Transportation & Free Movement

Pack your bag

Un-Packing for a life on the road

If you make the commitment to forsake a regular roof and bed for the freedom of the world, you have to use your head when deciding what to pack. If you carry every mentioned item in this book, you will need a pack mule. A common rule of thumb is to separate you gear into three piles: things you absolutely need, things that would be useful, and things you don't need; don't bring the second two piles. Tailor your gear to what you plan to do and for how long you will be on the move. Keep your bag loaded with your basic gear and have it ready to go at all times; only take out what you need and return it when you are done. This advice will prove useful if the pigs come to clear out where you are staying or your host turns out to be a creep. If you carry expensive stuff, you will be afraid to lose it. Lastly try using your your travel gadgets and supplies exactly as you plan to on the road at home, once you are on the highway your limited gear either helps you or you eliminate it. So sink wash your travel clothes, dry it on a line strung in your room, test your full pack and shoes on a few hikes and sidewalk strolls, charge up your phone or music player with that cheap greenie-weenie solar or crank charger, dry off from shower with that synthetic towel so you know its dry time, take your folding bike on a local train or bus, put the stuff you value enough to stick in your pack to the test. Eliminate the junk and even then only pack the bare minimum of the lightest well tested travel gear.

Inventory

Unless you are traveling with only a tarp and a blanket one of the most important things to have in your pack is a complete inventory list and use it to keep track of what you have with you. Checking your inventory is especially important when breaking camp or packing up after a few days on someones couch. Important things like hammock tree straps end up getting left behind at campsites and wallets or passports in couch cushions, stuff that can really screw your trip should they become lost. It is also good to take inventory if traveling with checked baggage so you can replace stuff stolen by the airport security stooges. If you take the perilous kindness of loaning out your gear be sure to write it down or you will probably remember that you had to ask for its return too late a few hundred miles down the road, better to let your friend use your tool or gadget when you are present as this also prevents destructive misuse and accidental misplacement.

Clothes

Don't pack too much clothing. One or two sets of lightweight, versatile walking clothes and possibly one set of upscale clothes kept in a big Ziploc to stay clean will get you by in almost all situations. Be aware of the culture of the area and try to fit in. Your upscale clothes will be like an access card to many locations and situations that standard punk or travel clothing might disallow.

Look for clothes that pack small, dry quickly, and don't take stains. Cotton, wool, and hemp are often bulky, and cotton dries slowly. Petrochem synthetics, do fit these requirements nicely if you can stand them on your body. On the other hand, natural fibers tend to retain odors less, and so will require washing less often.

Quality socks in quantity are just as important as good shoes. Only wear them for one day before putting them in the wash bag, and be sure to wash your feet every morning. A sarong works as a scarf, towel, skirt and shawl. Boonie style hats are available both in cotton and synthetic, they protect your eyes and neck better than a baseball cap and the chin string keeps it from blowing away. Hospital scrubs and a tee-shirt make good pajamas, and they can also be worn on the street or if you need to look at home in a hospital.

In hot climates synthetic underwear will dry far more quickly than cotton and help prevent sweat burns which are treated like diaper rash. Some people wear bicycle shorts as underwear in the heat, others cut off synthetic long underwear. Save the cut off arms and legs for cold weather as they are now far more flexible arm and leg warmers and can be easily be put on and taken off in public areas.

If you are headed someplace warm like Florida, Mexico, or Fiji, we suggest at least a light jacket since there are always some cool or rainy weather days, if you will be in desert area you should even have some heavier clothing to wear during the cold nights. A packable jacket and fleece vest is also a very good idea even in summer.

Shoes

Your shoes, must be comfortable to walk in over long distances. Never take brand new shoes on the road, as broken-in shoes that you know fit well will put less stress on your feet and toes. Sandals are great if you are not on the move. Doc Martens used to be an affordable comfortable shoe/boot, but fashion trends have caused prices to rise and quality has dropped. Mail carrier or military surplus black shoes are made to look dressy but survive daily hours of outdoor walking. Cheap army boots will last for a few months but are heavy and might slow you down. Discount stores sometimes have surprising quality light hiking boots, work boots, trail runners, or walking shoes. In addition to quality shoes or boots you should invest in quality laces, something synthetic and abrasion resistant, and always have a set or two of spares.

If you have a shoe blowout during a budget crisis find a contact cement which is recommended for shoe repairs, most require cleaning and then application of a layer on the two surfaces to be joined, after this dries to a tacky surface (10-15 min) the two surfaces are held together for about 15 minutes.

Pack

You really don't have to go crazy on a hyper-expensive pack, but if you skimp too much on quality, you could end up uncomfortable or face it wearing out quickly. A frame pack will help distribute your load. An external frame is cheaper, but internal frame packs are now the more popular choice and move well with you keeping your center of gravity near to your body core. A roll of nylon fiber tape like is used to secure packages will make a break-in or break-open of your pack less likely if you have to check, stow, or throw the bag. Tape also helps to identify your bag in a luggage collection area. You might also want to carry a second comfortable day pack for short excursions when you can lock up your main pack. See more about packs and wilderness specific gear in Backpacking and Camping

When considering what kind and size of pack or bags to buy you should be thinking of your primary planned means of transport whether that is hitchhiking, jumping a train, booking a flight, or driving your own car. Just as important you should also be considering your fallback transportation mode which usually ends up being your feet. A great wilderness backpack will travel well on an airplane if you wrap it is that plastic cling wrap they use for freight, alternately even the best set of regular luggage is nearly worthless if you have to drag it farther than a mile or two on a gravel roadside. Even cycle travelers should consider getting or devising a system so panniers can be slung in a comfortable way should their bicycle become un-ridable or even un-pushable and you have to walk.

Stash a Pack

You will have many times that you want to stash your pack but have no idea where to safely hide it. Wearing a backpack pegs you as a traveler or drifter, some people will assume you are using your pack to steal, and won't even let you enter stores.

If you carry a piece of webbing tied into a circle, a carabiner or pulley and some cord or rope you can use the tree stash. Carefully climb a tree and hang your loop and carabiner, don't forget to stick a bit of cord into the carabiner and climb down. Hoist your pack and tie off the end of the cord to a branch, a half inch eye bolt with a wood screw tip would also work. Discretion is of course the rule, do a walk-around and look for people watching first also be into the trees a bit. Don't talk about using this technique except with your true affinity group lest your new "friends" follow you and clean out your pack.

If your pack is small and not an obnoxiously bright color, you can also try hiding it under a tree like a pine that has lots of low, long branches that will shield your pack from sight, and lash it to the trunk with rope, paracord, shoelaces, carabiners, zip ties, or whatever else you happen to have. Webbing is always a plus, but not necessary if you secure all the zippers and pockets of your pack - the main thing is to make the main knot that keeps your bag tethered to the trunk super strong. The coils that come with bike locks are good for this because they can't be cut through unless somebody has bolt cutters.

If you are only going to be gone a short while, say making use of 24 hour hyperstores and their vast array of stealable products (not to mention the moderately clean bathrooms), discreetly stashing your pack in or behind a Dumpster might work for you. Just make sure to tether it if you or stashing behind one, and if you throw it in a Dumpster make sure it is at a time nobody is going to touch it, i.e. workers or garbage men.

Pack Lockup

You could try to cable lock your pack with a cheap bike lock slowing down the grab and run thief. Wrap your pack in ratty blue tarp for homeless camouflage and lock it to your bike or near the entrance to the store you are in and it might slow down the less bold thief.

Wheels

We have seen many packs equipped with wheels and a T-handle and zip panels to cover over the straps. Other people carry a folding luggage dolly for their standard packs or luggage. In well paved areas it might make sense to go the wheels route if your feet are the way you get around, letting the wheels do the heavy lifting. The downside is weight, comfort when worn on your back, and often higher price. We have never seen a true back country pack which also had attached wheels.

Electronics

If you like to support the underground economy with stolen electronics, then join the millions of dumb western "flash-packers" who can't live without their MacBook and iPhone while on the road. Sparkly gadgets are the bait that can get your whole pack stolen by street thieves or corrupt cops who want more toys for themselves.

Batteries

We like Nickel-Metal-Hydride rechargeables for power and environmental reasons, look for a charger with an option for low voltage flexibility including solar, hand, and bicycle generators.

If you stick a some ribbon or plastic in between the contacts and battery you will have an extra safety when keeping the batteries inside gadgets where they might get switched on.

Real alkaline batteries will store much better than rechargeable batteries for low power draw things like safety flashers, small FM radios, and LED flashlights, they are also great to keep i your pack should all of your rechargeable batteries die. Don't leave any battery in a gadget during long storage, old batteries often leak especially if the device is left switched on.

Splashed Electronics

You are poor and on the move, expect your valuable electronics to go into the water at some point. All is not lost,

• snatch your gadget from the water

• get the batteries out now!!

• open every door and opening

• shake the water out

• if you can put the gadget in dry rice(uncooked) the dry rice will help soak up the moisture

If you dropped in salt water you are probably out of luck, but still as quickly as possibly

• rinse off with bottled water or fresh water to get the salt out

• take the gadget apart as far as you safely can

• get your gadget somewhere warm and breezy if possible. The top of a radiator with a fan blowing is great, behind a refrigerator where the warm air blows is good too. Car dashboards are especially good during spring and summer but keep watch, sometimes they get hot enough to melt some plastics, in winter the blower heater is ideal.

If you can find electronic cleaning 'air in a can' blast the inside of the gadget to blow the water out your gadget, it will help a lot, be careful using a regular air hose these sometimes have water or oil in them. Let dry for 24 to 48 hours inspecting for dampness blowing or dabbing what you can get at, if there is none evident after that time period try powering up the gadget. Good luck.

You can also clean electronics with distilled water or rubbing alcohol -- just be aware that alcohol might ruin some LCD screens smf plastics. Keyboards with sticky keys from juice or soda can be taken apart and left to soak in distilled water. Make sure everything is 100% dry before reassembly and use.

We hesitate to mention the oven dry method because too many people freaked out over ruining their gadget get excited and mess it up, they end up with plastic slag dripping in the oven, we have inserted an oven temperature verification to help you boneheads out.

• Remove battery and open all other covers

• shake out as much liquid as possible

• Rinse gadget with bottled water if necessary to wash out liquids other than fresh water

• Preheat the oven or toaster oven and a plate to 120 F or 55C for 15 minutes - if the inside metal is too hot to touch then its too hot.

• Remove all knobs so nobody can adjust the heat

• Put a big sign on the oven explaining what you are doing, and what you will do to anyone who melts your gadget

• After 15 minutes carefully feel the plate, does it burn or just feel hot

• Let opened up gadget dry in the oven for an hour or more

• If you melt the gadget don't call us!

PDA

A nice electronic convergence device is a used PDA that has WiFi for Internet, an ebook program, and can act as a MP3 or video player. Sticker and tape the PDA up so nobody will want to steal it. Many free programs are out for travelers with PDA's. Some PDA's and phones have a battery booster available which charge from AA or AAA cells.

Computer

Depending on what you are doing you might just need a laptop, but most often not. If you really must load yourself down try to get something light like the tough inexpensive netbooks for under $300 which have longer battery life and weigh under a kilogram, the trade off being small disk space and weak processors. An external hard disk can be plugged in to hold movies or music collections, most modern games are too rich for the low power processors, an offline copy of wikipedia makes a great hitch-hikers guide. We have run netbooks from portable solar power when camped in illegal squats grabbing neighborhood wifi.

USB Key/Disc

A traveler often still wants his or her files or programs. We also describe in Computers#USB Key how to load and use a USB key for booting a M$ Windows machine to Linux.

The basic USB key is a low cost and low theft way to have your data available when you have a chance to get on line, just be sure it is durable and the cap is not easily lost. There are several ways to maximize the potential of a USB stick. Many MP3 and multimedia players work as a storage device, as do some PDA's when the USB cable is attached.

ET E

Since USB Keys are ripe for seizure by a pissed-off pig, make sure you use something such as TrueCrypt ( http7/www.truecrypt.org/ ) to ensure that your data is not quickly compromised if the key is lost/stolen.

Using an external drive is just like an orgy of unsafe sex, the computer can easily infect your drive or someones drive can infect your computer making you a virus and malware vector. This is mostly a MS Windows problem, Linux, Unix, and Mac computers are pretty safe in this area. A drive with a read-only or write protect switch can keep your drive safe but you cant save anything then. One option if you have lots of time get the free open source Portable ClamWin Anti Virus designed to run from your USB keychain drive. Plug into an infested Windows machine with your drive in read-only and run a virus scan, once it shows clean you should be pretty safe. http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/clamwin _portable The PortableApps.com site has many other useful free open source applications for travelers and students with USB drives.

Mobile Phone

A mobile phone may be a "flashpacker's" voice, text, and Internet connection, but it is also the leash that constantly updates CorpGov to your exact location within a few meters and takes money from you at the same time. Even a phone without GPS can be tracked by most wireless carriers, and some phones will continue "pinging" the network even when you think they're turned off. A fresh prepaid phone and SIM card together gives minimal anonymity for a few days but this is really a false sense of security.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Pack-your-bag 6/16

If you still need to carry a leash around your neck look for a phone that you can connect to your computer with a cable or something wireless like infrared or Bluetooth. Some newer smartphones will even go into Wi-Fi access point mode with the right programs or hacks.

You still may have a desire to communicate after you ditch the phone, see Communication for some alternatives.

E-book reader

If e-paper is the miracle it is promised we will soon have a cheap way to schlep many e-books on a single sheet of flexible plastic with a little controller/battery pack somewhere that lasts months on a charge. This might save a few trees and let us carry a whole bookshelf in our pack rolled up in a small protective tube. For now nearly all PDAs, mobile phones, and some MP3/video players already have software available to view book files.

The most well known ebook reader on the market at this time is the $139(WIFI)/$189(3G) Amazon Kindle. The Kindle uses a glass backed e-paper display which gives it several weeks life on a charge but it can break if dropped. The Whispernet wireless connection allows you to buy and download books and also access wikipedia.com for free, allegedly forever anywhere inside the US, it almost sounds like the perfect hobo device. The downside to the current models of the Kindle is that the wireless connectivity is an ordinary cellular EVDO data connection, this means you are traceable just like a mobile phone when the unit is in use. Our other concern is that our current economic troubles could lead to bankruptcy of either Amazon or the cellular carriers leading to a surprise disconnection of your expensive Kindle.

There are open source crack programs for many locked book file types, the most famous is the Microsoft lit file, the program clit (crack .lit) which has versions for unix, linux, windows, and apple will convert your .lit files into something you can put on nearly any device.

Wake Up

A digital countdown timer from a kitchen store will let you grab both quick naps or a full night of sleep without worry of oversleeping; set it according to your watch. Your cell phone alarm clock can now be turned off for privacy, to save batteries, or allow you to leave it at home.

Alarm

One of out fellow travelers was given a gift bag after volunteering at a womens shelter it included a loud whistle great for cycling, some pepper mace, a mini kubaton for striking bad guys, and a personal alarm with a rip cord activator and plug in door jamb sensor. We have since seen this cheap but painfully loud alarm by the checkout at several mart type stores for a few dollars.

The personal alarm works several ways:

• Clipped on your person the rip cord is pulled if you are attacked, 130Db of heinous noise

• Clipped to your bag and the rip cord to your belt you can easily chase a bag thief by following the noise maker still in the bag

• Stick the sensor into the door jam or window of your room or squat and it alarms when the door or window is opened

• Attached to your bicycle and the rip cord to a spoke or the bike rack, alarms if someone tries to take your bike

• Place the sensor under your laptop and it alarms if your computer is picked up

• Mount to bicycle handlebars and use as a panic horn/siren when drivers are getting out of control

Cheap enough to use as a noise grenade, distraction, or at protests, more noisy or booby trap ideas will come to mind.

Camera

Give consideration to protection of the camera from both notice and physical damage. If you are less of a pro think about a more "toy" type camera or something a few years old from an auction. Be sure you have spare batteries, charger, and card reader, and extra storage media. It is useful to burn and mail CD's with your pics every few weeks or when you capture a major story. Hacking is not just for your computer anymore, the Canon Hackers Development Kit or CHDK lets you do all kinds of crazy things with the right models of Canon cameras from enabling the features only found on the $1200 and up cameras to converting it into a motion sensing security system to silly games and it all runs from the SD card in the camera, check it out free and open source. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

Disposable film cameras are still available in 2009 if you don't need to take too many photos. If you don't mind the price of the film, the old Polaroid instant cameras are great for leaving behind some memories with new friends, but many people have printers now so digital is pretty quick to print except in serious back country.

Music

One way to go is to carry a small instrument and make your own music to share (see Making Music) as opposed to being antisocial and listen to MP3's or the radio all of the time.

If you like to stay informed, a small hand-crank or solar powered radio can be useful for not only weather reports and news breaks, but also for listening to NPR, pirate stations, and college channels. See Radio .

An external speaker can either share your tunes or pollute the room with constant noise, so be nice and think of your mates before playing your music out loud.

Wilderness Gear, and Urban Crash Gear

Unless you are planning a deep wilderness stay or third world travel then you probably only need a sleeping bag and either a hammock or ground pad which are highly useful when staying indoors, an a porch, or outdoors urban camping especially if all of the beds and couches are taken. Some hammocks have tarp covers or you can buy lightweight gore-tex covers which protect you from weather both are also available with bug netting which will protect you from bites while allowing air movement. Stoves and cookware are useful if you will be without electricity or a kitchen.

see also Low-Impact-Crashing and Backpacking and Camping .

Washing and Drying Clothes

No bucket? Throw soap, clothes, and water into a plastic sack and swish around, remember to rinse completely. In case you have access to a sink or bathtub, carry a universal flat drain plug. Find a good concentrated soap good for clothing and human use or carry detergent in a reused plastic container or castile soap like Dr. Bronner's.

An excellent dry line is a long narrow bungee-type cord; the hooks work on door and window frames, curtain rods, and hooks you place into the wall.

Washing Up

Towel

In the cleaning section of grocery and hardware stores you will likely see synthetic or microfiber cleanup towels. The larger ones make great cheap towels which pack light and dry quickly, this is the same thing as expensive backpacker pack towels.

Soap

One packing trick we have found useful comes from a fancy soap liberated from a German hotel. The soap bar was first inserted into a soft cotton bag with a small hanging loop, it dried out quickly when we put our wet soap into it and hung it from the toothbrush holder or shower curtain bar. When we had to travel quickly there was a second tough vinyl bag sized for the soap in the cotton sack, it had a fold over seal. This system kept our pack contents from getting contaminated up even if the soap bar had not yet dried out.

Nail Clipper

Clipping your toe nails regularly prevents infection from ingrown nails as well as lengthening the life of your socks and shoes. Always clip straight across with scissors or clippers and leave the corners of the toe nail sticking out, trimming off these corners lets the skin around the nails grow in and when the nail grows it will cut or rub this flesh leaving you open to infection.

Warm Water

Warm up your bath water with your stinger in a bucket or tough plastic bag inside a nylon stuff sack, for small volumes be careful not to overheat the water. Alternatively you can also use your camp stove to boil water to add into a bucket of cold water warming it up.

Wash up with your damp washcloth or sponge to save water. If rinsing is not an option because of limited water or drainage rub on a few drops of baby shampoo or baking soda in your armpits and groin then wash away as you wash the rest of your body with your washcloth.

If you are really cold, soaking your feet in warm water is a delight, pull out and dry off before the water gets cold or spills.

Haircut

There are those among us with enough skill to give great haircuts for both men and women with nothing more than a barbers scissors and a comb, very easy to pack. For the rest of us even women the practicality of a cool bug free buzzed short cut is hard to beat, if you are worried about your appearance or the sun wear a hat, beret, or scarf. Our best luck has been with a quality adjustable cordless beard trimmer kit that comes with a 110-240volt charger and gives several adjustable options for hair length and has a comb and scissors in the box. If you plan to share the trimmer you should clean the adjustable spacer, comb, and scissors with bleach or other disinfectant between uses to prevent the spread of lice and other skin afflictions.

Sleeping

A twin sheet folded and sewn on the bottom makes a cheap hostel sheet, this is good if you must crash on a funky old couch or mattress in summer or if you are staying at a hostel that charges extra for sheets, if you are cold use your sleeping bag as your blanket. Your hostel sheet is much easier to wash and dry than your sleeping bag so use it as a liner to keep your bag clean.

Regularly check for bedbugs in your sleeping bag and sheet especially if you stay at hostels or cheap hotels. Bedbugs are flat, oval and reddish brown in color and are about .2 inches long. Bedbugs resemble cockroaches but are wingless and flat and live in your mattress. If there is suspicion of bedbugs clean out your bag, gear, and clothing giving it a good shaking out. An hour on hot dryer cycle once the clothing is already dry will kill the eggs.

Sewing Kit

You can start out with the little travel sewing kit found at hotels or the grocery store which has several color threads buttons and a needle in a little box. If there is room on the thread card add several meters of heavy carpet thread in your favorite color or carry unwaxed dental floss for thread. A few extra buttons and perhaps some sew down snaps can replace a destroyed zipper. A tiny scissors is handy but you probably have on on your multitool or pocket knife. Consider some extra needles including one large one and a curved one. Most kits include a threading tool which really helps you get the needle threaded in low light conditions. Several safety pins in assorted sizes are the quickest way to make a temporary fix until you can sew up the damage.

Toilet Paper

Don't forget to pack toilet paper or plan for alternative ways of cleaning yourself after using the bathroom. In need, rolls of toilet paper can be liberated from the toilets in fast food joints or public bathrooms.

Light

A small LED headlight covers almost everything a person needs light for out to about 4 meters. A good idea is to wear the headband around your neck until needed and leave your light easy to get to in the top of your pack.

If the room you are in has no electrical or natural light many camping and mart stores sell a cheap four cell AA powered fluorescent and incandescent combo pocket flashlight. The light bulb can be replaced with a LED making a long lasting night light with the fluorescent tube for when you need general coverage.

When the power goes out you can never have too many light sources, glow tape or tritium markers will help you find your lights or gear in the dark.

Hair Dryer

A hair dryer can be your best friend in cold, rainy, and/or unheated locations. Choose something high quality, portable, and quiet, a built in circuit breaker is a good safety precaution. Just be sure it is small, or else you would be better carrying a small heater, which is usually much quieter. Remember that if you are renting a room the manager or your neighbors might object to the noise, this will also tip off the existence of a squat. Use your dryer to:

• Dry clothes, socks, and shoes (be careful not to melt the glue holding shoes together)

• Warm up your sleeping bag, or dry it out

• Heat up a small room (find a dryer that can stay on for around half hour)

• Removing adhesive stickers and signs

• Thaw a car window or preheat the interior without wasting fuel

• Make cars slow down (pretend it's a radar gun)

• Thaw frozen pipes

If no small room is available and you are in a warehouse or outside but with access to electricity, pop your tent, tarp tepee, or cardboard box up right there and you have a much smaller space to heat, be careful that you don't damage tent fabric from the heat.

Clean the lint and dust out of the screen on the back so your dryer won't overheat. Never run the hair dryer if you are very sleepy or going out; these things can lock up and overheat even though there is supposed to be a thermostat safety shutoff circuit, you must be on guard for fire. Like with all electrical stuff, water or wet concrete is big danger.

Food

For packable food, see Roadside Chow for some easy on the road improvised recipes. It is really important to have enough filling ready to eat food and a liter or two of drinking water with you since you never know how long you might be stuck out somewhere when hitching, riding, or waiting. It might be smart to keep a separate soft lunch bag so the smell of food doesn't attract pests and rodents.

On a different note, carry a corkscrew of some kind especially when in Europe. Nothing is so frustrating as ending up with a bottle of nice wine and having to jam the cork down with a spoon handle to open it. If you travel by air it has to go in checked luggage.

Diving Gear

A few trash sacks and a cheap headlamp can be useful for scoring a few days food in a dumpster, a few plastic shopping sacks from inside will probably be enough for a person who is on the move. If you can, get a headlamp with a red filter so as to preserve your night vision (nighttime diving is often necessary at some locations) although white light helps you see food with an off color. You just need stuff to isolate your potentially smelly dumpster products from the rest of your pack... Accidentally getting rotten food all over the inside of your pack for a week long trip is no fun.

Immersion Boiler

A stinger or immersion boiler is useful for boiling water for cooking, are cheap, and are super light to carry. see Cheap Chow and Roadside Chow for stinger specific recipes. Once you have lived in a place without electricity for a few months you will understand the pure magic of finding a working power plug and using such a small cooker where you don't have to buy or gather fuel to heat your food. A commercial 200-500 watt coil stinger is usually so cheap and light that getting and carrying a spare or two only makes sense, especially considering that they burn out after a while, travel stores sell 110/220 volt models with a Euro adapter tip. You can also heat larger containers of water to warm for bathing, washing, or thawing frozen stuff.

The immersion heater you buy in stores will burn out if the water boils away or it falls out, this is a safety feature so it won't start a fire, as water gets low your heater might start to melt instead of burning out so be careful. We generally don't lend out our stingers since we have rarely had one returned in working condition. If someone needs it give a new one as an inexpensive gift with instructions.

If you need to make a prison stinger try this, take a discarded power cord with the cut off ends stripped of insulation now submerge both wires in salted or hard water, don't let the stripped ends touch or you will blow the breakers, oh and if you knock the prison stinger over or use it with a metal can it can electrocute you!! . European power systems will usually blow if there is more than a touch of salt in the water.

Travel Iron

Those cute lightweight travel irons with the folding handle and long cord can often be employed as a hotplate or with a layer or two of new smooth foil a way to hot wax your skis or snowboard. To work for cooking they need to rest reasonably stable when flipped upside down. We have found that most of these irons are are low powered even when run at full heat and best suited to warming food but will bring a 3 liter pot to a boil in about 30 minutes. If you need to jump start cooking use your stinger to assist the warm up and remove, the iron can maintain the low simmer. As we mention in Roadside Chow wrapped in foil you can warm or toast sandwiches and pizza in a few minutes. The iron is also a great way to iron-on repair and decorative patches. We suppose you might someday even be able to find a way to somehow use the iron to do this thing the straights call ironing clothes, be sure there is no food or wax residue though. While they weigh around 500 grams they free you from needing cooking fuel and do not appear out of place in almost any motel, hostel, or airport even where a hotplate might not.

Marking

It is a good idea to carry big sturdy permanent marker or paint pen with a good cap for hitchhiking or panhandling signs, marking food in group pantries or refrigerators, hobo marks Wall Painting , and tagging with intelligent quotes or philosophical quandaries in appropriate places . Store pens and markers in a plastic bag near the top of your pack in case of leakage, especially in hot weather or during air or mountain travel.

Street chalk can also be useful for the above purposes and less permanent especially if you are concerned about ink leaks, a small chalkboard is great for hitchhiking or temporary signs.

Umbrella

If you spend lots of time walking down lonely roads you might find use in a decent umbrella both for rain and sun protection. If you are buying find something really tough like the new wind proof umbrellas with two layers that open up to dissipate hard wind gusts and don't easily turn inside out. For sun protection in the desert you are looking for a larger canopy so two can take a break under it as well as using it while walking in the middle of the day.

Fun and Games

Fun things that pack well and spend downtime without wasting your brain or batteries include:

• Playing cards or card based games (games like "Magic" that can collect huge decks might end up too heavy).

• Magnetic wallet board games (chess, checkers, backgammon, etc.)

• Question cards from "Trivial Pursuit".

• Dice for D&D type role-playing games or other dice games (like "Yahtzee").

• CDs or small discs (vinyl singles, etc.) to use for Frisbee (those free AOL CD's work well).

• Hacky Sack/Footbag.

• Small musical Instruments (See Making Music ).

• Journal, colored pencels, etc for composition or sketches.

• Kite.

• Paperback of short stories, better than novel for when you are waiting, just finish the short story you are on and go

• A knife for whittling.

• Paper-back, digital scanned, or photo-copied text books or printed-off school resource pages and/or texts on a portable disk drive to keep up on your education.

• Foreign language dictionary to study up on learning a new language.

• Book of Sudoku or crosswords, or word search.

• Seeds to plant in public places.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Pack-your-bag 13/16

• Those Chinese Juggling sticks are pretty fun. You can also get really good at them and perform for tips.

