The Ultimate Suburban Survivalist Guide Part 29

I think the days of powering pa.s.senger cars with gasoline are in their twilight stage. That doesn't mean they're going away this year, or next year, or even in 10 years. However, while you may not drive an electric car, your kids probably will.

Toyota is now testing an electric car that plugs into an ordinary home outlet. GM is working on its Volt concept car for 2010, and Nissan plans to introduce an all-electric vehicle for fleet customers in 2010. A company you may not have heard of, called Think, will bring its electric vehicle to the United States by 2010. A Think model called City reaches a top speed of 65 miles per hour and can drive up to 110 miles on a single charge. Think has a strategic partnership with energy giant General Electric, who is also an investor in Think, and the company has established partnerships in the United States with battery suppliers A123 and EnerDel.

These are just some examples of how automakers around the world are turning to electric cars in a hurry.

It makes sense. After all . . .* There are electric/gas hybrid cars in development right now that get over 100 miles per gallon.

* Recharging your car at home would cost you the equivalent of 50 cents per gallon at today's prices.

* Our national electricity grid, as decrepit as it is, could probably power about 180 million electric cars plugged in overnight.

Electric cars could be a long-term solution to the oil/gas crunch along with electrified rail transport. However, it will take a commitment of many years of time, trillions of dollars, and political will-all three of which are in short supply.

And I think we're rapidly running out of time; you might say the United States is running on fumes. We won't have enough electric cars before the next oil shock hits. Luckily, you have more, less - expensive options.

Electric Scooters

Electric scooters can zip around town quietly and some have ranges of up to 100 miles. They are particularly well suited to single working adults who live less than 20 miles from the office. Electric scooters run on batteries that can be recharged from a domestic socket. Some of the more popular brands include X-Treme Scooters (www.x-tremescooters.com), eGo (www.egovehicles.com), and Vectrix (www.vectrix.com). A high-end electric scooter could cost you $3,000 or more, but you can buy them for a lot less.

The web site MetaEfficient (http://www.metaefficient.com) has a good review of different electric scooters at http://tinyurl.com/5qv9m7.

Electric Bicycles

Electric bicycles are just what they sound like-bicycles with an electric battery a.s.sist for climbing hills (or just hauling your lazy a.s.s around town without pedaling). Electric bicycles, or e-bikes, bridge the gap between bicycles and scooters by giving you a vehicle that is both human- and electric -powered. Most e -bikes come with one battery that will get you about 10 miles if you don 't like to pedal; if you feel the need, you can buy a second battery and extend your range to 20 miles. The models I've seen have detachable batteries so that you can charge up at a cafe or an office.

You can spend as little as $1,500, or you can get a high-end e-bike for $2,000 to $3,000 and solar panels to charge it for less than $500. An example of a solar charger would be something like the Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit (http://tinyurl.com/dlxjwz).

An appropriately sized solar charging system is a good idea for any electric vehicle if you want to go off the grid or are worried that the grid could go down a lot.

One of the better-known electric bicycle brands is the Currie IZip (www.Currietech.com). It's run by Dr. Malcolm Currie, the former chairman of Hughes Aircraft and Delco Electronics. Dr. Currie founded Currie Technologies, Inc., in 1997 based on his conviction that hybrid and electric vehicles would become increasingly important for fundamental economic and environmental reasons.

Other well-liked manufacturers include Ohm Cycles (http://www.ohmcycles.com), Schwinn (yes, Schwinn makes an electric bike-check it out at http://tinyurl.com/d8hnph) and Electric Motion Systems (http://www.epluselectricbike.com). If you're cramped for s.p.a.ce, consider the eZee Quando, a folding bike with a lithium battery. It's not too expensive, either.

Electric bikes can be heavy when the batteries are on them, but they're easy to ride.

You'll find a good review of some electric bikes at Zimbio (http://tinyurl.com/d7a4pc). An electric bike usually requires a.s.sembly with manuals translated from the original Martian lingo; if you get stumped, bring the mess o' parts to your local bicycle shop and they'll probably a.s.semble it for a fee.

Seven Tips for Staying Alive on a Bicycle The biggest threat faced by any bicyclist (or moped rider, for that matter) is traffic. Here are seven tips to staying safer when you ride.

1. Don't weave between cars. This is especially tempting when traffic slows to a crawl right before a traffic light-you see kids doing it all the time. (By the way, kids-you see that angry old man who's shouting at you out of his car window? That's me!). Just because you're hyper-alert to the cars around you doesn't mean they see you. Heck, they might be having a fight with their significant other on a cell phone, and they'll accidentally squish you like a bug.

