Evacu-Bike :: Author : Harv
A previous blog by ACJ broached the subject of using a bicycle to escape and/or survive disasters. As of late we all have been made acutely aware of the problems of evacuating a city like Los Angeles in the case of a disaster - natural or otherwise. Could it happen here? Well, not a hurricane (probably) but a myriad of other disasters, not excluding a nuclear attack. Could L.A. be evacuated by auto? No need to even go there, it can’t be done rapidly during a non-emergency (daily rush-hour) so what are the chances of evacuating during a panic? As I write this, the Texas evacuations by auto are proceeding at about 3 or 4 mph, evacuees are running out of gas, gas stations are being pumped dry, and some people are giving up and turning back.
So, we are contemplating the obvious. A bike. Not your hard-core carbon fiber road bike, not your drop-bar fixie (although I suppose some will argue that point) and nothing with low spoke count wheels. What then? How about something like this: Sturdy (steel?) utility bike with 1.5 inch knobby tires with liners and thorn-proof tubes (prepare for broken-glass-lined roads) narrow flat handlebar (to get between stalled cars), two or three water bottles, a good LED headlight with fresh batteries (for actually seeing the road, or off-road, and useable as a flashlight) rear rack and maybe panniers for food, clothing, tools, etc. Cell phone, but don’t count on being able to use it. Handgun, for discouraging those who would want your bike. Survival knife with matches, compass, and saw.
More details on the bike: Five or six speed freewheel or an internally geared hub would be plenty, you won’t be trying to maintain 25 mph on smooth roads. A single-speed might be better yet if you don’t anticipate a lot of hills, or can handle them. Ideally, no front derailer, one chain ring. Suspension optional, probably better without. Simplicity and reliability is actually the goal, you don’t want to be fussing with a 30-speed drivetrain in the middle of a disaster. Bring the usual tools and parts: pump and patch kit, multi-tool, spoke wrench and chain breaker.
I doubt if anyone wants to build such a bike and keep it sitting around, but thinking about assembling such a beast on short notice might be a good idea.
‘Packin’ (hand gun), I totally see where you’re coming from.
Comment by ACJ — September 23, 2005 @ 11:17 am
I’m got’ta take a stand here…. handgun??? Seems like a major contradiction to be talking about being armed in a emergency situation ( which means your armed before and after) yet lets save a little gas by bicycling and aren’t we the intelligent ones who survived… sounds like right wing survivalist doctrine, at what point is your bike worth another persons life?? Anticipating and propagating that kind of fear is exactly why we’re now in Iraq. They might have “really” had MDA’s, gee we though they had them, Al-Qa’ida and Iraq are one and the same, every rag head is a possible terrorist, I believe this kind of thinking leads to INSANITY…. Why were we protesting the war? The people who DIDN”T get out of New orleans were POOR, didn’t have cars, couldn’t get out. The suffering in Louisiana was more relative to economics and class than anything else. Yeah, if the shit hit’s the fan here… where the f*#k are you gonna go anyhow…. Arizona??? You think a couple of bottles of water are gonna get you that far???
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate too push for our government (and each other) to be more responsible to it’s citizens, whether thur mass transit, development of alternative transportation, a rational and workable e-vac plan for major cities. Sure that’s a lot harder and maybe even futile (that why revolutions happen) What we need to do is pull people TOGETHER, not separate them farther apart. We as individuals have a responsibility to our family, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. We’re in this deep shit hole of republican self preservation at all cost mentality, me first fuck the rest hell I won’t live long enough too see serious global warming and my corporate portfolio means more to me NOW than anything else…. and until we start thinking as a group, of caring for the person next to you (whom you might not even know) we will just be fascist on bikes…. hell George Bush rides a fucking bike…. and I’m sure owns quit a few guns… hell he’s got armies….
Look I think we all want to see a better world, so we should look at how we approach everything, it’s not all that black & white. It’s like saying if we survive nuclear holocaust we’d be the lucky ones….. what we really want is to prevent that.
Lets work towards ending the fear, not promote it.
Peace Steve
Comment by Steve Itano — September 28, 2005 @ 1:58 am
Hmm. Seems like an overly personalized response laden with undserved imputation that the author is fascist and right-wing just because he wants to be able to stop someone else saying “give me your bike or I’ll hurt you”. Weapons are a great leveller and enable the physically weaker to defend themselves. Personally if I’m trying to escape by bike I’ll be trying to bring one with me — my preference is for a sawn-off shotgun though.
Carrying a gun to defend yourself against Republican and Democrat voters that want it now that their SUV or Prius is stalled doesn’t mean that you won’t help out someone that needs some food or medical aid.
“Anticipating and propagating that kind of fear is exactly why we’re now in Iraq”
No, we’re in Iraq because the US wants to ensure that the Middle East is controlled by them and we don’t live in a democracy, and even if we did most of the population doesn’t want to take responsibility for their own lives and wellbeing (whether that’s through learning about the history of US Imperialism and the class war or learning what science tells them about the physical world).
“The people who DIDN”T get out of New orleans were POOR, didn’t have cars, couldn’t get out.”
And after generations of Democrat and Republican governments stripping away the gains (made under the threat of revolution) of decent wages and healthcare they finally came and stripped away the right to bear arms. Fascist governments don’t like armed citizens.
“until we start thinking as a group [...] we will just be fascist”
Sounds like fascism to me. We have to think about how our self-interest is served without being unfair to other people. We can’t think for other people, just ourselves.
There’s nothing wrong with planning to survive. Of course that planning should reach beyond short-term emergency measures and look at how to improve society, but that’s not what the post was about.
Comment by Ush — September 28, 2005 @ 1:23 pm
To; Harv/ACJ, My response to hand guns may have been a bit knee jerk, but in no way was it intended to be personal, and if taken that way I apologize.
But the treat of fire arms it is very personal for me!
Comment by Steve Itano — September 28, 2005 @ 2:39 pm
ufia yliwv
Comment by bondage extreme fairy — February 4, 2009 @ 5:21 pm