Well here’s a chance to talk about my bike fettish… I was inspired by John Titor ( there’s a rabbit hole..) who went thru the 2nd American Civil war on another time line.. and advised to get a bike and spare parts.
As I am on a farm I need an off road bike like the mountain bike so I set out to learn about them. I found that they are readily available second hand and at our local recycle center as people dump their old unused bikes or upgrade to the latest model. The bike I ride at the moment cost me $12, the price is still inked on it. It has front shocks.. unlike my other bikes.. and very nice gear shifters. Finger touch up, thumb down. Tyres are old but hanging on.. I have about 10 bikes in varied shape, design and condition( all steel frame except one). Many of them would have been state of the art expensive bikes 15 years ago. All cost $10-20.
A few things which may seem obvious …. A bike is FAST compared to walking. 5x faster for the same effort. It saves your knees.. mine don’t like waking.. forget running ( I am 70). Downhill is FREE… zoom .. no effort. Uphill is good exercise for your main leg muscles. Free exercise.. no cost for a gym. If it gets too steep, I get off and walk. You could use a bike as a load carrier.. the Viet Cong used them in the war on simple trails.
And now there is the possibility of electric mountain bikes.. due to the ever improving batteries. I do not have one.. maybe someone here does? But they could be ideal for travel in a post oil fuel society. Silent and relatively fast.. If/when I get old I may need one…:-).