Slightly OT: w/Gas going up what

Triathlon Forum
1

kind of adjustments can we make?

I know in Europe and Asia its been very expensive for decades.
Looks like its going to hit 3.00/gal for the cheap stuff sometime this week here in the Northeast.
I just looked at this months Amex bill,70% of the balance due is from gas station fill ups.

Plus -with Winter around the corner, how bad are fuel costs going to be,or even worse, do we have enough supplies.

I heard on NPR the other day that there’s an abundant supply of rough crude at $ 14.00/barrel.Problem is, our refineries are no longer capable of processing the stuff ,and that we have less than 40% of the operating refineries we did in the 1980’s.

Also,I’m not too sold on the Hybrids.
It looks like with the massive power loom that runs underneath the front seats can be eventually prone to overheating and cooking the cabin.

Another thing I noticed from this mornings trip to the grocery, there are hardly any deals on produce or veggies.I guess the trucking companies have no choice but to pass along the extra fuel costs to the distributors.

Not to be such a doom&gloom but whats ahead in the horizon?

I’ve never seen so many 1 year old SUV’s,full size pick ups,and Hummers with For Sale signs.

There was a rumor in the late 80’s that some engineer succesfully developed a 4 cylinder engine that ran with hi compression using ocean water.He disappeared off the face of the earth shortly afterwards.

Should we consider drilling closer to home?
We’re a fossil fuel society, I just don’t see it changing over …ever.

This is the bad part of tapering.
I start thinking of issues like every other normal non-tri person does
everyday.

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Hey Swordfish…shitcan the taper and go back to training.

You’re gonna give me nightmares.

Thanks.

Jen

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Dude, talk about a loaded question. I would love to debate but I just don’t have that much time right now.

4

Adjustments? Please. A difference of $.50/gallon makes about a $15/wk hole in my pocket. About $2/day.

Gas is much cheaper than it was in the late 70’s. Fruits and vegetables are much more plentiful, and cheaper than ever.

Smartest thing you can do is go buy a SUV. The fear mongering over gas prices has dropped their value to rock bottom. Then when winter hits and everyone needs 4WD, you can sell it back at a profit. When can you ever sell a vehicle for a profit?

5

The pinch on the pocket book is turning into a kick in the ass!

Lots of people stretched to the limit, especially here in SoCal with lots of people buy WAY more home then they can afford with reverse-am loans.

You make a good point about veggie and such at the store. The US is a trucking country, most of our supplies are shipped around via trucks, not train or plane. When gas prices go up, the trucking industry gets pinched a little harder then the other two…which falls over on us, the consumer.

Funny you mention the guy in the 80s…its rumored similar things happend to Rudolph Desiel, when he invented what would become the Desiel engine. His original plans were to make an engine for the poor farmer that would run on bio-fuels, corn-old and peanut oil. Then he mysteriously disappeared in the English Channel some where…and the engine was converted to fossil fuels…very interesting.

I think we are all goign to have to get use to $3+ per gallon gas…good incentive to ride my bike to work more!!!

-bcreager

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Something I’ve always wondered, and this group would probably be all for is a bike powered ‘car’.

I don’t know if this is possible but I’m sure some engineer could answer. If you put 4 bikes together in a rows of 2 could you somehow combine the power of all 4 riders to produce a high speed? I know there would have to be some loss in the gears but say 4 people all riding at 20 mph. Could you get a ‘vehicle’ to reach 60 mph?

Obviously couldn’t eliminate cars but might be able to reduce the use.

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well, as for fossil fuels, even very generous estimates (taking into account finding new oil fields) say we have a little under 100 years of oil left, so whether you think its possible or not, we’re gonna have to ween ourselves off of oil. As for what adjustments Im making, i just bought a fixed gear and am currently riding everywhere. With traffic, its not much slower, and with bke lanes, its not much more dangerous, also, im getting in 75 more miles of riding a week.

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Just sold my Nissan Titan truck and bought an Element.

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VOLUNTARY HUMAN EXTINCTION. the best solution to the problem is no more people. we ruin everything anyway.

