Re: Human powered vehicles, a way to travel, conserve fuel and get exercise

[Barterer]

In light of what Russell has said, I think a bike supplemented by a motorcycle is the way to go. The licensing seems to be "in for a penny, in for a pound" so you might as well have a 400cc or larger bike capable of freeway speeds.  For a while I was thinking of downsizing my 650 to a 250 (which can still get on the highway, in a pinch) but have been riding my bicycle so much, it almost doesn't matter. If your commute and distance to the grocery store is short, you can just do most of your traveling by bicycle and carry your stuff in a satchel.  I put $10 worth of gas in my 650 but ride the ol' HPV so much, the motorcycle fill-up lasts a whole month.

[PattyLee loves dogs]

Human-powered vehicles sound good as a backup, but don't they violate the 13th Amendment?

[Russell Kanning]

for some of us in NH ... we are hardly ever on freeways

[Coconut]

Human-powered vehicles sound good as a backup, but don't they violate the 13th Amendment?

Not if they're already dead.

[John Edward Mercier]

for some of us in NH ... we are hardly ever on freeways

Is that like an interstate highway?

[KBCraig]

for some of us in NH ... we are hardly ever on freeways

Is that like an interstate highway?

A freeway is any divided highway with fully controlled access. Interstates are freeways, but not all freeways are interstates.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

Well, if you want to be fairly comfortable, I would recommend a recumbent.  If you don't want to spend over $1000, I would recommend a recumbent bicycle, as they are generally less expensive than trikes.  You could probably buy one for around $500.  How much can you budget for one?  How much do you weigh?  Does your route have a lot of potholes and/or bumpy roads?  Depending on your needs, I may be able to find you a good deal.
http://recumbentrecycler.com

I have been riding further as I have been getting into better shape.  This past week I have ridden my trike over 60 miles in one day and over 100 miles in under 3 days, all while towing a trailer with tools, water and other stuff in it.  I figured out that I am burning about a pound of fat for every 50 to 60 miles I ride.  So far this year I have gone from a little over 230 lbs to 198 lbs.

[Russell Kanning]

I looked at your site Tim. I like your idea of assembling and altering recumbents for people. Bike shops are expensive sometimes and most don't want to see recumbents.
Maybe you can get one of the geeks around here to code the site for you or use something else like craigslist for your listings and just coordinate it with keywords or such.
If you build up a cheap recumbent sometime, I might need to buy it off you.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

I looked at your site Tim. I like your idea of assembling and altering recumbents for people. Bike shops are expensive sometimes and most don't want to see recumbents.
Maybe you can get one of the geeks around here to code the site for you or use something else like craigslist for your listings and just coordinate it with keywords or such.
If you build up a cheap recumbent sometime, I might need to buy it off you.

I really want to learn how to do code better.  I'm mostly self-taught, but I occasionally get a little help from my friends when I'm not sure how to do something.  I would take a class on it if I could afford to.

[jaqeboy]

Big HPV event this weekend in Burlington, Vermont, the Burlington Bikefest:

http://www.hpvburlingtonbikefest.org/index.php