(ud 5/21/18 - The Incredible and Efficient Use of a Bicycle as a Bug Out Vehicle

[TWP]

Both of us plan on using our bicycles as our bug out vehicle.  This article discusses some of the things which can be done with a bike.

Part 1)  http://www.askaprepper.com/the-bicycle-as-a-bug-out-vehicle-part-1/

Part 2)  http://www.askaprepper.com/the-incredible-and-efficient-use-of-a-bicycle-as-a-bug-out-vehicle-part-2/

Part 3)  http://www.askaprepper.com/the-incredible-and-efficient-use-of-a-bicycle-as-a-bug-out-vehicle-part-3/

In case your Primary bug-out vehicle is NOT a bicycle, I will point out that circumstances may prevent you from using that Primary vehicle... Backup plans make sense...

Living in a highly urban area (225,000 Pop.) Bugging Out has a higher probability of happening than if we, for instance, lived away from a city.  Your Mileage May Vary!

There Are advantages to using bicycles, just as there are dis-advantages.  One advantage which comes to mind is the ability to use railroad tracks AND railroad bridges, in case the vehicle roads and bridges are blocked.

An item which is not addressed by the author is the use of a bicycle trailer.  I use one and it increases my carry weight by at least 100 lbs and probably (in a pinch) I can load 250 lbs without exceeding the trailer carry weight.  Yes, it makes for slower going, but higher survival potential (more of everything).

I recommend reading the comments which follow each part.

[WolfBrother]

Don't underestimate the use of the bicycle.

I remember a couple of mission briefings when we were told that some of the bicycles captured on the Hồ Chí Minh trail had as much as 500 pounds of supplies on them.

They were simply doing what the Japanese did in WWII that led to the fall of the Gibraltar of the East - Singapore.

https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/the-pacific-war-1941-to-1945/the-fall-of-singapore/
.
.
.
At the Battle of Jitra in Malaya (December 11th and 12th 1941),...  The Japanese attack was based on speed, ferocity and surprise. To speed their advance on Singapore, the Japanese used bicycles as one means of transport.
.
.
.
The commander of the Australian forces in Singapore later said:

“The whole operation seems incredible: 550 miles in 55 days – forced back by a small Japanese army of only two divisions, riding stolen bicycles and without artillery support.”

.
.
.

[TWP]

Part 3 is linked in my OP below.

[WolfBrother]

excerpt from part 3
I talked to a rider who had ridden his Bike Friday from Hanoi down to Saigon now HCM City. I think that is only about 1400 miles but it still is a good distance.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/jul/28/ho-chi-minh-trail-motorbike
The Ho Chi Minh Trail has always been the stuff of legends, a seemingly endless number of backwater paths and trails that started near Hanoi and ran almost 1,000 miles down the length of the country, crossing into Laos at several points, and ending near Saigon (today's Ho Chi Minh City)

Don't underestimate the bicycle.  Most of the people back then had a long stick tied across the handlebars to facilitate their pushing and steering.  Most did not "ride" the bike, the walked alongside pushing it.

Wikipedia has a picture of that - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ho_chi_minh_trail.jpg