Man builds solar bike to get out of the house

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published October 06, 2008

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OLYMPIA – It's hard to ignore Jerry Budelman when he's pedaling up Harrison Avenue on Olympia's west side.

Harrison is steep enough to force most cyclists to labor. Not Budelman. He has a smile on his face, as he pedals almost effortlessly, seated comfortably on his Sun recumbent tricycle.

Budelman's three-wheeled vehicle isn't your ordinary low-slung recumbent. Relying on his training as an electrical engineer, love of scientific data and inventor's mentality, Budelman built a solar-powered tricycle with enough power to climb Harrison Hill at about 13 miles per hour, even if Budelman doesn't pedal.

A retired divisional general manager at Intel Corp. in DuPont, Budelman spent about 400 hours designing and building his solar-powered cycle in his well-furbished workshop at his Cooper Point home.

"Lot's of people have built solar bicycles — it's not rocket science," Budelman said. "The reason I did it was to get my lazy butt out of the house."

The first thing that stands out about Budelman's cycle is the 200-watt solar panel mounted over the top of the bike, accompanied by a 40-pound battery pack situated in the front of the bike that he can charge with solar power or plug in at home.

A rear-mounted motor, control panel, cruise control switch and throttle are a few of the other add-ons that make Budelman's invention function, and draw a lot of stares and questions.

"I love talking about the trike," he said.

The cycle's range on fully charged batteries varies from 15 miles to 90 miles, depending on the terrain, weather and how much Budelman wants to pedal.

The trike and all of its attachments weigh about 200 pounds.

"People zoom by me on lightweight bicycles," Budelman said. "This is absolutely an urban bike. It has no rear suspension, so when you go over a bump, you know it."

Budelman's tricycle has been on the road for about four months, minus an extended summer trip into Canadian waters on his 50-foot Silverton luxury yacht. Budelman has racked up about 600 miles, much of it from the 15-mile round trip from his home to the Olympia Yacht Club, where he is active as a past commodore.

He's not finished tinkering with the solar-powered tricycle. Last week, he plucked a motorcycle windshield out of his neighbor's garbage can and mounted it on his trike.

He hopes to develop a regenerative braking system, which would create another source of power for the cycle. Also in the works is a solar-powered message board on the back of the solar panel to display such messages as "Share the Road."

"I wasn't a biker before I started this project," he said. "I learned quickly that you have to watch where you go — not everybody on the road is bike-friendly."

The solar-powered tricycle is just one of many Budelman inventions. He has 14 patents and recently invented a diesel fuel flow meter for use on his boat. It helped him monitor his fuel consumption on the summer boating trip to avoid having to refuel with more expensive diesel in Canada.

Budelman has invested about $3,800 in his new mode of transportation, including the tricycle, the motor kit, the solar panel and various instrumentation and hardware.

"It won't pay for itself, but it's sure fun," he said.