has re-bicycled over 50 bikes for kids, friends and family who want to get around the town by bike.
Upon invitation, I follow MacNeil back to his home. Here I find a literal plethora of bicycle treasure. I am greeted by MacNeil’s wife, Debra MacNeil, 50, who rides a lower-to-the-ground red chopper she calls “Inagada Devede.” Debra, who works at Changes, a recycling store nearby, is proud of what she calls her husband’s genius.
“Look at this Spiderman bike! I found this old shelf around the house, and within two hours, he banged out the FU 100 Spiderman (chopper bike). It has challenged many a unicyclist, and my husband is the only one to have ever ridden it successfully,” she said.
In addition to being functional, small-town commuting bikes, each bike is loaded with unique detail; including one you can’t miss: MacNeil’s signature reflector, which flips you the bird.
“I started to rebel because the police made me put breaks on my first chopper. To avoid the ticket, I fixed a front break onto the right handlebar and attached a six-ball on top. Now, I call these bikes the FU series 100,” said MacNeil. Bird flipping reflector aside, it would seem the MacNeils – who have not used their old Chevy Tracker in over three years – are rebelling against car culture.
Debra’s friend and fellow “chick on a chopper,” Lonnie Clarkson, 48, stops by to go riding. “Darcy built me this silver chopper so Debra and I can go out riding together. It’s amazing to come over here. The place is like a vignette of bicycle art,” she said.
Clarkson is not the only one who recognizes MacNeil’s talent. Another fan, Grilled Fromage owner Colin Bush, was looking to reflect Squamish's recreational nature on his sidewalk patio when he saw MacNeil ride up to the liquor store on his huge chopper. “I immediately commissioned him to recreate bicycle art for my sandwich cafe's sidewalk fence," said the restaurateur.
While the bikes have visually circus-esque, they are functionally designed for comfort. The MacNeils’ and Clarkson have redesigned their bikes to include a motorcycle, as well as a bicycle suspension system to absorb shock from bumps.
"When you’re over 50, it's hard on the joints. The only problem is that when we hit the bumps with those little front tires, we pop too many wheelies. Wanting to know how it feels, I hop on Debra’s ride to cruise down Victoria and 5th Avenue. The euphoric wave-like sensation feels like riding a bike on a waterbed. Can I find a husband that spends all his spare time inventing new joyrides for me and my friends, I wonder?
“Flying high, sometimes with bugs in my teeth, I am having a blast, and we don't care what anyone thinks,” said Debra MacNeil. “Go for a ride; it might change your life!" She runs though the yard and jumps on MacNeil’s latest creation – a silver go-cart. "People are always wondering what he’s going to make next. Our neighbor's bulldog pulls me around the block on this baby,” she said.
More photos at:flickr.com/photos/50560314@N07/show
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