Extroverts, meet your match

Brown's bad machine hogs the attention

Even in the world of extreme machines that Lakeside Avenue in The Weirs becomes each Bike Week, Bob Brown's ride turns heads, and he likes it that way.

Brown's ride of choice is an Ecstasy Tricycle that he purchased new in 2003. It's got a motorcycle front end, a 350 cubic inch V-8 engine that generates 410 horsepower, and a rear axle with car-like wheels.

The vehicle is considered a motorcycle, as it is operated using motorcycle handlebars with all the same controls with the exception that it's got an automatic, floor-mounted transmission.

Brown, originally from Somerville, Mass., currently owns homes in Nova Scotia, Canada, and in Merrimack and Belmont. He and his wife Phyllis are both computer engineers. He's retired and she'll join him in retirement soon.

For 42 years they rode motorcycles at every opportunity. But five years ago, Phyllis fell off a pedal bike and hurt her hip, ending her motorcycle career, which prompted the Ecstasy purchase.

Once he got used to the tricycle, Brown didn't miss his two-wheelers. It has all the fun of a motorcycle, he said, plus it has a roof and a windshield, and his grandkids can ride in the rumble seat. Having more than 400 horsepower in a machine that weighs just more than a ton doesn't hurt, either. "This is only one tire short of a street rod," he said.

He has other vehicles, including a Suzuki C90 motorcycle, a Toyota Prius, a Toyota Highlander and a boat. Asked which is his favorite, he said "absolutely this one. It's just a fun machine."

Since they bought the trike, which cost about $30,000, they've put 30,000 miles on it, including some long trips into Canada. This year, they're planning to drive it to El Paso, Texas. That doesn't mean they'll trailer the trike behind a truck or RV; they're planning to spend all 2,500 miles of the trip on the bench seat of the trike, throttle in hand, wind in their hair.

Brown's a ten-year veteran of Bike Week, and he likes it even better now that he can show up in a trike, especially one like his. He gets there early, parks the thing on Lakeside Avenue, and stands behind it, "doing nothing but watch the bikes and the 'eye candy'." He also does a lot of talking, fielding questions and compliments from passers by. "I'm French-Canadian, we like talking... If you're an introvert, you don't want to get anything like this."

He's not shy about saying he likes the attention. "Why not?" he asked. "Shakespeare said, 'life is but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets its hour upon the stage and then is heard no more.'" In other words, this life is temporary, so Brown might as well live it up while he's got the stage.

He also quotes his father, who used to say "Don't be the caboose, be the engine." In other words, "be different, don't follow the crowd."

While his computer engineering work is pure logic, Brown exercises the other half of his brain by painting. Where does the trike fit in? It doesn't, and that's why he likes it. "This is just pure enjoyment... It doesn't relate to any of the work I've ever done." It's half-Harley, half-Corvette, and zero work, at least for Brown. All he does is ride it, park it, and soak up the stares.