On Tue, 24 Jul 2018 19:56:32 -0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jul 2018 09:15:38 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jul 2018 00:42:24 -0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:
As I previously said, if one has a bike one doesn't need a car :-)
I'm not the "one" that can do it. I've previously mentioned my
attempts to do service calls on my bicycle. The technical problems
were easy. The stupid problem (strange bus transport rules,
unattended security, parts thieves, and potential damage to
electronics going over bumps) were not so easy.
I live about 1 mile from the main highway up a mostly paved road.
Checking Google Earth, there is an elevation rise of 465 ft. Average
slope is therefo
465 / 5280 = 8.8%
I can barely ride a bicycle up the hill. I find myself walking quite
often. I could not even imagine climbing the hill with a trailer full
of groceries, much less hauling a refrigerator (250-350 lbs). To be
fair, 50 years ago, I might have been able to do it, but not today.
It might be possible to survive without a car if the roads were all
flat, but in my area, very little is flat.
So, you are saying that no one lived in the area until automobiles
were available?
I like your logic. The area has probably been inhabited for about
10,000+ years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settlement_of_the_Americas
Last time I checked, bicycles were not available for most of this time
span. Before bicycles, there were horses, oxen, and human transport,
which were livable, but not exactly ideal. Bicycles were an
improvement, followed by automobiles as a better improvement. The
locals did quite well with horses, mules, oxen, trains, and boats.
Incidentally, in 2002 there was a TV reality show with several modern
families trying to live like homesteaders on the Montana frontier of
1883:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House
Obviously, no automobiles. Bicycles would have been possible, but
would have been rather quaint:
https://www.google.com/search?q=bicycle+1883&tbm=isch
As I vaguely recall, of the 4 families, 3 did badly and would not have
survived the winter. One gave up. One cheated a little by finding a
modern bedspring. Their homes were more a survival exercise than
livable, with or without bicycles.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558