Quick Packing List

We trust you to choose what you don't need from this list, some gear is inappropriate at times, overloading is always inappropriate. It is merely a quick idea list:

• Food prep- camp stove or pocket immersion boiler and large cup, bowl, or small pot, eating utensils, chopsticks, coffee or tea stuff, strainer, corkscrew.

• Wash- flat drain stopper, outdoor faucet key/knob, bungee cord dry line, small scrub brush, stain treatment, wash soap/detergent

• Shower- pack towel, wash cloth or sponge, liquid soap with neck strap, flip-flop sandals with add-on heel straps, universal shower kit, bucket and cup/dipper

• Clothes- packable jacket, lightweight clothes, walking/outdoor shoes, swimsuit

• Repair kit- quality multi-tool, heavy nylon carpet thread, needles, buttons, hot glue stick, lighter, sport or duct tape on a pencil, zip-ties, shoe laces, hose clamps

• Sleep- sleeping mask, earplugs, neck pillow, countdown timer or alarm clock, hostel sheet, shorts or scrub bottoms and t-shirt, ground pad, sleeping bag, bug net

• Contact- phone cards, change for pay phones in rolls, a pad of paper including numbers to call collect, USB memory stick with portable software, list or map of Library/Coffee shop Internet, WiFi PDA, small shortwave or ham radio set, walkie-talkie, prepaid mobile phone or SIM card, laptop, modem card, key chain WiFi detector, laptop or netbook computer

• Personal Hygiene- fingernail clippers, first aid kit, baking soda, vinegar, Hair removal/trimming tools, baby wipes, toothbrush, toilet paper, love lube, safe sex stuff, period stuff (tampons, pads, moon cup, or re- washable pad), makeup, acne treatment

• Wilderness Gear- Hammock, tarp or tent, sleeping bag, bivvy sack, ground pad, water treatment and storage, stove or grille, pack, walking sticks, toilet hole spade, pocket "chainsaw", navigation gear, survival kit, food, fuel, hatchet, fishing or hunting gear. see also Backpacking and Skiing and Boarding

• First Aid- moleskin foot dressings, plasters(bandages), temp tooth filling kit, gauze pads, roller gauze, triple antibiotic ointment, tape, scissors, tweezers, medications for pain, motion sickness, allergy, indigestion, and diarrhea, sam splint, antibiotics, local parasite prevention/treatment

• Protection- handgun, knife, walking staff, pepper spray, baton.

• Other- Lightweight flashlight/torch or headlamp, emergency hidden cash, batteries and charger, journal, foreign dictionary, small gifts, seat pad, folding stool, LED book light, hair dryer, large or small solar cell, battery charger, personal/door alarm, combination lock, light gardening tools

• Entertainment- Cards, paperback book, hacky-sack, games, notebook/journal, small radio, MP3, harmonica, busking act stuff

• Special- bicycle spares, pump, combination bike tool, tube patches and tire levers and tubes, repair and craft tools, ski or board wax and scraper, edge file, sewing, embroidering, or knitting stuff

Not Overpacking

It is completely reasonable to walk out the door with wearing sturdy clothes and shoes while packing some socks, a toothbrush, and extra underwear. Let the world and your skills provide for you and you are a pioneer, if you must supply everything either out of your pack or bank account you are a finite expedition that will eventually run out. Some of our best adventures started with almost no gear or money and required us to use our hands and brains.

Look at the ultralight section of Backpacking. For improvising gear from available junk start with Low Impact Crashing.

Money

Credit cards provide a perfect police trace of where you have been at every point of use. However, they do provide the best exchange rates during international travel.

One guy we know sews a gold coin hidden into his trousers. Once, in Africa, he got dumped in the wrong town without his bags across an international border. His pocket money was no good there, but he ordered a taxi out, some meals, and several nights stay by selling the emergency coin. Another hippie friend would stash cash in Tylenol bottles, making sure to stuff the cotton back in. A cursory glance from a would-be thief wouldn't reveal her hidden money. Sewing hidden pockets in your clothes might also be a good idea.

Don't be afraid to offer your services in exchange for cash or trade, just like the old hobos. Demand a decent wage for your mental or physical labor. Use the underground economy as much as possible; barter, bum, and buddy your way along. You will build your resourcefulness and wit by freeing your mind.

Gifts

Depending on the nature of your walkabout, it might be a good idea to bring along cheap lightweight gifts, like pictures of (yourself near) an interesting place near your home with your e-mail address on back, stuff from a tourist stop near your home, local sport team cards, stamps, state quarters, etc. Don't go overboard on price, this is supposed to be a token memory.

Drugs

Nothing makes a cop's job easier than a possession rap against a protester or squatter with used resin coated drug paraphernalia. These can easily be found in a legal pat-down weapon search. If you must use drugs while traveling or living on the road, make something disposable or borrow instead. If you have a legal prescription for any type of ADD, anti-depressant, or pain medications, keep a photocopy in your bag with the meds. If you plan on being involved in protests or other risky adventures, it's usually a good idea to keep your mind and body free from any possible chemical hindrances.

Never, EVER try to cross international borders with drugs, especially if you go through a standard border gate. A loner traveling with no contact to family or friends is an easy candidate for retention and confinement for indefinite periods of time. Be sure to hot detergent wash your clothes and hang dry them for a day or two outside before a border crossing or airplane trip to reduce any drug smell which might alert drug dogs.

Phone Cards

Here is the story of a guy that gives his hippy and punk daughters phone cards to make long distance and international calls from regular and pay phones. He may not hear from them for weeks but he is able to see everywhere they travel and who they are calling by checking his account on the Internet. Can Big Bro' do the same? Of course. Disposable cards sold in many convenience stores are less traceable but cost more per minute. See Free Telephones .

Pets

Pets can make getting a ride and finding a place to stay more difficult. On the other hand they are a source of friendship, comfort, and healing, especially to those who have been traumatized. Tailor your travels to match your pet, or tailor your pet choices to meet your travel needs.

Bicycle

Some of us won't leave home without a bicycle and can be seen all over the world with a big pack everything from a little folding bike to a recumbent touring cycle. It is more difficult to hitch while making a bike trip since your ride needs either a pickup truck or have an empty bike rack. Many forms of commercial transportation will either forbid a standard bicycle or charge up to a double fare.

If you are not too personal about your bike, try to call ahead and arrange a bike from friends, a local listserve, or craigslist.com. We mention lots of options in Cycling .

rfJmage:300px-BicycleBersaglieri2.jpg

General Delivery

So you won't over pack, you can have seasonal clothes, food, or gear sent to a post office as general delivery, see Postage

Hitchhiking

Asking an experienced hitchhiker how to thumb is like asking a 100 year old woman how to live long. She'll say something like, "I've drunk a fifth of gin every day since I was ten years old!" Some other 100-year-old will swear it's the companionship of cats. And that's as close as you'll get to the secret of living long and riding with strangers; there's a lot of magic and luck involved, and hence, a lot of superstition. What works for me may leave you, thumb high, frozen to death on the ramp. All the same, here are some tips; the magic, luck, and superstition parts are up to you.

Of all the methods of transportation we cover, hitching is one of the more hit or miss methods out there. Now, if you are mere hitching across town, you will have pretty good luck. Just hang at a convenience store and ask around without making too much of an ass of yourself or getting chased off and you should get a ride in a (relatively) short time. However, due to bad press, if you are traveling cross country via interstates, you may be waiting for long periods of time out in the weather. Needless to say, there have been many who have successfully hitchhiked even thousands of miles. It just may have taken very long times to get there.

Safety

When hitching a ride, especially where the trip will take you through remote areas, you should take a glance at the fuel gauge and size up the vehicle and tires for road worthiness. No sense getting stuck with a break down that is not yours. Assess the driver and do the sniff test. We are cool with drinking and drugs when used safely. But, a drunk or stoned driver is a recipe for disaster.

Have a verbal contract ready before you get in. It must include exactly where you want to be dropped off and also that you have no gas money. The driver must agree before you get in or you set yourself up for trouble later. If they do not agree to your deal, wait for another ride. Be specific, say, “Thanks for stopping. I need to be dropped at exit 44 and I have no cash for gas, is a free ride cool?”. Then, if they ask why, explain about a guy who demanded gas money once after you had traveled some distance and you had none. It is rarely a problem, but gas money and free sex are not required to successfully hitch and if you specify that you are riding free it is much harder psychologically for the driver to demand something from you later.

Hitchhiking is considerably safer than it sounds in the lurid urban legends that our foes circulate to keep us afraid of one another; all the same, you may one day find yourself in a ride you don't want. This may not be clear immediately, so pay attention. Know your route, and keep track of where you are going. If the driver changes course, ask why Keep alert for conversational cues. A huge tip-off is frequent references to sex. It's best to put a stop to this immediately Change the subject, or casually mention some of your exotic diseases. If the driver is persistent, don't be afraid to insist, with whatever degree of politeness seems necessary, that you'd like to talk about something else. If you become uncomfortable with a ride for any reason, ask to be dropped off at the nearest opportunity It's rare that I hear of an encounter that escalates to this, but it does happen. If a driver won't stop, consider making a threat, hopefully one you're able to enforce. "I don't care if we both die, but I will stab you to death if you don't pull over right now!" got my friend out of an uncomfortable situation unharmed once.

Many people hitchhike with dogs for safety reasons; a dog can provide the same protection a weapon would, and discourages predatory drivers from picking you up in the first place. If you bring out a weapon, you had better be ready to use it, with everything that entails. Carrying a knife for defense means you must be physically, emotionally, and spiritually prepared to cut a person. If you aren't, pulling one out can only make things worse. Pepper spray is an alternative, but there are drawbacks to applying it while flying down the highway Standard pepper spray may not be powerful enough to stop an at- tacker; ask for "law enforcement formula" pepper spray at military surplus stores.

The most important things to remember about hitchhiking are

• Travel light.

• Be neat, clean and polite.

• Always try to look like someone you'd want to pick up.

• Make a large sign with your destination and don't forget your markers.

• Bring food and water - you could be out there for a while.

• Don't bring a weapon or anything otherwise illegal for you to be carrying. Sooner or later, you WILL encounter police, who will lock you up for the night if you're holding anything. Many county or small town jails are way out in the middle of nowhere where no one picks up hitchhikers and miles from main highways.

• ALWAYS be specific that you have no gas money or credit cards, you cannot and will not pay for the ride.

• ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS specify your exact destination and get confirmation from the driver that he will take you there directly. (From personal experience I find it better to ask the driver his destination before I give him mine. This way you can always politely back out in case you don't trust it.)

• You can always pass on a ride if ANYTHING seems weird or the driver makes any demands in exchange for the ride. Remember, hitching is free.

• If you're a little sketched out (or even if you aren't) and you have a phone, make a show of texting the license plate number, your expected arrival time, etc. to a friend.

• Always keep your pack with you within reach at all times. There have been instances where disagreements, having to bail to avoid nasty situations, or even folks being jerks have caused hitchhikers to lose all their supplies, including identification cards.

• ALWAYS remember that you are putting yourself in a vulnerable position. If you find yourself wondering if this specific driver is trustworthy, that is more than enough reason to back off.

Who picks up hitchhikers?

Back in the day everyone picked up hitchhikers. But those days are long gone. Various media pushed a bunch of lame stereotypes and rare horror stories for viewership. Nowadays, the people who pick you up will generally be:

• Men looking for sex. This applies whether you're male or female and describes the plurality of people who'll pick you up. These range from the awkward/benevolent types who will give you a ride and not push sex once they realize you're not that girl from the album cover to the mean troll who'll quickly try to get you out of the car when you aren't interested. Actual rapists are rare to nonexistent. Still, be careful.

• Religious/political extremists. Don't be shocked if they try to convert you to their sect, but this can also work in your favor. You can carry long conversations about your distaste for how things are run. (That is, if you're politically active). One thing they tend to bring up is the 9/11 attacks being an inside job, which most would be surprised to hear from the right-wing.

• The armed dude. We have ridden with people in Amerika who tell us they are wearing a gun. These guys tend to be no problem so far in our experience. They tend to be right wingy if you talk politics, but are confident you will not jump them and so they are relaxed. Ask them about Obama, martial law, and gun bans and let the good times roll.

• The con-artist. Rarely, a desperate con artist will surprise you and try to pressure you to pay for fuel at some point in the trip, especially if you are at the gas station and he is filling up while you are flashing cash to buy yourself junk food. You should be fine as long as you are specific before you get in that you wont be paying for fuel or anything else.

• The flake. This guy wants somebody to talk to and figures any ride or any progress at all is a good ride for you and a big favor from him. Always ask the drivers destination and route before saying where you are going. These guys might feel charitable and agree to overshoot their destination to help you out but after a few hours of driving get tired and cranky, sometimes kicking you out in a bad hitching near their destination but miles from your destination. Never take rides from people offering to go very far out of their way especially at night.

• People who may expect you to chip in for gas and/or tolls. No crime in that, but you can refuse the ride and wait or agree up front and pay your share especially if that is the only way for get a hitch to a better location. Compare bus prices, though, if you are in this situation.

• Nice, bored people. Yeah, they do still exist. But, they will be a minority of people who pick you up.

Truckers and CBs

Your best bet is to ask around at a truck stop, many truckers like to have a rider to talk to. Stick to private truckers. Most large corporations like UPS, FedEx, and CSX strictly forbid riders in their marked trucks. Women especially, but men too, should watch out at truck stops. These places are frequent workplaces for prostitutes or “lot lizards” in CB lingo. Partnering up is a good idea in this sexist world. Even if a trucker is not interested in giving a ride, ask if he will CB or ask inside for someone heading your way. Talk to your ride first and set up how far they will take you for free - no tricks later. Especially at a truck stop where there are plenty of rides, please make sure the driver is cool. There is no reason to ride with a creep, no matter how bad you want to get where you are going sooner. Never put your bag in the back! Snuggle it to yourself so you will have it if you decide to bail out.

If you were not carrying enough already, a small CB hand held radio can be used better than your thumb, call out to truckers even on the highway, talk directly to trucks you see wave and ask them for a ride. Of course when roadside hitching a big sign and CB channel if you have always helps too, be sure you are on the correct side of the highway heading in the direction where you want to go.

When truckers are helpful, they can be very helpful. They are also quite familiar with the cast of characters that live on the road. Truck stops bustle with drivers, prostitutes, and, of course, hitchhikers. At larger truck stops, you will find just as many drivers who are waiting until they are sober enough to drive again or until some warehouse opens as drivers who are actually going somewhere. Even if a driver isn't go- ing your way, he might be willing to make use of his CB radio to advertise your plight, asking around the lot if anyone is going your way. Alternatively, bring your own CB radio and do the same! In common trucker CB radio talk, "hand" is the expression for hitchhiker. It can help to call out individual truck names as they're driving off, asking them which way they're headed. If you sound like a trucker, or at least someone who knows what's going on, you're more likely to get a ride. Listen to people speaking over Hitchhiking the CB, and learn what you can of the vernacular. "How 'bout it, anybody out at this Pilot 300 headed north? Can you give a hand a lift?"

If you are working the truck stop route, you should know that "Lot Lizard" is the term for prostitutes who hang out at truck stops. Don't get in a truck with anyone who de- scribes you that way or is looking for one.

Maps

Most states offer free maps which you can either order from the official state website, the state tourism website, or from welcome/info/tourist buildings as you enter the state. Always have a highway map and good compass so you can keep yourself on the right road and headed in the right direction. A small map book of national highways which includes exit numbers is essential and worth the extra weight if going beyond the local area, don't trust a GPS and be sure your map is up to date. Your map will be important in your relationship with drivers; you'll frequently have to tell them where you want to be dropped off, and you'll want to choose wisely and explain it precisely. From time to time, you may even have to help a driver navigate.

Road repairs

If you plan on long range hitchhiking there are some useful things to carry in your pack to help you save yourself if your ride breaks down. The two most likely problems are engine cooling system problems and blown tires. If you carry a pair of large hose clamps you will be able to repair some burst hoses if the leak is near the end of the hose. A tube of radiator stop leak powder is very small and can be added to the radiator to repair small leaks. It might take half an hour or more but you can use a bicycle pump to refill a flat tire, it is a bit tricky finding the hole and adding a tire plug to a mounted tire but we have done it before in a pinch. Most of the time it is just as simple as helping somebody on the roadside change to a spare tire, add/remove snow chains, or add water to the radiator once the engine has cooled.

If you want to go the trading route, make your offer of work for ride up front and confirm destination again after the handshake and before work starts. Confirm that they will not decide they are scared or weird out once you are finished. Confirm you are fixing their car for a ride, not for free. Unless you can get your cash up front do not expect to actually get paid for fixing a car. Besides, it is good karma to help breakdowns on the road for free. Do not offer your mobile phone. If there is a need for an emergency call, you can make it. Otherwise, you can expect the driver to spend all of your minutes in exchange for his valuable and generous offer of a ride. Above all, be very reluctant on taking a long ride in an iffy vehicle. The last thing you need is to break down a car in the middle of the mountains that you had already needed to fix once.

See Cars for more on the gasoline automobile and nasty problems that can come up.

Event Caravans

People heading to some protest groups, renaissance fairs, Rainbow Family gatherings, Burning Man, hemp festivals, role playing conventions, and many other scenes are occasionally known to be open to offering rides. If one of these is your destination or something you want to check out in your journey, it may be worth your time to check for. It is usually safer to ride with those sharing common goals. This can be a large group of folks with multiple cars loaded down or just one or two people driving there.

The culture amongst attendees of some events sometimes lends itself to varying degrees of camaraderie - even amongst strangers - at least until it is over. At some events this closeness is so thick, it is almost inescapable. Others, it is just a vague acknowledgment and politeness and maybe a few room parties with shared booze and other party favors, if that. The friendlier the culture, the better chance for shared rides.

Be aware that many may rightfully want you to put up a reasonable (but far less than a bus ticket) amount of cash up front for gas. The whole object of a caravan is to get to the event on the cheap through shared gas, after all. You will usually be on your own for housing, food, and any entrance fees when you get there.

Leeching is discouraged and be cool. There have been tales, although rare, of the obnoxious being dumped along the way, shunned by the community while there, or stranded after the event is long over. Not fun. If you are short on funds and still want to go, consider getting in touch with the organizers and volunteering instead. You will get in for free, and sometimes housing and food are offered gratis out of the event's budget. Your enjoyment may be affected and you may have to do actual work, though. The further in advance you talk to the organizers, the better luck you will have with this approach. Some places culture is cooler than others about this.

The best way to find these is to ask around on the forums on the website of the event organizers. Craigslist and ride share sites can occasionally help as well. It is possible to catch a ride through word of mouth, too. Some areas have places and circles of folks that make the gathering an annual event. If you are roughly within a two state area of the location of the event (the closer, the better!) or can meet them along the route, you stand a much better chance of hopping on such a caravan.

Weather

Make sure you are prepared for the elements. You don't want to get badly sunburned if Weather you have to stand by the road all afternoon, and holding up that sign in a freezing wind can really be hard on your fingers. Your bags should be waterproof, in case the clouds Hitchhiking, burst and you can't get out from under them in time. Few drivers will want to pick up a hitchhiker who is literally dripping wet, but mildly bad weather may win you sympathy and a swift rescue. Hobo folklore tells that in Alaska, it's illegal not to pick up hitchhikers during the winter.

Bicycles

Hitchhiking with a bicyde limits the number of drivers who can pick you up; it can also Bicycles get you rides from people who might not pick up ordinary hitchhikers, but make an exception for what appears to be a bicyclist in distress. A bicycle is certainly an invaluable tool when you are within a few miles of a truck stop or town, or trapped in the middle of one you want to leave.

Traveling Together

Traveling with a partner is always safer, and probably will not slow you down like one would think. Of course, if you are both large men with Charles Manson beards and bleeding head wounds, you will have to wait a long time for a ride. On the other hand, some men may find that they are picked up more quickly when they hitchhike with a female partner. Whatever your team looks like, talk about your approach before you go, be understanding of each traveler's needs, and look out for each other.

Talking through the process in advance is especially important if one partner is more experienced hitchhiking, or feels safer with strangers than the other, or benefits from social privileges that the other partner does not. An example is the case of a man traveling with a woman or trans gendered person. Before you set out, establish together what your expectations of one another are, how you will handle trouble, and how you will communicate your needs in the presence of others. During the trip, stay aware of your partner's comfort level, and always defer to the less comfortable person's judgment. This might mean declining a ride that you would accept if you were alone; it might mean that you do the talking or make the requests if the conversation takes an unpleasant turn. Good communication can also mean not putting yourself in the role of protector unless you are invited to do so. Be aware that there may be vibes that your traveling partner is affected by that you don't notice. Never make someone feel foolish or cowardly for feeling unsafe.

Alternatives to the Thumb

If you don't feel comfortable standing by the road letting drivers choose you, you can choose them. Do some research beforehand, and bring a list of hostels along your route. Go there and strike up conversation with travelers; that way, you can form an impression of a person before you ask for a ride. If the hostel scene doesn't sound right for your needs, think about other places you are likely to meet traveling people with whom you have something in common besides a destination.

You can also hang out at a travel plaza, rest stop, restaurant, or gas station and approach drivers with whom you believe you would feel safe. Talk to each driver a bit before deciding whether to ask for a ride; this makes it easier for the driver to evaluate you, too. Using this method, you can end up with kindly drivers who would never have stopped to pick you up by the road.

Bulletin boards are another recourse for travelers without a car. Universities often have physical ride boards with separate sections for those needing rides and those driving. Online message boards can be useful, as well.

Tips

You can improve your chances of being picked up and treated well while hitchhiking, not to mention getting away with other things, by dressing in dark pants and a white shirt with a tie and perhaps a name tag — that is, as a young Mormon on a mission! Pick up some free Mormon bibles at your nearest tabernacle for authenticity, and if anyone asks serious questions, what better form of cultural terrorism than to spread a little fun misinformation?

Helpful Links

• http://www.craigslist.com - arrange a ride share

• http://www.digihitch.com - lots of (modern) hitchhiking info, discussions, etc.

• www.hitch-hiking.org(http7/www.hitch-hiking.org/) - Great site with a lot of information all about hitchhiking (English and German language)

• http://hitchwiki.org Hitchwiki.org

• http://www.liftershalte.info/ Liftershalte.info - Worldmap showing hitching places.

• http://www.hitchbase.com hitchbase.com - Database with hitchhing places

• http://abgefahren.hitchbase.com Abgefahren e.V - the first german Autostop Society; ideas, tips, projects,..

• http://tramprennen.org/ Tramprennen - primarily a hitchhike race for charity, tips and hitchhike forums (English and German)

Cycling

The bicycle is most popular vehicle in the world, and for good reason: A person on a bicycle is by far the most efficient means of transport known to man. Bicycles are beautiful things. They are cheap, reliable, faster and easier than walking and driving in the city, and downright sexy, as a bonus you end up looking pretty damn sexy after a few months. They can take you almost anywhere, they don't rely on fuel, a license or insurance, a most liberated way to get around these days.

Getting a Bike

Find a bike of quality, good enough to not require constant replacement of parts. If the quality is too low you will likely learn to hate cycling and stay a petrol hog. Generally it is a better idea to decide if you are only going on road, since there are many different types of bikes for their use. Road bikes are for roads, and vise versa. A good compromise is a heavy mountain bike frame with road tires, this is pretty much what a hybrid bicycle is. Keep the knobby tires to swap on if you ever move to an area with only mud and dirt roads, or sell them. A variety of Hybrid tires are available: knobby but with a smooth rolling center line being quite popular.

Never buy junk bikes from department stores that rely on crude slave labor; these are designed as gifts to kids who will likely ride them for only a few weeks. However, you may be okay with a cheap cruiser like a Huffy or a Shwinn if you catch one on special. Main thing is to avoid the big box store bikes with tons of moving parts and gears as most of the time, the parts are of low quality and the wage slaves that put the bikes together are often poorly trained and merely slap the bikes together and these can develop serious problems. In particular, we get concerned about the NEXT brand of bikes that tend to tear up easily and can be hard to fix. Cheap garage rusters tend to be good for only about 500km and real maintenance or fine adjustment is almost impossible.

When buying, stick to a friendly local bicycle shop or, even better, a local bike co-op who will sell you a tuned and sized bicycle designed for long service life.

In the USA, quality barely used bikes are discarded to "thrift" shoppes which may sell for as little as $10. Garage sales are also a good source of cheap bikes, beware the used department store type cycles unless you need a disposable with poor performance. A proper 1970's vintage quality bicycle and a little tuning is a much better choice for your money than a brand new discount-mart special.

Watch out for dents or bulges in the frame of the bike, this is a sign that the bike has been crashed, and may be hazardous to ride especially if it is of aluminum or exotic construction. Also look out for hairline cracks in the paint, especially near the tubing joints. These can be an early warning of frame damage.

For your first and maybe even your second bicycle don't choose anything too expensive or exotic, once you are a regular rider you will learn what factors matter to you in upgrades. Even the best local bicycle shop mechanic/clerk may be in love with some feature that is just not what you need right now.

Horse thieves were among the very lowest, mangiest, least-tolerated kinds of criminals. When they were caught, they were hanged.

Always acquire your cycle through honest means, as you can ruin lives stealing or stripping cycles. They may belong to less affluent people who have put every penny into making and maintaining their cycles as a work of fast clean functional art. Even if the owner is affluent or a corpgov salary man they are at least contributing more of their share than the petrol addicts. Most all local shops selling bicycles of any quality are small operations, don't kill them off by lifting perhaps a week or more worth of profits in a ride-away theft. A good way to get a bike is to put up ads on bulletin boards or check classified ads. You may also find bikes that need a bit of repair curbed or in a dumpster. Ask your local bike shop mechanic to check out a bike you are going to buy and estimate the value, including the price of required repairs and a tune up.

Remember: Arguably only acceptable theft is that which hurts large corporations, not the people around you. If your local target or walfart carries accessories that you need, that's fair game. If you see an unlocked bike on a bike rack, don't be a dick!

Legal

Bicycles are free to drive in all locations without an operators license, although some require a license for cycle couriering. Some jurisdictions, especially cities, require the registration of a bicycle and either a plate or sticker to identify the bike. The authorities insist this helps return stolen bikes, but they have been used most effectively to earn the city money. Failure to have a sticker or plate may result in a confiscation or fine. The police have even confiscated parked or locked unregistered bicycles in homeless camp raids.

The most common violations cops use to stop cyclists are helmet and safety light laws. They especially target underage cyclists for these. Light laws usually require a white forward and red rearward light or LED flasher at night, sometimes they are even required during reduced visibility even during daylight hours. Failure to comply with these bylaws often result in fines, and it gives police the right to search you. Most often these bylaws have been used to target the lower class, including scruffy kids, immigrants, and the homeless.

Many states and countries forbid riding on sidewalks. It is in your best interest to cycle on the street as you will avoid many accidents there. Learn the traffic bylaws, most good local cycle shops and any licensing center can provide you with them.

Highways, freeways, and interstates are closed to both pedestrians and cyclists in most countries for their safety. This can make navigating long trips difficult at times, especially in rural areas. It is not so much a cyclist riding in the emergency lane that is a concern but having to cross 55-75 mph traffic at every on and off ramp.

If you are drunk or stoned forget cycling. Lock up your bike and leave it or let somebody sober drive you and the bike home. Not only is it common sense, but in most states going past .08 blood alcohol and riding sometimes even pushing or sitting on a bicycle can get you arrested for a DUI, reckless self endangerment or intent to drive drunk, complete with FBI filed fingerprints, a criminal record, possible jail time, and a revoked drivers license!

Kinds of Bikes

Upright

The least expensive, most common bicycle, new and used, is the upright. Road bikes are built for speed, they may have multi-position hand grips and razor thin tires, good for paved roads. Be careful when using a road bike off road, even on gravel. Mountain bikes are built for impact and mud resistance, and the shocks and knobby tires are intended for off-road travel. You will waste your pedaling effort using a mountain bike for a city commute. Hybrids, or urban commuter, bikes take the ruggedness of a mountain bike to absorb potholes and curb drops but add road capable tires and sometimes multi-position handgrips. Touring bikes can also take some of the attributes of both mountain and road bikes. They emphasize long riding with stronger components and mounting points for pannier bags.

