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According to this article, one Houston Hurricane Rita evacuee claims only going 45 miles in 12 hours in her car:
http://tinyurl.com/ac84k
I've been thinking about how I'd evacuate by bike if I were in the same situation. Would the narrow farm to market roads be too congested wth traffic to filter forward safely on a bike? I'd be tempted to use the shoulder of the interstates, whether legal or not.
Although evacuating by bike would allow bypassing the traffic jams, the daily range on a bike would be more limiting, as I could probably make 80 miles in a day. But the motels that close would probably be fully booked. Although that may be far enough away to avoid the flooding, I'd hate to have to live in my tent in hurricane winds!
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Yeah, but how are you gonna carry grandma's china and all the good photographs? Not to mention the kids?
The kid can go in the Burley trailer. The photos are all digital, so they can go on a DVD.
I guess I'd have to apologize to Grandma for leaving her china behind, I hope she'll understand.
I was thinking the same thing when I was watching some of the evacuation pics earlier today. I suppose If I were in the situation I would be too worried about pets, family, etc to just jump on the bike and flee to save myself. You could do it though, sidewalks, golf courses, interstate soulders. If I were living by myself I'd just take my motorcycle and a credit card and I could bypass most traffic and still do an 800 mile day.
I suspect the authorities would be too concerned to worry about bicycles on the shoulder.
I think some of the pictures of people on the shoulder of the causeway demonstrate that, since I don't think pedestrians are usually allowed there.
In my case, I'm thinking more of the situation where I'm on a business trip and I have my folding Bike Friday with me.
In my case, I'm thinking more of the situation where I'm on a business trip and I have my folding Bike Friday with me.
There ya go... Ride on!
The kid can go in the Burley trailer. The photos are all digital, so they can go on a DVD.
I guess I'd have to apologize to Grandma for leaving her china behind, I hope she'll understand.
No way a kid could survive 12 hours in a trailer in 99-degree weather -- probably hotter on a highway clogged with cars. That's what it was like yesterday and today on the highways leading away from the Gulf Coast. :eek:
That's retarded, I can run 45 miles in 12 hours...
I'm glad I don't have kids. I was just telling my mom I'd jump on my bike and in 12 hours, I'd be at least 150 miles away. I'd just hitch my trailer to the back of my bike friday and take only some non perishables and water, plus a couple of changes of clothes and my identification and go. All the other stuff can certainly be replaced if the storm does all that damage.
Koffee
well... i had an idea but i'm guessing the mail aint' workin.
:lol:
Classic funny! You are a fool... :lol:
Koffee
With the storm approaching, you might end up with a tailwind, and make better time. From the videos I've seen on the news, the freeway shoulders are wide open, not being used by vehicles, so wouldn't those be better than backroads?
I think too many Americans worry about leaving material objects behind. If I'm in a survival mode, I don't want Great-great Grandma's lamp with me, I want Great-great Grandpa's warm wool coat.
I've been thinking about how I'd evacuate by bike if I were in the same situation. Would the narrow farm to market roads be too congested wth traffic to filter forward safely on a bike? I'd be tempted to use the shoulder of the interstates, whether legal or not.What about railways? There'd probably be no trains running and no congestion. Bumpy, to be sure, but isn't that the kind of stuff MTBs are supposed to handle? And railways are usually a straight-shot out of an area, not needing to make exits in 101 bedroom communities.
I just got off the phone with my uncle. He said he had to stay to shut down all the computers at the building he worked, so he couldn't get out until 6pm. I had to laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Richard," I said, "if the storm is coming and the building's going to flood, what does it matter if the computers are on and off? The WATER will turn those computers off".
I could hear the silence as he thought about this for a minute. "I guess you're right," he admitted sheepishly. I had to laugh some more.
Unfortunately, he's still driving, feeling sleepy, and he thinks he's going to run out of gas in a couple of hours. I told him if he had a bike, he would have been long gone, but apparently, people are taking their good stuff with them (china, jewelry, clothing, etc.), so the cars are crammed full of things.
Koffee
family, needed supplies, photos (yeah, you wished you scanned them all now...mine are all on a DVD-RW...HAH!), that's all you need...anything else is replacable, no matter how bad it sucks to lose it. I say maybe 5-10lbs of personal stuff, MAX.
Going by that method, it is super easy to evac on bike...heck I could use an adult trike and pull off even more cargo...but then I lose the ability to go places that only two wheels can.
I'm with Koffee and Dchiefransom. If I'm fleeing a hurricane then it's survival mode. The wife on one bike, me on another, dogs in the trailer, tent on top of that. Fill two packs with as much water and non-perishable food as we can resonably carry for a long time and get rolling. Try to find a place to stay indoors, but if nothing is available we'd have the tent.
