tired of paying high gas prices?

Joined
10 April 2000
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6,126
Location
Silicon Valley
seems to me that if the pain for using "traditional" american modes of transportation (big cars, suv's, etc) becomes severe enough, people will change their driving habits and mode of transportation. some will work from home more often / commute less; those who need to be at their offices will carpool, use buses, light rail, etc. some will buy scooters, motorcycles, etc... and some will take what others may view as extreme action by thinking outside the box a bit.

i saw one of these (http://cleverchimp.com/products/stokemonkey) in monterey 2 weeks ago and fell in love with it on the spot. (there are much less expensive alternatives to stokemonkey, such as (using your own legs to pedal full time or http://www.poweridestore.com/Brushless-Motors/Series-4-Motors/Rear-408-Hub-Motor)

anyway, i managed to find the guy who owned it to ask him a few questions about his ride.

actually, the unit was on this bike (http://xtracycle.com) and the owner said it was a wonderful way to commute / get around town without feeding the oil and gas companies. he said he routinely carries his wife / family friends on the thing and hauls them up a steep, local, road at 15-20 mph effortlessly.

way cool!

naturally :smile: he charges it using this: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...19&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
he said the charge takes one day and gives him enough juice for ~2 weeks of riding & using the stokemonkey as he likes.

extreme? to some, perhaps. but others, some these alternatives might be of interest.

(before you say it, yup, i'm a left-coaster that doesn't feel the need to have heavy horsepower under my right foot. )
 
Hmmm if I lived closer to work I'd be all over this. Good to keep in the back of my mind though if I find a job closer to my home as I used to ride my bike to work before, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
 
interesting http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/27/lifestyle.change.irpt/index.html

wow, from the article - check this out: The Department of Transportation said Monday it had seen the sharpest monthly drop in driving since it began keeping records.

In March, Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles than in March of 2007.

that can't be all bad, now, can it?
 
Way cool. Rising Gas Prices will reap many good rewards in the long run.

Painful labor pains to be sure, but 50 years from now, although many of you will be dead :tongue: , we will be energy-independent :rolleyes:
 
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