I live in north east tn and I drive about 40 miles to work.if a EMP hit for what ever reason and cars want run if a person hit the interstate as soon as it happen walking with my ghb would that be the fastest way home,lots of people will be walking around and most want even know what happened.
Perhaps a folding bike would speed things up a bit? 40 miles would easily take less than a day. Even if it was only used to carry your cargo, it would leave you fresher.
I do like @techsar's suggestion of a fold up bike but one has to be in shape to bike 40 miles. Yes, walking is slower but IMO if you are not in good shape a bike would suck your energy real quick unless you have a lot of downhills.
Where there are lots of downhills, there are lots of uphills too. Always best to walk or bike the intended route home them you'll know how long it'll take. Under the best of circumstances that is. I'd be looking for places to cache supplies / rest / sleep along the way. They'll be lots of other folks doing the same during an "event" too.
A man on a bicycle is one of the most energy efficient forms of transportation. Biking in general requires about half the energy (43 kcal/mile) compared to walking (84 kcal/mile) while easily traveling 4 times faster (10 mph) than walking (2.5 mph). A normal healthy person who has not trained can generally still ride 40 miles in 4-5 hours. I have witnessed it many times. Just a modest amount of training and one can travel at 15-16 mph and be able to ride 80-100 miles in a day with not much difficulty (been there done that and have seen hundreds of other people doing it). Add 50 pounds load, lots of hills or ride a mountain bike and probably figure cutting those numbers 20-50 percent. Generally, one's butt and hands can get pretty tired/sore and this tends to cause one to quit riding for the day long before muscles are worn out (unless you are riding hard sustaining 20 mph or more or fighting strong headwinds). Do not ride with a backpack as it will significantly increases fatigue as the body tenses to stabilize the load or to lift off the seat trying to cushion the load on one's butt on rough roads. Hands and butts wear out much more quickly as well supporting the additional pounds. Always attach any significant loads to the bike itself which keeps the overall center of gravity lower and is more stable than shifting around on your back. AT
you got it .... just don't fall into the BS trap that the animals will be running wild immediately and attacking individuals on the streets - looting the stores will come first .... it'll be a week or so until you need to start slinking around in the shadows .... just stay away from the retail and ghetto areas .... in regard to walking home on the interstate .... check those maps - local terrain ones .... your best route home might be a railroad track or a utility corridor or a bike/hike path .... maybe just a series of backroads
Yep, pay special attention to rail lines. Not particularly easy to stumble and trip over ties and ballast, but they are, by FAR going to have the least grades to climb or descend. (May not be the most direct, but will make up for that in lesser efforts.) In my case, climbing out of a cut at the CPA to my remote location will be the hardest part, about 40 feet of steep embankment.
Walking the power line easements, is another great way to cut distance & effort off of your route going overland, especially in heavily forested/vegetated areas. Around here they usually have maintenance roads/trails following the power lines.... but they sometimes end when the line spans a deep ravine or water crossing. You may need to find a way around the water crossing if it is to high a water flow or pack a good rope for vertical descent along the way...... But you really have to walk the proposed route to ensure you are prepared for any obstacles....
Jeez. Wanna say so much... but... I'll get home. I'll collect my family. I'll get them to sanctuary. period.
