pedal peddlers 2

PEDAL PEDDLERS 2

The great thing about Beer Virus? We just got a little taste of all the problems that were promised but was just a theory half a year ago. We all saw that JIT was a system wide issue, not just an ammunition problem ( or rice, during monsoon disruptions ). We noticed how quick the government turned into heavy handed dictatorships. We saw how quick a bank run wiped out the physical cash supply. That having race riots during a Depression tended to complicate things. That the US is far more vulnerable in a trade war than China is.

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Now, would you friggin listen to me about the vulnerability of Happy Motoring? Hasn't my paranoia been pretty spot on so far? Not predictions. Anyone can do those and they are all horsecrap. Rather, trends based on data observed from before I could read ( the Club Of Rome ). Or from before I was born ( Peak Oil ). None of what I concern myself about wasn't beat like a dead horse from survivalists long ago. The only difference was that once the Soviet Union dissolved, we all got to thinking we were hot crap and no one could defeat us and our sense of fear was severely blunted. Even hard core survivalists relaxed far too much.

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If Rawles hadn't “invented” Thirty Years To Prep And Pay The Mortgage ( with his Establishment approved 2030 Peak Oil ), someone else would have. Just like shell shocked consumers flocked to the malls after the Lost Decade 1970's, survivalists drew a deep breath after we Swords To Plowshared most nuclear weapons into Fuki electric power and moved back to the cities to helm a desk rather than a watchtower. Katrina and a little financial bubble reminded everyone that we had become the new colonies for Team Red Shield, but STILL there were too many distractions.

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Now we understand how foolish we were to ever leave the bunkers. For the first time in nearly a century, food security disappeared. All the blood and sweat spilled to “gain efficiencies” from the farmers, the corporations making money by losing money where once families farmed, the overseas adventures securing oil on the broken bodies of our youth, all of that became wasted effort. People might have gotten fed, barely, but it was a too close run thing for anyone to drop their guard. Or to think it couldn't happen again without notice. Individually, we were able to feed ourselves by going mobile and descending upon every nook and granny store as a golden horde.

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We traded weak food security for a stronger oil security. Which quickly is showing signs of also weakening. Look, the central banks messed with a gold backed currency. They loaned money to fading empires, then acted surprised when they couldn't get their money back. Lots of credit to the stock market later ( that NEVER ends badly! ) to postpone the day of reckoning and we got a Great Depression. That would never have resolved itself had we not gone to total war. That kept us out of another “slump”, as we went to Total Cold War, to continue the military industrial complex stimulus spending.

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That lasted until our oil production peaked ( Peak Oil had more to do with our Vietnam defeat than any other factor ), after which we converted our dollar to Saudi Arabian oil backing. That worked until Saudi Arabia peaked in production. After the economic fallout from that, only fracking oil allowed us to-barely-keep our nose above water. If Chinese coal production ( in BTU's-volume means crap all ) hadn't drug down their economy, it seems likely we would have been playing the British to the American subsidiary role. Luckily, fracking gave us a few more years ( how sad is it that our Fake Fuel Fracking was a better economic foundation than their Crap Coal? Oh, and a note on that-alternate energy didn't save their economy ).

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But last year, our Fracking Fuel bubble burst. What we are looking at now is there is no more miracles to keep our economy afloat, as has been done since your grandfathers youth. To believe you will keep a mortgage, a job and a running vehicle during this time is the height of wishful thinking. The party is finally over. Stop mourning the last lost bottle of whiskey and try to focus on getting sober with the minimum of a hangover. Driving just saved you from going hungry. Now something else is going to have to save you when the ability to drive ends.

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I recommend bicycles. Coupled, of course, with living in an area where you won't get Bike Jacked by Disadvantaged Minority Youth. To transition from cars to bikes, you must beat the crowd. To beat the crowd you must be willing to spend the money, to make the investment. I never had to transition from a car because I NEVER depended on one other than short periods which I could have easily resolved by moving. I never became trapped by them. You are, now. Things are going to end very badly for car dependent folks.

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My bike was always our households second car. When the battery died, I pedaled on down to our small towns auto part store ( okay, ONE of them-it isn't small enough ) and bought another. When our economy is dying WORSE than now, I'll pedal on down to the store for groceries. Or, just as likely, when gasoline joins the JIT failures. I could walk. But I have the means to not only extend my travel luxury through the economic collapse, I'll also be helping keep the bike going during the apocalypse ( for AFTER the die-off. Skulking about afoot is much smarter then ).

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I didn't NEED to do this. That is what prepping is-giving yourself options rather than impossible choices. And I chose to NOT do so four/five months ago when it looked like we were hyperbolic collapsing ( the flip side of Too Relaxed prepping is my Too Prone To Instant Panic prepping. I leave you to decide which is less worse ). A bicycle stockpile past my already stocked amount had far less priority. Food First, always. Now that I can relax slightly ( only because the food panic was only protein, not calories ), I'm giving slightly more focus to surviving a slower fall off the waterfall than I was months ago when I thought we were going to reach higher velocities.

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I won't stop storing more protein. And remember, if you are new to this prepping game, you can just go to the feed store and buy soy meal ( for your protein-wheat is your calories ). It was de-fatted so you can store it easily five to ten years. Soy is nasty. No protein hurts your body MORE. Should beggers indeed be choosers? I do need a few batteries. Basically, the preps will continue, now geared more for Slow Collapse than Total Collapse. Not because I think we will STAY slow. But just because that was where my prepping weaknesses are. I might explore that subject soon, but that is all on bike parts and stockpiles for now.

( .Y. )

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