Okay, now I’m committed: I bought a solar panel. It came on a big pallet that weighed more than the panel itself, and in fact, the freight charges exceeded the price of the panel. That’s not unfair – usually, one would order maybe 20 or 40 of these for a rooftop installation, and the shipping would be about the same for the whole pallet. This panel cost $1.03 per watt, by the way.

I knew the dimensions of the panel before ordering it, but now that it’s actually here, its size is daunting. Originally, I wanted to mock up the panel with a sheet of plywood, but I got short notice for a spectacular sale on solar equipment, so had to make a quick decision. All right, somehow I’ll tow this behind a bicycle. Maybe it could double as a shelter for bike camping, with a tarp thrown over it?

In other news, remember that estate sale where I got the electric bike?  I also picked up the trailer below for $5. It was incomplete, and had two flat tires, but I now see that it’s a high-quality piece of equipment. See what I’m doing with it in the next post.