Cargo Bikes

Cargo bikes can take many forms but they are usually based on the tricycle. Many of these are custom shop build jobs with either the front or back half of an inexpensive conventional bicycle removed and a large cargo area added. For front cargo the front wheel and forks are removed and a tubular frame is welded on, the front wheels are mounted on the sides of the cargo area and pivot on their mounts, a cross tube/handlebar attached to these pivots is pushed left or right to steer, these bikes have a very limited turn radius and are best for use in an area with few hills, but can be made with quite a large cargo capacity. A traditional tricycle design requires a bit more mechanical skill since a drive axle with a chain sprocket must be installed, the available cargo area is limited by the width of the axle, these are also available from specialty bike shops. There are frame attachments which make for a long tail bike allowing very large panniers or several buckets or coolers to be attached to this extension, the upside is that it is possible to quickly convert back to a normal bike with a trip to the bike shop but these extensions appear to put stress on the rear of the bicycle frame.

While still almost universally expensive, even when purchased used, for long travel the recumbent is definitely worth looking into. The recumbent position is like reclining in a lawn chair and pushing the pedals, instead of crouching over your handlebars. You will be able to put more leg power to use pedaling clipped-in feet sitting recumbent than you ever did on an upright. Due to the multiple drive chains, it is simple to add battery powered and regenerative drive systems. You can even add a stirling, steam, or gas booster motor, although this takes from the whole green purist idea. The only disadvantage with the recumbent cycle is their height and inability to push harder up hills.

Blurring the bicycle, motorcycle, and car; vehicles like the Twike and other custom lightweight hybrid vehicles let two or more riders travel petrol in style. Riders pedal inside an enclosed and stylishly designed vehicle and a battery and motor system give a power boost to uphill pedaling while reovering energy from downhill braking. On a sick day, plug in and charge a battery for a free ride. We expect the enterprising types to get out your welding, electrical, and plastic forming gear and design more vehicles like this to take back our streets and clean air.

Motorized

A normal bicycle can be relatively easily converted to a motorbike with a simple kit. A halfway decent 2-stroke bicycle motor kit can be bought for around $130, will give you up to 70+ miles per gallon, and will still give you the ability to use your pedals. 4-stroke motors are a possibility but are more expensive and add more weight to the bike. Electric bike kits are available, but are even more costly(more than 3 times the cost of a 2-stroke engine) and don't go more than 20 miles on a charge. The main advantage to an E-bike is that you can stay off the grid if you have a solar charger. Also, in some states an e-bike can be ridden anywhere it's legal to ride a bike (bike trails, bike lanes, etc.) since it's officially an "electrically assisted bicycle" and not a "motor vehicle" as long as the chain drive still works from the pedals. A gas or electric powered bicycle can be made street legal in most states and countries. In California(what is considered the strictest state), all you need to do is pay for registration and a permit as long as your bike meets all the standards. Motorizing your bicycle is one of the easiest ways to have a motor vehicle without handing over too much tribute to the CorpGov. Just be certain what type of motorized bicycle is legal in your state or province before you start shopping for parts.

Prerequisites

These days, your state/country is probably looking for some serious dough in order to make up for their billions in debt. Motorbike riders are easy targets for your local pigs to make a quick buck because many motorbike riders don't follow all the rules. It will save you money in the long-run in order to, unfortunately, comply with every extent of the law.

Below is a list of what you need to make your bike legal in the state of California. Certain parts may be different depending on where you live, but since California is the strictest state in the U.S., that means this list is probably the most thorough:

• At least an M2 moped permit. An M1 Permit or an M1/M2 license will work as well. But with permits, you can only ride during the day. - Vehicle registration. This usually costs about $19 and can be done via-mail. Processing takes around 6 weeks. - A headlight with a high-beam setting. - Left-hand mirror. - An engine that will only go up to 30mph on level ground. Chances are your motor will go faster than that, so just lie on the application. - The engine must be under the amount of CCs that would make the bike considered a motorcycle. Motorized bike engines are usually far below that. - Horn. - Rear light or reflector. - VIN number. Usually you can use the number stamped on the bike frame under the peddle crank. If there isn't a number on there, just make one up and stamp it somewhere on the bike frame. The only reason you need a VIN is for the registration. For the engine number, just use the last 4 digits of the VIN that you use.

Tips

Typically, the kind of engine you will be getting in a kit will come from China. There are some better-quality engines out there like Morini motors, but they're much more expensive than what they're worth. Chinese motors are usually very functional but they can be a crapshoot. Try to find a distributor you're confident in.

As soon as you get your kit, replace as many of the parts(bolts, studs, etc.) as possible. The hardware that comes with the kits are usually okay but strip and break off easily. Any local hardware store will carry more suitable parts.

Once you have your kit fully installed and functional, use blue or red Loctite(or any threadlocker) to keep the nuts in place form the vibration.

The instructions that come with most kits are translated from Chinese or written by a Chinese native, so they're not always helpful. They're usually just good enough to put together most of the kit, but in the case that you get confused there are plenty of videos on the internet and there are some motorized bicycle forums that are happy to help out.

Chinese instructions tell you to break in the motor using a 16:1 ratio of gas to oil. In China, their oil is different so they use a 16:1 mix. If you're in the Americas or Europe, it's better to use a 24:1 mix on break-in and a 32:1 mix after break in. A 16:1 mix won't hurt your engine, though.

Ride Safe

Try to ride with traffic and take a lane if possible, you are actually safer in traffic than trying to squeak by on the edge where any idiot can open a car door in front of you and send you flying out into traffic to be crushed by a bus. Don't get hyper aggressive, while it is normal to roll to an intersection and verify it is clear before crossing against a light or stop sign don't blindly blow intersections this is one way cyclists get killed. Do not try to hitch a free ride on a car or truck, hanging on makes you very unstable and you can end up surprised by a sudden acceleration, stop, or change in direction. Do not carry any bags or wear clothing that may interfere with your steering or the motion of your wheels or brakes, if you want to carry freight get panniers and proper racks or a good trailer. Keep your bicycle maintained, a brake or drive chain failure can be dangerous, even worse is if the bicycle itself should fall apart spilling you onto the street or highway. Make yourself seen through bright colors, sound signals, and proper lighting. Wear safety gear, no barefooting and wear a helmet.

Maps

The folks at Google maps have thoughtfully provided us with an on-line map service for bicyclists, although the service is still in beta and asks for people to report unmapped bike routes and roads unsafe for bikes. Go to http://maps.google.com/ and click "Get Directions" and then the bicycle logo.

Crash Positions

If you are going to crash your cycle DO NOT stop the fall with your hands. Arm, hand, and clavicle fractures can be caused by attempting to protect yourself from a fall. Either stay clamped to your handlebars and let the bars take the pain or make fists and cross your arms against your chest, tuck your chin to save that pretty face ,and let your back and helmet take the beating. In order to train your body to tuck and roll it might be good to find some sand or soft grass to practice controlled falls.

How to Lock Your Bike

Avoid the cheap wire or cable locks. A bike thief with access to a hacksaw can merely cut through this if your bike looks expensive enough to get a few crack rocks for.

For really good security, there are only two good locks that give you piece of mind: a steel "D" lock or one of the Kyptonite or similar chain heavy locks. Yes, these can be removed, but we want a potential thief to have to get blow torches or heavy stuff duty stuff like commercial bolt cutters or diamond tipped saws to get to it. A chain lock is really cool too because it can double as a fierce weapon!

When possible, try to put the chain or D lock through both the front tire and the frame. Many thieves will try to take the front tire to replace their front tire because of ease of stealing. This will not protect the seat. If you have a seat with a removable lever feature, ALWAYS take your seat with you as many times someone will rip off your seat to replace one that was ripped off from them. If you do not, consider using a hex bolt to fasten the seat. Many thieves will have access to a philips or flathead screwdriver, but many may not have an allen wrench laying around.

Two locks are always better than one, if you do not mind the inconvenience and live in an area with a large number of bike thieves.

Most of the time, bikes are stolen from outside the house. Thieves know that when you are asleep, they have hours to get through any lock on the bike if it is one with pawn value. Thieves, by nature, are very observant and notice bikes that are dormant in the same place for long periods of time. For this reason, ALWAYS put bikes inside your apartment with you. If out and about, always lock your bike up in traffic areas that are well lit. Move the place you lock your bike up from time to time to make it not look like an abandoned bike.

By far though, the best bike defense is to make sure your bike looks old and not new and worth crack rocks. A brand new Mongoose nice paint and custom racing parts is going to get swiped faster than a Huffy beach cruiser with stickers all over it and spray paint and scratches.

As always, BE SURE TO KEEP AN EXTRA COPY OF THE KEY TO YOUR LOCK IN A SAFE PLACE SEPARATE FROM YOUR KEYRING!. Nothing can suck worse than losing your keys then having to "steal" your own bike.

Disguising Your Bike

Taking corporate logos from a new cycle and adding stickers and tape will quickly make it look broken or used and reduce the perceived value and risk of theft.

One method people have used is to "uglify" the bicycle by painting it a hideous color combination (such as mismatched florescent colors) with added flecks or using a simulated rust finish available in craft stores. If the thief thinks your bike isn't worth stealing, he'll probably make his way to the Shimano further down the rack. Replacing the bolts on your seat with Torx head bolts will slow down, or maybe even deter, a would-be thief. Grinding off the logos from the gears; a worn, fugly looking seat; mismatched pedals, tires and handlebar grips; all of these can make your bike look like an ugly duckling while keeping it riding like a swan. Remember, don't think "art bike" here, think "camouflage".

Stashing Stuff

The pigs, TSA, and border cops already know that bikes are full of places to hide stuff, and in any case pot is so stinky any K9 unit walking by will find your stash, Bad piggy-doggy!! But for the most part everyone else sees a bicycle as an invisible solid object possibly worthy of stripping or looting but not for hiding stuff. Even if you are not carrying a party in your pocket, safely hiding your travel or emergency cash can be an issue, be sure to securely lock the frame. If the bike is not new it may appear not worth the effort of cracking a good lock. Remember a little hidden cash is always nice if you have to lam it on the quick.

Here are some ideas:

• The metal tubing on a bicycle is full of places to stash, you might need to use some sort of stuffing to hide your stash or avoid rattles,

• Don't drop a stash down where it can get stuck inside a bend or weld in the frame, you could waste hours with a coat hangar when you need to fish it out.

• Use a ziplock bag if there is a chance of riding or parking the bike in rain.

• A quick release seat tube may be too easy and obvious since walk-by seat theft is a problem in some areas

• An old nasty water bottle might be too gross for anyone to touch, if it is a dark color nobody can tell you have stashed something in it, use stuffing to avoid rattles.

• Water bottles are one of the safest places for an underage kid to stash and transport hard alcohol, but be sure they seal well or the leaking alcohol smell will give you away, clear moonshine, vodka, or Everclear are probably the safest since other liquors will leave a long lasting residue in the plastic.

• The tires on some bikes are a place to hide a joint or large value bill or two, don't overdo it or your ride will get bumpy or wobbly.

• The handlebar tube is a popular stash point, remove the caps or ends and blow, out comes the J.

• An old bike maintenance book from the 70's recommended hiding a joint or two under the wrapping tape of a road bike handlebars, this is also a great place for emergency cash.

• Any of these hiding places is perfect for stashing a spare bike lock key.

• Don't forget about a valuable stash when you give away an old bike or send it into the shop for work!

Smart Security Tips

Don't leave all of your lights, pump, bags, helmet, and other gadgets, even a quick release seat post or front wheel on your bike when you are parked. They are all quick release for a reason, and not to make theft easy, keep this stuff ready to go in your bike messenger bag or pack, the front wheel and seat usually can be locked to your bike with your U-lock or cable. Just in case attach an extra red flasher to the back of your helmet where it won't be easily stolen keeping you legal.

A good rule of thumb is to never store a bicycle outside overnight, and if you have to lock up your bicycle, especially in an urban area, try to check on it at least once an hour, being viewable from a window near your desk or your restaurant seat is good enough. If there is an option to take your bicycle inside that is always the best choice.

Lastly karma counts, if you are honest in dealing with others, even with stores, there are many who trust that your stuff, or the stuff you really need will be available to you even if you are settled in a place where everyone has their stuff ripped off. Resist the urge to steal what you need and enjoy the cosmic benefits.

Nutrition

Stay hydrated and fed while cycling, don't waste your time with lo-cal diet foods; you need fuel, around 7000 Calories is reasonable. If it does not cause you indigestion try to eat fats in the afternoon and evening to digest as you sleep. A banana which is rich in potassium ions can help prevent cramping from long rides. Backpack drinking systems are available now for low prices if you prefer using these to water bottles, these make it easy to sip all day so you can drink all that you need. Many sport drinks come in a decent squirt bottle that fits standard bottle cages. See Backpacking , Camping , and Cheap Chow for some low price portable food and drink suggestions. If you will be going through towns be sure to do some dumpster diving especially at pizza, bakery, and donut places; stock up on the free fuel.

Have some baking soda for indigestion; oatmeal, coconut milk or another laxative if you get backed up, which happens easily on the road eating less fiber and dehydration. You might want activated charcoal or other medicine for diarrhea mostly from forgetting to wash your hands or strange foods.

Gel shots are now a popular and expensive way to get that little sugar boost on hills, we have experimented and found that honey with salt added and put into a gel-shot bottle does the job on cramps and hills better for less money, try your own recipe designed for your body needs; suggested additives are table salt and potassium chloride(salt substitute) for cramping, and caffeine. Once filled put the gel flask into a pot of hot water, this will help dissolver any salts or other additives. Another idea is a 50/50 mix of honey and peanut butter, it is like a liquid sports bar. Shots are not a substitute to stopping for a sit down or lie down rest and meal or snack every few hours

The other vitamin C, caffeine. There is something to the idea that caffeine makes you pedal harder and longer, some call it liquid motivation. Caffeine is a diuretic, it makes you pee more, this means hydration becomes a more important priority than before. Many people just drink their coffee when taking a rest break, but there are coffee cup holders made for bikes as well as commuter cups with open bottom handles which clip nicely to a bicycle handlebar. There are unconfirmed reports of a person near Corvallis Oregon who built a Stirling steam assist motor for his bicycle and added a steam tap so he could make espresso on rest stops. Be wary of side effects. Stomach aches and horrible tiredness later in the day.

Mixing large dose caffeine or Ritalin with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine cold or asthma medications, or even going straight to real speed drugs like Adderall or other amphetamines can make you cycle harder for a long day, maybe two but even if you are in good shape when you start the reduced appetite and lack of rest will make you miserable for the rest of a tour, worst case it could cause life threatening cardiac problems or catastrophic overheating leading to heat stroke. These drugs are to be reserved for EMERGENCY USE ONLY.

Gears

If your bike has multiple gears, use them! Pedaling shouldn't be a huge chore. It's better to lightly "spin" your cranks at a moderately fast cadence rather than standing up and pushing really hard one leg at a time, which is inefficient. It is possible to spin too fast: experiment with your gears to find what works best. Most people find their favorite cadence between 1 and 2 revolutions per second. If you just cant push anymore switch to the very lowest gear of all, hop off and push or carry the bike up the hill.

Wind

Hills and mountains passes eventually reach a top and you get a free ride eventually, headwinds can make you feel like you are climbing Everest and there is no free downhill. If the winds are not in your favor try to find a route where you have some protection to slow the wind or ask locals how long the winds typically last and consider making camp for a day or two.

Travel

If you travel frequently a folding or take-apart model of bicycle may be for you. Some can even be disassembled or folded to fit a suitcase or duffel-bag. This may save you a double fare or extra charge on airplane, bus, and train trips as well as hitch hiking a ride. If disassembling a bicycle for travel be sure to take off the derailleur as this is very easily broken. Don't worry about deflating your tires for fear that the unpressurized plane cargo hold can cause damage, in actuality direct summer sunlight heating the tires will cause a much greater change in tire pressure. See Airlines for more travel packing info.

Bikes and other forms of Transit

As we mention above there are folding bicycles that can fit in a regular suitcase, preferably hard sided. If you are going to go with your regular bicycle here is our experience in the US.

• Amtrak. Amtrak will consider any bike as luggage for a 5 USD fee. However, you will have to remove the pedals and steering and put the entire bike in a box. If you do not have a box, Amtrak sells bike boxes for 15 USD. Some trains can carry unboxed bikes in a luggage car, the catch-22 is that customer service can give you bad info, we have heard of bitter old conductors destructively taking apart bicycles with pipe wrenches to box them when there was no luggage car, good luck getting reimbursed for damage, this is also a problem on several Canadian lines.

• Greyhound. Greyhound is probably the worst way to go on a bike. You must break the bike down completely and Greyhound charges shipping rates to wherever you want to go with the bike. This shipping can get expensive, and unless you have an expensive 300 USD touring bike, it may be more cost effective to buy another or rent a bike at the place you arrive.

Touring

Bicycle touring involves traveling with a bicycle, hopefully something reliable that once you have done some conditioning to your body doesn't waste your effort or make you unnecessarily sore. The following are tips on making that trip easier or more comfortable, but in the end a bicycle and a way to carry a little camping gear are all you need. Don't let our suggestions on gear keep you on the couch instead of the road piloting your own destiny machine.

A touring bicycle is built tougher than a road racing bike using wider smooth tread road tires and wheels instead of razor thin speed tires. They are often on a hard tail mountain bike frame, frequently with solid front forks with braze ons for a rack and some type of multiple hand position handlebars. A quality drive train including long life well maintained tires, crank and hub bearings, shifters, cables, derailleurs, gears, and chain are important to squeeze the most forward movement out of your pedaling effort. A comfortable well fitted bicycle is important, ergonomic body to bicycle interface points can get sore but sometimes this is lack of conditioning, consider posture and the feel against your hands, feet, and seat, this really make a difference on how many hours/kilometers you can spend cycling. Smooth road tires designed for long miles, comfortable multi position handlebars and grips, padded gloves, bar ends, comfortable performance touring seat, and often clip-in or clipless snap-in pedals and cycling shoes are added for comfort on long rides. Be specific that you are purchasing for long tours, don't let the speed freaks at the pro cycling shop sell you racing stuff that might make you sore. Since you are carrying your own support gear racks and panniers are attached over the front and rear tires, care in sizing must be taken that your heels do not strike the rear panniers. Wearing a backpack on long rides will cause much unneeded fatigue and can quickly cut short a trip, let the bicycle frame shoulder the load. Bicycle lights are vital in case you have to drive near dusk when drivers are most distracted, redundant front and rear flashers and possibly a more powerful beam front light for night trails. Reflector tape and reflector vests or bright clothing will make you more visible day and night. Bring sun protection for your skin, eyes, and lips, especially in summer, your sunglasses will also protect from insects and pebbles kicked up by cars. Like backpacking and other travel gear your bicycle and overnight kit should be tested with short rides and backyard or nearby park overnights if possible.

You will need to include enough nutritious food in your plans, you should pack on lots of carbos vitamins and minerals even a day or two before you set out. If you don't eat you will be facing the crash after just five or six hours pedaling, your gel or honey shot is only an emergency fix. If you feel weak and light headed stop and eat real food, even if you are on a time crunch don't try to ride past the glucose crash. We usually pack our own food but grab fresh fruits and vegetables and cheese when we make a stop, bananas are the top of the list for potassium cramp prevention and good energy. Hydration can mean over ten liters a day in the heat of summer, be sure to keep up with both sodium and potassium intake.

Touring Gear

Unless you are exclusively eating in restaurants and going from couch to couch, hopping hotels, or B&B's you may want to choose from the following options:

• Tent-Hammock, bivvy sack, tarp tent, or cyclist ultra-light tent, Sleeping bag with mosquito net, ground pad

• Lightweight cookset and stove, The Triangia alcohol stove and lightweight aluminum pot and kettle set is popular, as are cartridge gas stoves, take enough fuel. Liquid fuel stoves are mostly for very long trips or third world exploration. On the cheap a few cans for cooking in and a soft drink can alcohol stove will work.

• Bike lock, pump, flat kit, and repair tools and parts including spare innertube; for longer trips away from bike shops consider a folded tire, hypercracker, spokes, brake pads, brake and shifter cables, and other spares

• Lightweight wind jacket even in summer, lightweight poncho or rainwear, long underwear, wool hat, and fleece vest or scarf for cool evenings

• Good cycling shoes, padded gloves, padded cycling shorts, quick dry cycling clothes; these will prevent soreness and rubbing on long rides and as you train. Cotton retains moisture drys slow, often leaves friction sores, and after a hard day you can catch a chill once the sun goes down.

• Some people like to have a set of compact comfortable off-bike clothes and shoes or sandals for after they wash off or make camp.

• Sunglasses of the wrap around style, sun block lotion, and sun block lipstick, don't forget the back of your neck, nose, ears, hands, and legs if you are have not been out in the sun much or are sensitive, for most people the lips never fully tan so they always need protection.

• MP3 or radio and good tough earphones, internationally a small shortwave radio set for English news.

• Calling card or mobile phone and emergency cash or credit card

• Maps and compass, GPS, cycle computer, printing google maps works for planning but have a large highway map too.

• Notebook and pencil in a ziplock bag to record the experience

• Small supply of baby wipes in a ziplock bag or those wet towelettes which come in a packet, toothbrush, perhaps a stick of travel deodorant; wipes also substitute for toilet paper in a pinch

• Toilet paper

• Two way radios with headsets if riding with a friend or group, much safer than turning to shout to trailing partners

• Water bottles, backpack water systems weigh heavy after a long day cycling, extra water in two liter soft drink bottles as needed, some cyclists need flavor for their water especially hard or disinfected water

• Purification tablets or filter should be carried just in case, if filtering water have a light folding water carrier or bag for use in camp.

• Snacks, gel shots and nutrition bars can be bought or DIY, be sure they don't make you feel dry. Salty food can prevent cramping, spicy stuff is usually not good for rolling snacks or short breaks especially in hot weather.

• Lightweight quick food, no cook stuff is best during the day, add boiling water type instant foods work good for dinner, resupply at grocery stores, don't over pack

• Packable quick dry travel towel, soap, dry line, flat universal drain plug for sink washing clothes if on a longer tour

• Extra socks wool or synthetic, lightweight change of clothes, underwear, hat or bandanna

• ID cards, consider cyclist trip insurance for injury, theft, and accident

• Helmet, head injuries suck, cover it in rude stickers, glue army men to it, whatever; just wear it!

• Shoes, the best ones are made for cycling, it is worth trying snap-in clipless pedals and shoes which allow longer power strokes. Choose something comfortable that breathes and doesn't compress your feet or cause blisters. Carry extra laces and always inspect for wear, blown seams, and tearing before any journey.

• Diaper rash salve, if it is really hot and humid or you are wearing cotton the sweat can get really concentrated and might leave burns similar to diaper rash, use at first sign of trouble.

Cross Country Camping

A favorite way to cross long distances is to pedal and hitch rides during the day and stealth camp using a tent or hammock and if needed a rain cover or bug screen at night.

If you are stealthing it remember that your cycle gear is covered with reflectors and lights which really stand out under flashlights or car headlights giving your camp away. Put away your reflector vest and cover reflective and brightly colored items on the bike. Aim the bottom of your laid down bike toward the road, it has no reflectors and is also covered in dark road dust. It might even be advisable to carry a dark tarp or cover to protect you bike form rain, dew, and prying eyes. Be sure to lock your bicycle to a tree or pipe in case prowlers somehow detect your camp and attempt to quietly steal it. If you go out for a drink at a pub be wary of telling the locals exactly what you are doing, we have heard of after-hours hide and seek where the pubbers had fun searching for one cyclists stealth camp. It should be obvious that lights, mobile phones, computers, music, smoking, campfires, and chatting are all easily noticed save these activities for the morning or daytime breaks.

Often stealth camping is as easy as riding out of town until you see a stand of trees and brush. You can either blunder straight in if it is already dark and nobody will see your trail, or you can find an existing trail into the woods and cut sideways from that leaving less sign of your passing. Another important tip is never enter a fenced area, especially tall cyclone fence, you never know when the landowner will close the door or gate trapping you in for who knows how long. Avoid areas where it appears that parties regularly take place, beer cans, cheap liquor bottles, and cigarette butts are all evidence that this is a party hangout. There are plenty of tough guys who would love to prove their value by beating, robbing, or intimidating a lone touring cyclist. For privacy some riders will enter a day use only type of park, wildlife, or recreation area. Once the rangers lock the entry gate you will have the place to yourself, there might even be running water and electricity for you to use, as above only do this if you can just walk your bike around the exit gate before opening time.

Smart use of stealth, dull colored gear, and hidden by brush in urban industrial, rural, or wilderness areas means you don't pay for hotels and campsites, that can save you between $10-$60 a day. With some light backpacker gear in your panniers and smart use of gathering, dumpster diving, and social engineering at restaurants you should be able to travel nearly any distance for almost free. Good places to check out for unpatrolled wooded stealth camp areas that will appear on maps are near cemeteries, golf courses away from the fairway, electrical sub stations, near rail yards, near zoos, near highways, near airports, and some day use parks and wildlife areas. see Backpacking for more gear and campsite ideas.

Inner City

Cycling can be quite fast in cities, as you can weave in, out, and alongside cars and into spaces they can't fit, allowing you to maintain a constant speed. Don't cycle on the sidewalk except where the path is wide and you do not pass any doors, not only does cycling on a busy sidewalk endanger pedestrians it also gives cyclists a bad reputation overall, unless the way is clear just use gear zero, push the bike.

Get pannier racks to fit on your bike over the wheels and a good set of waterproof panniers if you plan to spend more than thirty minutes pedaling without stopping or you plan to carry a very large amount of groceries or gardening supplies. For most around town schlepping though a good backpack or courier bag is better. The reason to use a bag is that when you stop you can lock up the bike but the expensive panniers and their contents are nearly impossible to properly secure, although if you are stuck in this situation just leave them empty, open, and unzipped. Even better than taking your bags in is to also take your whole bicycle inside where you have control of it. A few places permit indoor storage of regular bicycles but if you have a good fold up model and a bag you can take it almost anywhere.

In a city environment large thick knobby mountain bike tires are really of no use and put a lot of extra drag on, get proper smooth road bike tires or at least some knobbies with a smooth center strip, these have much less rolling friction on roads allowing you to waste less work.

Some bus and commuter rail systems allow bicycles aboard, find out if this is possible and which routes offer this service. Avoiding use of a car and mixing in some public transport on your bicycle commute can help you save lots of time, money, and effort especially if there is a very steep hill or long stretch of highway between you and your destination.

Folding Bicycle

Most folding cycles with 20 inch tires have long handlebar necks and seat posts, this means that regular panniers on the rear will interfere with pedaling. The good news is regular shopping tote bags can be easily hung from the handlebars and many large camping backpacks with side straps can be strapped down lying on its side with two straps to the cargo rack and one side strap running through the bottom of the bicycle seat to keep it upright, be sure that any hanging straps are secured and do not interfere with the wheels or chain.

While most folder bicycles have smaller tires have no fear, a few of us have traveled hundreds and thousands of miles both commuting and on several week cross country trips and we can attest that the gear ratio and large front sprocket makes pedaling just as easy as a full sized cycle. One of us has a folder with adjustable handlebar post height, high for upright posture so you can see cars and pedestrians in the city and dropped low for aggressive long distance highway travel.

We have seen folding bikes with a child seat made with nylon strap used like a like a swing and a second strap with buckle under the kids armpits, the child rides between the adult and the handlebars, be sure to have a helmet for the child.

If placed inside a large travel bag sold by some specialty folding cycle shops you can avoid an extra bicycle penalty charge on many buses and trains since the folded bike is then considered just another large bag as long as nobody sees inside.

Even if not traveling or commuting you have the ability to fold and bag up and take your bicycle with you nearly anywhere, from work to a small apartment, massively reducing the opportunity for thieves to get their hands on it.

Keeping it Working

Once you have a bike, you'll want to keep it working well. One of the most important aspects of bike maintenance is the lubrication of the chain. Almost any cheap oil will work in a pinch to keep the chain moving freely and free of rust: just get the chain nice and wet, then wipe it dry, to reduce dirt buildup. Try to keep the oil off the wheels where it can hurt your ability to brake. If you have the choice buy a proper bicycle chain oil and grease to lube the bearings and chain, only use WD40 to unstick rust jammed parts then clean it off and oil the chain, WD40 draws moisture and encourages rust. Do not use WD40 on the chain or other 'sealed' parts, as it will dissolve the lubrication inside the chain. Replace a chain that becomes "stretched" this means that the link pins have become partly worn-through, this link to gear tooth size mismatch will eat up the sprockets of your drive train causing skipping and eventual failure.

