How to stay mobile after it hits the fan., page 3

for getting out of town i would go diesel. no ignition system to speak of (ie no plugs, caps roters or points to worry about for emp issues. not to mention as already posted fuel is easier to come by, or even manufacture if it were to come to that.

but the first thing one should know before deciding on transport systems is where exactly you are planning on going.

for getting out of a town or city a bike may be ideal in many cases. the problem with a bike is cargo capacity. in a short time frame situation you might get away with a backpack, but for an extended time frame you would be in trouble. not only that but you would be more at risk on a bike as to say a car. you are slow and anyone with a vehicle would have no problem chasing you down. there is also no protection from other vehicles. in a panic situation where everyone is trying to escape at once there will defiantly be those out to protect themselves, if a guy on a bike is where they want to go, they will go there anyway over you if needed. they won't be worried about getting in trouble for it. i would say have a couple bikes to use for scrounging runs once things have settled down, but as for a primary escape vehicle i doubt their practicality.

horses, mules or other beast of burden is only really practical for those out in the country. true "fuel" isn't as much of an issue as you can let them graze occasionally. but in a city where are you going to keep it? not to mention upkeep on that type of animal gets expensive as well as time consuming. unless you are on a farm a beast of burden is impractical. i will say i knew one gentleman in a wheelchair in the city who had a couple dogs trained to pull him around, that would give some cargo capacity for a city dweller without using a vehicle (but they have to be trained to do it).

one transport method i plan on using in a major situation is a canoe. this will allow travel easily in the wilds (at least if your wilds have lots of water). they are small can easily put two or three on a vehicle, and light weight. they are also able to handle a decent amount of supplies. when you want to leave a specific lake or river system or to get around potential hazards on waterways they are easily portaged along with your gear. this will also allow you to get away from most of the people/problems out there. i figure most people probably won't make it too far of roads or even far away from cities

in winter months in areas that get snow a sled will be ideal for pulling loads, the old style toboggans are great for pulling supplies. snowshoes or cross country skies would also help out.

all in all before you settle on a vehicle you really need to know where you are going and even what your plans are once getting there. in my view the most critical part will be SUPPLIES. for a short term event you can live off the land or if in a more civilized area what you can find.

for a long term situation you really need a lot of THINGS to start up and keep going i am trying to find info on what pioneers started out with to base a realistic list of things you should have. it's not easy to find but just think of how much you eat in a year. taking seed is a very good idea but don't forget it takes time to grow, what will you eat in the mean time? then depending on what time of year the problems happen will also have an effect. for those in the north winter is a time of low food production. animals will be around to a degree for meat but edible vegetation would be very hard to obtain. even the natives in north america ran into food issues in the winter. so i would say you really need as BIG a vehicle as possible to carry it all