Commuting - Crazy idea for commuting

Call me crazy but someone mentioned that if they took one of those new maglev trains in china, stuck it inside a low pressure tunnel, that the lack of air resistance would allow them to travel at 1000+ mph.

I wonder what if someone designed that for bikes. Have a tunnel with 2 tubes, 3 lanes each direction, with a 30mph forced tail wind in each direction. Put a few exits at key locations in a large city, like NYC for people to exit onto the side streets.

You can reach 60mph inside this and pop out at whatever exit is closest to where you work.

and then when you wipe out???

Same thing that happens when you wipe out on a motorcycle or car:

Pain... lots and lots of pain... after the initial shock wears off.

Didn't say it wasn't crazy :)

LOL some attraction to going that fast on a bike tho. kinda doubtful if the city fathers would authorize the expense huh?

I like the tailwind idea! :D

There is an engineering company seriously proposing such a hare-brained idea.

Are they engineering the train tunnel or the bike path?
Cause the latter's pretty crazy, heh.

Anybody watch Futurama? ;)

Think of the vacuum tubes that OLD companies used to use or those that are still in use at some bank's drive thru. Just scale things up to human size...

jay

It's actually a pretty good idea. I recall seeing a website where such an idea is being seriously proposed, although as an elevated covered bikeway iirc. If I get the time I'll see if I can root out the link.

I don't think 60mph would be a practicable velocity, but an effortless 30mph out of the elements would have a certain appeal to current non-cyclists.

As for exit speeds, well, is it any different than a motorway? Surely no-one seriously entertains the idea that cars should be exiting at the same speed they travel on the road.

Haha as I recall, the first time Fry tried the tube he slammed head first into a bank upon exit :)

With a 10-15mph tailwind, I can churn away at 25-30mph, or cruise at around 25mph on my mtb with fat 2 inch tires on a trail. I think with a 30mph tailwind and a road bike, if not 60 then maybe 50mph might not be far off.
That would serious kick ass more than my current 12-14mph average commute.

I understand my wind tunnel/bike highway's a little crazy but I wonder just exactly how fesible it would be to build a small bikeway. Would be great to get from one part of the city to another and probably safer than with moving traffic.

Blows me away!

:D

Some more info on the tunnel idea
http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/biketrans.htm

Some more info on the tunnel idea
http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/biketrans.htm

Yes, that's the sad truth of it...

;)

Ok, it is appealing and takes me back to that SciFi flop Space 1999. But one of the reasons I ride is to limit energy usage, pumping that wind will require a lot of fans.

the tunnel would be nice a a little far fetched. Cities don't even want to fund bike lanes much less tunnels, but it does sound nice.

Interesting analysis Michael. While some of the points raised could be argued, I'm not going to as the general gist has convinced me that it is an impracticable idea.

I particularly liked the closing sentence: "I think that as a rule, we had best leave tailwinds to Mother Nature and be thankful for them when we can enjoy them."

It would seem that the best way to get the better of the wind, if that is what you desire, is still a fully faired recumbent :)

Hehe don't they also have those crazy clear canopies on regular bikes?

Well, not the artificial tail wind. But I would like to see at least the protection from wind and rain on the commuting trail.

The green walls on both sides, made of the evergreen shrubs and trees, could protect from the wind. And some roof above the trail could protect against the rain.

Cycling in the concrete or glass tunnel would take away one of the advantages of cycling - being in the contact with nature. Still I could use some protection from elements, especially when I commute to work. And I would not mind the tunnel under or above the automobile roads. Better in the tunnel, than in close vicinity of cars.

I would also be nice if the surface were made in such a way that there were no pools of water during the rain.

Most roads here are curved so that any water runs to the sides which also run into gutters at the corner of the street.
Unfortunately, pavement settles and depressions form in the road. We also have pot holes that can swallow your entire wheel; when it rains, those are nearly invisible.
I ride a mtb with 2" tires and I've gone through a few puddles where the wheel is 10" underwater and I come flying out the other side. Roadies would just taco...