If you have a problem repairing your bike, The Sheldon Brown Website is probably a good place to look for guidance. Sheldon Brown (1944-2008) was one of the best technical authorities on bicycles and he will be missed. http://sheldonbrown.com/articles.html

Tools

Owning your own tools makes maintenance less expensive. Plus, many tools you use on bikes, like pliers, wrenches and screwdrivers, are not bike-specific, so they will be useful for all kinds of other things, too. Some bike-specific tools, such as spoke, freewheel, and pedal wrenches and specialized brake tools, will make maintenance much easier, and you'll be more likely to do a good job. Many cities have bike co-ops or shops where you can use their tools for free or for a small fee.

Portable Tools

The world is full of sharp stuff just waiting to pop your tire and make you carry your bike home, always carry the kit for changing a flat tire. Rema tip-top repair kits with the sandpaper, tube of vulcanizer paste, and sticky patches is one favorite since it is so small and works really well, the repairs will outlast the innertube. Other tube patches especially cheap glueless sticky patches and even inexpensive grocery store "cheese grater" rubber cement patch kits have failed us many times. If you thought the cheapo kits were junk, then for sure avoid the mini fix-a-flat inflater cans, they fill your tire with goo that makes it almost impossible to properly patch later. Pop your quick releases or loosen the nuts and swap out the blown tube for a good one, repair the flat tube in the warm dry comfort of your own home later, but don't forget to put it back in your pack for spare. Remove the innertube from the tire and inflate so you can find the hole, if there is a nail puncture or thorn expect two and maybe more puncture holes. If you are at home and are having trouble finding the leak immersing the tube in the tub or covering with soap will make telltale bubbles. With the vulcanizing patches first sand the innertube smooth, this is especially important in areas with large mold lines on the rubber, apply a circle of paste larger then the patch and allow five minutes to dry before applying the patch. If you have the time to wait and the extra paste, rub a ring of paste around the edge of your patch and allow to dry to strengthen your patch job.

At a minimum carry a small quality puncture kit and mini pump or co2 cartridge quick inflater, but also carry a spare inner tube. A small toolkit can make the difference between being mobile in a few minutes or a long walk home. Tire valve caps can be purchased with valve core tools, this is useful if you have Schrader valve tires, occasionally a loose valve core will be the reason for a leaky tire. If you have Presta valve tubes you should get a Schrader adapter in case you want to use a garage air hose. Since you are carrying a pump, a needle valve for sports equipment and balls is easy enough to throw into your repair kit.

A very important tool especially if you are on a long trip is a rear sprocket tool or sprocket whip, this is the only safe way to remove the rear sprocket which allows you to replace right side spokes, some old or cheap bicycles often have a lock nut instead of a cartridge and use a large tool. These right side spokes are most often cut or weakened when the chain skips down behind the lowest sprocket. There is a mini tool made for road warriors with Shimano and SRAM gear cassettes called a hypercracker. A hypercracker is super portable and lets you loosen all but the tightest jammed sprockets by sticking it between your wheel and the frame and rolling backwards, the original is no longer made but several replacements have stepped in and upgraded the design, some even integrate a spoke tightening tool. Be careful, some designs put pressure on the frame dropout and can damage the dropout if the gear cartridge is really jammed, the better design puts the pressure on the lower triangle frame tube.

Folding combo bike tools will provide spoke tighteners, chain breakers, hex and screw drivers, sometimes even sockets or wrenches meaning you can fix and adjust most parts of your bike on the road as well as much of your other gear.

If you will be away from support for a long time you might even go so far as to carry extra tubes, a spare chain, brake pads, a brake/gear cable, a few spokes, folding tire, and extra patch kits. The parts and tools to service and replace wheel bearings might be advisable especially if you don't have sealed bearings.

Road Crud

Beyond tools, it's important to do simple things to keep your bike in working order. Grit from the road sticks to your bike and its parts, even if you've got full fenders. Once a week, or after every ride in the wet, clean off the gears and the chain. An old toothbrush (clean it off first if you've used it before) and a rag will do wonders. The main place to focus on is in the actual teeth of the gears, most especially in between. Getting rid of all this destructive crud will increase the life of your gears and chain, and subsequently save you money and hassle. This takes all of ten minutes to do and is completely worth it.

Rust

Stopping rust also helps: if there's any exposed unpainted or unfinished metal on the frame of your bike, you can touch it up with a little hobby paint. This isn't for cosmetic purposes so much as preventing rusting. Rust eats away at your bike and can compromise the structural integrity of the frame, so watch out: the last thing you want is for your frame to break while you're in traffic.

Wheels and Tires

Bike tires lose pressure over time. Pump your tires up to the maximum PSI rating marked on your tires once a week and you'll never have to worry about it. Keeping your tires inflated properly reduces rolling resistance, which means less work for you when you're pedaling. It also means that your wheels and tires are going to stand less a chance of being damaged due to extra stress on them. If you have the money invest in the best tires; Kevlar and good rubber will prevent blowouts and tread failures while lasting for several seasons, a folding spare tire is advisable for emergencies. Riding for a long time on low air pressure will destroy a tire sidewall, broken glass or jagged metal can cut some tires even in the tread ares, if you should find yourself with a destroyed tire you can attempt to use a large tire patch or strong tape to limp yourself to town, even inserting a piece of cloth or cardboard between tire and tube or carefully wrapping that part of the inflated tube with fiber tape might help in an emergency. Check your spokes regularly for tightness and tighten with a spoke tool, since this will keep your wheels from warping or ripping out other spokes.

Brakes

Many occasional cyclists or people who live in flat areas will let their bicycle rust away before wearing out the first set of break pads, but if you are a somewhat serious cyclist and travel in urban, hilly, or mountainous territory you need to keep an eye on your brake pad wear. Some cheaper brakes just go metal on metal when worn out and can ruin your aluminum wheels, better brakes will wear into another material that is not as good at breaking so you will know to replace them. On long tours or trips a set of brake pads are a very useful few ounces in your panniers. Disk brakes are more like automotive brakes and can easily last for thousands of miles even in high usage mountainous areas if properly adjusted, even so disk brake pads are even smaller than rim brakes, an extra set in your kit is insurance against unexpected wear.

Demonstrations

A cycle is a highly effective means of transport to and escape from a demonstration it can also be used to make a roadblock much as bicycle cops are known to do. Use an old bike for demonstrations as riot-police like to damage and confiscate bikes used in demonstrations.

Yellow-White Bicycle Share Programs

Find out if cities you are traveling to offer a Yellow Bicycle Program. Furthermore, if you find yourself a new local in a larger city, think about aiding those following your traveling example and start up a Yellow Bike Program in your new town. To do this, you can either approach city official yourself with the idea, or simply start it up without them. You'll need some cheap yet solid bikes, and some yellow paint. You can draw up a small map of suggested pick-up and drop-off points in town for the bikes, like public/school/park/downtown bike racks, fences by vacant lots, etc. Tagging some of these places with a minimal yellow stencil design can help, too. Encourage friends to look out for the welfare of the bikes if they see them tossed or crashed-up, either reporting to you are fixing them themselves. You can also attach a little sticker or tag to every bike before you put it out explaining the ideals behind your program to prevent wanton theft or destruction, and also encourage visitors to follow your example.

A good idea is to paint every part of the bike even pedals and tires to reduce theft, resale, and stripping value, be sure to mask areas able to be damaged by paint. Single speed coaster brake bikes have the lowest moving part count and the highest resistance to abuse, unless you are in a very hilly city this is the best type for a yellow bikes program. If possible include some sort of front baskets, folding wire pannier baskets, and such to allow shopping trips.

Most programs in anything other than a tiny town or community result in many lost bikes, you may have to consider moving to a free membership program, order dozens of locks with the same key and require a library card proving that the member is a local to join the club and receive a key, this will slow down random vandals and thieves but will also stop the short term traveler from easily accessing a service they need most.

As a last option collect and fix junk bikes so you have a supply to give to travelers and locals letting them know that an unused or unneeded bicycle would be best utilized by returning it in good condition.

Cycling Gear

Cycling Gear

Cycling is such an expansive topic that even the equipment you can build or get to enhance your cycling experience deserve their own mention. You get what you pay for is true as always, just do enough research that you are not paying for expensive advertising and no company budget left over to make a good product. Don't be afraid to DIY or buy used. Used means someone else has already tested the gear for factory defects and durability.

If you are just short distance commuting or taking a ride through the neighborhood park all you need is a bicycle and a helmet. Beyond the easy rides on warm days you need to think about lighting for safety and illuminating your path in the dark, keeping comfortable on long rides, and carrying supplies and camping gear for extended tours or self supported cross country travel.

Helmets

The most likely cause of fatalities and debilitating brain injury while cycling is head impact. New helmets, on average, reduce risk of brain damage by a factor of nine to one when compared to no safety equipment. Also, they can be purchased nearly anywhere bikes are sold. Make sure your helmet is adjusted correctly for it to be most effective. Helmets have a one crash expiry, so do not accept a used helmet for anything more than free, and replace it as soon as possible.

One of our editors was in a serious accident where she was struck by a car. The helmet cracked badly, but protected her skull. Although she still suffers a limited field of vision in one eye due to brain concussion, her helmet was the difference between collecting thousands of dollars in damages and occupying a coffin.

Gloves

Padded gloves are primarily to ease the pressure point stress of a long ride and may add several hours riding to your day. We have had great $5 gloves and miserable $60 gloves try them on in the store and lean hard onto a demo bicycle or tricycle handlebars to see if the pads line up with potential sore spots on the heels of your hands, also inspect the stitching. Gloves can also protect your palms in case of a fall. Grazed palms are not life threatening, but sensitive and will annoy until they heal.

If your gloves have Velcro closures on their backs, you can slide a compass made to fit onto a wrist watch band over one of the closure tabs. This is a great location for the compass, away from metal but easy to refer to, and it will assist you when traveling on winding roads.

Glasses

When on a long trip cycling glasses keep you from getting blinded when hit by bugs. For both prescription or riding glasses, "rain-x" type window treatment is useful as it will shed the rain from them in all but the worst storms. Alternately, wood shop safety glasses have also proved effective, even in heavy rainstorms.

Cycling glasses typically come in wrap around lens type, and up to three sets of lenses - dark, yellow, and clear. Dark is obviously for sun protection but if you ride into a shady area can degrade your depth perception, clear is for speeding along at night or low light where you are worried about clouds of bugs or road pebbles, and yellow is for improved contrast on cloudy overcast days.

Mirrors

Increasingly common for touring and commuter cyclists is using mirrors to view into your large rear blind spot. Mirrors mostly attach to glasses or helmets and are near to the eye requiring a quick side glance to see if a car is coming from behind. There are also mirrors which attach to the bicycle but bags and equipment may block these or they require regular adjustment from the bumps and grinds of normal cycling life.

Fenders

Fenders are absolutely indispensable if you're going to be biking off-road, on mixed terrain, or even on roads in the rain. Getting yourself and all your gear wet and covered in mud isn't pleasant. Cold, wet you very likely means sick you, which is not something you can afford while cycling long distances. Mud kicked into the drive train isn't good for it either.

A set of fenders will set you back about $20, or can be improvised from coroplast campaign signs and zip ties.

Toe Clips and Clipless Shoes

Keeping your foot centered on the pedal will give you more power. Toe clips use a regular shoe and hold your foot in. Clips extend the length of your potential leg stroke and allow an upward stroke. However, they may also cause distress to your ankles over a prolonged duration of use.

Clipless pedal shoes (snap in) amplify the benefits of toe clips, giving a very firm lock to your pedals, and do not wear their soles when pedaling. But clip shoes often do not grip cement well when used for walking, so bring walking shoes or sandals. The steel locking lug right under the ball of your foot becomes uncomfortable with some shoe designs after a few hours on your feet.Get tough quality synthetic laces because cotton rots quickly when exposed to weather. Of course at least two pairs of laces is standard spare.

The difficulties with these pedals are small once you adapt. You may fall getting used to having your feet stuck down and getting out of both clips and shoe pedals requires a twist motion that will become very natural after a few days of use.

Shorts

Some people like to show off their bodies by wearing only spandex and bike shoes leaving nothing to the imagination. While there is a minor wind drag bonus the main reason for the spandex is to prevent chafing, draw away sweat which can cause rash, and to pad the seat contact areas. You can wear the bike stuff under shorts if you like, synthetic outerwear will leverage the ability of the underwear/cycle skin-tights to wick away sweat instead of storing it against the skin like cotton does where it can leave you raw. Shorts are available in several designs of varying conformal shape and with or without seat padding, the idea is that an 8 piece pair of shorts will fit more comfortably than a 2 or 4 piecer. Shorts have a waistband so choosing a one piece body with top or suspender straps eliminates the waistband which can dig in especially during long days of riding.

Lighting

Attempt to always ride during daylight hours and rest once the sun goes down. But if you are going to be riding at night, it is very important that you work to make yourself visible. Reflectors, reflective tape, and lights are all helpful. Even with the best loud colors and lighting travel at twilight and sunset are frought with danger for the cyclist, if you are going to ride into the night take a break during the hour or two where the sun is low on the horizon until dark.

A good, flashing LED tail light will help car drivers notice your bicycle when approaching. LED flashers cost very little and they will run a long time on a single set of alkaline batteries. Zip-tie them to your seat, seat post, backpack, or spend a little more for a proper mount.

To avoid theft or vandalized flashers, attach a red LED light to the rear of a helmet and a white LED flasher to the front. This places the light well within view, and where you can take it inside. If your tire blows out the light will help you work at night, and in case of an accident you will be easier more visible. But remember that large packs may block your rear flasher.

More powerful lighting for road illumination is needed at times, especially on unlit stretches of road. Most of these systems use rechargeable batteries charged with generator system or solar cell, Be careful, some generators output too much power when moving fast and could damage the cells.

A high power LED lighting system will illuminate the road for low speed riding, allowing you to save the high power light big downhills. The best high visibility cycling lights as of 2010 are the HID light system, which can last upwards of four or more hours on a charge with incredible intensity. However, these can end up costing $400, so you can try making your own with the plans below.

Conventional incandescent lighting systems will not last as long on a battery charge. But you can rebuild a used standard cycling light system by replacing the rechargeable batteries. If you have access to a high power LED flashlight (this technology is ever-improving, common hardware stores now carry focusing zoom-to-spot 220 lumen lights) it could be affixed parallel to your steering using a plastic pieces meant for holding reflectors, which are then screwed together in the middle.

Even if your batteries die reflectors help keep you safer in the dark, Reflective tape, stickers, and reflectors should be in place on your bicycle spokes and white front and red rear on your bicycle.

In the last ten years reflective tape has become cheap and durable, so look for bicycle bags and riding wear with this reflective stuff sewn in. You can also get free reflective tape by finding out who makes road signs in your area, since the tape they use on signs comes in large sheets, there's always left-overs which can usually be obtained by asking or dumpster diving.

Super LED Lamps

In the past the ultimate light for cycling was either an overvolted halogen or a high intensity discharge(HID) halide headlight. Both of these had issues, the halogen route required frequent bulb changes and large batteries, the HID required about 30 seconds warm up even if the shutdown was because of hitting a bump, there was no way to adjust the brightness, they are fragile, and they cost at least $300. The systems could flood the street with light and there was no alternative until...

Now in the future we finally have the long promised option of high output LED emitters for our lighting systemsx. Cree, Luxon, and several other LED makers now produce LED's that rival HID systems for brightness and beat them on battery power savings and are in use by dozens of flashlight and headlight makers. They are instant on and unless the heat sink system breaks free of the emitter they should last for 50,000 hours or more, they also can be set to sever brightness levels. If you are interested in making your own systems currently it is possible to find deals from Hong Kong and China for emitters, power supply systems, lenses, and heat sinks where it should be possible to retrofit existing systems or build your own. The biggest issue with store or DIY solutions is heat, the most powerful systems produce enough light to intimidate car drivers but they also create heat which must be eliminated through the heat sink into the light housing otherwise it will literally melt the solder on the circuit board. Currently the best systems are over $300 but we expect that the price will drop as the profit margins drop on this inexpensive tech and we get back to paying for a durable mount and good battery pack.

Our advice is to get a good wide flood pattern beam for your handlebars so you can see the shadow of stuff in the road. A second powerful system should be helmet mounted but with a tight beam for illuminating into tight turns and zapping drivers who wont dim their lights.

LED systems also work well when you have a good dynamo system but you need to include over-voltage protection or fast downhill runs might damage your system. Many dynamo specific lighting systems also include a large capacitor to keep your lights lit for a minute or so when you are stopped in traffic. With a hub dynamo and LED system you will have a long life low drag super green always available lighting system that can also be tapped for things like charging your phone, GPS, or rechargeable batteries.

Sound Signals

Invest in a loud horn or whistle in addition to your bell. Your bell is the best general signal for most situations since it is associated with bicycles, but when it comes down to it a second extra loud signal is needed when the polite bell just is not enough. There are several very loud bike horns readily available which use compressed air or canned gas, but survival or police type whistles are better if you need to signal constantly in an urban area, use only plastic if you live in an area where the temperature drops below freezing since metal might freeze to your lips.

In highly populated urban areas barking like a dog or even just yelling at jaywalking pedestrians works. Most people freeze when they hear you, giving you time to take evasive action, many people really assume you have a faster breaking range than a car so they need some warning.

Weather Protection

It seems that some of the places with the best bicycle culture also tend to be quite rainy, especially in the winter, in any case if you do enough cross country travel you will get stuck in bad weather without anywhere to hide. The first rain after a long dry spell can mean danger for you as collected oils and dust mix with the moisture often making the roads very slick both for you and the two ton beasts traveling at upwards of 80mph around you, be extremely careful. Be watchful when stepping off the road during a storm especially when it is built on a raised road grade or has dry ditches and canals all of which are at risk for flash floods. Heavy rain can also loosen stones on cliffs and hillsides in mountainous areas or where the road has been cut into a hillside, be watchful for mud and stone avalanches. Sheltering under a tree is a risk for lightning and falling limbs during heavy wind, use common sense. If you see or hear a tornado, which are actually common only in the US central time zone region in summer, lie down in a ditch or depression if possible and wait it out.

Safety Equipment

When it rains continue to wear your helmet and deploy your safety lights and flashers, rain will often render tire friction generators ineffective so have alternatives with fresh batteries. You can stay a bit drier by using a safety colored helmet cover or by putting your helmet over your jacket or cape hood, do not impair your side visibility though.

Rain Suits

In North America the solution to weather protection is almost universally to wear a rain suit made from goretex or other expensive semi-permeable fabric and just deal with with the heat and sweat, adequate ventilation zippers especially in the armpit can help quite a bit with this problem.

Rain Capes

The English have a cuter solution although by working like a sail it can really make it difficult to cycle on a windy day. The rain cape is essentially a small poncho which acts like a combination umbrella and tent when you are on your bicycle, the front corners attach to wrist straps or handlebar attachments and the back is connected by straps to the riders legs. You are effectively in a bottomless mini tent and you tend to stay cooler since your perspiration is not trapped inside a suit. This cover could be sewn from a normal coated fabric poncho keeping in mind bright colors since rainy days are already more dangerous. To stay dry with a rain cape you also need to have fenders installed and some sort of boot/gaiter to protect your lower legs, this should be easy enough to sew especially if you are using snap in clipless pedals and shoes.

If you don't want to modify your tarp tent poncho or buy a special rain cape do what one of our engineering staff did, he rolled up the front to a comfortable length and attached the corners to to his handlebar ends with rubber bands made from recycled innertube, then he rolled up the back, secured the corners with more tube-bands and after sitting on his seat to check length tucked them upwards through his belt. He reports that a light pack keeps the poncho off of his back which kept the sweat in his shirt to a reasonable level, his next test will be attaching a strip of furnace filter one inch thick and three inches wide to his upper spine and another across his shoulders to get better stand off and ventilation without wearing a pack. Another planned modification is to make a special quick release waist belt with straps to gather the excess tarp neatly, he also intends to use larger straps to gather the nearly foot long rolls which droop from where they are attached to the handlebars.

Umbrella

In summer many areas are subject to short but heavy storms often including large hail, when traveling in areas like this it is safer to pull over and pop open a good wind resistant umbrella than try to bike in a powerful storm, big storms also tend to distract car drivers and reduce visibility so even the emergency lane may not be safe. Almost all of the cheaper umbrellas found in discount stores and Asian markets will tear apart or blow inside-out in a strong wind gust or thunderstorm. As a bonus you can use the umbrella as a sun parasol during a rest stop.

Handlebar Covers

We have seen bicycle cops in winter with fleece lined hand covers installed on the handlebars, these keep the hands dry and warm up to the forearm while not interfering with dexterity should you need your hands quickly.

Tire Studs

If you must cycle in packed snow or ice you will need studded tires. Commercial studded tire treads are rare and expensive, but they are very easy to make! Get a set of new or used 'fat' smooth road tread tires and a heavy duty tube. Every two centimeters carefully insert two wide head roofing tacks in to the tread. You will need to file the sharp edges on most tack heads, and it may help to run a strip of tape over them once they are installed, even after smoothing them off. Replace the tire and tube, inflate once, release pressure, and inflate again to get the tube properly aligned. This is important since even the smoothed off tacks will cause tube wear. Once the tire is properly inflated cut the tacks 1-2mm from the tread and then mount the wheel. But remember, even if you are under control in slick winter conditions, never assume SUV drivers are!

Carrying cargo

For daily use a courier bag, backpack, or fanny pack will work better to transport cargo, as you can carry them when you lock up your bike outside. But for longer rides you can increase the usefulness of your bike by equipping it to carry loads. Front and back racks can be added and bags, called panniers, can be attached to the sides of these racks. These will allow you to carry more by using the bike's frame to shoulder the whole load, without encumbering your hands or straining your shoulders.

Panniers

Pannier, or saddle, bags which attach to touring or cargo racks found on the rear and sometimes front of many bicycles. They are the way many cyclists carry gear on long trips although they can also be used for daily errands like bringing home groceries.

A bag similar in purpose to a pannier is called a soft trunk, it sits atop your rear rack, its advantage lies mostly in that it does not increase the frontal cross-section of your bicycle should you need to negotiate crowded streets or narrow areas, unfortunately most can only hold the volume of one regular pannier. Most rear racks can mount two panniers and a trunk bag.

It is advised by some to use a loading ratio with 60% of the weight on the rear panniers and the rest in front. Larger riders may prefer to put the 60% on the front wheel in order to save the rear spokes from additional stress, but loading the front forks will make the steering more sluggish.

Always balance the left and right panniers, as uneven panniers can cause stress on your spokes and bearings. Fitting of panniers is important as your panniers must not touch the ground in even the tightest turn, as they may tear or cause you to wreck. Rear panniers must be sized and located so as not to interfere with your heel when you pedal.

For 20" wheel folding bikes normal panniers may not even be an option on the rear wheel due to heel interference when pedaling. Mounting a rack and panniers on front will nicely dampen the natural sensitive turning of these small wheel folders but the racks we have used have a lower maximum weight rating than rear racks. A moderately sized soft-trunk type bag which attaches to the top of the rear rack can be used instead, some will require attachment to the saddle or seat-post with a strap or bungee cord for added stability.

When carrying heavy panniers regularly inspect the mounting screws and the attachment hardware for damage and wear. A rack failure could cause you to wreck on a steep downhill. Failure of attachment hardware could leave you going back and retrieving your gear while hoping it has not been run over by cars or picked up by strangers. We know of a case where a whole loaded tour pannier was lost negotiating a large curb without the cyclist noticing the loss until miles later.

Large items like tents and sleeping bags are often bungee corded down to panniers to save space inside. Be sure to leave room inside panniers for food and items you find along your trip, never leave home with fully loaded panniers. There is a temptation to overload your bicycle with stuff when you have big bags. But although riding loaded on level highway requires little extra effort, going up hills can become a monumental task with 20-40 extra Kg.

When buying think about water resistance, try to ride when it is dry, but remember that thunderstorms and rain can sneak up. Some bags are water-tight, other have optional rain covers. You can always use heavy trash sacks as bag liners and large freezer bags to line outside pockets.

Cheap luggage locks are surprisingly effective in preventing looting during quick trips into a store. On tour we often found one or two zippers opened and maybe a shirt or something hanging out or some small bit of gear stolen. After using the locks we had little trouble as it adds a slight difficulty. Try to keep your bicycle where you and the public can see it. Cable ties can also be used to securely attach panniers for extra security and as a failsafe for the attachment system. We kept our most valuable items in our handlebar bag and took that inside with us.

Before any trip especially with new bags or racks load up fully and take the bicycle out for a spin. Loaded bags attached to your bike can radically affect handling. Practice making emergency stops, hard turns, and avoiding obstacles. See if your lights and reflectors are blocked by your bags. Inspect the racks and bike frame mounting points for bad welds, cracks or wiggle, tighten the mounting screws, and inspect the bag mounting hardware every day but especially well after a long ride or a recent installation.

Handlebar Bags

Handlebar bags can compliment your panniers on long trips or be used alone around town. In most cases you will want to carry high value objects or items you want to quickly access when taking a short pause. When you stop in town or take a break from touring and stop into a store your handlebar bag should detach easily and go in with you so it is not stolen or looted. As with your panniers you should think about water resistance should you get caught in the rain. Here are some items you might consider packing in your handlebar bag:

• Passport or ID cards

• Cyclist, travel, and health insurance cards(some auto policies cover cyclist caused accidents and injuries)

• Cash and credit/debit cards

• Pay phone calling cards

• Mobile phone (paired to a Bluetooth headset)

• Keys, including bike lock keys

• Maps (in clear map holder)

• Snacks

• Energy gel

• Radio or large MP3 player

• Water bottles(on sides)

• GPS

• Flat kit and small repair tools

• Pocket knife or multitool

• First aid kit

• Camera

• Notebook or journal and pen

Many people like to get a clear plastic map holder which attaches to the handlebar bag making navigating much easier, the top of your handlebar bag seems like a great place to put a compass or GPS as well.

One writer essentially uses her handlebar bag as her purse when biking. Along with bike tour stuff she carries a scrunchy, compact, comb, lipstick, and mascara in her handlebar bag. The makeup takes up no room and no matter where she stops when she walks in we quote "looking all fit and sexy in that tight biking outfit guys fall all over to give me great service" always a useful ability but even more useful for getting freebies on the road. For fun she also throws sandals and a short spaghetti strap summer dress in her panniers so she can go out somewhere nice at night.

Saddle Wedge Bag

Some people only carry a pump, some water, and whatever fits inside the seat bag or seat wedge which attaches under your bicycle saddle. We once met a well off wage slave who had everything he needed for a 14 day cycle tour in his seat wedge; his tire repair kit, a bike multitool, a CO2 quick inflater, a cell phone to call a cab to take him to the nearest bike shop for bigger breakdowns, and his credit card so he could eat at restaurants, sleep in motels, and buy his way out of most problems. For emergencies we think an extra key for your bike lock and some emergency cash is a good idea even if you don't live a revolving credit lifestyle. If you leave the seat wedge on you bike expect to see it looted by kleptos, most are quick release so take it inside with you. If you keep a folded plastic shopping bag or stuffable ultralight backpack in there you even have a comfortable way to carry the seat wedge around as you shop or you can use the plastic sack to protect your bike saddle in the rain. Most seat wedges have a spot for a rear red LED flasher, use it!

Baskets

Baskets are also effective for carrying stuff. You can get baskets that attach to the front or back of the bike and fold flat when not in use. Milk carton crates make some of the best heavy duty baskets when cable tied to your handlebars or tail rack.

Trailers

For carrying larger stuff (like children and furniture), you might want to consider a trailer. These can be expensive, but you can also make one yourself. A trailer can be pieced together with plastic piping or electrical conduit, a pair of spare wheels, and a basket or plastic tote. For a trailer hitch, go to your local hardware store and get a quickrelease garden hose or air hose connection and a bit of hose. Rig up the connections to be used as a trailer hitch. For added safety, paint the trailer a bright color and put LOTS of reflective tape and a small red flashing light on the back.

Instructables.com has a number of plans for bicycle trailers and trailer hitches.

One company in Eugene, Oregon makes a hard shell suitcase for transporting folding bicycles that when unloaded and the wheels are attached becomes a bicycle trailer, they use standard hardware store parts and it is easily copied using a suitcase from the thrift store.

