Pedal Powered Car... Killing two (theoretical) birds with one stone

[NiHaoMike]

How fast do the "world record MPG" cars typically go? It might be possible to power one with pedal power, then claim infinite MPG for the same speed.

[Bicycle Bob]

The Shell economy run getting the 5-figure MPGs are at 15 MPH. At 60, they might still get 4 figures. The streamlined bike record is 82 MPH.

Unfortunately, with modern agriculture, it takes about ten calories of fossil energy to put one calorie on your plate.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

The Shell economy run getting the 5-figure MPGs are at 15 MPH. At 60, they might still get 4 figures. The streamlined bike record is 82 MPH.

Unfortunately, with modern agriculture, it takes about ten calories of fossil energy to put one calorie on your plate.

Slightly OT - isn't that the reason so many people are against grain-fed beef? I mean you're wasting tons of edible food just to make a few hundred lbs of edible food... I see a problem there.

Back On Topic - I see a few problems with me and a pedal-powered car - mainly, I'm lazy. Secondarily, I believe that my exercise comes from hard work, not pedaling, and Thirdly, I'm a redneck... we like to make things go without having to work.

[Bicycle Bob]

I was raised on the notion that sweat was a symptom of not thinking well enough to avoid it. I was the least fit kid at school. Then, I re-discovered bicycling for the quick, cheap commuting, and my resting heart rate went to 52. I very seldom noticed any fatigue or other discomfort. I drive a car now, but notice that if I get my exercise from carpentry or gardening, I really feel it, but if I go for a ride, I burn more calories with no discomfort, while doing more good for my heart and lungs.

Re: OT - If there were about 15% more vegetarians, there would be enough food for everyone, even though vegetarians live 5 years longer. Ranches are replacing forest at a frightening pace.

[ai_vin]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

Unfortunately, with modern agriculture, it takes about ten calories of fossil energy to put one calorie on your plate.

One way to reduce that is to grow our food closer to where we live.
The Vertical Farm Project - Agriculture for the 21st Century and Beyond | www.verticalfarm.com

[Christ]

I used to love riding bikes... then I moved to the country, where the nearest store is a 3 mile trek, and that's the most expensive store you can go to (even if you count the extra fuel to go another 7 miles to a city.) As a result, I got my license, and never looked back, until recently. I'm looking into building a decent recumbent reverse trike with a motor that qualifies in PA as a "motorized bicycle" by law (obviously, not by definition, since bicycle implies two wheels). This will get me decent speed pedaling the short trips, and if I need to go more than a few miles, I'll kick in the motor and get 100 MPG getting there, and probably more using P&G and other HM tactics. I'd ideally love to get a 2 cycle diesel engine and use it, so that I could brew my own fuel, but I'm not sure how well that will work out.

I'm not a vegetarian, I'm a cheap-ivore.

I enjoy meat, but I don't enjoy paying the outrageous grocery store prices for it. As a result, I usually buy my meat from dairy farmers and the like that are thinning their herds, or I get grass-fed beef/pork locally. Recently, I haven't been doing this, but it's more for the fact that I get groceries for a family of 5 who eat like food is a given, not a gift. (That's putting it politely.)

Cows contribute to global warming, probably moreso than cars in many cases.