There was a knock on the door yesterday around noon. I went down the stairs, opened the door, and there was John Mackaye (sp?) standing on my front stoop, with his bicycle helmet on, smiling bright and looking terribly excited.

"Hey Paul," he said. "Would you like to see my new home?"

I knew exactly what he was talking about the second the words came out of his mouth, as this has been a project who's completion I have been eagerly anticipating for roughly the last nine months. I stepped outside, and attached to his small red mountain bike, via a long hitch, was a 7 foot baby blue whale!

John's been talking about his whale-home/trailer since roughly October, or even earlier. I will admit that I was skeptical at first (although entirely charmed by the concept.) but I severely underestimated this man's skill and resourcefulness! The whale won't be entirely finished for at least another 6 months, if not a year, but it is slated to be "finished" enough to function comfortably as a home sometime in the next month or so.

This thing is fucking unbelievable! It's large enough that three average sized people can sit up comfortably inside, and lay down outstretched at night, is insulated, and boasts, among other things, a periscope, quilted pocket-laden interior walls, and a stereo! It weighs roughly 300lbs, which sounds like a lot, but is not terrible to pull on a bike. (Grocers at the Halifax farmers market routinely bike-cart between 150-400lbs of food/crafts up and down the hills every week.) His plan is to develop the concept over the next 5 years into a self-sufficient, miniature bike powered home, which he can mass-produce and sell. They will eventually be made of Fiberglas, hopefully, which would lighten the load considerably.

Since getting the whale-house into semi-completed shape, John's been living in it, and parking it in the driveway of some friends for whom he provides handiwork in exchange. He's been sleeping in it for the last month or so, and apparently loves it. The response from passersby as he bikes from place to place has been overwhelmingly positive, he says.

I biked with John to his temporary home, acting as a sort of pace-car, and traffic lookout. It was pretty amazing riding in the company of the whale, as it swam down the sideroads of Halifax, for between 15-20 blocks, looking for prospective resting spots.

"I will never pay rent of my own free will again" - John Mackaye, Halifax NS.