Gas up once again

[GarlicEater]

This thread is going in a good direction, towards prepping and self-sufficiency.

I've actually thought of putting a Burley bicycle trailer on my 250cc motorcycle (when I had it) not to take on the freeway but to poop along the back roads here, go get a load of stuff from the store etc. I've used a Burley with a bicycle, and it's a great trailer, the main things you notice is, you have more weight to get going so you use your gears more, and sometimes you're slowing down but gradually so you get a sort of "surging" effect. So I figure a trailer on a motorcycle would be like that, those same things - you need good brakes, use lower gears because you're pulling more weight, and may get an odd "surging" effect at times.

I need to get a better bicycle - buy or assemble from various parts around here - I do great on my cruiser which is a real tank, a lighter bike would be amazing.

 

[Sierra pachie bars]

Cost me 90.00 this morning to fill my tank. I got a 10 cent discount from vons . I hate filling my tank

 

[Mattemma]

I saw $3.49 the other day. I told the kids when my gas is out I will have to call them off from school till we have some money. I already used the credit card for food. I can't keep charging!

 

[booker81]

Part of the grin and bear it crowd. DH and I have stable jobs, but I drive 30 miles, he does up to 80 miles depending on his yarding, one way. I'm not about to send him off on an 80 mile bike ride daily, and well, we go different directions too, so no carpooling

We both drive large vehicles, live in the boonies where potholes eat small cars or the snow piles up and they don't bother plowing. We also haul a lot, and he does a lot of tree work, a small car or truck just won't cut it.

Our local stations knock a few cents off if you pay with a debit card using your PIN or pay with cash and get a gas card.

We just adjust our living a little at a time.

As for sufficiency, we have enough food frozen and canned to last months, and I'm expanding the garden. I have an OLD Aeirens (or however it's spelled) tiller, and I do my weeding by hand. We'll haul a load or two of composted horse manure from my brother's place. I'm going to slowly set up an orchard over the next few years. Plus, have the chickens for eggs, and I get free roosters and other older chickens from folks on craigslist for meat. What I pay to feed the laying hens is more than made up by what I save when I get a dozen or more free chickens for meat. It's almost time to start the gathering and hunting too - morels, wild asparagus, then berries, then apples, deer and turkey hunting. MI passed the cottage law for food, so I can start selling my jams and jellies from the wild berries I pick (have a few spots we gather gallons upon gallons of wild blackberries).

So, higher gas will SUCK, but we've gotten enough other things in place to make up for it in other areas. Preparation yo.

 

[featherz]

And you guys make fun of me and my Smart Car. Believe it or not, I CAN fit several bags of chicken feed in my itty bitty 40+ mpg Smart.

 

[HHandbasket]

I think my li'l retro-style scooter wouldn't be so awesome if I had to haul a lot of stuff around, but I have been able to fill the trunk with a 10-pound bag of scratch, a 10-pound bag of chicken feed, and my fanny pack & still had a little wiggle room. It has not only the trunk but also another compartment under the seat where I keep a folded-up back pack because i can haul a lot more stuff in the backpack, and then I'll have the space under the seat for carrying other items, as well.

For people who live in areas with lots of snow or where they have potholes that tear up a small car or have to haul a lot of things for their job/life, I really sympathize with the money you have to spend on gas & feel for your plight. We have a Dodge Neon we use for times when the scooters aren't appropriate such as wintertime, late at night, or if we have to travel a long distance that requires us to get on the freeway. While these scooters are freeway-legal, that does NOT equate freeway-safe & I'd never take my scoot up on the freeway. We live in town, though, and it's a very practical alternative for us. In fact, Farmer Lew started his current job last September, and I think he was there a good 3 months before he ever once drove the car to work.

For folks like us who live in town, it was a great and very practical alternative to the $90-a-tank minivan. It costs me around $4.00 right now in California's capital city to fill my bike's tank with premium when it's completely on empty, and I get about 100 to 110 miles to a tank (it has a 1.4 gallon tank, but even on empty, it's never taken more than 1.2 at the pump). During the busy time of year when we're not getting rained on and I run errands on the scoot daily, I probably spend between $8 and $12 a month on gas, and THAT is with Farmer Lew and I taking long afternoon rides. Yes, we ride our scoots for fun like a couple of motorcyclists... heheeh... we look like such dorks on our scoots but we love 'em. The only thing I would trade my scooter for would be a newer one. LOL. And this one's not old... its a 2008 & has less than 2500 miles on it (had about 1200 miles when I got it... I dunno WHAT happened.. LOL).

Raising our own chickens (and now hatching), growing as much of our own food as possible on our little urban farm (fancy term for "our backyard"), and getting rid of the minivan in favor of scooters is how we have managed the last couple of years.

BTW, you with the smart car.... VERY nice. I love those things. They are much roomier inside than they seem from the outside. Farmer Lew calls it "The Tardis of cars."

 

[Hoss1975]

I filled up yesterday for $3.51,a few years ago when gas was almost $4 a gallon i went and bought one of them cheap chinese scooters,$900 brand new.I am on my second scooter(i put over 5000 miles on the first one).

 

[HHandbasket]

Quote:
What kind you got? My husband drives a Jonway TT150 or something like that, and mine is a Flyscooters Il Bello (cotton candy pink, of cousre). LOVE that thing. If you keep up with the maintenance and do the oil changes every 500 miles, it'll last a lot longer than 5000 miles. I know of someone right now with about 17K on their 2006. It hasn't been without needing a few things replaced here and there, but beats the heck out of paying for a Vespa (that being said, though, if I had the money, I'd be riding a Vespa, too).

Are you on scootdawg.com?

That's the other forum where I spend the majority of my online time besides BYC.

 

[bakerjw]

I don't have a bike trailer yet but I've been looking for one as of late. We have 2 feed stores, a large grocery store, and at least 3 pharmacies within 4 miles of our house. A good 70# capacity trailer would do the trick for groceries, feed, and the what not.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I just dont see me halling supplies up an down this Mtn on a bike of any kind. I drive a 3/4th ton suburban with a 6.2. There is not much you cant pour in to the tank of it an go. I try to only make only one or 2 trips a month an get what I need then. I can hall around 1500 pounds in the back an with a trailer I can hall up to 10,000 pounds of feed.

For me its about taking less trips. My brother on the other hand commutes to Chattanooga so a high mileage diesel is a must. But we both are always looking for a cheep supply of something that our trucks will burn.


I wonder how much of my fuel needs I could cover by planting an acre of peanuts?