A two wheel stand-up shopping cart of the type used by retirees to take their groceries home is perfect for the cycle commuter. An extra handle is clamped or welded to the frame, this handle will end in a pneumatic hose fitting, the counterpart will be mounted to the frame of your bicycle for trailering. It will extend the life of your wheels to add greased brass or copper tube bushings to the plastic wheels or ball bearings, even unmodified wheels need lube or they will heat up and maybe even melt at bicycle speeds. When you get to the store lock up your bike, unsnap your cart and take it in for shopping. When you get home your trailer/cart comes inside with you. It's easier than car shopping!

A different type of bicycle trailer becoming very popular with cycle tour types relies on a different type of mount which attaches to your frame and only has one wheel. It is sometimes known commercially as a BOB trailer, but it can be welded almost entirely out of a recycled BMX type bicycle and a bit of steel tubing. These single wheel trailers are much more agile and do not greatly add to the width of your bicycle meaning that almost anywhere your bicycle can go the trailer can follow.

Bucket Panniers

You can also make large panniers from square food buckets and attaching hooks to grab your tail rack, properly caulked these will survive even the worst rain storms dry. Check where your feet will rotate during pedaling when placing the buckets so they will not block your heels.

Pizza Delivery

If you just scored some cash or have an understanding buddy at the pizza shop there is a way to get that pizza back to your guerrilla cell without using a car or letting the undercover FBI agents deliver it to your squat. If you have a cargo rack on front or back tie or bungee down a cross board as wide as the pizza box (remember your added width if traveling in pedestrian areas) when you get the pizza use string, clean recycled nylon stockings, or industrial cling plastic wrap to carefully attach the pizza box. If you can get a few extra of those "doll house table" anti cheese smash things they give in the delivery pizza box you can spread them out on your pizza, now you can wrap the box a little tighter or stack several boxes without ending up with all the cheese stuck to the lid. The more stacked pizza boxes you get the better this works to about five boxes, smaller diameter pies work better with this system. Don't stack anything on top of the pizza boxes, hang drinks from the handlebars or stick them in a basket.

Cargo Mule

The Viet Cong made using a bicycle for cargo transport famous by traversing the Ho Chi Minh trail transporting their war supplies south at times almost exclusively with heavy laden bicycles.

Your bicycle becomes a push wagon and you have to walk. Try to balance the load as best as possible since it will be difficult if a very heavily laden bicycle were to fall over. Watch for bags or containers that might rub against your tires or spokes destroying your wheel and cargo.. Several hundred pounds could potentially be carried, nearly every adult bicycle is designed at a minimum to support over three hundred pounds of human rider. Attach a pole tightly across the handle bars to help steer, keep the brake handles reachable if you are in hilly terrain. Two pushers are better than one for balance. With loads over two hundred pounds be careful when using a bicycle with shock absorbers so they don't overload, be sure to have the tires at full inflation to prevent damage, and that the spokes are tight and aligned.

Anti-Theft

Types of Locks

A good lock is an important investment. 3' of hardened steel chain and high security lock gives options when securing your bike, and they're more affordable than a D lock (aka U-lock). If at all possible, get a lock that uses a disc tumbler lock. Tubular locks are more easily bypassed and will generally be used in poorer quality bike locks. The best place to carry a chain lock is in a pannier or basket. If you need to 'wear' the lock, then wear it around your waist. Wearing the chain across your chest may look 'cool' but in a crash can easily break your ribs and possibly puncture a lung.

Wearing a u-lock is easy; mini u-locks can fit into a back pocket. Another popular option is to place the lock in the space between your belt and pants waist band. We have seen a u-lock belt holster that is pretty easily replicated if you can sew, it is made from recycled seat belt strap with two loops to slide a belt through and then strap parallel to the belt to stick the lock into. Wearing the lock is not always comfortable for long rides, many rear cargo racks have space for a U lock to slip into otherwise most locks come with a clip and strap system to attach to the frame.

Tent Trailer

This trailer system is not as lightweight as a hammock and tarp system for cycle campers but it provides a trailer and shelter for those who must carry all of their possessions with them as they move and also want a quick comfortable shelter without needing to find trees, or level ground to make camp. The tent-cot-trailer was originally designed as a temporary measure to house the urban homeless. It should also serve as an outwardly aesthetic alternative to stealth camping for cross country travelers.

An excellent platform to use a base for your DIY trailer is a lightweight folding cot. You will need to attach a trailer tongue to connect to your bicycle. Many people like to use an air hose connector so it is easy to quick release. You will also need to properly attach an axle and wheels in a way that they can easily be removed to convert back to a cot. Perhaps the best source for an axle is from a discarded jogging stroller. Often these bicycle type wheels even have a push button release. When attaching the wheels you will need to reinforce the light aluminum frame with some steel electrical conduit where it will be attached to the axle so the aluminum is not deformed when heavily loaded, reinforcing the trailer tongue attachment point would be advisable as well. Be careful if using U-bolts not to over-tighten them. Folded down this trailer is easily loaded with food, fuel, and camping supplies. Secure everything using straps and a tarp, a large tied down duffle bag, or camping backpack, unload and unfold at nightfall and you have a comfortable sleeping cot anywhere.

An inexpensive dome tent can be modified to fit the cot trailer. Try to find a tent with a footprint as close to but if not exact then slightly larger than your unfolded cot/trailer so you can hem it smaller. Measure and pin the tent to be sure your estimates were right, then mark and take in the excess fabric by sewing a pleat with a sewing machine and good thread reducing the wall size to fit the cot, using seam seal on the new seam to prevent leaks. You might need to remove or reduce the size of the tent floor. The pole length might also need to be changed. Secure the corners of the tent to edges of the cot.

If in an open area where strong winds are possible, leave the trailer hitch attached to your laid down bicycle so it will act as a anchor to prevent the tent-cot from blowing away. Heavier winds will require stakes to be pounded into the ground as anchors.

To get some ideas for your design, check out these links:

• http://freeyourbike.blogspot.com/2006/09/bicycle-trailer-camp-bed-many-folk.html

• http://www.tonystrailers.com/mobileshelter/

• http://www.carryfreedom.com/bamboo.html

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/saholm/816119809/

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/therollinrev/2111022319/

Generators and Dynamos

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A bicycle generator or hub dynamo can be used to charge most gadgets needing less than 6 volts. Hubs are almost always of better quality, last longer, dont eat your tire tread, and have less drag while in use; the downside is you have to have the spokes removed and new shorter ones installed to add a hub dynamo. Output is almost always AC power so you need to make a bridge rectifier with diodes to get the power flowing in one direction then a large capacitor if you need to smooth out the voltage, lastly a ziener diode or power regulator circuit for the appropriate voltage needs to be included because high speeds can generate 10-12 volts from a normally 6 volt generator which will fry most electronics without built in protection circuits. You can probably find most of this circuit inside a wall wart power block. If you don't want the added drag of generating when going uphill add a thumb switch on your electrical system and only activate it only on flat and downhill runs.

Friction dynamos/generators will rub a groove onto the side of your tire and eventually cause it to fail if used regularly, a rubber dynamo pickup wheel and cleaning dirt from the rubber contact surfaces will prolong the life of your tire. Some older friction dynamos rode directly on the tread but this would require a smooth tire instead of a mountain knobby, most of the time a smooth tread makes more sense unless you ride exclusively in mud and never on roads or packed surfaces.

If you still have a car but no fuel pull out the alternator and battery and put your bike onto a stationary bicycle exercise stand conversion system, you can always reinstall the parts in the car later. Remove the friction belt and attach the alternator with a short V-belt, this may require cutting a groove into the exercise stand flywheel. You will be able to keep your battery charged to power whatever 12 volt gadgets you need. We have seen experiments where laptops and small TV's are powered by the operator pedaling with such a system. An automobile alternator requires some input voltage so a 12 volt battery is required in the system.

Communications

Cyclists use their senses to stay safe, a phone or radio by interfering with your concentration and hearing will increase your risk especially in chaotic urban cycling situations. We acknowledge the risk but there are times where you need communications gear to keep your cycle group together or to take a call during a long commute. These are several ways we have known people to stay in touch while cycling.

A mobile phone stashed inside a pack or pocket is dangerous to grab for while cycling, a Bluetooth headset makes answering as easy as pushing a button on your earpiece or headset, some phones can also be set to auto answer or take voice dialing from the headset. Find a headset compatible with your helmet and winter ear coverings, a bit of elastic cord attached to the earpiece can be used to loop through the chin strap to prevent loss if it falls out while on the road.

FRS radios due to their low cost, small size good range, low power consumption and great urban penetration usually make for a win in the license free radio competition. A headset and voice operation or VOX means every time you talk it activates the transmit, useful when keeping a bicycle group or tour together.

MP3 and FM Radio

There are very small MP3 players and FM radios which can be attached to your helmet and are at much less risk of a torn wire or being dropped than a hard disk or pocket computer type music player in a pocket or pouch. There are few weatherproof MP3's out there but we have used a simple tiny FM radio made for swimmers to good effect in bad weather. The FM helmet radio is a way to cheaply wireless a larger MP3 player while it stays safe in your pack by using a cheap plug-in FM transmitter module.

Motor Assist

If you want the portability and freedom of a bike with some of the ease of a motorcycle, no worries. Almost any bicycle can be converted to an electric power-assisted type (basically a moped) for a few hundred dollars. Various people have added old or new purpose bought weed-eater type engines to power-assisted bikes with positive results, but keep in mind that two stroke engines which burn an oil gasoline mix do pollute the environment significantly although Honda and Subaru four-stroke motors are much cleaner and consume normal gasoline. US rules now ban the import of most new two cycle engines but they are still available in Canada.

The two main methods for power transfer are a friction roller which is directly against the tire necessitating a smooth tread, or chain drive to the wheel, some kits have a sprocket which somehow connects directly to the wheel. These are often DIY jobs as the kits can be quite expensive, but be sure to get good instruction and guidance before doing this on your own. If the purists turn up their nose point out the idea of NEVER needing to use a car even in steep mountainous terrain where most would not even consider a loaded bicycle for everyday travel.

The Bicycle Motor Forum at http://motorbicycling.com/ is a good place for tips and information on the various motors and systems, from kits to homebuilts.

Installation

Installing a motor puts stress onto your frame and rear wheel, expect much shorter life from your spokes if you are attaching a sprocket to them, if you have to use the clamshell and spoke connection see about drilling out your wheel and hub for 8-9 gauge motorcycle spokes in the rear. . Designs which have a special rear wheel with normal and motor sprockets on opposite sides will last far longer. Pedaling is more difficult against a chain drive system even when the clutch is out. Friction drive systems quickly take the tread off of your rear tire and often stop working in wet weather.

Bike types

While the majority of kits found online are for upright bikes, consider the luxury of a nearly self propelled recumbent, or just how much power and speed you could get out of a nicely modified cargo bike...

Magneto Electricity

Look for a motor with a electrical output from the magnetos to run a light or charge batteries, this electrical output is AC power often only six volts and needs a rectifier circuit to be used by most things other than a regular headlight.

Legal Motors

If you are desiring to be a legal eagle, many jurisdictions allow a one speed motor under 50 cc to be attached to a bicycle drive train without further regulation. Furthermore, any person operating two-wheeled vehicle with a motor greater than 50 cc must have a motor vehicle license of some sort. Some states require a motorcycle license regardless of the engine size, while others require only a passenger vehicle license. Most two-stroke engines are generally less than 50 cc, and most electric motors would be considered in the same category. Since laws differ with each jurisdiction, contact your state or province's Department of Motor Vehicles about their regulations on mopeds and "motor-driven cycles". If your engine comes unmarked a professional 49cc sticker or etching might throw off nosy cops. If you use an electric motor, a set of saddlebags over the wheel covering the motor can hide things a bit.

Trains

Barriers

• Sneak around, theres usually always hidden entrances to the platform outside the building, even if it involves walking a 100 meters down the track (cover face to avoid tresspassing fine) look at Liberate for city specific details.

• Flash a fake ticket to a guard.

• If there is somebody behind you "validate" your ticket, and when it doesn't work pretend not to notice, head forward and wait for the person behind you to validate his ticket.

• Sometimes barriers close slowly and you can pretend to validate your ticket and quickly walk through.

• Jump over, only do this if theres no guards or you have freinds who can avert the attention of any present, cover your face too.

• Go through the turnstile 2 at a time, press up together and do it discetly.

If you really are trapped out pay for a ticket to the nearest station and ride to the end of the line using the techniques in passenger trains. If your trapped in at the other end, tell a guard you dropped your ticket on the tracks, they will obviously smell a rat but may let you through under grumbles (or possibly give you a fine for not having a ticket, dont pay it! nobodys been taken to court over train fines, they're not legal), if you wish to avoid this say you just came from the nearest station and there was no conducter on the train, he'll charge you and let you through. If you know your going to a station built up like a fortress pay for a single ticket going from the station nearest to the end station going to the end station from a ticket machine before you travel.

Passenger trains

Hopping passenger trains is a careful art of deceit

• Watch through the doors for the conductor coming, when he gets close, duck into the toilet. Sometimes smaller toilets at ends of the train that are less frequently used.

• Leave it unlocked and the conductor won't think anyone's in there but you have to quietly get in and out fast as you can because a passenger going to use the toilet who finds you in there will certainly draw attention to you.

• Lock it and you risk uptight conductors checking and even using a toilet key to open it up. If you hear this key act like your washing your hands. One person i know was painting his nails when the guy came in and got out of paying for a ticket by giving a sob story about not wanting people see him paint his nails because he was gay.

• Pretend to be asleep, usually the conductor will come along saying anyone from previous station name, if you act like your in a really deep sleep he/she'll think you cant possibly have fallen asleep so fast and he/she must have already checked your ticket. A good act to pull is head back, mouth open, empty can of special brew and a book on the fold out table. You may get poked or shaken but just keep sleeping. If on the very minuscule chance they call the cops tell them you have narcolepsy.

• Start an in depth conversation with a stranger, better if you blend in with a group.

• Look for tickets left behind on seats you can use, often their cleared up but some are tucked away for just such use.

• Finally there is the forged interrail ticket talked about under hushed voices on a friend of a friends hard drive.

• Amtrak (US) uses small paper tags with the three letter code of the station, wedged above the seats (by the baggage compartments), and does not check tickets other than the first time getting on the train (and not even religiously then). You can either bring a Sharpie marker and write a much farther destination on the tag at your own seat, or switch seats at some point when another passenger leaves for the dining car or their stop. The conductor will ask where you are going, make sure you know the code for it or can read the code for the tag you snatched.

• DO NOT try this on a train that crosses the Amerikan-Canuckistani border: the corpgov pigs have a list of who should be on the train, and anyone on the train but not the list is a terrorist.

• This also works on the return trip: if you "miss" your stop (i.e. have a ticket from a long way behind you to a shorter way behind you) they tend to be helpful and will sometimes give you a ticket on the next train (which can be 12-24 hours later) back to where you were supposed to go. If you are only making a quick trip, you can use this to your advantage very easily.

If all else fails or you don't want to be hassled, buy a ticket for 2 or more stops ahead, there's no way the conductor can remember what stop everyone on the train is getting off at, but if you say the next stop he might be watching to see if you do. Make yourself a new seat tag for your desired destination and enjoy the long ride.

Abusing Open Returns

In some cases Open Returns (tickets in two parts that allow outward travel on the day of issue and return travel within a month) are only a few pence more (or in some cases, cheaper)than the equivalent single and what's more can provide unlimited travel on the return leg for that month. The trick is not getting the return part dated either by a ticket barrier or by the stamp of a Revenue Protection Officer (Ticket Inspector). If you achieve this you can potentially save hundreds of pounds by reusing the return segment of the ticket for the full month of validity.

To avoid getting the ticket dated by an automated ticket gate insert it once or twice times with the metallic strip facing upward so that 'Seek Assistance' is displayed on the barriers LED display, then, acting confused, approach the Inspector supervising the gate, pass them your ticket for cursory glance and they should allow you on to the train. Do similarly at your destination station.

On shorter trains that normally have inspectors look out the window or listen to music and avoid surrendering your ticket when they ask for all tickets from your station. However on longer trains plying inner suburban routes where inspectors are not guaranteed, RPOs effectively 'sweep' the train from back to front in the direction of travel. Get on as near to the back of the train as possible. Also travel early in the morning or late at night when Revenue Inspectors are less likely to be on the network.

If a transfer is required between terminals DON'T use your return segment in the Tube machines as again this will date your ticket. Use the same method as at the destination and original stations by presenting your ticket to the attendant RPOs for a cursory glance and they should open the gates for you.

Freighting

Just like most "free" methods of travel talked about in STB, train-hopping is more difficult due to the post 9-11 war on information - including railroad schedules. There is also an increase in security due to taggers painting railroad cars and the potential liability of a hobo casualty. A hobo leaves nothing but maybe some garbage and only endangers himself, a tagger causes lasting unwanted evidence which yard managers can't ignore, they have to assume all trespassers are there to tag or steal.

To start, leave with someone who knows what they're doing. It will help you stay safe, calm your nerves, and learn their tricks to avoid many problems with rail hopping. If you do leave by yourself, don't try to hop any moving trains until you know what you're doing.

Types of Rides

There are two types of trains, Inter Modal (IM) and General Manifest (GM). Slang terms for these are Hotshots and Junk, respectively. There are separate yards for IMs, but they will still work in GM yards. Both of these categories can be broken down further into types of cars.

Intermodal

Hotshots are the quickest ride you can catch (hence the name). When two trains are going down the same length of track, one train will have to side for the other at a 2 mile, a length of track where it splits into 2 tracks than goes back, or one will side in a yard. Hotshots only have to side for Amtracks and specialty trains like the Florida Juice train. They also seem to go a lot faster. Hotshots are made up of shipping containers and semi trailers for people like UPS and chain stores. They have tighter security than junk trains because people like to jack shit from the containers.

• Pigs - "Pig" is slang for a semi trailer. You will have either trailers on flat cars (TOFC) or pigs in buckets. A pig in a bucket is a trailer set into a Container well. Riding a TOFC, you can hide in between the wheels reasonably well, but a bucket is better. One advantage of the Pig is you have shade.

• Wells - Well cars are 5 foot tall or so buckets that shipping containers get dropped in to. Wells come in different lengths, as do the containers. You want to try for a 48 container dropped into a 52 well. You can ride in the leftover space between the container and the front of the well. The problem with this is it's harder to find wells with floors these days. Wells without floors are called "Suicides" for obvious reasons. They either have a pattern of triangles cut out of the floor, or just steel diagonal beams running the length. A Suicide can be ridden on the 1 foot or so ledge that runs the perimeter with your feet resting on a crossbeam but you can't really sleep unless you sleep on the upper porch where you are visible.

General Manifest

Junk trains are the trains everyone pictures when they think of freight trains. There's a lot of different types of cars, but only some are rideable.

• The Romanticized Boxcar - Boxcars are really nice to ride; shade, well hidden, usually something comfortable to sleep on. They are a lot harder to hop in and out of because there isn't a ladder, so it's 5 feet instead of 2 and you have to pull yourself up with upper body strength. A boxcar with two open doors is best. Boxcar doors can't be opened from the inside. Before you get in, grab a rail spike and jam it into the track of the door, or whatever else you can find.

• Grainer - A Grainer is sort of shaped like an upside down trapezoid, with "porches" on either end, and metal walk ways across the tops. They carry things like sand and laundry detergent. When riding a Grainer, you ride the porch. You want to get on the side without the brake equipment on it, and it's nicer to be on the back. Riding on the front is a lot colder (so nice in the summer) and you get whatever shit is on the porch in front of you in your mouth in eyes. Riding on the front is called "riding dirty faced", for obvious reasons. Some Grainers have little short walls running the perimeter of the porch. These are called "Cadillacs" and they're straight pimpin'. Grainers have holes cut into the sides, so when you need to hide you can crawl inside.

• Flat Cars - Terrible. Completely visible, and there's no shade.

• Tankers - Unrideable.

• Gondolas - Gondolas are big buckets. They get filled with all kinds of things, like scrap metal, wire spools, etc. You shouldn't ever ride a loaded Gondola; use your best judgment. The shorter ones are the only ones worth riding.

Gear

Be sure to pack light and be ready to ditch your pack and water if something goes wrong while jumping aboard. Don't ever carry glass bottles or jars, it is almost impossible to board or unload without breaking them. Bag anything that can leak or get all over the place in Ziploc bags - they will keep your gear organized and waterproof. A gym bag is easier to board with but, since you are likely to walk a bit from your unloading spot, a small backpack is probably better.

Bring plenty of water because the elements and the excess wind will dehydrate you. It sucks to have to get off early in some random town because you ran out of water. Come to the train yard hydrated and carry a gallon jug or several reused 2 liter soft drink bottles strung together with thick twine to bring on the car It pays off to be carrying several bottles when a jug gets punctured. A Nalgene bottle is as unbreakable as they come, but even a reused liter soft drink bottle will work; Keep it clipped to your belt in case you lose your jugs or pack. Keep your main water supply in your hand and not in your pack when jumping on or off so that if it breaks it will not soak your gear, additionally it is easier to ditch if you have trouble boarding. Stay hydrated! If you avoid drinking until you are thirsty you will drink more and feel like shit, so constantly take small sips. Some dehydration indicators are a dry mouth and dark infrequent urination.

Everybody poops, don't EVER try to take a dump while hanging off the edge on the fly, like pops said go before you leave, if you have a turd emergency squat and use one of your ziplocs so you don't mess up the car you are on, and PEASE don't forget TP for your bunghole.

A sleeping bag, jacket, or blanket keeps the wind off even in summer. Open cars are breezy once they get moving fast, so don't let your gear get blown away. A quality rain poncho may flap a bit in the wind but is well worth the space in a sudden thunderstorm. Poncho's are also a very light way to tent up if you camp for a night. Goggles and sunglasses keep the bugs, sun, and wind out of your eyes. A t-shirt or very large scarf wrapped around your face might make you look like a terrorist, but it will keep the bugs and dirt out of your teeth and the sun off of your face. A stadium pad or sleeping mat to sit on is smart, the floors are usually hard, cold, and filthy. Remember to tie down your pad and loose gear to a solid support so it won't blow away. If you have a string hammock you can sometimes tie them up in a boxcar, this is probably the most comfortable way to ride short of an Amtrak sleeper car, but hang it low and in a way that you cant roll out the open door, we don't recommend tying up hammock on any other type of car since there it too much danger of falling off a moving train.

Freight cars are filthy and jumping freights is a good way to beat both yourself and your clothing up. Wear gloves, sturdy shoes, a tough jacket, and rip resistant trousers. Anything loose will fall out of your pockets or get left in the car, keep your pack closed and only take things out one at a time when you need them. For example, smokers should tape a lighter to a string and tie it to a clip on their pants.

Sometimes a car will have one uneven wheel, the train will rock and make the worst racket you've ever heard, and it's ten times worse inside a boxcar. Bring ear plugs, or even yard worker earmuff protectors if you think you need them.

Since train jumping is somewhat dangerous some might consider wearing a bike helmet when boarding and unloading.

Tasty and nutritious easy for throwing train food include tuna fish, sardines, cereal, pop tarts, and sacked cookies, cake, trail mix, and granola. Peanut butter in a plastic jar or tube is an excellent thing to bring. Jacking condiment packets before hand will make your train eating experience much more enjoyable. A lot of folks take a metal spoon and bend the end of the handle over a key ring and keep it on a caribiner.

An area or national map book with marked train tracks is required! Although there are good locating signs along most tracks, a cheap GPS can help you keep track of where you are. A compass will just point at a steel train car, so use the sun and stars to determine general direction. Pointing the hour hand of an analog watch at the sun and dividing the angle between it and the 12 will provide the North-South line in the northern hemisphere. Pointing the 12 at the sun and dissecting between the hour hand provides a North-South line in the Southern hemisphere.

Getting on and off

It's always safest to board a stopped train. If it is difficult to get on in the yard, you can sometimes board a car elsewhere. Trains that are being built in a yard have to pick up cars from different tracks. They will pull out past a track, to the switch, then back into the string of cars on the next track. This is called doubling back.

Getting on a moving train is called hopping on the fly and it is the most dangerous part of riding the rails. The horror stories about severed limbs are written about drunks and dumb people, so keep smart and sober before jumping. Hopping on the fly can be preferable at times since you don't have to go in to a yard at all, and you can wait for and catch trains based on their specific tracks. It is much harder to pick a car though, and if you wait too long for a ridable car you might miss a train completely. Knowing whether or not to hop on the fly is an important decision you should make for yourself. Just because someone says you can do it in a certain place, or the person you are with can, doesn't mean you can. The train is going slow enough to be hopped if you can see and count the bolts on the wheels, or if you can run along side and keep up with a ladder. Watch where you put your feet, there is all kinds of debris you can run into or trip over. You want to run along side the train, grab the ladder with one hand, throw your water up with the other, than grab on and throw your feet onto the ladder.

Getting off on the fly is much harder than getting on. To decide if it is slow enough, look down and compare how quickly the wooden ties are going past compared to your usual running speed. Most folks throw their pack and water off first and then unload unencumbered, but those traveling light may choose to jump with their packs on. To get off a moving train, stand on the ladder, holding on with one hand and one foot, then while still holding on with one hand, drop your feet and run like hell as soon as they hit the gravel, once down immediately let go with your hand. You also need to lean backwards a bit and try to run diagonally away from the train. Again, this is difficult the first few times and it is always dangerous. Falling sucks, at a minimum you will tear up your hands on the gravel. Always fall forward, watch out for your head and neck, and always try to fall or roll away from the train.

Miscellaneous

You can use the train to flatten coins and other metal objects by leaving them on an active rail and waiting. Be careful because a fast moving train can really fling this stuff hard, but we have sold necklaces and belly button ring charms made from flattened coins. Rail spikes work as heavy tent pegs. Chopped off bits of rail near a repair are heavy but work great as anvils.

Trains use air brakes, every car has a little compressor on it, and hoses run the length of the train. When a train is about to start, you hear the brakes hiss to let go. When a train is linked together a worker has to go the length and connect all the hoses. If your train is broken up (which can be bad for our now stationary traveler) they must close the valve before and after the break and then disconnect the hose, you can hear them do this if you're close enough. When a train breaks the extra worker in the unit walks the length of the train to break it, he then either rides on a car or gets picked up in a work truck. After a while all the sounds become recognizable, this can help save you from getting stuck at some isolated grain elevator 50 miles from any town.

A train breaks to leave a string of cars at a destination, or pick up more cars. It's easier to break in the middle instead of backing the entire train in. That's because it's a pain in the ass to back a huge train into a yard, or the FRED (light on the end) is a pain in the ass to attach. Because of that, the back is preferable so you don't have to go into the yard when strings get picked up, and you are one of the last cars to get dropped off.

”Crew Change” is a term for when the conductor and company finishes their shift and a new crew gets on. A crew can only legally work somewhere between 8 and 10 hours before switching.

BE CAREFUL! Never move under cars or over the coupling! When moving between cars use the ladders. Workers are much more likely to give you shit if you're acting a fool, and less likely to care if you are being as safe as they are. Watch out for hump yards! Hump yards are areas of the yard where there is a big hill with track going down it. A car is taken to the hill and released to slam into another car and join the couplings, this is one method of building trains. At rail yards, warehouses, and factories they will often roll a few cars to join them. These cars sometimes move upwards of 20 mph (30 kph)! They are dark and quiet, so don't let one sneak up and run you over. Some yards also have remote controlled yard engines, which means there is no one to see you before they run you over. If you enter the yard from a normal entrance they have big neon signs telling you it uses remote controlled engines.

Finding the Right Train

There's two ways about getting information - technology and talking to people. In the end, you need intuition, confidence, and to accept it when you get on the wrong train or your train releases pressure and you're stuck outside a cement factory in the middle of nowhere.

• "U.S. Railroad Traffic Atlas" - Edited by Harry Ladd and often considered the Bible of American trainwatchers, this is a map of all the freight lines in the USA. It shows trackage rights, how much weight gets moved down each line, crew changes, and yards. The most recent edition was published in 2003 and you can often buy it online for around USA$30.

