Father and son team Bob and Dougie Hussey, East Providence, are a familiar sight on local roadways, with father Bob piloting a motorized bike, pulling son Dougie in the special passenger trailer that Bob designed. Everyone in the neighborhood thinks it is the neatest thing, of course. Bob has taken Doug to Colt State Park, and even all the way to Prudence Island, but their very favorite place to go riding is Swan Point Cemetery on Providence's East Side. It is a huge place with mass plantings of seasonal flowers and covered in beautiful ornamental trees, fountains and and oversized gazebo. It has wide paved streets with street signs and great hills -- a lovely, charming place to walk, ride bikes or just sit.

Their innovative use of the add-on bicycle motor "Bike Bug" to achieve the wind in their faces spirit has led to an award from other lovers of motorized bicycles, called the Bike Bug Brotherhood. The Brotherhood, which has over 3,000 members, especially noted the caring and mutual respect that Bob and Dougie demonstrate for each other and the community.

"The wagon Bob developed is one of the most interesting devices Light Feather has seen attached to a motorized bicycle," said Mike Schneider, a partner in the company that made the motor and founder of the International Bug Bike Brotherhood. The trailer is outfitted with a pivoting attachment to the bicycle frame below the rider's seat, has a comfortable padded seat and foot rest extension that protects the passenger's feet, and provides a 270-degree view of the countryside.

Dougie, short for Douglass, 18, can't walk or talk because of his cerebral palsy. He communicates his love of sports, biking, dogs and music through sign language. Since the 1st time Bob and Doug went riding it became their new passion (the ERRRRRR Bike as Doug calls it). It is Dad & Doug's favorite thing to do & it is their " just the guys bonding time." Doug loves the way it enables dad to constantly drive without needing a break like the regular bike. You can hear Doug's laugh above the motor going down hills.

Doug was born on October 2,1988 and he was three and half months premature. His main diagnosis is Cerebral Palsy. He came home seven months after birth on a respiratory ventilator and took 4 years to wean off it completely. He had a tracheostomy tube until May 2006, still has a gastrostomy tube in his stomach for most of his nourishment and medications, a brain shunt, a seizure condition (tonic clonics) for which he just had a seizure implant device put in on September 12,2007 and is helping the frequency of his seizures. Doug is in a wheelchair but can walk with assist and we are taking electric wheelchair classes very soon. He is nonverbal, but uses sign language, symbols and a laptop computer which is his communication device. He understands everything you say to him. Doug is a sociable, fun-loving, intelligent and we love him more than life itself. Doug loves opera music ( Pavorotti & Bocelli), dogs, roller coasters, girls (of course last but not least). By the way, Doug & Bobs riding names are "Tombstone Doug & Graveyard Bob."

Bob discovered his motorized bike at a garage sale in 1978. Bob was out hitting the local garage & yard sales with his sister Annie one Saturday when he came across the bike bug motor. He picked up the box, looked inside, and immediately remembered the motor from seeing it in the "Popular Mechanics Magazine" when he was a young boy. By the end of the month, he had also found a 10 speed bike to mount the motor on and a cart for twins to carry Doug that Bob adapted. He added a leg piece on the cart so Doug could be comfortable since Doug weighs 98lbs.and is almost 5' tall.

The special trailer Dougie uses to join his dad on the road at exhilarating speeds up to 25 miles per hour. The Bike Bug motor gives Bob the extra "oomph" needed for such breath taking speed. Bob can also use pure leg power when he wants exercise. When he uses the motor, it costs about 2 cents a mile to operate, and since Rhode Island does not require tags or license for the operation of a motorized bicycle, the Bike Bug helps make the fun and companionship very economical for Bob and Dougie.

In 2007, after going strong long past its life expectancy, the engine needed parts that were no longer manufactured. Bob, being a never-give-up kind of guy, began his search for solutions. His neighbor Judy helped him with an Internet search, which put Bob in touch with Light Feather in Houston.

Like Bob's discovery of his motorized bike, Light Feather grew from a garage sale find. Mike shared his enthusiasm with fellow engineer Charles True and master mechanic Johnny Pearce. Together they founded their company to share the fun.

Light Feather supplies literature, parts, repairs and service for these little engines. It maintains the website for the Bike Bug Brothers to post pictures of their Iron Horses and tell stories of their adventures with Wind in The Faces. They have talked with people all over the world about the engines, picking up adaptations from industries from the oil field to dentistry to replace and improve parts no longer manufactured.

Bike Bugs obtain very high mileage, from 150 to 200 miles per gallon depending on the speed, load and similar factors. A 2 cycle 1.2 HP engine holds a liter of gas, or about 50 miles of fun. The Bike Bug can be mounted on any type of bicycle - two wheeler, three wheeler or tandem. The company is introducing a new improved model Bike Bug later this year and hopes to enable many other folks to enjoy the Wind In Their Faces and many Smiles per Gallon. They are very excited with the prototype testing with new improved computerized ignition systems and higher efficiency engines. Light Feather is also investigating and developing other vehicles such as three wheel small engine trucks and low horsepower more efficient modes of transportation to achieve higher miles per gallon and less pollution than conventional 200 HP plus cars and trucks.

The bike motor is back in working order, the duo is back on the road enjoying Rhode Island, and the Bike Bug Brothers have given them an award as the "Bike Bug Brothers of the Year Award for 2008". The award includes being honorary Captains of the Light Feather entry in the Mounted Calvary and Flying Circus Parade at the 2008 Avocado Festival in Devine, TX. They will receive Bike Bug T-Shirts and recognition on the website, www.bikebug.net. The seemingly inevitable little boy smiles on the faces of all the grown men in the vicinity are gratis.