2. Keep both hands on the brakes. When I was a boy, I used to ride around with my hands off the handlebars all the time. What an idiot-I'm lucky I survived high school. Certainly you should keep your hands on the bars, but also keep your hands on the brakes-the split-second of time you save could save your life.

3. Learn how to look behind you. It's natural to turn your head to look behind you, but on a bike, this can throw you off balance. Instead, lower your chin to your left collarbone to look left, and to your right collarbone to look right. That way, you won't shift your center of gravity.

4. Be extra careful at intersections. Odds are, if you get nailed by a car when you're riding a bike, it's going to be at an intersection. Cars that are pulling right may be about to turn left. Use pedestrians at intersections for clues. Even though the walk sign is on, have they suddenly stopped? Then you should, too.

5. Be extra, extra careful of trucks. Never put yourself between a big truck and a curb. Too many people get seriously injured or killed when trucks swerve or turn suddenly. And the rule of thumb is, the bigger the vehicle, the less likely they are to see you.

6. Don't hug the curb. It's too easy to slide off into a soft shoulder or b.u.mp a mailbox and go sprawling. Plus, if automobile drivers think they can slip by you, they'll try. If you ride further out into the road, they might honk, but it's better than getting accidentally b.u.mped.

7. If you ride at night, slow down! In the dark, you can't see as well, which means you're slower to react to danger. Also, automobile drivers can't see as well, either, and a bike can be invisible to them until it's too late.

You can also try to use hand signals to alert motorists to what you're doing, but I can tell you that, in Florida, anyway, (1) most car drivers don't know hand signals; (2) they'll probably think you're waving at somebody; and (3) the most common hand signal on Florida roads requires just one finger. Is it just Florida? You tell me.

I'm not putting wear a helmet on this list, because you should be doing that anyway. If you're not, all the common sense advice in the world won't save you.

Getting Around on the Standard Bicycle

I hate to use the word standard because there is so much diversity within bicycles. But by standard bicycle, I mean human-powered bicycles. If there is a real fuel crisis, a lot of people are going to become much better acquainted with the good ol' fashioned bicycle. As long as you can keep your tires inflated, you can travel at least three times as fast on a bicycle than you can on foot.

There are bikes for all sorts of activities: Cruising around town, speed racing, dirt-biking. What I'm going to write about here is car replacement-a bicycle you intend to use as your main form of transportation, especially after society powers down or crashes.

To fit the bill, look for a bike with the following characteristics:* Durable. It has to be capable of taking punishment.

* Adaptable. While a street bike will do the trick for probably 90% of riding, if you're going to do any traveling off-road or even on muddy or sandy roads, you'll want a bike that can handle all types of terrain.

* Uncomplicated. In a post-crash society, you won't be able to put your bike in your car and take it to the shop if something goes wrong. So, you want a bike you can keep in serviceable condition with basic tools.

* Expandable. In a post-crash society, you'll want to haul things around on your bicycle as they do now in third-world countries. Panniers (also known as side baskets) do the trick for me, but there are other ways to make your bike a cargo carrier.

If money is tight, consider a used bike. Older bikes can be an excellent fit for a post-apocalyptic world, especially if they have heavy steel frames. Many older bikes were overbuilt in that they were made for durability rather than speed. Heck, I've seen neighbors throw away old bikes with the trash. I rescued one from the trash pile, oiled it up, put some new tires on it, and gave it to a friend-she's still riding it today.

If you shop for a used bike, don't be turned off by cracked or flat tires. You can always replace those, and probably should. I recommend puncture-proof tires. I have Specialized brand Armadillo tires on my bike; they're made with Kevlar-yeah, that's right, my tires are bulletproof!7 There are even airless tire manufacturers (Green Tyre and Amerityre), but I haven't tried those out.

You can also fit tire liners (strips of puncture resistant material) on the inside of your tire of choice; these work well but don't stop sidewall punctures and they can move around in the tire if the pressure doesn't hold them in place. I used to use tire liners before I moved on to Armadillos.

One last note on tires: In a post-crash world, bicycles will probably become valuable and bicycle tires could become unavailable. You might want to stock up with a spare pair or two-they'll probably be very good for bartering.

Multispeed or Single Gear

You might think a single-speed bike is the right thing for a post-crash world. But you will wear out a lot faster with a single-speed bike, and your bike's drivetrain might wear out, too. A single-speed bike can burn through chains, wheels, cogs, brackets, and cranksets faster than a multispeed bike.