• Google Earth is a useful and free online program. You can set it to show nothing but roads and train lines. the yards show up as a cluster of black lines and two tracks might just show up as one when they're close together. It's can also be used to find service roads and check directions out of each yard. You can also determine where to wait by following the mainline tracks out of the yard to their destinations and which direction a train is going when traveling geographically or after a split.

• Touch Trace Numbers are automated phone lines where you can type in a cars numbers and get information on it. If you have a cell phone, once your train is moving type in the car's numbers and it can tell you the next crew change, train yard and ETA.

• Bullsheet.com (http7/www.bullsheet.com/) and Skedz.com ( http://www.skedz.com/ ) are both websites with train time tables. Skedz is for commercial shippers so it's times are final drop-off time to make the shipment, not exact times whatsoever. Both sites list the yards each train passes through. Bullsheet is a rail fan site so it's times are more useful, and it lists crew changes, but is not currently updated.

• "The Crew Change Guide" (CCG) is an underground publication distributed among train riders. For various reasons, it isn't posted on the internet or sold in stores. You can photocopy one off of somebody (if, and only if, they trust you!) for about USA$5 in copies but it's the most valuable navigational aid you can get. It is updated every year and lists much of everything you need to know.

Deciding whether or not to speak to yard workers is entirely up to you. At worst they will call the bull (railroad police) on you. Yard workers are also known to put you on the wrong train, but they are sometimes really helpful and will even radio to ask about your train. The crew generally only knows information about their train. If a worker sees you it's best to wave; you can judge by their reaction if they're liable to call the bull. When talking to workers tell them you're a rail fan, a train enthusiast who just likes watching trains, although this is not likely to work if you have your pack on.

Scanners

Using a scanner is useful if you can understand what the hell the workers are saying.

A 100 channel scanner works fine, 200 is better since the first 100 will be filled with railroad channels, print out a cheat sheet if you have an older scanner and can't put tags on your frequencies with the computer programming cable.

The American Association of Railroads (ARR website: www.arr.org ) assigned a range of frequencies to all railroad operations (including bulls) but they are now migrating slowly to 800mhz digital trunked systems. Pick up a copy of The Compendium of American Railroad Radio Frequencies , it is considered the master listing of frequencies organised by the railroad company assigned.

Sometimes the railroad will transmit and receive on two channels using a radio repeater but you only listening with a scanner will be able to hear the whole conversation on the repeater output channel. The current VHF frequency range is CH-02-159.810Mhz, To CH-97-161.65Mhz channels are 2 through 97, split in 15 kilohertz increments. Outside the VHF band, the railroads of North America use the frequency 457.9375 megahertz for transmissions from a train's end-of-train EOT or FRED device to the train's lead locomotive, that might be useful in predicting an arriving train, it will be data you hear on this freq, .

Once programmed into the scanner, pressing "Scan" constantly searches through all the AAR Numbers for any communication and stops when it finds something. Workers will sometimes talk and receive on two separate channels so you need to constantly scan to hear both sides of the conversation. The yard office will generally talk on a different frequency as well, as does the bull. Some scanners are equipped with "close call" (Uniden) or something similar, which picks up any local transmissions, even if they aren't programmed. A scanner is useless if you don't know your trains number (get it on Bullsheet). Workers will either refer to the train by it's unit number or the train's number (the train's number is for the train at that time on that route). You can also hear when your train has clearance (is ready to leave) or who it's siding for, among other things. Sometimes Police overlap onto the same frequencies which can be annoying, so get a scanner with a lock out function.

Hobo code of ethics

An ethical code was created by Tourist Union #63 during its 1889 National Hobo Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. This code was voted upon as a concrete set of laws to govern the Nation-wide Hobo Body, it reads this way;

1. Decide your own life, don't let another person run or rule you.

2. When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.

3. Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.

4. Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but insure employment should you return to that town again.

5. When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.

6. Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals treatment of other hobos.

7. When jungling (camping) in town, respect handouts. Do not wear them out. Another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.

8. Always respect nature. Do not leave garbage where you are jungling.

9. If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.

10. Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible. (Boiling clothing kills lice, bed bugs, and other parasites.) 11. When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.

12. Do not cause problems in a train yard. Another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.

13. Do not allow other hobos to molest children. Expose to authorities all molesters; they are the worst garbage to infest any society.

14. Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.

15. Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed. You may need their help someday.

External Links

WikiHow: How to Become a Hobo - http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Hobo Using a watch as a compass - http://www.onebag.com/popups/wcompass.html

Cars

Cars and trucks burn gasoline or diesel... oil, corpgovs favorite addictive drug. If you buy into their game and get a car you are part of the problem. That being said, sometimes the freedom of personal transportation can be worth the risks of easy identifiability and corporate buy-in a car represents. Times have changed, when Abbie wrote his book the price of a gallon of gasoline was 34 cents and Amerika was the world's largest oil producer! Look for a car that has useful parts that you can strip and use for other purposes or one you can use as a shelter even after fuel is no longer available to the masses.

Car Advantages:

• Can travel without getting wet, cold, sweaty or tired.

• Can carry heavy items or supplies long distances.

• Can carry passengers.

• For many Americans in less developed areas, there is little to no public transportation, which means if you want to work, or really do anything, you'll need a car.

• Can be a significant advantage in job hunts, social life, and free up time.

• Can be used as a last resort shelter, with significant drawbacks.

• Owning a car is considered a step towards being successful according to many in society. Acceptance.

• Being able to travel further and more quickly at any time.

• Can search further out for cash sources than one's own area.

Car Disadvantages:

• Must have insurance card, registration, valid driver license, current car tag, and no broken lights to avoid police oppression.

• Can be inconvenienced by folks dependent on you to give them rides without helping you if you are one of the few in their network with a car.

• Older vehicles can need many repairs that can be expensive without repair skills and tools.

• Expensive. Deals can be found, but even the least expensive working cars can be many, many month's wage slave salary. Borrowing is fairly easy if you have credit and want something new, but the lender will require you to get expensive comprehensive insurance on top of a car note and a big deposit/or valuable trade-in. You may pay much more in interest if credit is bad.

• Easy to become dependent on car to maintain wasteful practices like traveling far away to make cash. If car dies and there is no back-up, far away cash source can be lost.

• You NEED gas. The bigger the car and more it is driven, more gas. Otherwise, you had better park it. Encourages wasteful behavior and empowers resource exploiters. No gas is no AC or heat and walking.

Don't Drive

If you are working poor, a car can be a huge burden, even though society demands you have this to be accepted. Never mind there are those who are in complete slavery working to pay off massive car notes, repairs, gas, tickets, and insurance. Of course, if the wage slave stops working, car can be lost! Make your own smart choice!

The easiest solution to most car nightmares is to not freaking drive that money leach especially if it is ruining your life! Get a bicycle and find someplace to live near work or school. Here is a real life story.

We once met a 19 year old who managed to get his very own 454 road monster truck. As with all big trucks, it was quite the gas guzzler. Being a teenager, insurance to drive the truck was expensive. However, all was good. Visions of being at the top of the dating heap, not having to be reliant on folks to go out of the way to pick him up, and going mudding on the weekends filled him with satisfaction. After all, a man needs the utility of a truck. Going into college with his own vehicle would be a huge advantage and must be maintained at all costs!

That is when things started to go wrong. First, he felt obligated or pressured to give rides to all his friends and family members regardless of being tired or busy. In driving so much, and being an inexperienced driver, he ended up getting a speeding ticket and a wreck in short time. No longer accepted by legitimate insurance companies, he was forced to go to shady, high risk companies or be harassed by cops or have his prize taken away!

His second mistake was following by trusted advice that was not really good for him. His father, being a stern believer in privacy and work ethic, charged him $200 a month rent and made a house rule forcing him to work 30 hours a week during college. He was very controlled by his parents and their outlook. The parents even had actually denied him the student loans and grants he was eligible! They refused to turn over their tax records to the student aid office. They felt it infringed on their financial privacy.

He ended up throwing away around $1100 every month just to drive. Needless to say, the burden of having to come up with $200 a month rent, extortion level car insurance and note, and low pay forced him to have to drop out of school and give up any dreams. He could not imagine dropping his rust bomb scares-dates-away gas hog for cycling for two hours a day nor even consider a thriftier small car or motorcycle. He felt he had no choice but to go full time minimum wage labor with no advancement opportunity just so he could continue to drive to work.

There are many lessons in this story, but the three biggest are ditch the car (or any other debt) if it becomes an anchor dragging you down. Second, is to move somewhere where you can live a sustainable life, preferably away parents who may mean well but just not get it. Third, is to be smart and do research.

The last we ever heard of this scholar turned car slave he was about 24, had never returned to university, was single, still living with his parents, still driving to his minimum wage job, and getting a discount on his bedroom rent for attending church.

Walkable and Bikeable Cities

Of course, we know cycling in Butte, Montana or Shreveport, LA probably is not going to work since many of those cities are all interstate travel except for very small downtown ares. However, it is possible to move to a larger city that is very walkable and ridable. You will probably be happier and since riding is more socially accepted due to the extreme expense of parking vehicles, your social life will improve, too.

Cities like New Orleans, LA , Portland, OR , Atlanta, GA , and New York all have world class public transportation, avid biking scenes, and what ever subculture you want to get involved in. Do not be afraid to move to escape car slavery! After getting over the initial relocation shock, you will thank yourself and wonder why you did not do this sooner. Check out our Liberate section and popular city forums online for really good information.

Get a Motorcycle Instead

If Cycling just is not an option, a car is not the only way to go. Motorcycles can be a much lower impact way to commute and travel solo or in pairs than a car. Some bikes can get from 70 miles to the gallon to more than 120 when run right. Look for a street legal dirt bike type and put road tires and required lights on it. For even big guys more than 200cc is not needed as long as you plan to cruise at around 55mph. The bigger bikes can easily do highway speeds, but a modern sportbike is so powerful that it can be seriously dangerous for a less experienced rider. These motorcycles are capable of out-accelerating $250,000 exotic cars, and will do wheelies if you so much as breathe too heavily on the throttle.

Therefore, for both utility and safety, nothing above a 400 or 500CC is really necessary. Older bikes are cheaper and less powerful, but also less reliable and less efficient.

Scooters are an alright idea, but their lack of speed and range means they are limited to trips a good bicycle can do. Many scooters are also not legal for highway driving if you live in a rural city that you have to use the highway to get anywhere. Scooters tend to be a big city sort of deal.

Motorcycles are not called a "donor-cycles" by medical staff without a reason! Cars sometimes will not notice you and can expect you to get out of the way. You have little protection in an accident. Always wear protective boots, pants, jacket, gloves, and especially a helmet so you can stay in the fight.

Pay particular attention to the condition of your chain, it needs the correct type of lubricant and to be adjusted occasionally. You must keep very close watch on the condition of your tires, a blowout could be deadly at 75 mph.

Some might forget that a motorcycle (especially an air cooled model - the kind with heat fins on the motor) still needs the oil and fluids changed regularly just like a car. Heat and high RPM's really burn up the oil and can cause a seize up when you can least afford a new motor.

In general, a motorcycle will be less reliable and require more maintenance than a car, but it makes up for it by being cheaper to buy and very simple to fix. If you are experienced at motorcycling and need to pack more gear look into a small trailer, this really affects handling and mileage so use it intelligently. Patching a tire on most motorcycles is very similar to fixing a bicycle tire, carry a patch kit and pump in addition to some simple tools.

Save Gas

Once you've filled up your gas tank, there are several ways to go further on that gas. This is both good for you and bad for the gas corps because you'll spend less money, and burning less gas is good for the environment too!

• Slow down! Vehicles are most efficient in the lowest RPMs in the highest gear - for most, this means between 45 and 55 mph on open highway. Even if going faster would allow you a higher gear and lower RPMs, aerodynamic drag hits harder the faster you go. You'll save a significant amount of fuel just slowing down to 70 on the highway, as opposed to 80.

• Clean out everything you don't need. The more weight you're carrying around, the more your car has to work and the more gas you use especially in hilly areas.

• Don't tailgate or draft. First of all, tailgating is illegal (you don't want to get pulled over) and dangerous. Secondly, it causes you to brake every time the car you're following brakes. In a perfect world tailgating trucks might work to save fuel but to get a noticeable effect you would nearly have to be touching bumpers.

• Keep your car properly maintained. Specifically, keep your tires inflated and keep your air filter clean. Together these can save you 15% or more on mileage. Keeping your tires properly inflated also reduces wear.

• Check out your check engine light. You can do this for free most anywhere - borrow an OBD scanner from a friend or see if a local mechanic/oil change place/car parts store will let your borrow one for 5 minutes. Your check engine light could be on for any number of stupid reasons - your gas cap is too loose, your engine got wet - or it could be something like your spark plugs that will affect your gas mileage.

• Drive softly. Fast starts take more gas. Also, as soon as you see a red light or stop sign that you will need to stop for, take your foot off the accelerator and coast.

• Limit your use of air conditioning around town since AC uses a LOT of gas. Try to save it for freeway driving, since wind resistance from open windows causes greater drag and effects your mileage more than the AC.

• Plan your route to use the freeway, drive during light traffic times, as opposed to traffic jams, where you can drive a steady, fuel efficient, thrifty speed.

• Drive to a parking lot close to the freeway and use a bicycle for the rest of your in town movement. A bicycle on a rack or folding bicycle in your trunk should do it. The bike can also save you in a breakdown (see Cycling ).

• Excessive external cargo even bicycles on racks increase your aerodynamic drag especially when moving at highway speeds, if you have to transport your stuff try to disassemble it and somehow cram it into your vehicle(if you remove the rear wheel of your bicycle to stow it also disconnect the rear derailleur to prevent it from getting bent or snapped off).

• Make ethanol or biodiesel or join a co-op if it saves you gas money.

• Park and ride mass transit.

These are the simple steps anyone can take. There are also methods of driving that can get you 40, 50, or even 90 miles to the gallon, but these can be dangerous and are not for the faint of heart. For more information, see: http://www.hypermiling.com/ .

Some people even mod their cars to make them more aerodynamic: See: http://forum.ecomodder.com/showthread.php?t=290

Steal Gas

As Abbie suggested in his original writings, you can oftentimes run your car at the expense of the rich! While siphoning gas has it's advantages, it's certainly not a proper sustainable supply. If you can find a private pump (check the area on foot, they aren't that rare) find out when the building is unoccupied, pull up and fill up your tank. Congratulations, some corporation just payed for your gas. (think, if they can afford a private pump...)

Be wary of cameras, and note than when they realize half their gas is gone, they'll start investigating.

During Hurricane Katrina, some hapless folks who were stuck in the city with an empty gas tank but had access to some tools siphoned gas from abandoned vehicles. Now some might say that you could just stick a garden hose down in the tank and suck with your mouth. However, this could make you very sick and it will take forever to get a decent amount of gas. Better is to have a cordless drill, a drill pump (available in most well stocked hardware stores), a container, some adapters and clamps, and two lengths of stiff hose. Set this up by sticking one end in the tank and the other hose in the readied container. The only thing that can possibly stop you are locked gas caps. Do not do this with junkyard cars that may have sat up for years, as tempting as that might be. Fuel degrades after time if it sits and may have lots of water, oil, or nasty gunk that will tear up your fuel system.

The best cars for this attack are older American models, most other cars have a strainer or baffles to prevent siphoning. If you have a diesel car the job can be much easier a gravity siphon using a length of hose nearly submerged into a trucks diesel tank, capped with your thumb, and then extended down to your car or truck, remove your thumb and hopefully a stream of fuel will gravity begin to feed into your tank, sometimes a removable strainer has to be pulled out of the source vehicle.

Buying

Something worth considering is buying a salvage/rebuilt vehicle. While most people have been brainwashed into thinking that rebuilt vehicles are junk, they can save you a good deal of money. Often times insurance companies will write off a vehicle involved in a low-speed crash with deployed airbags. While the first owner is left with a small check and no car, you could potentially buy a car for as little as half its blue book value.

In general a Japanese car from the 1980's, if in good condition, will get better mileage than something more recent, sometimes 50% or more. Cars like the Geo Metro and Ford Festiva can actually match modern hybrids for fuel economy, and are much cheaper to buy and own. However, these tiny cars have limited space, so carrying passengers and cargo can be tricky. Their small engines will slow you down when hauling anything heavy, especially when driving uphill. They're also very unsafe in an accident, so you need to weigh that in your purchasing decision. A good trick which can save you a lot of money is to buy "captive imports" or cars built elsewhere and rebadged as a domestic brand. The Chevrolet/Geo Prizm, for example, is identical in every way to a Toyota Corolla, but has much more depreciation, making used models cheaper to buy.

Don't be afraid of American cars, either. They earned a bad reputation in the 70s, but the newer models are much more reliable, and have the virtues of lower prices, cheaper, more common parts and usually easier repairs. Not only that, but every time you buy a UAW made American car, you're helping stick it to the union busters in Washington. American cars can be hit or miss, but in general, any car made by GM (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick) with the 3.8L (Or 3800, in GM nomenclature) is a good bet, as are Ford Panther bodies (Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car) along with the Ford Focus and Ford Escort.

From a practicality standpoint, the ideal car is a station wagon. They might not be cool, but they have large cargo capacities, yet they still drive and handle like a car, without too much penalty on mileage or performance. The old Volvo wagons have massive cargo areas, and more space inside than most SUVs. You might not need the utility every day, but when you do, you'll be glad you got a wagon. For those of us in colder climates, the Subaru wagon is an excellent choice, although they don't quite have as much space as a Volvo, they make up for it in all-weather capabilities.

Trucks are great if you must do lots of hauling or move a lot. You can also hustle with a truck quite easily. Everybody needs a friend with a truck at some point. However, trucks tend to hold their value much longer making them more expensive than cars of the same age range. Some trucks also eat quite a bit of gas with the exception of some of the lighter ones.

Ask at several car repair shops before picking a used car. See what they suggest for specific years, since some may have upgrades that were left out of older models. If the owner won't let you take the car to a mechanic for a checkup or even have an on-site mechanic/inspector check it out, be suspicious and look elsewhere. The money spent on a pre-buy inspection is well worth its price.

Whatever you do, don't get caught up in the financing trap. Dealerships always want to finance, as they make a significant profit from doing it, and it greatly inflates the price of the car. The worst ones are the smaller "You work, You ride" places that can charge as much interest as a bad credit card and have repo crews coming if you are a day late! Buy something you can afford with cash. Not only do you save on financing, but the car cannot be taken away if you fall on hard times.

Car Co-op

A car co-op, which is available in many US cities, lets you pay a membership fee monthly for the option of reserving a company owned car at an hourly rate, most plans include several free hours and the rate is often cheaper than regular renting. Most of us don't need a car that often unless we use it as our home. This idea could be done on a small scale by pooling several junkers and letting friends sign up to use them everyone would pre-pay monthly maintenance and fuel bills.

http://www.zipcar.com/ Zipcar is one such car co-op service. You usually have to be at least 21 and possess a valid driver's license to sign up for their service. It'll cost you about $75 to sign up for their service, plus hourly fees for the vehicle, but gas and insurance is included in those fees. Could be a good deal if you only need a car once in awhile. A hint for saving money with zipcar is reserve for after 11pm or 12am to get 1/2 price rates.

http://www.citycarshare.org CityCarShare is a cheaper alternative for the San Francisco Bay Area.

http://www.carsharing.net/where.html Carsharing.net Has an extensive list of most co-ops.

Basic Maintenance and Emergencies

The reality is, many of us are forced to drive cars or trucks with less-than-perfect equipment. In many states the corpgov welfare for corporations solution to this is regular inspections. They want to make sure that what you're driving is safe for you. This means, for instance, that the blinker that 90% of drivers hardly use in the first place (and are rarely ticketed for) need to work. Thats a minor issue, but older cars also have problems with door locks, hinges, a broken mirror, etc., and these can be expensive to repair, especially on someone else's schedule.

Starting and Trouble Gear

Everyone that has a vehicle needs these things eventually. Make it a point to get these items sooner rather than later.

• Jumper Cables. If you accidentally leave on your lights or have an alternator going bad, you will wish you had this. Most folks never carry this around, either. Be the prepared person that has a pair. Not only will it save you an expensive call to roadside assistance, it can help others in a bind, too.

How to Use Jumper Cables

• Keep the car with the fresh battery running. First, -Connect the red cable to the positive terminals.

• Hook the black cable from the running car's negative terminal to an exposed piece of bare metal on the "dead" car (for a ground) or the negative pole of the battery.

• If you see a spark when you attach the second cable to the "dead" car, you've got a complete circuit.

• Stand back when starting just in case the dead battery blows its vent caps (Very rare, but it happens).

• If you find yourself with only one jumper cable and both cars have bare metal bumpers, connect the positive terminals, then slowly roll the cars together so the metal on the bumpers touch.

• If you get really big sparks as you connect check that your polarity is correct ( + to + and to ) or you could damage both electrical systems.

Rolling Start with Manual Transmission

Cars with standard/manual transmissions (that is, cars with a stick shift) can generate a small amount of electricity by performing a "push start" or "rolling start", as long as the battery is not completely dead (check the owner's manual).

You'll need a lot of help from friends to push the car or be lucky enough to have the car atop a steep hill.

Put the key into the "On" position, push down the clutch and put the car in 2nd or 3rd gear, NOT 1st! Then get your friends together and push the car forward. When the car is rolling fast enough (between 5 to 25 MPH), release the clutch and tap the gas pedal. The car should start.

• Car Charger. This is bit more expensive, but can be useful. A wall socket powered car battery charger and extension cord are also a good idea, and many good battery chargers now even have a jump-start option.

• Rural Gear. A shovel and some sand bags might get you unstuck in muck or snow in rural areas. A come-along (hand powered ratchet winch) and tow chain can help get you back onto the road. Snow chains also work in the mud for amazing traction.

• Extra Key. Stash a key somewhere under the vehicle, some wire and tape should do the trick, maybe have a second key hidden under the sole of your shoe. If you're a member of AAA, go to your local office and get a "credit card key". This is a small plastic gizmo that has the dimensions of your key in a credit card shape. However, if you have a sophisticated security system on the car, you may be out of luck. Locksmiths are very expensive costing anywhere from 100 USD to 500 USD depending on type of key they need. Breaking a window is not any cheaper, either, and can attract police oppression.

• Carry an EMPTY fuel container with a good spout empty in your vehicle. Kept full it will go bad after a few months of summer heat and is a huge fire and stink-up-the-car hazard. If you run out of fuel, walk or bike to a gas station. When you get back pour the whole container into your tank and wash out with soap and hot water ASAP, allow to dry completely before closing. FYI only buy a fuel container marked "DOT Approved" otherwise the gas jockeys can get in trouble for filling your container.

• Small Toolbox. Even if you are not interested in being a mechanic, carrying basic screwdrivers, wrenches, socket sets, pliers, and a rag can be useful. This is especially true when dealing with older vehicles. This can help with things like loose battery terminals, venting hot radiator caps, and replacing burnt lights.

• Jack, Tire Tools, and Spare Tire. If you are missing this, you will regret it! Jacks can be picked up in junkyards or any place that sells auto stuff. Used tires can picked up at used tire places if cash is an issue to get you by. Don't assume you car includes a spare especially if used, take the time to figure out how to get at the spare and make sure it is up to its rated pressure, sometimes they are in a tricky place underneath and require a special tool to remove, try taking the spare off and replacing it. If you have to use the spare be sure to repair the tire quickly and then replace the spare. Most cars these days only have temporary (doughnut) spares, which are only good enough to let you limp to the nearest tire shop. If you have the cash and space in the car, it's never a bad idea to go get a fullsize spare. Just find the same model (or even the same make, depending on the car) of car in the junkyard and pull the wheel off it, then get it fitted with a cheap tire, as the junkyard one will almost certainly be shot.

Tires

It goes without saying; Keep your tires properly inflated! Soft tires waste gas, and over-inflated tires wear out quicker. If you see uneven wear, you need wheel alignment. This can be done at a repair garage or tire shop (and they'll try to sell you a new set). Remember to rotate your tires every 3,000 miles to ensure even tire wear.

If you need tires, ask at an independent tire shop if they can sell you used tires. Some places that specialize in custom wheels will keep the stock tires and wheels that new car buyers bring in. Savvy car enthusiasts will order a high-performance car with all the trimmings, but have stock tires, since the dealer mark-up is so high. Then they'll drive from the dealer to the tire shop and swap the stock tires and wheels for a custom selection that's much cheaper than at the car dealership. Those stock tires are often kept by the tire dealer, but can't be sold as "new" even though they may have been driven as little as a few blocks. Many times, these tires are sold "as is" (no warranty, no returns), but the dealer may throw in free wheel balancing in the purchase.

For people in mild climates, any tire will do (However, you should still stay away from the third world made ones, due to exploitative labor), but for our comrades in colder climates, it's imperative that you get a good tire which can handle winter conditions. Snow tires are the best, however, you can't run them for long on dry pavement without burning away all the soft rubber, so you need another set of summer/spring tires. If you can't afford snows a good all season can work if you drive sensibly. Do some research and remember that those few extra bucks can be the difference between a horrific wreck and safe driving.

A word of warning about those anti-flat solutions like "Slime": They only work when the wheel is in motion. When stopped, the stuff settles in the bottom of the tire. Also, when it's in the tire, it makes it impossible to have it balanced or plugged/patched.

A trick used by 4x4 racers is to find a puncture by sound or using dilute dish soap and looking for bubbles, mark the leak so you can find it again with a white crayon, now unmount and jump on the deflated tire near the bead(seal) until it opens so the inside can be accessed, only open one side if possible. A inexpensive tire plug tool, contact cement and rubber plug is enough for most tire repairs. To reset the tire bead the valve stem core is removed to vent the excess pressure (there are many after market tire valve caps that have the little tool built in) some ether starting fluid is sprayed into the tire (DANGER) and a match is thrown in. The small explosion pops the tire up and the bead back into place about half the time so give it a few tries, then replace the valve core and inflate to proper pressure. Another trick is to wet the bead (make sure it stays clean) and using a rope around the tread of the tire for tension, begin pumping, if you cinch the rope tight and use water and a little soap for lube and seal this sometimes gets a good enough seal to pop the tire back into the wheel. If the bead on only one side is open flip the tire over so its weight will push against the open seal and try pumping it to pop the bead back in.

Free tires aren't very hard to find. They can be found at soccer fields, tracks, or other community and high school fields for sports. Just drop by at night to avoid hassle and take a few. Considering the work required to mount them a very close inspection is suggested.

Glass

It should be obvious that you need to keep the windows, especially the windshield, as clean as you can. Check your windshield wipers. If they streak, replace them. When it is raining, you NEED to see where you're going. Polishes like Rain-X will cause the rain water to drift off the windshield, but only when the vehicle is in motion (It uses the wind to brush the water away). Small dings and cracks may be fixed with glass repair kits available at better auto parts stores, or if your insurance covers it, you can have them done by an auto glass service. If there is a crack or fissure that radiates from a repair after you've fixed it, you may be SOL and need to have the windshield replaced. Depending on the model of car it is possible to replace the windshield if you exercise care and the frame is not bent too badly.

If you live in a cold climate, get real windshield wiper fluid that is formulated for the cold. The last thing you want is water you poured into the washer reservoir in June freezing on your windshield when you're driving in December or just freezing in the pump and cracking it.

Check your Fluids

The places to check your fluids can be located in the manual of your car, asking a knowledgeable friend or auto parts worker, or online. Checking your fluids can save you from expensive repairs! Basic fluid changes are an important maintenance job, and are very easy to do yourself. You'll also save money over the lube shops.

• Oil. Not having enough oil can seriously mess up your engine! While checking this, always notice the color. Check your owners manual for recommended oil weights, get a good drain pan, and go to town. Store brand oils are just re-bottled versions of the big names for a lot less. NAPA oil, for example, is Valvoline, and Exxon Superflo is Mobil. If you live in a colder climate, you should run a slightly lighter weight oil for better cold weather protection and easier starts. In terms of filters, stay away from the super cheap Frams, they have cardboard endcaps which can dissolve in hot oil, meaning bad news for your motor. WIX makes a decent filter for cheap, and again, store brands are just the big guys in a different box. Lots of people obsess over oil, but the fact is, a good filter and regular changes are all you need.

