Motorcycling To Bug Out
Remember in the movie, Deep Impact, the boy takes the dirt bike and rides the traffic jam on the interstate until he finds his girlfriend, then they head for the hills to beat the tidal wave?
He's driving slow, weaving in and out of the stopped traffic... ripe for getting knocked off and the bike stolen if it were in real life. I think if I were in that position, I'd have been riding the grassy shoulders, even up on the side hills if they existed. Certainly there would be a need for some wire cutters in your saddlebag to cut through the typical wire fence than runs beside most interstates.
This week, one of my prepper friends bought the motorcycle that he has wanted for the 25 years that I've known him, a BMW R1200GS (that is a newer model/size, but he's always wanted that type). The R1200GS is the ideal bike for on and off-road touring. If you were riding to the Arctic Circle, this is the bike you'd want for that last 350 miles of gravel road in Alaska. Its predecessors always were very competitive in the Paris to Dakar rally race. He'll use it for commuting, and the occasional ride through country roads or the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it has strong abilities if he needs it to get out of Dodge.
But how realistic is it to use a bike? For one thing, unless you commute, you won't have it with you. Also, unless is is a R1200GS or an on-off-road enduro style, it might not be much good. That Ninja or Road King won't have the versatility.
I've been thinking on it this weekend, and with my 60 mile commute, I think the only way a bike would work for me would be to get an older enduro style, then store it at a friend's house who lives near my work. If it hit the fan while I was at work and the interstates and secondary roads were blocked, I could get to his house and pull my pack out of my Element, then ride off-road along the highway to get home. It's probably doable, but I think I have other priorities.
Do any of you have plans to use a motorcycle to get home or bug out?
Sponsor Of The Week
Our Sponsor of the Week is Wise Food Storage from Directive21.com. Wise is delicious storage foods packed in serving size pouches and square, easily stackable buckets. They have an estimated shelf life of 25 years under proper storage conditions. Directive 21 also recently introduced Survive2Thrive certified organic storage foods. This unique product gives you an option if you are planning to eat organic. Check out all the great items at Directive 21, and please tell them you heard about them here at If It Hits The Fan.