I found this somewhere else on the internet:

"As vehicles ran out of gas during the Houston exodus (aka biggest traffic jam ever), one Chronicle employee who drove a Prius completed the 30 hour, 170 mile trek on three-quarters a tank of gas.

Other happy hybrid owners who didn't have to stop for gas or turn off their A/C weigh in: "My folks drove to Austin from League City in their lexus hybrid and 21 hours of driving later still had 1/8 tank of gas left - plus they had my 87yr old grandfather with them and ran the air conditioner all day unlike most people who ran out of gas. 3 cheers for the hybrid!""


20-30 hours to go 170 miles. A cyclist in good shape could do the same distance in half that time. I know not everyone can complete double-century distances (I probably couldn't) but it still made me think a bit.

10 MPH is ultra low effort if you're in shape at all, yet do the math, that's a century in 10 hours, leaves you 14 to eat, sleep, forage, build hideout for the night, etc.

I drive a compact car and I doubt it would go that far if the engine ran that long. Wonder what the SUV drivers thought when they ran out of gas.

The local news here (Houston) interviewed one person who travelled 33 miles in 10-12 hours. I did that in around 1.5 hours on my maiden voyage on the fixie. I almost biked up and down the traffic jam, but decided my energy was better spent in getting my condo prepped for hunkering down. There'll be more commuting bike this coming week. This week will be interesting because of the low gas supply.

I wonder if there were any bicyclists who evacuated on their bikes? Granted, only folks who didn't have to look out for anyone but themselves could do this, but surely there are SOME bicyclists in the affected areas who have that circumstance?

I'm sure that with a trailer, those with small children could also evacuate this way. If you can keep a child interested, they can also ride for 8 hours. I remember riding to a local park where the undeveloped area behind it had become an informal dirtbike jump area. My friends and I would ride our bikes around here from breakfast until dinner, not noticing the emptiness in our bellies, the time that had slipped by, or the amount of sustained effort we were putting out: It was fun, so we noticed nothing else.

Of course, I'd be challenged to keep my 7-year-old son interested in riding for that long.

The only problem was, the temperature was 100. On the pavement, it was 120 - 130. I know, I was riding alongside the "parked" cars on the hurricane evac route.

I would've been very devastating conditions to do a 170 mile ride in. Well, maybe you could start in the middle of the night with good lights, take a nap in the heat of the day, and continue the next evening.