• Antifreeze. Not having water and antifreeze in your radiator can seriously mess up your engine! Use the recommended ratio. You may get by with mostly water to get by on the cheap if temperatures are not extreme. Put more antifreeze in before really cold or really hot weather comes, though. If you run straight water without antifreeze and it gets cold enough to freeze the water inside it will force out the engine freeze plugs or crack the engine block, freeze plugs on some cars require disassembly and removal of the engine to replace.

• Brake Fluid. This is self explanatory. If this gets low, you could have a brake failure.

• Transmission Fluid. If it helps save money in a pinch, most brake fluid and transmission fluid are nearly the same thing but look up the fluid your car uses first. Also, just because you have a manual transmission does not necessarily mean you do not have transmission fluid. Some standards have a fluid clutch cylinder to assist with shifting.

Advanced Repairs and Tips

Haynes and Chilton publish a wide line of owner-friendly repair manuals available at both book stores and auto parts stores. These books vary in quality. Oftentimes they cover too many models and can be somewhat vague, but they are usually workable. However, you can get the factory service manuals for most cars free online in PDF format with a little googling, and these are always preferred, as they are incredibly detailed and specific.

If your headlights start to dim as you are driving this is usually caused by a dead or dying alternator. On older model cars these are easy to replace yourself most of the time. Don't stop the car as it will likely die. Your spark and fuel injection are running only on battery. Only think about killing the headlights.

If your car sputters after holding the gas down for a few seconds when passing it might be a clogged or old fuel filter. These can be super easy to replace inline filters or almost impossible to replace inside the fuel tank units.

Letting your battery die over 4-5 times will seriously weaken or destroy a car battery.

If the car overheats try changing or topping off the radiator, as it might be clogged with calcium or rust, try a flush or radiator cleaner compound from an auto parts shop. It could also be that the oil is low or the oil filter is clogged increasing the heat and wear. The radiator is easily damaged, note the location of leaks when the engine is hot. When you are in a safe place and the engine is cool you can try first adding a radiator stop leak, if this fails find the damaged tubes and brush clean then solder. if this fails bend the tubes over and add stop leak again hopefully plugging them for good. Keep several gallons of water in your trunk to refill the radiator if there is a boil over. If you use those tough bottles that antifreeze comes in to store water, NEVER DRINK IT! The coolant residue is toxic so carry extra drinking water in a separate container.

If you notice your car overheating and the oil and radiator fluid is a milky color and consistency, you have a busted head gasket! Stop driving the car now or you may have to scrap the car or buy a new engine!

If you see a car similar to yours at a junkyard or rusting away see if they will sell/give you the plates. At a U-pull-it junkyard buy a car seat or something like that and stuff the plates under the vinyl or at the bottom of a box of parts under a cardboard flap. These can be very handy in radical action. You would be surprised how many cases are solved by seeing a license plate on security cameras. Many highways have license plate scanners for tolling trucks but they likely also record passing cars.

If you intend to do even the most basic repairs, you'll need tools. Not only are the cheap Chinese made tools of poor quality, but they're also produced by exploited workers in terrible conditions. New tools made in the US/Europe can be very expensive, so your best bet is to hit up pawn shops and garage sales. You'll want a complete ratchet set with 1/4, 3/8th and maybe 1/2 inch ratchets, a full set of sockets both metric and SAE (If you can't afford both, just get whatever your car is), a good set of box end wrenches, screwdrivers, allen keys (Or star/torx, depending on your car), a torque wrench and a good set of locking pliers (Vice Grips are now made in China, so get Craftsman if new) Craftsman is a good brand, especially if buying used, as any broken tools can be returned to the local sears and will be replaced for free. Their quality has slipped, but the convenience and price still makes it the best choice for amateur mechanics. Snap-On, Klein, Matco, Mac, SK, Proto, Stanley and any other US made tool will be fine and carries the same warranty, although the price is higher and distributors are more difficult to find. Be sure to get a set of jack stands so you can work safely. These can be made, if you have welding skills, but don't try to rig something up, unless you fancy 2 tons of steel falling on you. Ramps can be used for oil changes, but they're not much good for anything else.

Storage

With the price of fuel ever increasing it will become more useful to know how to maintain a rarely driven petro-hog for when you might need it. Even if you dedicate yourself to cycling be sure to run the vehicle for about ten minutes every other week, you might as well use this to hit the grocery store for a big shop, highway miles are the best way to achieve this. If you can't do the regular drives you need to start thinking about adding gas stabilizers like Stabil to your fuel. For very long storage you will need to drain and clean the fuel system to prevent varnish deposits from evaporated and decomposed fuel. Remember that tires, hoses and belts all get old whether you use them or not. For a seldom used car, Seafoam is your best friend. It can stabilize fuel, clean out fuel systems and the built up gunk in a motor and create one hell of a smoke show. It's pretty expensive, but a can is good for about 3 uses. It's also a very good cleaner.

Road Trips

Cycling , Trains , Buses , or Hitchhiking or a combination are cheaper greener alternatives to long road trips in a car. If time is not an issue, all of these options are still less wallet damage than flying and dealing with the TSA goons.cost effective it is to fly. (Although the further the trip, a airline ticket may be only 40 USD to 100 USD more depending on season. A good deal, if you account for food costs en-route over a many day journey) Unfortunately, sometimes the destination is just not accessible any other way, you need to haul too much freight, or the departure and arrival times are not compatible with your schedule. One way to save is to load up with riders willing to split the fuel cost, carpooling can even end up cheaper than bus or passenger train tickets. Follow the our advice on saving fuel and carry the proper equipment and spares.

While keeping a maintained car is important, it becomes vital if you are heading to a place far away from help and support networks.

Roadtrip Checklist

• Have jumper cables and emergency water for radiator boil-overs. This can be real problem in hot summer, mountain driving, and traffic standstills. Make sure you have all emergency gear including jacks, tire tools, gas can, etc.

• Brake pads should be checked especially if you are planning mountain travel.

• Check lug nuts, tire pressures and tread wear before leaving including the spare tire! A pump manual or electric for the tires is not a bad idea. Inspect and test your jack, lug nut tool, and inflated spare tire.

• Your belts and hoses should be in good condition. If not, replace them or carry the spares and tools required to install them properly. Do not forget a work light if you go that way.

• Try to repair or get a different vehicle if you hear mechanical knocking noises from the motor or slippage in both automatic or manual transmissions.

• Verify all fluid levels oil, radiator, transmission, brake, steering, battery if you have an unsealed battery, and window washer fluid. If you have an oil burner engine buy enough oil for the duration of your trip and be sure to check the levels every time you stop.

• Verify that your lights are all intact and working. Make sure car tags, inspection stickers, etc. are up to date to avoid police oppression in a strange area! Keep your driving license, vehicle title, and insurance information all handy.

The cops know about radar scanners and plan their traps accordingly, a detector can help sometimes, but if the cops notice it you might get a bigger ticket. In some states, radar detectors are illegal and the squad cars have equipment to detect the detectors.

You can probably obtain all the food you need using your freegan skills but a 5kg sack of rice, a camp stove, and a few soft drink bottles of drinking water will cover you if the dumpster diving is no good. If you feel safe always try to help out hitchhikers. It can be fun to make a good travel music mix and have a way to play it through the car stereo, this is really nice if you will travel through areas without good radio coverage. Do not assume that your mobile phone will work in rural areas, especially in remote mountain areas. If convoying with other vehicles have a means of radio communication so you do not waste phone minutes. Plan to stop during the night, in most cases that is safer and more comfortable for everyone, just plan your departure to give you plenty of time to drive during the day and early evening, leave time to set up camp or other sleeping arrangements.

Stealth camping in your car is possible in many rural areas, just park on the side of a logging road or pull into a farm field driveway, many states have highway rest areas for drivers to take a nap. Car dwelling is covered in detail a bit later.

Ration your cash if you are traveling on limited funds. Split your trip money into a going and coming envelope. If you spend all of the cash in the first envelope you know it is probably time to go home.

Save alcohol and other stuff for the destination or home. Even if you stay legal traveling with a hangover or punchy is a drag.

Car Dwelling

Many people when they loose their job or apartment naturally move into the only shelter left, their vehicle. Unless you have an RV and a safe lot to park try to keep your car stay as short as possible due to the harassment and discomfort, use this time to find a new place or plan a move to somewhere where you can set up a safe residence. How well this will work depends most on how comfortable and secure the vehicle is and if you can safely park and maintain your vehicle. This lifestyle is for nearly all who live it far less than ideal since it is difficult to store and secure more than a small amount of your worldly possessions, not to mention it it just is not comfortable sleeping through a winter rainstorm inside a two seater soft top with seats that don't recline. Or worse, sweating ass off in a humid, hot climate.

Parking Tips

Where to put your car without it being towed or having to live in your car being discovered can be a huge pain. Here are some spots and tips that could be considered.

• Many retirees pull what is called the "Camp WalMart" trick with their monster homes with wheels. They "park" overnight in the parking lot and save the overnight fee spent at RV parks. Some mart stores even encourage this since it often discourages theft or vandalism of parked cars. If you try this with a camper or van, make certain this is legal, since some cities have passed laws against "overnight parking" and you'll be stuck with a parking ticket or midnight eviction.

• If you see signs reading "No Overnight Parking" or "No Camping" either in the lot or at the entrance, they probably mean it. Watch out for the Rent-A-Cop in the "Security Patrol" vehicle made to look like a police car or the golf cart with a yellow flashing light.

• Church parking lots are often unused except on Sundays and sometimes a few regular evenings a week. To avoid the early Sunday morning problem also look for a Jewish temple or a Seventh Day Adventist church, since both meet on Saturday mornings. Avoid parking where the clergy housing is on site. It might also be useful to ask, especially at religious institutions, for the owners to show pity and let you occupy an open parking spot if you promise to be good and not trash the area. Act shocked when they say no.

• In non-residential parking lots park as far out of the range of vision to the entrance as possible, working slaves tend to ignore stuff as they enter and exit work. Try to avoid places with security booths or patrols outside.

• Apartment complexes, the larger the better are great for camping with your car cover on, you can either use a spot assigned to a friend without a car or find a place with unassigned spaces, park late leave early and only use this for sleeping. As best as possible keep the car stationary once parked, meaning dig in your pack or wiggle around somewhere else before you stop and park for the night or day sleep cycle.

• When you wake it is difficult to avoid a car wiggle or two, immediately get to the drivers seat and drive away. Always sleep in acceptable but loose street clothes, shorts and a t-shirt or sweats, have your shoes or sandals handy even if you are wearing slippers.

• National and State parks:

In the western US mostly in rural areas there are large tracts of BLM, National Grassland, and National Forest, most of which are free to camp for up to two weeks, although some areas require buying a special use permit now. If you choose a park at either national, provincial, or state expect to be visited by a ranger in the morning asking for the camp fee, some lock the gate at night too. Campgrounds are either private or public and rarely free; they range from a primitive fire pit and outhouse to full water and electrical connections, flush toilets, hot showers, sometimes even a general store, and Wi-Fi Internet, typically you get what you pay for. It is worth looking into on site management, It is usually an easy job and you get a place to stay for the contract period and a paycheck.

• The Empire maintains many rest stops for sleepy truck drivers and long distance travelers. Some have restrooms and showers. This could be an option if you have an out of state tag. However, the rest areas are vigilantly watched by state pigs looking to bust people up. Most rest areas are out in the middle of nowhere. It can take quite a bit of gas money and time to drive to or from. Sadly, with many states facing budget cuts, a number of these rest stops are being shut down.

Car Cover

You can park overnight in many whitebread communities at the curb if you cover your junker car with a nice clean car cover, this works best in areas where car covers are more common. You might even be able to stay in one place between the huge lot lines for several nights before any homeowner notices. With the car cover on the rent-a-thug/ethnic cleanser has no idea you are camping out in a rust bucket or which McMansion you (don't) belong to.

When you get your cover walk right out to your car open the package and try it on. You need to be able to open a door (front and back door if possible) and enter with the cover on. If this doesn't work, walk back and return it for a cover that will work. A clean car cover or window tinting should be near the top of your eviction shopping list if you plan to keep your car.

Your car cover can:

• Hide the exact make and model as well as the plate numbers of your vehicle, you may want to stencil your number or another plate number onto the cover to fool lazy cops

• Keep your vehicle warmer by reducing drafts especially in older vehicles with rotten door seals

• Reduce or eliminate leaks during wet weather especially with waterproof covers

• Hide the tell-tale window condensation that gives away a camped-out car

• Hides the campout gear in your vehicle from thieves and cops especially if you go out and leave it parked

• Some colored or silvered car covers will help hide the glow from small lights or computer use, parking under a street light also washes out the light from inside your car.

Do not run your vehicle while the cover is on as it might trap deadly carbon monoxide from the exhaust.

Car

We have known car campers who install a black removable bar and curtain between front and back seats, tint the windows of the back seat and use a sun shield at night to block the front and rear window, nobody can see the sleeper in back even if you are not using a cover and it is difficult to see the interior divider curtain. Even a cheap stick-on tint is better than nothing, if applying a sticky film tint clean the interior windows spotless with Windex and let dry, try to go slow and use a squeegee to keep bubbles out of your work. Find out the local laws on rear window and driver and passenger door window tinting, even if legal it might lead to harassment by suspicious cops both when parked and while driving. Towels, cardboard, or improvised curtains in the windows and most obviously fogged windows are a dead give away to cops and neighbors that you are living in your car. Moving around inside your vehicle in a way that rocks or moves on the suspension is another give away when you are inside a supposedly unoccupied parked car.

A station wagon like a Volvo or Subaru gives you room to stretch out in back, even a sedan has a big back seat to sleep on, but a compact car often gets much better mileage.

If you have some tiny car it will work for camping too; just get the car cover or some sun shades to cover your window, opening a non-leaking sunroof kept open will keep the condensation down. It is very important that if you go with a compact you find a car where the passenger side seat fully reclines into a nearly flat position and adjusts far back so you can stretch your legs. If you are short enough piling a bag or gear covered with a blanket into the footwell can make this into an almost normal cot bed. Don't sleep on the driver side except in emergencies. We know someone who killed their battery by sleeping with a foot on the brakes. It also makes for driving related nightmares having the steering wheel right there. A convertible or soft top Jeep or coup might be fun, but the leak related headaches and difficulty keeping warmth in during the winter make them a less than ideal car camping option. A vehicle with a trunk means that you have a non-visible place to stash some stuff but the lock can still be popped by a thief. Some trunks can extend into the back seat area by folding down the rear seats. This is one option for a stealthy sleeping area.

A one bonus to hybrid cars aside from urban fuel savings is the massive storage batteries which you can tap for appliances. There are kits where you can charge the batteries from free or subsidized charging stations for electric vehicles. Another kit allows you to drive all electrical for urban and short highway drives. Combined with a folder bicycle in the trunk these can really save or eliminate fuel spending.

Van

Of course better than a cover is if you just buy a van or minivan, there are plenty of old vehicles which have been cast off after years of ferrying kids to soccer or having been used by some crusty old guy living in it down by the river, an added bonus is you don't have to contort to get into the back for sleeping. Big vans can really burn fuel fast but some minivans can come close to the thriftiness of a larger car. If you can score a custom camper van all the better but if not take out the rear seats if they don't fold down and do your own modifications. Installing a table of some sort and propane equipment are among the most important modifications, VW campers even have water and drain water tanks built in, just attach a garden hose. If you are going custom wire in some power jacks in a handy place and then you can roll out a dark colored extension cord. Tint the rear windows and you will have a safer place to sleep and the cops cant easily peek in, hang a dark curtain behind the front seats or use sun shades at night for more privacy.

Truck Canopy

Owning a pickup truck is usually an investment in bad fuel mileage, although this can be offset by using it as a home and walking or cycling and only driving for long trips, moving location, or camping expeditions. Unless you need it for winter or back country travel 4x4 is often just a gas waster on the highway as are wide off-road tires although you will miss it badly when it is needed. A smaller truck with a small engine especially a diesel can save fuel if you drive right and keep your speed down but it is still not as efficient as a small car. Getting a canopy and tinting or covering the side windows makes it a great place to camp out even in town, much better than a car interior for people of average height and it often increases fuel economy. It is not unexpected to see blankets or sleeping bags in the back of a truck so you might pass a quick night time police or security check if they don't expect house-less people. Since part of detecting an unwanted vehicle is that they don't move you might try to park on a hill and every night roll down a few houses without starting the motor saving a bit of gas, but turn your wheels toward the curb so if your parking brake fails in the night the curb will stop you. Since car covers are rare for trucks you will have to keep the exterior clean and the interior of the cab neat so the cops and neighbors won't have reason to be suspicious. Since you will be sleeping in the back get a good steering wheel lock so you don't get taken for an unwanted ride during a car theft. Try to keep your worldly possessions down to a bicycle and pack and keep these with you on trips out so even if the truck is broken into they will not get your stuff, most canopies are easily broken into. Keeping your bicycle inside the canopy with you at night will not only prevent it from being stolen it will also help hide you. Always enter and exit the rear of the truck early in the morning or after everyone is in bed, during other times consider using the sliding window between the cab and canopy to enter the cab or canopy hiding your activities and making them look more natural.

Toilet

The fastest way to get in trouble when parked overnight is to urinate or defecate right next to your vehicle. When the heat of the day comes it leaves a very nasty smell both for you and the neighbours even after you leave. This creates the impression that the homeless are filthy or disgusting, and is a good way to get car camping outlawed where you are staying. Don't screw over your brothers and sisters like this! Try to park next to a sewer grate where you can dump all of your toilet waste (unless it is marked as a untreated drain to a water body) and pour out your washing water (gray water) bucket at the same time to rinse it down. If a sewer grate is not possible at least have enough water to wash away urine from the gutter. Plan ahead and use a public restroom whenever possible but keep a bucket and trash sack for dire toilet emergencies. Be careful using bleach in your pee bottle we have heard of weird toxic chemical reactions, chlorine gas, and high temperatures associated with mixing urine into a bottle containing bleach.

Interior Decorating

Face it; Cars are not designed for camping in every night, even most vans are a bit uncomfortable. You should do some work to prepare it for long term camping. Get seat covers at least for the passenger seat or rear bench that you plan to sleep on. A very smart idea is to cover the factory seat with a carpet runner or heavy plastic and then a cotton bed sheet folded over several time or blanket to keep the funk out of the seat in something you can wash and then cover and hold everything in place with a seat cover from an auto parts store. Dryer sheets under the seat (on the floor not under the seat cover) or dash can help get the stank smell out of your car, especially in summer when you would normally shower more frequently. Many cars have hooks or handles above the front doors which can be used to suspend a bar on which you can hang laundry to dry. Plan for drippage or just air out during the day. Leave the sunroof or windows open a few centimetres open to allow moisture out. This bar is also where to hang a dark privacy curtain at night between front and rear seats.

Entertainment

It may seem like a great idea, and perhaps you have both the right electrical system and isolation to pull it off by attaching a FM transmitter to your laptop and blasting it through a nice car audio system. We have even heard of DIY outdoor theater types who add a video projector. For most of us the problem of staying hidden in our quasi legal car camp-outs makes a Walkman or MP3 player with earphones the better idea both for security and for the health of your car battery. Save the stereo system for the highway. In addition, have in mind that the glow from most video screens gives you away as a WiFi squatter or urban camper watching DVD's. Car sun shades or window tint might help hide the glow.

Communications

It gets lonely sleeping in your car, some people use an open WiFi hotspot to escape to virtual worlds on the Internet, but often this is not an available option. It helps to have friends both local and far away, with the right gear you can accomplish both for free after an initial investment. In the 70's CB was the undisputed way to communicate between vehicles, this is still often the case if you don't want to pay a mobile phone bill. For most people this means finding a used CB set and magnet mounting a good antenna to the roof of their car or truck. Gutter, mirror, and bumper antenna mounts are available as are permanent drilled installations. For the price of a new CB set you could pick up a used mobile ham radio set and depending on the frequency band increase you range by as much as a few thousand miles and add many cool free capabilities such as data transfer, telephone network interface autopatches, repeater networks to extend the range of small radios, and even international VOIP bridges. The only downside to ham gear is most licensed users are pretty straight and follow the rules, so if you are running pirate on their frequencies they have a sport called "bunny hunting" where they track down illegal operators with special gear and lead the cops to the offender. If you only have FRS or a CB walkie-talkie your range is limited to a mile or two. Nice communications gear is a lure to thieves so install it in a way where you can unplug it and hide it in the trunk or take it along with you.

Safe

We have seen small heavy duty steel safes installed in vehicles, mostly intended for locking up a firearm of some sort. At first this sounds like a good idea until we realized a thief need just steal the car and take it to a place where they could use a cutter to slice the thing open.

Electrical

If you need to, you can buy 12 volt DC powered appliances (hot pots, toasters, skillets, etc.) that plug into your car cigarette lighter, a warning many large freight trucks and military vehicles use a 24 volt power system but the cigar lighter plug looks the same as a 12v system. Just be careful using them, since they can quickly drain your battery if the motor is not running, and not using these appliances properly can start a fire. DC appliances can be had at most camping supply stores, RV shops, and truck stops. DC to AC power inverters (AC is a normal home wall plug power) are also available. Just make sure you get an inverter with enough watts. If you try to power something like a laptop or heater on a cheaper low watt inverter it will blow out the fuse. If you have yet to purchase a laptop remember that many inexpensive low-power netbook designs need only 12 volts and are hence easily powered by a cheap car adapter versus a normal laptop which requires an expensive 18-20 volt auto-air adapter. We know one homeless gamer who has a low power netbook for web surfing in the car and a nice fast gaming laptop that he uses for online role playing games in a coffee shop or at school since it needs so much power.

If you're technically inclined install a battery isolator and a second deep-cycle type battery and cigarette lighter jack and run the appliances off of that. A dash board solar panel is a good idea to trickle charge your system if you spend weeks cycling and only drive for long group trips. Some are available which will back flow power into the cigarette lighter jack (Just make sure your car's electrical system works this way). Another good idea is to remove the ground wire from the battery or install a knife switch so you can totally disconnect the battery avoiding normal power drainage to the radio, alarm, and car electronics. Don't use the dome light while parked you might fall asleep and wake with a dead battery. Think about wiring the dome light into that new second battery.

If you don't have the money to install a secondary deep cycle battery, or even if you do solder four or five 3volt white LED's in series (they will look like they are in a line holding hands, be sure that the flat on each LED bulb is in the same direction) and solder both ends into an old dome light bulb base, secure with hot glue, this will make a 12v LED light bulb. The power drain will be almost unnoticeable on your power system and you can leave it on for almost as long as you want. These low power drain LED dome lights are also available from some car parts stores and catalogs.

You might wire some 110 volt power jacks into your vehicle, then you can roll out a dark colored extension cord at night to get electricity for a heater or hot plate from a friends house or behind a store, this works best if you park right in front of the plug so nobody sees your cord. Spray paint the cord a color like dark gray (think pavement camouflage) and try to get it into a crack, along a curb, or wall so it will not throw a shadow if security or the cops do a late night roll by. If you plan to hard wire a 12v to 110v or 220v inverter into your system include a switch which isolates the inverter from your high voltage system when you are running from an external power source. If you have a battery charger and secondary deep cycle system wire it into your shore power system so that you are quick charging your onboard storage battery every time you plug in.

Have either an inverter or car chargers for your laptop, MP3, phone, game system, or movie player all ready to go when you are actually running the engine driving somewhere. Alternatively if you do not drive much, have all of the chargers set up on a power strip or multi-plug extension cord, then you can stuff everything in a backpack and plug in for charging at a coffee shop or library, just keep an eye on it so it is not stolen or called in as a bomb.

Electronics especially those using higher mains voltages are sensitive to moisture, if an inverter is sitting in the footwell when a cup of soft drink spills it will almost surely be ruined, keep electronics away from places where spills might collect.

There are trucker refrigerators that use a Peltier effect to cool your food and run on 12 volts, these are only practical for on long road trips, not long term parked camping. Consider how badly you need food that requires cooling, most likely you can adjust your purchases so you eat more fresh, just cooked, small quickly consumed servings (single quart of milk) or room temp foods and still not resort to impoverishment at the hands of expensive delis and fast food places.

Cooking and Heating

Engine Block Cooking

If you're on a road trip and want a hot meal when you stop, double wrap your meal in aluminum foil and/or a doubled oven roaster sack and use wire to secure it so it is in contact with the engine block, radiator, or exhaust manifold. Be careful to not overheat and burst sealed cans on the exhaust manifold. Our best successes are stews or meals that would also cook well in a slow-cooker or crock pot. Long drives can easily dry out some leftover type foods unless you stop and check every fifteen minutes or so. Practice will teach the warmest places under the hood and how to get the best results both with cooking and warming up leftovers. Be careful not to interfere with or drip food onto belts, linkages, electrical systems, or moving parts. Several wraps of foil is the wisest insulator as it is heat and fire resistant. If using a foil pouch or roaster bag it should be only half full to allow room to expand. Automotive cornbread or other cakes and pie crusts can be prepared with many stew like mixes even if they end up weirdly shaped due to sitting on a hot engine for several hours. As a rule of thumb, think of the exhaust manifold and tubes like a bed of hot coals, but the radiator top, bottom, and hoses as something that can heat but won't burn or brown foods. The engine block rarely will actually cook your foods but should warm up leftovers. For reheating leftovers, try warming up them with your passenger side windshield defroster while on the road. If you feel hot, open a window or sunroof while your food warms. Watch for leaks as they can make your ventilation system smell funky for a long time and are hard to clean out.

The popular cookbook "Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!" by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller, goes into engine block cooking in depth Ask the librarian for help if there is not a local copy.

Tailgate Cooking

Engine top cooking is a great way to take advantage of waste engine heat on a long trip. If you are not moving it is much smarter to get out and use a camp stove or campfire and prevent massive fuel waste with the engine top cooking method or run your batteries dead using appliances powered off of the car electrical system. If you will be making a stop where you will have access to mains power run an extension cord out and plug in a rice cooker or crock pot in the footwell of the back seat, get your meal cooking for the hour or two that you are out, if you wrap the pot in a blanket it should stay warm for several hours until mealtime even once unplugged and back on the road, a belt or strap can help keep the lid on and sealed, also secure in case of an accident. You could also just bring the pot inside to cook in the kitchen. If you stop for a break and have your stove out and running already to cook lunch also boil some water to put into a large thermos so you can have tea or hot ramen later. If this hot water is not consumed by bedtime, pour it into a heavy duty leak-proof water bottle to help warm up your sleeping bag.

See also http://www.instructables.com/id/E4JKUKQOF4EP287XU5/

12 Volt Cooking

Don't try to plug your big kitchen cookers and hotplates into an automotive 12v to 120v or 240v inverter. You will either blow the breaker or pop the fuse, then no more power.

There are a number of electric cooking appliances designed for 12 volt use available at RV supply stores and truck stops. One item popular with long-haul truck drivers is the Max Burton Stove to Go (also called the "Burton Stove" or the "Little Black Lunch Box"). This is a small 12 volt slow cooker that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter. Essentially, it's a DC crock pot that is shaped like a lunch box, complete with a handle. The food is cooked in aluminum trays and oven bags (both available at truck stops). It is best used to cook your food while you're on a long drive, and much more practical to use than a ceramic crock pot in the car. There is also a cookbook for the unit; "Cookin' On the Go" by Virginia A. Harrington. Don't confuse this with the similarly named Max Burton OVEN to Go, which is little more than a toaster-oven.

(Some savvy truck drivers skip the aluminum trays and simply line the inside with aluminum foil. Also, there are knock-offs of the Burton Stove, such as the Koolatron 12V Lunchbox Stove and the RoadPro 12 Volt Portable Stove.)

Heating

Don't run your engine while parked just for the heater to keep yourself warm, this is a massive waste of fuel for the usable heat it produces in the car. Conversely it is a totally free way to warm up if you are already driving somewhere, your heater just diverts some of the waste heat headed from the engine to the radiator.

Look into getting a small portable propane catalytic heater that use either disposable canisters or a small refillable LP gas tank if you need to run it frequently while parked. Most gas heaters will get a compact car toasty warm in under five minutes even in the dead of a midwest winter and can also be used for cooking, as can a small propane camp stove. Never sleep with a gas heater running. An extension cord would let you plug into a nearby electrical outlet for heaters or hotplates. If you are worried about fire safety when you fall asleep consider a Japanese flameless catalytic pocket heater which burns Coleman fuel or lighter fluid without a flame. Other tricks are drinking hot water before bed, having a thermos of hot water should you wake up cold, a gulp of cooking oil before sleep to elevate your body temperature, or a hot water bottle on your lap, never discount the value of a good sleeping bag, large soft boot type slippers, and a wool hat and scarf.