Road touring bikes-with 10, 12, 21, or more speeds-are what most adults who ride bikes in the United States are used to riding. A road bike is not technically a commuter bike, but is instead built to be lightweight and fast. And they're probably what you 're looking for if you have to start riding a bike back and forth to work, because their skinny tires make for a faster ride. You can find good road bikes cheap on craigslist (www.craigslist.org). Just be sure that the frame isn't bent, the gears aren't stripped, and you can tinker-fix most everything else.

Mountain Bikes

Many mountain bikes have some sort of gearing system, and mountain bikes often have frames and tires that are designed for off-road use, which is good if you need that. Just be aware that mountain bikes, with their fat tires, are notoriously slow under normal riding conditions.

Comfort Bikes

If you're a fat-a.s.sed suburban daddy like me, you should look at a comfort or hybrid bike. They are designed so you don't have to crouch over the handlebars and often have shocks for a much nicer ride. A bicycle with a more upright riding position will keep pressure off your wrists and arms. Their tires are bigger than a road bike's but not c.u.mbersome like those of a mountain bike.

Getting back to craigslist, you might find one of the old 1960s or 1970s era three-speed suburban cruisers for sale either on craigslist or at a garage sale. These bikes were built like tanks-they aren't indestructible, but properly maintained, they will last long enough to turn into family heirlooms, which is why you find them bargain-tagged at garage sales. If you're looking for a Doomer bike, find one of these babies.

Adult-Sized Tricycles

Generally a.s.sociated with older folks who are having trouble with their sense of balance, adult-sized tricycles are excellent vehicles for the post-crash era, especially if you can find one with multiple speeds. These usually have a large basket positioned behind the seat, which is great for hauling stuff. Schwinn makes one that is generally praised but has cheap-a.s.s tires. You can buy the bike, replace the tires right away and keep the old ones as spares.

And sure enough, there are now electric adult-sized tricycles. For example, Currie Technologies makes the iZip Tricruiser electric tricycle, which you can buy on Amazon.com. It has a range of 30 to 35 miles per charge, so you can make it back and forth to the grocery store several times without running low on power. The Tricruiser has a top speed of 15 miles per hour.

Bike Trailers and Cargo Bikes

In a post-crisis world, a guy who can move cargo around without gasoline might be very popular. So check out the cargo bikes at Xtracycle (http://www.xtracycle.com) and Yuba (http://www.yubaride.com). They can carry just about as much as you could fit in the trunk of a small car. In fact, when you check out these bikes, consider that you might be looking at the poor man's car of the future.

And bicycle trailers are another way to go. These are cheap, you can buy them at Walmart, and they hook on to any normal bicycle. The better ones can carry two kids, or a lot of cargo if gasoline goes to seven dollars a gallon.

Biking for the Family

When I was a kid, everyone got on a bike at age six or seven; a bike represented freedom. In today's overprotected, under-athletic world, I meet lots of kids who never learned to ride and don't plan on it. That's no way to head into a worst-case-scenario future.

If your kids are too young to ride, get a bike trailer. If you absolutely must evacuate your home during a fuel shortage, your family may be riding bikes to get the heck out of Dodge, or at least get out of immediate danger.

And if things don't come to worst, your whole family can still have fun riding bikes together. You'll get some exercise, be outdoors, and probably even lose a few pounds.

Learn to Repair Your Bicycle. Actually, this goes for any of the alternate forms of transportation in a post-crisis future-whether you're driving a bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, or whatever. You may not be able to depend on your local mechanic. It would behoove you to learn how to fix simple machines, especially if you're looking for new job opportunities, and bicycles are simple machines to fix.

To fix a bike properly, you'll need tools and training. Amazon.com has a list of bicycle repair books, and naturally, you want to buy one now, because by the time you depend on a bicycle as your main form of transportation, mail delivery may be a little spotty. As for tools, I recommend checking out BicycleTutor.com (www.bicycletutor.com), which has instructional videos. I also recommend nosing around the crank and wrench sections at Jim Langley's web site (http://www.jimlangley.net). He also has a blog, Jim Langley's Bicycle Beat (http://www.jimlangley.blogspot.com).

However, nothing beats hands-on training. Many vocational and tech schools now teach bicycle repair, and you might be able to sign up for a weekend or extension course. And ask at your local bike shop if they need a free-but-untrained helping hand.

If you want to buy them new, you 'll find the tools you need at Park Tools (www.parktool.com), or on eBay or craigslist if you don't mind used tools. Well-made bike tools should last a long time.