Kansas Man Headed to Golden on Solar Powered Bike

October 1, 2004

Buddy Armstrong from Hutchinson, Kansas made a brief stop in Eads this week on his way to the Department of Energy in Golden, Colorado. Now, that in itself is not unusual, what is unusual is that Buddy is on a solar powered bicycle he devised himself to take him to Golden.

His quest is to ask the Department of Energy how it spent $280 billion since 1990 on reducing the country’s need for foreign oil. Buddy, owner of Armstrong Energy LLC, invented and patented a solar powered water pump in 1990 and won a national award from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers in July of 2003 as one of the top 50 innovations for agriculture. His dream is get the pump over to Third World countries which could bring fresh water where there isn’t access to electricity. He thinks it should be developed by the Department of Energy, but the DOE’s screening process is so stringent that many useful inventions by small entrepreneurs like him never get a chance.

The bicycle can travel about 8 mph and the trailer that carries the solar panels weighs about 370 pounds and the 4 panels can generate up to 360 watts of electricity that turn a half-horsepower direct current electric motor attached to the bike. Buddy said most of the time he camps out, but stayed at the Econo Lodge in Eads for a shower and good night’s sleep before heading out on Monday toward Golden.