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on topic, i think if the price trend continues, it will impact choices re: driving or not driving to more distant races.

about “the engineer that succesfully developed an engine that ran using ocean water”, people disappear all the time. but about the ‘ocean water’ part, unless we are talking nuclear fusion (‘nuke-u-laar’ fusion, if george w. could say it), then my guess is that the rumor was started by folks who know nothing about physics.

there ain’t no free lunch.

and nature always bats last…

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well-nobody has all of the solutions, but one thing I’ve done to help with my groceries is to buy locally. of course this means that come winter there will be less to no selection…but then you can buy frozen vegetables and sautee them.

eggs, vegetables, and fruits are locally grown everywhere. look into it–you’ll save money, support your local economy, eat healthier, and you’ll enjoy the experience of meeting the folks at the farmer’s markets.

also, in the fall, if you have the space, get working on your own vegetable bed in the yard. This year I planted 31 tomato plants and have a huge tomato patch. even though i’ve neglected them i’ve got tons of tomatos and have shared with lots of people. a little water goes a long way–you’d be surprised at how enjoyable this is. Grow your own!!

as far as fuel economy and driving…i don’t know what to say there. other than, get a giant backpack, and a commuter bike :slight_smile:

next year I’m planning on getting a scooter. it will be fun, plus I can just run around our little village on the thing for my shopping trips (I work from home and hardly drive). it will be worth it!

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why not a good utiliy mtb instead of a scooter? train and save gas at the same time!

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i don’t know. i have a commuter bike already (that I never ride. you see, I have a serious fear of getting hit. beyond training i will not ride on the road–especially in my little village where it can get crazy). hence the scooter…i’ve been reading that some get 90 miles to a gallon or something out of site like this.

i do believe that if somebody cannot afford the additional funds for gas, then they probably need to re-evaluate the other financial areas of their life. an additional 20 bucks a week shouldn’t bust the bank. especially when packing lunch two times a week, or eating out one time less can basically make up for that money. i realize this isn’t a popular thing to say…

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i see. but take it from a former motorcycle rider, you can get hit far more easily on a scooter than on an mtb. for one, you are actually IN traffic on a scooter.

with an mtb (w/ some suspension) i ride alongside traffic, on sidewalks (abandoned by pedestrians in this day and age), along rr tracks, and on crushed gravel paths. i can usually beat motor traffic during most times of day.

just a thought…

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kind of adjustments can we make?

We’re a fossil fuel society, I just don’t see it changing over …ever.

Oh, it will change whether you can see it now or not - if not for us then for the generation now in school. That’s the interesting thing about commodities. Economists can’t make any more of them. There is what there is.

The most successful generation of organisms in a Petri dish is always just one generation before they fully consume the resource supporting them and collapse upon themselves, cannibalizing adjoining organisms for nutrients, mired in their own waste products.

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hmmm. i’ll consider it. and you’re right, scooters are just as likely to get hit. perhaps i just want one becuase i think they’re wicked cool…lol.

i must have a void in my life or something–i’ve sure been into the “toys” lately…

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I love how poeple think their enginres should be getting 30 MPG, even if it is a V8.

My beater honda with the 1.5L engine cruised up to Vineman doing 90 easily. Out of an 11 gallon tank (~$27.00 per fill-up) I easily get 300 miles out of the tank with the A/C on! I don’t want to hear it when your Ford Exploder costs you $65 to fill up. Just like on the bike, weight slows you down, and takes more power to move.

The problem will be heating oil. It doesn’t mean a lick to me out here in California, but for those of you in the North East…

Well…

Buy oil futures

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and maufacturing…to run plants. that’s the real biggie. kind of scary actually to think about it.

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The most successful generation of organisms in a Petri dish is always just one generation before they fully consume the resource supporting them and collapse upon themselves, cannibalizing adjoining organisms for nutrients, mired in their own waste products.

So maybe the obesity epidemic isn’t such a problem after all… Think of it as “alternative energy storage” for when cannibalizing starts… OK, I’m bored. Please ignore me.

Lehmkuhler

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i see. but take it from a former motorcycle rider, you can get hit far more easily on a scooter than on an mtb. for one, you are actually IN traffic on a scooter.

I agree completely. And besides, something is going to kill you. Statistically, you are much more likely to get hit/killed if you too are in a car.
We should all be growing our own. It is tough in colder climes, but grow more, freeze/can more, and build a root cellar.

A few years back I heard about a guy that made some device that either replaced or was added on to fuel injectors to make them more efficient. Essentially, it sprayed the gas at a high pressure mist trippling fuel economy. The rumor was that he was bought out by GM or somebody. While I generally try to avoid paranoia, there is a reason GM is selling so many gas hogs and Toyota isn’t.