Lance Armstrong and Peak Oil

JayHMorrison · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 8:57 pm Post subject: Lance Armstrong and Peak Oil

Watching the Tour de France so much the past few weeks go me thinking. I work only 12 miles from where I live. Would it be such a chore to ride my bike that far? 20 miles? A person in good shape can do about 20 miles on a bike within an hour. A good morning workout.

Of course, I work in info tech. If we all still have jobs post peak, they will likely lets us just work from home via VPN to the work network.

Still, I went out and got a new bike last weekend. There are a lot of good offroad parks around here. It's fun. Lance inspired me to start riding again.

Yamaha_R6 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 14, 2004 Posts: 130

WOW.. it's JAY! I read the whole thing in the hall of flames. I must say it was the most entertaining read i have EVER read. LOL!!! IT WAS SO GREAT! Do it again, DO IT AGAIN!

Boy you people jumped on Jay like flies on crap. I have to agree with Jay That having any association between peak oil and conspiracy theorys will hurt peak oil as it makes it look like another conspiracy theory when it is indeed a real issue.

I don't know why that flame war started... I think it was because Jay was so rude about the way he attacked Matt. I also attacked Matt, and at one point I got really really mad. I was mad over how Matt didn't tell the whole truth regarding some alternative energies, and because his theory operates under the assumption that peak oil will cause gas prices to rise to levels I believe to be impossible.

You can go read that on "my first post".

About the biking, good job. I would love to be able to pedal bike, (as opposed to motorbike) to places around my area. Unfortunately I would never do it unless I had to because I live on a hill. Going down is fun, but coming back home is a mother fu#ker of a workout. I thought I was going to have a heart attack one time. Never tried pedal biking again. Thats when I got the super sport sex machine. aka Yamaha R6! With 123 horsepower, the ride up requires only 10 calories, due to my heart pumping so hard with excitement. oh yeah... and the gas... don't forget the gas... Embarassed

MattSavinar · Elite Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 1999

Chicagoan · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 19, 2004 Posts: 315

Biking will be the predominant form of transportation in the future. We will not go back to riding horseback because they need a lot of land to support. I would buy several bikes for every member of your family while they are still cheap. Thin tires are good for speed but can't handle rough terrain. You will also want some spare tires.

You also might want to consider transportation in the winter. Thgr roads will not be cleared, so traditional biking in the winter will be impossible. Snow shoes are good for short distances, but I am thinking of ways to make a pedal-powered snow mobile. It probably would require more then one person to operate, but I think it is managable. If I can get one to work, I will tell you all how it was done.

MrPC · Posted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 11:53 pm Post subject:

Itch · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 30, 2004 Posts: 338

It also helps to keep in mind that bikes are much easier to mount and dismount as opposed to a horse. They can also take a much harsh beating than a horse ever could. Once the horse has some kind of injury, then your method of transportation is screwed. A bike, while it requires replacements, can still function even when it has problems. It usually takes a while for a bike to be completely trashed.

Chicagoan · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 19, 2004 Posts: 315

PC, do you have any idea how deep snow can get? Those bikes look cool, but what we really need are treads.

MrPC · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:20 am Post subject:

lowem · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:48 am Post subject: Re: Lance Armstrong and Peak Oil

Chicagoan · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 19, 2004 Posts: 315

Many people will try heading south. It is already too crowded down there. I would suggest going in the opposite direction. Anyway, I have family up there.

Hey, look what I found!

http://members.rogers.com/remery8471/bike.htm

I'll have to try this out.

Yamaha_R6 · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 14, 2004 Posts: 130

WOW.. settle down there Matt, i wasnt trying to start another war here, but your last post was very combatitive. The only reason I care that you are a lawyer is because you are trained in the fine art of convincing a jury to believe what you want them to. I am the jury, and knowing this, I watch your every move. And you do manipulate facts and choose to include or exclude vital information. But I dont want to get back on that topic again, if you want to respond to this do it in my thread so this one can remain intact.

Anywho which kind of bikes are you buying, the really fast street ones that Lance rides, or dirt off roading kind?

Madpaddy · Expert Joined: Jun 25, 2004 Posts: 2088

I sold my Opel Astra car a few weeks ago and bought an electric bike. I live 7 miles from work. The terrain is very hilly but I still manage to get home in 25 minutes with a mild sweat worked up. On the flat the bike does about 30 mph. It's a Giant Lite Comfort model and set me back quite a bit €1700. I think they are much cheaper in the states at around $1400.

Anyway, despite our sometimes appalling weather I don't regret it yet. If it's really bad I can borrow the wife's car.

The car insurance company sent me back €600 for cancelling my policy and I got €4200 for the car itself. Might use the balance to get a biodiesel conversion kit for the wife's car.

k_semler · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 6:05 am Post subject:

You may be interested in a Bicycle Car. It is basically a tandem bicycle with the two passengers pedaling next to each other instead of in line. http://www.buzzcraf.com/other%20projects/Bicycle%20Car.htm is an example of a homebuilt bicycle car, and if you wish to purchase one commercially, you can buy one at specialty bicycle shops.
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azreal60 · Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:54 am Post subject:

Wow. Yamaha, did someone take over your brain? That was, that was SMART!. TO THE POINT! VERY TRUE. Laughing

I m sorry, I had to do that, after your long first post thread i will admit i got very annoyed with you. You just partially redeemed yourself.

Matt is indeed a trained trial lawyer. And yes such people argue in a way that normal untrained arguers find HIGHLY annoying. He goes for the throat of every argument he ever has simply because he is applying the same standards of how he argues to everyone else. Do you really think Matt actually dislikes people on this site. Well, maybe jay, but read up on detatchment. It s a vital part of being a lawyer, and i m sure something Matt is decent at.

Matt, you might want to throttle it back a bit. I realize you are just trying to make your argument, but there is the old saying of tailoring your argument to your audience. You can bring it at me and i won t be offended, but alot if not most of the people on this site are not used to that kind of advisarial arguing. They take it personally. I would like to avoid having to moderate tooo often please and thank you Laughing

My home town is bike friendly in a big way. We have almost as much bike path construction as we do road construction. There are paths conecting most of the major towns in dane county. The only thing I would say is because of all the bikes, bike theft is huge. Bring a STRONG lock. ( i have had two 600 dollar mountain bikes stolen. How they got thru my last lock i have NO idea)

I would encourage everyone to do the bike to work idea, and encourage your work place if they are doing new construction to include bike storage and at work shower facilities. It will allow people to bike to work and change into fresh clothing and get right to it. Screw the power lunch, your transportation and your workout are the same! I have ridden in snow, it is not very fun let me tell you, but I am thinking up ways you could use a bike even in the most severe weather. I am sure you could, i am thinking the 3 wheelers with way oversized tires? You would be so light with the right tires you could drive right on top of snow. It would be alot easier to get out of a drift or ditch than a car is that s for sure.
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MattSavinar · Elite Joined: May 09, 2004 Posts: 1999

Azreal:

Will do. I do want to point out that the vast (overwhelming) majority of my posts are very cordial.

With some exceptions, the only times I have become combative is in response to the accusations (usually levied by Jay/Yamaha) that I'm a lying/mentally ill/fearmonger who has wasted my life etc. . .

Okay, back to bikes.

Matt