non-motorvehicle transportation

[Joshua Kennedy]

Some people, like myself have easy access to horses, and horse equipment, such as carts, which is basically a small 1 person version of a chariot which is very useful if you modify it a bit to have a larger surface area. also if you have a local barn in your area it might be a good idea to " borrow " a few horses if you know how to prepare, saddle, and ride one.

[crossbow]

If I was younger and planning on ever leaving my place due to any catastrophe or SHTF situation, I would purchase a pair of the tall wheels that are on the hay rake pictured here.http://www.retiredtractors.com/Implements/Raking2.html I would build a couple 2 wheeled carts with the high wheels as they can go in deeper ditches and off road more that the small wheels. if they were built right so that they balanced out good when loaded, A single percheron or belgian could pull each cart with enough supplies(minus water) to carry a family for at least a couple yrs. water would have to be added every few days. you could even carry some oats and hay for the horses. each draft horse could also carry a person to give them a rest.

[monkeybird]

I saw a video on YouTube about a man who turned a golf cart into a completely solar vehicle. It was easy to do and had had a surprisingly long range.

[tomato]

I am also lucky enough to have 2 horses, a donkey and a mule. I also have 3 goats (Norwegian Dwarf). All these animals can be used to haul. Even the goats. My goats can carry about 20-30 lbs comfortably. The best part about the goats is that all 3 of them provide milk. Which will be delicacy after the SHFT. If worse comes to worse the goats can also be meals. The downside to goats: they are not as easy to herd as sheep and can be stubborn at times and when they are feeding they will require supervision to not wander off. The upside to goats: they eat about anything, have milk, fur for clothing, can carry some weight, can be used to start a farm when you are settled.

[bountyhunter69]

hey mb,have u got the link on the solar powered golf cart?tks

[ViennaAustria]

What about this here with a bicycle:


Can't pack too much on it, but for me it seems nice right now. I live at city limits and could reach a forest within about 20 min with this. Then it would be rather easy to forest-hop away from the city at nights. But should have a prepared place somewhere then with more food and gear.

[Bill Foster]

I like the cart. A bicycle with cart would be my choice. I'm not a horse person; I understand that they are lots of work. I have a road bike and an off-road bike with spare tires and inner tubes as my g.o.o.d alternate transportation. The cart would be a good addition.

[Klayton]

I always thought one of these would be ideal :)

http://jetfunnypictures.com/2011/04/...ke_7_pics.html

:) :) :)

[kihnspiracy]

A good mountain bike and a matching cart.

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

Bikes I think could be come important. Horses (and all animals) require food/vets/space. Bicycle only requires min. maintaince as long as you dont abuse them and a rider. And I contend that they can (under the right conditions) get you just about as far on daily average as horse.

Depending on the routes planed to ride, modern road bikes are way more efficient than mountain bikes.

I can ride my road bike on hilly roads 60+ miles on a summer afternoon with out much thought but on Mountain bike once I hit about 30 miles or so (on the road / 20 miles if off road) I am feeling it. Speed is also an issue if the road is flat (and without wind) then I can easily average 15+mph on the road bike but on a MTB flat for long ride I can only average about 10-11mph and for less time. I am out of shape compared to many.

The wheels and tires make up a large part of this difference (rolling resistance/rotating mass/spoke wind resistance), the second major part is frame stiffness (ie suspension road bikes don't have any), and the other factors are gearing/body position/wind resistance/weight all factor in also... If you can find a set of road wheels and tires that fit on your MTB then you can switch them out without having to have 2 bikes. And pick a mountain bike that is a X-country hard-tail style bike with a lockable fork so that you can "turn off" the suspension.

One of my road riding buddies was a school teacher and every summer he would take the kids and ride accross the country. The would ride 60-80miles a day for 3-4days then stop for a day or two to rest, then once they hit the beach they stayed until time to catch a train back to east for the school year. (Damn I wish I could have done that a couple of summers when I was kid)

Good Luck,

[tech]

Some people, like myself have easy access to horses, and horse equipment, such as carts, which is basically a small 1 person version of a chariot which is very useful if you modify it a bit to have a larger surface area. also if you have a local barn in your area it might be a good idea to " borrow " a few horses if you know how to prepare, saddle, and ride one.

Lots of places still hang horse thieves...or just shoot 'em. Might want to reconsider "borrowing" property that isn't yours.

[LarryB]

That is an interesting concept worth looking into.

[Hawk_308]

I pulled out my non motorized vehicle the other day and rode a bit , After lunch Im thinking about seeing if they finished the off road trail to the next town yet on the old rail 14 miles away .I doubt I can make the 28 mile round trip if they have completed it but at lest Ill go to the river and back . Access to the river by bike will give me a water route back to the farm if need be over 40 miles away by passing all but one town .

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I went on an 11mile bicycle ride this evening. I havent rode in a long long time and I gave this thread some thought as we rode. I would hate to try and defend myself off of one of these and it really seemed prone to attacks from the rear. Thats where mt lions always hit bikers and i can see why. Several times I was suprised from behind by real bicyclist (we were renting bikes), as my hearing has declined, and once towards the end of the trail by a one legged kid pulling a wagon with his sister in it, hey i was tired LOL no, just kiddin:)
I'd rather be afoot i think with my deercart with someone on overwatch if not on horseback. The horse thing always bothered though me when i rode because i skylined so easy.
I guess things would have to be stable in order for me to be comfortable i guess especially pulling a cart and I would want mirrors on the bike but think i'd prefer a horse if it was quiet. Noisy horses that whineyed alot were the downfall of many a cowboy.

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

"Prone to attack"... I would agree with that. Riding 1 handed on anything other than smooth flat pavement can prove dangerous and of you were trying to defend yourself while riding 1 handed even harder.

Another thing about bikes that I forgot to mention... If you want to make long rides the bike really needs to be of great quality and you need it to "fit" you properly. But once you have a bike that is "efficient" and fits you properly, with just a little training you can ride great distances and at pretty quick pace.

Now that I have used them for "P.T." I will never be without a quality bike (god willing). Not only can they be great fun for P.T., I am now having to use them for "rehab" on my ankle. And when school is not "in season" I often ride to work and back to save on gas and get more P.T.