Unpacking

Unpacked the boxes today in the garage where it was between 20-30 degreesF all day. A close inspection of the first box left me confused as to where to begin. The outer cardboard layer was taped and stapled, not a box, so much as overlapping pieces of cardboard. After much cutting and pulling staples, the meat of the package was finally revealed.

A wooden skeleton protected a tightly wrapped pile of parts, including wheels, the seat structure, steering rod, and various preformed bulkheads. It became immediately obvious that David Eggleston at velomobile USA put alot of thought and time into packaging my kit for it's journey from Texas to western New York.

As I continued to chisel away at the layers of stretch wrap, bubble wrap, cardboard, and wadded up packing paper, an impressive pile of parts (and packing material) emerged.

The second box was much smaller, but added a little color to the mix.

In the background you can see the reflector on the back of the Versatile. I went to get it from the Netherlands, rode it around for two weeks, and shipped it back to the US. During the winter months I use it for running errands, but haven't been making the 25 mile each way commutes to work. The versatile really deserves it's own blog, and now that I am learning how easy this is to do, I can see myself starting it soon. When I do, I will post the info to get there for those of you who might be interested. So just one picture of the Versatile, and I will restrict this blog to the Alleweder project.

There was one damaged piece in my shipment. It is just the top of the seat, and will easily be bent back into shape.

I put some of the smaller parts in a box for safe keeping, cleaned up the mess, and left the flat pieces wrapped up till needed for their own protection.

Now I am awaiting the assembly manual. David will be E-mailing it to me. The original manual was in Dutch, and he has been working hard at compiling pictures for the english version, with insights gained from working with a customer who is biulding his kit at the "factory" in Texas.