Of course for me this is all academic. Not a big hurricane season in Indiana and what we do get, tornados, don't generally give you more than a few minutes warning. Just enough time to find a good place to hide, if you're lucky.
No way a kid could survive 12 hours in a trailer in 99-degree weather -- probably hotter on a highway clogged with cars. That's what it was like yesterday and today on the highways leading away from the Gulf Coast. :eek:
Why could they survive 12 hours in an un-air conditioned car in 99-degree weather but not a bike trailer? And it would only be 4 1/2 hours in a bicycle that kept going at a 10 mph clip.
But to be fair, the whole Houston to Dalls route is roughly 240 miles. You'd have to know how fast the rest of the trip goes for drivers before you can brag that cyclists can do it faster. Also, 240 miles with a baby trailer is doable by someone in really, really, really good shape, but it would be one helluva ride.
Edit: It's "only" 160 miles from Houston to Austin, which is still daunting, but a little less so than 240 miles to Dallas.
...With the storm approaching, you might end up with a tailwind... You are right, you might, depending on the evac path taken. The wind direction depends on the path of the hurricane and your evac path and position of hurrican relative to you. Assuming the hurricane is behind you, if you evac along the projected path of the hurricane, you will have a crosswind. If your evac route is a 90 degrees left turn to the projected path then you will have a tailwind. A 90 degrees right turn to the projected path and you will have a headwind. If you stop, the wind direction will change as the position of the hurricane (relative to you) changes.
I live near downtown Houston. I'm glad I have bikes. Every gas station in my area is out of gas, and closed. Actually, all stores, restaurants, coffee shops...everything is closed except one tiny "convenience" store. The owner is afraid to leave, because he is worried about looters. So, he intends to remain open as long as he has power.
At around 2 p.m. today, I needed to deliver some stuff to a hospital. I rode down Main steet from near downtown to the medical district. I was passed by only four vehicles during a twenty minute ride. Normally, on Friday, Main street would be bumper to bumper traffic. The few people downtown who have gas don't want to drive. Most streets are just empty. Some neighborhoods feel like ghost towns...no people, no cars, just a couple of frightened dogs.
Yesterday, I made a twenty mile ride to help a friend get her house ready for the storm. Same thing. Riding down empty four lane roads. A few bikes. No cars.
If the weatherman is "semi-right", the streets of Houston won't be safe for bikes from around 11 p.m. Friday until around noon on Sunday. I'm guessing that on Sunday afternoon, the only folks who will be able to move freely around inner city Houston will be the people riding bikes. There won't be any gas stations open, and some roads will be filled with debris or flooded. But, bikes will be moving.
Be safe Alan, report back once the storm has passed please.
Have fun riding.
I think 50 miles a day would be about the max with a trailer, just keeping in mind my own experiences with a burley nomad which is rather aerodynamic. A kid trailer is a lot taller and a real "drag chute".
Be safe Alan, report back once the storm has passed please.
Have fun riding.
What (s)he said.
According to this article, one Houston Hurricane Rita evacuee claims only going 45 miles in 12 hours in her car:
http://tinyurl.com/ac84k
I've been thinking about how I'd evacuate by bike if I were in the same situation. Would the narrow farm to market roads be too congested wth traffic to filter forward safely on a bike? I'd be tempted to use the shoulder of the interstates, whether legal or not.
Although evacuating by bike would allow bypassing the traffic jams, the daily range on a bike would be more limiting, as I could probably make 80 miles in a day. But the motels that close would probably be fully booked. Although that may be far enough away to avoid the flooding, I'd hate to have to live in my tent in hurricane winds!
Biking?! I could keep up with them walking!
The pathetic part is that people don't know how to conserve their gas and let their engines idle the whole time.
Yeah, then you have the families who want to take so much stuff that they load up both of their cars and hubby and wife both drive ... that only doubles the amt of cars on the road
I think 50 miles a day would be about the max with a trailer, just keeping in mind my own experiences with a burley nomad which is rather aerodynamic. A kid trailer is a lot taller and a real "drag chute".
I would agree, normally. But if the lives of you and your kid depended on it, I bet you could do the 160.
haha, yeah i didn't think about that. what a snafu.
Hope you're doing well Alan.
--Guys, it's amazing what a person does when it's a matter of life...pretty much if we need to we can keep going like some kind of cracked out energizer rabbit. It's all a matter of determination...if you feel strongly enough for what you hold dear, then you WILL find a way to get where you need to.
I remember riding until my legs cramped up. Then I'd rest a bit and get going again, spinning to keep from cramping. And I wasn't trying to save my life, just my pride. If your life is on the line, you'll ride until you drop.
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