Trendsetter

Ross Evans, inventor,
the Xtracycle

Toting your kid to school? Hauling a kayak to the water? Leave your car behind and hop on one of Ross Evans's inventions. With its sturdy rear platform and roomy saddlebags, the sleek, elongated Xtracycle is more maneuverable than a bicycle trailer and can handle loads of up to 150 pounds.

Q: What's your favorite place to take your Xtracycle?

A: The grocery store. Everybody needs to go shopping, and the Xtracycle makes a mundane experience joyful.

Q: How so?

A: People get an Xtracycle for a specific chore, but it makes it possible to live a whole lifestyle that's more sustainable while getting in better shape and being more adventurous.

Q: What about bad weather?

A: Marketers try to sell us on an ideal of comfort: "You've worked hard. You deserve to drive a leather-interior car with the air conditioner on." We're saying you deserve to experience life more fully by getting in touch with the elements and your own self-sufficiency.

—interview by Alison Fromme

(Photograph by Lori Eanes)