For more ideas flip to Roadside Chow

Legal for Cars

To minimize police oppression and/or Empire theft of your car, you need these things.

• Valid Driver's License. This gotten by taking an eye exam, written road exams, and simple driving test with a pig in the car grading. It can be taken away by DUI convictions, serious traffic violations, old age/ change in health or ability, and (in some states) nonpayment of child support. Don't get conned into buying a useless "International Driver's License" which is not the least bit valid for driving. Read the entry for Identification Papers (http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Identification-Papers#International-Driving) for more information.

It is possible to drive suspended for many years. However, you run a cumulative risk of being stopped. Use caution. Most revolutionaries are busted on traffic stops. Avoid traveling on massive holidays. Use car sparingly. You risk anything from court and fine to theft for your vehicle and being caged depending on the cop and where you are. Be very careful if you live in a high crime area, as they stop folks more readily.

• Current Car Insurance Card. You need proof you paid CorpGov a bribe to drive. The newer the car and more coverage and more CorpGov detected accidents, the higher this is. Some states are even not letting you get a car tag or get your car out of impound if this is not had. Sometimes, the cop is okay if this is not had, sometimes not depending on state laws and the cop.

• Current Car Tag. Most cops can spot this for miles. It is possible to steal a tag, but if you are stopped for a traffic violation this can cause much trouble as the tag will not come up on the pig computer network under your name. No tag is worse than an expired one. The fines can be really stiff, as well. You may want to consider screwing down your plate with hex screws instead of regular flat head or phillips head screws. If you must park your car in low income and cop oppressed areas regularly. Hex screwdrivers are not as common to carry as normal screwdrivers. It can deter desperate folks from taking your tag and using it to drive without suspicion in a pinch or selling it for pocket change.

• Inspection sticker. Also called a "brake tag" in some areas, is a sticker on the driver's side windshield that verifies your vehicle is up to CorpGov approved working standards. They are color coded to year to make it easier for cops to spot expired ones. Sometimes it is possible to find mechanics to give you a sticker without a good inspection, if this concerns you. Check around.

If you have an inexpensive or beat up vehicle expect police attention! Drive the limit! Verify that your lights are all intact and working. Keep your driving license, vehicle title, and insurance information all handy. Dress straight as possible, and stay cool so you pass the attitude test.

If you ever are stopped, be compliant with the officers demands for license and papers, but do the minimum and produce your papers through a slit in your closed window. It will look suspicious and arouse the officers attention, but if there is nothing illegal in plain sight/smell/sound the pig can't really do anything. It is important to know, for example, that film containers are considered prima facia evidence of pot in most parts of the country unless there is a camera present. It is also evidence for a stop that a person of the wrong race is out of place i.e. black in a white neighborhood or old car in rich neighborhood. If the officer wants to search the vehicle politely refuse, continuing to say that you do not give permission in a normal voice. Doing this will likely result in the whole force showing up, including K-9, trying to find a legal reason to open up your car. Claim your car is your home, this will have more weight if you are driving a registered camping vehicle, this mostly affects alcohol and driving charges by removing intent to drive in a parked vehicle. The officer can ask anyone in the car (or on the street) out for a weapons search, comply and as you exit, if you are able, lock the car denying him an easy illegal search. The officer can also demand to pat the driver accessible area (if you are still in the car) for weapons.

Remember drinking or even coming home to your vehicle drunk may win you a DUI citation and a towed vehicle, the same is true for doing drugs, the law doesn't need to make sense for the pigs to easily take your mobile home and its contents away sometimes forever, dont give them an easy excuse to do so.

Never admit to any infraction, the officer will ask how fast you were going, politely respond to his question by asking how fast he thought you were going or remain silent. Lying and saying "I don't know" means he can cite you for ANY speed and you have little defense later in court when they roll the tape of your conversation, that's right in many places they tape every bust with a microphone on the cop and video from the cop car. If he returns and tries to get you to talk more or asks again to search your vehicle politely ask for your papers and whatever citation he has written, after you get your papers, ask politely if you can leave, this should be your answer to any further questions. If by force he tries to search politely continue to refuse even as he begins to break and enter do not physically restrain him or fight him, you will be charged with assault and may even be murdered right there by the pig if you do interfere. Do your best to alert passers-by in a non-aggressive voice and get contact information from witnesses for later court testimony. Carrying drugs is just asking for a search, a drug dog can usually sniff out pot easily (it is quite stinky), once the dog indicates (even a fake indication) the cop can legally open up the car without your permission, using destructive methods. The best time to refuse a search on principle is when you really have nothing to hide.

If you are being followed by a cop who wants to bust you just get off the highway or road, park in a parking lot, quickly lock the vehicle, and go shopping, when driving you will eventually break some traffic law. Once out and away from the locked car refuse all offers to search the vehicle. Driving in front of a cop is like talking to a cop there is no safe way to do it.

Candid Camera

Cameras are an ever present danger, we can easily be tracked for nearly the whole time we are on a highway or in an urban area now that there is a tight network of CCTV traffic management cameras which are nearly all connected to a computer network which reads the license plates on cars. This information is easily available to the police and is often archived in a long term computer database which can easily be searched.

If there is a plan to commit a direct action where you need temporary immunity from those ever present red light traffic and on-site security cameras (but lots of trouble if caught by real live cops but hey, you are already doing an action right) you can use this trick. Find a vehicle that is generally similar to your own especially color and model, photograph the license plate and print it on glossy paper at full size, now stick over your plate, a plastic license plate cover might help preserve your work. Of course you would want to use the plate of an enemy, or someone with a really good alibi like a police chief or something, they will hopefully get off after throwing the cops off the trail giving you some time to get away. Of course burn the fakes if you ever use this after any action, this would be a big clue for the piggies.

For revenge you can use this trick to set off red light cameras, the city will mail out tickets to your enemies, use with caution, we don't want the heat to figure this one out. This also works to discredit the traffic camera system before elections, spoof the vehicles of prominent citizens but again watch out for the real live cops or face big trouble.

The best solution is to perform a civic service for the whole community. It is known that traffic and red light cameras are money making devices, shortened yellow lights and low speeds and traps distract drivers and kill people every year. Burn the fucking things down, if there is a shortened yellow light burn it too, they will have to post a real cop to direct traffic and will loose revenue instead of killing drivers in order to pick many pockets. This is actually an effective tactic used by people in the UK http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

A Few Words About Biodiesel

Free biodiesel is an amazing deal while it lasts. As the dollar falls apart and the world oil production slides further down the supply curve prices will surge and it will become more common that factory fields that once supplied food to billions will be burned out the tailpipes of SUV's not from recycled fryer oil but grown and processed as primary fuel. Waste oil will be much more carefully guarded as the value rises, and will be changed with much less frequency. Serfs in North America will work the ethanol and oil bearing crops much as the indigenous people are forced to heavy physical labor for pittance in the Brazilian sugar cane fields to support the driving habits of the elite upper class. The truth is when you do the math it turns out you actually save more total energy blasting petro-fuels out your tailpipe than the massive amount of petro and natural gas products required to grow, process, and transport biodiesel and ethanol fuel crops in North American factory farms, at the same time there is even less inexpensive food available for the poor family to purchase.

Biodiesel fuel is not the same as straight veggie oil from behind a store. Salts, water, and solids must be removed and the thickness needs to be changed to be a full substitute for diesel fuel. Once a diesel engine is warmed up straight cleaned vegetable oil may be able to be used, a dual tank setup allowing on the fly blending would be required. Regular diesel or fully converted biodiesel must be used at startup and a few minutes before shutdown to flush the system of the thicker straight veggie oil.

The following paragraph from Wikipedia and is released under the same license as Steal-This-Wiki:

Chemically, transesterified biodiesel comprises a mix of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. The most common form uses methanol to produce methyl esters as it is the cheapest alcohol available, though ethanol can be used to produce an ethyl ester biodiesel and higher alcohols such as isopropanol and butanol have also been used. Using alcohols of higher molecular weights improves the coldflow properties of the resulting ester, at the cost of a less efficient transesterification reaction. A lipid transesterification production process is used to convert the base oil to the desired esters. Any Free fatty acids (FFAs) in the base oil are either converted to soap and removed from the process, or they are esterified (yielding more biodiesel) using an acidic catalyst. After this processing, unlike straight vegetable oil, biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to those of petroleum diesel, and can replace it in most current uses.

In other words either mix the straight (cleaned and dried) veggie oil with an alcohol thinning it or chemically convert it with a strong alkaline like lye leaving a soap byproduct. Most often methanol is a natural gas derivative.

A guide to the production of diesel can be found at:

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

Perhaps an easy way to get free veggie oil is literally from fast food joints and donut shops...no shit! Mickey D's and other places have vats of fryer oil used to drench their ultra-processed meat and potato products. After a few days, the fryer oil gets chucked. If you have a diesel car, you can use the filtered oil in the vehicle in combination or independent of diesel with a few often inexpensive modifications.

If somebody hasn't already beat you to it, you can check with restaurants/cafeterias and see about carting it away for them. Some will actually appreciate the offer, since in some areas, they have to pay to have the oil taken away. If the manager gives you a hard time or says that he sells it to an oil recycling service, don't despair. Most of these places keep the old oil outside as a fire safety issue. Find where it is and late one night grab as much fryer grease as your car can carry.

If you run your car on Biodiesel all the time, it's best to keep it to yourself. Some jurisdictions have actually been sending officers from the tax boards and fining people for using Biodiesel! Why, you ask? For evading motor fuel taxes that pay for the public roads, or operating as an "unlicensed secondary fuel distiller"! I shit you not!

Blends with regular petrol and regular diesel fuel will also work but will expose you to gas tax.

Smoke Screen

A smoke screen for a car can be made with fairly minimal knowledge of what everything is.

You'll need to drill a hole in the exhaust manifold and add a spray nozzle into it; Epoxy would break down here, remember the temperatures are pretty high, instead either weld or drill and tap. Attach steel tubing for the first 12 inches and then whatever tubing is convenient and can handle under hood temperatures. Then, add any system you can come up with for injecting castor oil. Even a few drops will do the trick so why not get a syringe-like turkey baster and fill it up. The burning castor oil should be enough to obscure a quarter mile of highway.

On older vehicles especially those with large motors you can add a blocked hose to your vacuum system, when time to escape comes unkink the hose and stick it into a bottle of GM type automatic transmission fluid. It will clean your valves and blow off your tail in one go. Again use caution this has been tested with a V8 engine on rural highways and will leave a trail blotting out the whole road for about a mile on a calm day. Best results are running high RPM's in a lower gear.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Cars 18/21

Free fuel - The wood gas generator

During and after WWII there were severe fuel shortages, especially in Europe and Asia, during this time gasifiers were commonly used to power cars and trucks. These devices allow a vehicle to be powered by almost any combustible material such as wood, hay, dry pine needles, or dried leaves. In layman's terms they half-burn the wood in a closed container with a small air intake. This incomplete burning cooks the remaining fuel and releases combustible fumes and smoke that can be used to fuel an internal combustion engine. Often a canvas gas bag is used as a smoke reservoir.

The following links describe the construction and operation of gasifiers:

• http://www.bioenergylists.org/files/Paint%20Can%20Gasifier%20Wood%20Stove.pdf

• http://www.allpowerlabs.org/gasification/gek/

• http://www.windward.org/notes/notes63/wal63_b.htm

• http://www.gengas.nu/byggbes/index.shtml

• http://www.build-a-gasifier.com/

• http://wood-gas.com/

During World War 2, a number of works on wood gas generators were published since motor fuels were being rationed for the war effort. Many of these books have lapsed into public domain. A search on http://books.google.com/ under "producer gas", "gas manufacture and works", "wood gas" or "gas generators" will give you valuable (if dated) information.

Gasifiers can be scaled for use on any sized engine, provided that appropriate measures are taken to prevent fuel jamming in the hopper (such as cutting the fuel into smaller pieces)

The drawbacks to using a gasifier are:

The gases they produce are highly toxic (a major component is carbon monoxide); a leak into the cabin can turn your car into a mobile gas chamber. For this reason you should never route pipelines through the cabin.

A vehicle using a gasifier will require more frequent servicing than usual, due to a tendency for carbon buildup in the cylinders. Preheating the combustion air to the gasifier seems to reduce the amount of carbon buildup, in addition to making the entire device more fuel-efficient.

Having a giant can hanging off the side of your vehicle is going to attract a lot of unwanted attention from police, and transport department / DMV type people. Pickup trucks and vans have the advantage of being able to site the gasifier in the tray or back of the van (with appropriate isolation from the cabin) respectively, making it look like a piece of equipment being transported (Example: You could disguise it as a hot water heater). Another consideration is to construct the generator on a small trailer and tow it behind your car. The trailer could be disguised any number of ways.

One of our writers had the opportunity to ride in a wood smoke powered VW bug, it worked well around the farm but would really bog down on hills once the gas reservoir was empty since it had a undersized experimental gasifier. The point is that even if petroleum or alternative fuel is unavailable to you for whatever reason this is a way to get a vehicle working even if it is not moving at 85 mph for ten hours non stop with a substance available almost everywhere.

Steam Powered Cars

Here's an old technology that could with some work by a few gearheads be resurrected to be a viable non Corp-Gov mode of transportation. Until the late 1920's and early 1930's many cars were powered by steam engines which have over a 300 year history as a workable technology. Many of the cars of the 1910's and 1920's were steam powered with water being used to make the steam and kerosene being used to fire the boilers to convert the water to steam. Some of the most famous were the Stanley, White, and Doble motor cars. Some of the Stanleys are still on the road today and about 11,000 were built between 1900 and 1927 when the company went out of business. Rumor has it that Jay Leno of Tonight Show fame has 5 of these in working order. Also the Stanley steam motor car set a world speed record of 127 mph in 1906 at Ormond Beach, FL. Looking at it from the fact that anything that can burn could be used as fuel to power a steam engine this might be the most environmentally friendly form of transportation available. There is the Steam Car Club of America and Britain which has a few guys who are into the restoration of some of these old antiques that a revolutionary might be able to get in touch with to provide some help on converting a current day car to steam or building one from scratch to run on steam. The technology has been used before it's just a matter of getting it off the ground again. It didn't work before because Ford and Corp-Gov back then were enamoured with oil and Rockefeller and his big oil gang shut down the idea. But now as of the time of this writing with $4 U.S. per gallon for gas and calls for $6 U.S. per gallon for gas we're desperately needing to look for modes of viable transportation for our fellow brothers and sisters in the revolution. If anyone is interested in putting together a revolutionary council to get this idea working contact El Almirante at wtk1861@gmail.com .

Produce Your Own Ethanol

With about $600 you can convert your current car if it is a post 2000 model to a flex fuel car that can run the CorpGov drug of Gas or can run ethanol. You can easily produce your own ethanol for about $2 per gallon. It's simple to use by building a small still. Also if you want to do it legal the ATF gives a free permit to allow you to produce up to 10,000 gallons a year if mixed with a denaturant (so you can't drink it). The fees may vary from state to state but most require you to get a background check and get a wholesaler's license and this costs about $160. or if you don't want to go to all that trouble you could just turn moonshiner and make it without paying the $.28/gallon tax. The converter that I know of on the market right now is the Flex Tek converter which costs about $500 and it costs about $100 to have installed. This will make any car a flex fuel car and you can run gas or ethanol in it. Also if you're interested in this look at the Mother Earth News website ("Green Transportation" link at http://www.motherearthnews.com ). They have a whole section on how to build ethanol stills and how to make sugar washes that are eaten by yeast to produce your ethanol. Ethanol (just drinking alcohol, at about 80-90%) is usually mixed in different percentages with normal gasoline/petrol, but can be run pure in cars that can take it.

One of our test engineers built such a setup from a large plastic barrel for the fermenter and a modified gas hot water heater and a used car radiator setup to distill the alcohol (not safe to drink), he was surprised the amount for fuel he was able to make by digesting a wet yeasted dumpster-bread soup. He mentioned that summer was the only time of year it worked quickly in the pacific northwest since it ran too slow in colder days, he is thinking of adding a small sun heated shed or greenhouse and painting the digester black in the future. He is working on a better way to wet mix the bread mash, currently he has a large egg-beater attachment for an electrical drill, he has trash pumps to move the goop between the mash tub, digester, and distiller.

Running Your Current Car on Store Bought Ethanol

Just a quick note from one of our field testers that needed to be put into writing here. Our field tester using a post 2000 model car, a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire to be exact, has successfully discovered that you can run up to 50% E-85 in your car to save on gas. To do this he filled up with half a tank of Arabian imported terrorist sponsor state gas and then filled the other half of the tank up with U.S. made E-85 ethanol fuel. He then ran the car the distance of 150 miles so far with no problems to report at all. As a matter of fact it appears that his overall gas mileage has improved and his car is running cooler than on straight CorpGov gas. Just a little trick some of you might consider using if you don't want to make your own ethanol and have E-85 offered in your area at gas stations.

Recycling a Car

Like most indigenous peoples we must also learn to make good use of every last part of our fallen steeds.

• The alternator and battery can be connected into a water wheel, wind turbine or other system for generating electricity. You can also bypass the regulator to make a very high quality arc welder.

• The starter motor is a high torque motor that with the right gear reduction could power anything from a electrical winch or crane to a small cart.

• An automobile transmission can be used to convert the speed or torque of a human, wind or water powered machine.

• An automobile engine can be converted to burn natural gas, propane, or even concentrated wood smoke by removing the carburetor or fuel injector system and installing a simple venturi gas/air mixing system. In a worse-case scenario, oil from castor beans can be used as motor oil and toilet paper can be used for oil filters (Google "Frantz Oil Filter").

• Auto windows can be recycled but safety glass is almost impossible to cut as it is designed to shatter into tiny crystals. Auto glass has already been successfully used for greenhouses, but custom frames must be built for each piece while smaller panels can be fastened together with epoxy. (Note: Most auto glass is tinted and may block needed sunlight for your plants.)

• An engine block is a good boat or buoy anchor. It is also the basis for building a Multimachine DIY precision machine shop. (See Means of Production .)

• Seats can be removed, modified, and used as furniture.

• Seatbelts can be used for belts, suspenders or other strapping uses.

• Interior lining (on the doors or roof) can be used for fabric patches.

• Air conditioning systems can be used to build a refrigerator or freezer.

• Rear view mirrors can be salvaged for household use.

• Radiator and heater cores are great for building fuel alcohol distillation systems, but the metals will often poison the alcohol so don't drink it.

• Body panels can be cut for general fabrication supplies.

• HID lighting systems can be converted to use in bicycle motorcycle or portable lighting systems.

• Spark coils and be used to energize an electric fence for your veggie garden.

• Axles and springs can be repurposed for large horse or donkey carts.

• Power steering systems can often be used to power hydraulic pistons or other tools.

• Many non-steel parts are medium to very high quality aluminum or other metals which are easily melted and cast.

• Audio equipment can be used for entertainment and communication (provided you have a steady source of 12 volt DC electricity), or salvaged for electrical parts.

• Unusable tires can be cut up for sandals.

• Hydraulic lifts for hatchbacks can be used for self-closing doors.

• Hinges, knobs and handles can be used on doors and cabinets.

• Reflectors can be used on outdoor markers.

• Horns can become part of a home-made alarm system.

• Brake drums can serve as an anchor for a small boat or raft, or the basis for a small blacksmith forge.

• The assorted electric motors (like those used for power windows) can be used in a number of ways.

• Brake shoes have a rough, abrasive finish that can be used for grinding metals or stone.

• Hub caps can be a mini barbeque. Turn them upside down, set them on metal legs, and put a grill on top. Wash out the hubcap so you don't get brake dust in your smoke.

• Windshield wipers make great squeegees.

• The exhaust pipe can be a chimney for a wood stove or bent into a "U" shape and used as a heat exchanger in a fire place.

• If the car has a turbocharger it can be rebuilt into a real jet engine. With some machining skill you could even build on an output shaft to power a vehicle, generator, or even a very small aircraft propeller.

All these parts can also be sold, which can net you a tidy profit depending on how rare or desirable the car is.

External Links

• BBC h2g2: How to Sleep In Your Car - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A29176365

• "How to Live In Your Van... Ongoing And Added To From Time to Time" - http://wendyusuallywanders.wordpress.com/ongoing-added-to-description-of-how-to-live-in-your-van/

• Motive: The Other Mobile Home - http://www.motivemag.com/pub/feature/drivers_ed/Motive_Culture_How_to_Live_In_Your_Car.shtml

• VanDwellers.org - http://www.vandwellers.org

• WikiHow: How to Live In Your Car - http://www.wikihow.com/Live-in-Your-Car

Buses

Buses

Depending on where you are there may or may not be a public bus system, if you are lucky there will be a big public bus system. This equates to free rides.

• Tell the driver upfront you dont have enough to pay the full fare and they'll usually be fine with it. Be curtious and expect to bring out the misery in few, in this case just wait for the next bus with your thumb out. Unless its an automated system where the driver has to put a few coins of his own in to let you on.

• Check the route timetable and tell the driver the name of the station 2 stops down the line, pretend to fall asleep if you want to make sure you're not bothered, otherwise just stick headphones in, read a book or be in an indepth conversation, if the driver stops the bus and confronts you (which will almost never happen) just say oh you forgot where you were and get off or if you want to carry on going tell the driver you forgot to say you changed your mind and pay to get where you want to go. Dress like a clone and hiding your face helps the driver forget you.

• You'd be hardpressed to meet a bus driver who'll leave you stranded on the last bus home (especially if your a girl) if you give them a big sob story, but they will have herd it all before so keep it short.

• Flash child tickets and move on.

• Transfers are often color coded for the day of the week, meaning a day old transfer is pretty much out, but most drivers won't check the times on a transfer if it the right color. This is not true in most modern cities where you have to swipe a magnetic pass or deposit money into the machine. Check garbage cans near transit points. Another method is to ask people getting off the bus if they will give you their day pass, or even offer to purchase it for 1/2 or less cost. You can also sell your ticket in the same fashion to get a few extra dollars for the day. If you are feeling more legit and younger looking many bus systems have a reduced fare for youth.

• If you are lucky enough to be in a city that allows people to enter at the back of the bus just walk aboard and take a seat. This works best on the busier routes and there are others getting on at the same time. The traffic pigs usually do a sweep at the beginning of each new college semester to 'persuade' new students that it isn't an option. Best buy a ticket then and at the beginning of the month, especially if the first is on the weekend. Corpgov will even hassle the three-piece suiters about not having their monthly pass updated. Always keep enough money for the fare on hand so you can talk your way out of it. If you're dressed in corporate camouflage you can use the "I haven't had enough coffee today" line with a moderate degree of success.

Airlines

Intro

The skies are dark these days. After 9/11, the Amerikan Government has made it more difficult to get on a plane even the traditional way. The safest way to get free or cheap airfare is to see if somebody in the "general aviation", or private pilots, have room for you. Many may get sketched out by this, so look for people who seem cool about it. It may sweeten the pot a bit if you act like a young college kid, a plane nut, or offer some cash for airplane fuel (like, $20-50) or a place to spend the night if it's a cross-country trip in a Piper Cub. One of the best offers for trade is to wash the plane before or after the flight, have a bucket, dish soap, chamois, and clean sponge ready, hang out in the airstrip coffee shop and look for pilots, a hitch hiking sign on your wash bucket helps. Always look for airports that offer lessons and grab a pilot burning air hours to upgrade their license. It could very well be a loud ride and you may not get there as fast as a jet (prop planes go about 1/2 the speed of a jet), but its an amazing experience, and it beats driving!

(Not)Skyjacking

Only an idiot would try hijacking a flight after 9/11. Some pilots now are armed and sky marshals who are on a small percentage of domestic and international flights have orders to shoot to kill if anyone tries to take control of the aircraft. We aren't really scared of these people and the few flights they are on, we are really scared of what a gang of flying rednecks would do to be like the pocketknife guys on 9/11 and save the day. Please ignore Abbie's advice from a simpler era. Take comfort in the fact that the airport-pigs are mostly simple power hungry types if your non-skyjacking scam is outside of what they are ordered to watch for and your documents appear to be in order you are likely home free much easier than in the old days.

Fre-E-Ticket Hopper

Once you have passed the frat hazing dances like the removed shoes shuffle, the trashed shampoo swing, and the rectal exam jam the TSA freaks feel they have pulled out all of the rebels, what sane unbroken person would not take a swing at their crudely grunted orders. Your guerrilla acting skills have gotten you past, and on to cashing in on Abbie's dream of free flying for the bold.

The best option is to download one of the programs that make and print fake e-ticket boarding passes, these should scan in as legit at the time of this writing, if that is not an option but the boarding pass system is still used try this:

• Pick up a few e-ticket boarding passes from the trash outside an airport to copy, these are printed on a home computer.

• Find a print cartridge that is won't print right or set your paint program to (a)put streaks parallel into the barcode and (b)wipe out a few numbers under the bar code, both are important.

• Print out a new e-ticket with the correct date and where you want to fly. You have to use extreme caution that the flight number and time and other details are exactly right.

• Arrive at the airport dressed nicely, you want to look vanilla.

• Wait until right before final boarding call and rush up, when the bar-code scan doesn't work they will usually send you aboard.

• Since you should be the last guy boarding grab an open seat in first class and start asking for the free booze. (NOTE: On most airlines nowadays, they want to lick the asses of the corporate moneybags who pay $2000 to go from New York to Miami in front, so they address them by name. They look at the manifest, a document that has a list of everyone who bought a ticket, only in front; so if you sit in the back they won't notice that that seat should have been empty.)

If this plan doesn't get you a wave through right away, before they even hassle you or offer to access the computer try to find you on the computer claim to have another ticket leaving right now (know the flight number and gate) that you have to run to on another airline because you thought you would miss this flight, stay cool, get gone, try again later. Since this trick requires speed a little stress and carelessness on the part of the agent don't try any other scams like having them gate check an extra bag, being late is the best way to stay out of trouble with this gag.

Missionary Position

Many missionary organizations will fly you to a third-world country for free to preach the word of Jebus to the heathen locals, and fly you back in a year or so. Do your research before working with an organization many also pressure you to self fund your trip. Simply ditch out for the year, peruse the more touristy spots, make some money, etc., then return when the time is up with some cock-and-bull story of independent missionary work prepared you might even bogus up a diary as proof. These people are usually not hard-asses, so even if they don't buy it for a second, they won't ditch you in deepest, darkest Peru, but research them and feel them out to see if they sue ditchers.

Around The World Tickets

If you have a year off and want to hit many locations as you tour an around the world ticket is likely the fare you want. Before leaving find out how many stops you can make and how long the ticket will be valid. Most RTW tickets will end up cheaper than a long trip and return to Europe or Australia from North America.

Air Courier

Believe it or not, you can fly on the cheap if you deliver a package to the city of your destination... and no, there's no drugs or other contraband involved. Flying as an air courier can be a dirt cheap way of travel. There are a few catches: You have to sign up for the program and pay an initiation fee and/or annual dues, if you are working with an informal courrier service. You need to be at least 18 (or in some cases 21); You need a valid passport and a clean-cut appearance; You're responsible for getting your own Visa(s); You're limited to carry-on baggage and the flight schedules can be erratic (You may be flying the Red Eye to Singapore after only two day's notice). On the plus side, you can fly for up to an 85% discount and your Air Courier ID card may get you hotel discounts in some places. If you want to, you can schedule additional assignments from your destination and turn your trip into a Grand Tour. If you travel frequently and don't mind last-minute booking, consider this option. If you do, keep a list of the phone numbers of your country's embassies overseas. Research the agency you are working through, many are scam fronts that want a large membership fee up front and may not ever provide real courrier work or any reasonable fare discount.

A better option if you want to get regular at this is to get incorporated and bonded (speak to a small business lawyer) and have a legit home business. You will do better if you have an actual pool of available couriers some local advertising and a phone book entry and a phone number that rings to somebodies home or mobile phone that is available during business hours. The reason to DIY your courier business is that these big membership courier fronts double dip by charging whatever business for the service of transporting their package and also have the courier/traveler pay for a large part of the airplane ticket, pure profit!

Form a relationship or partnership with a cool independent travel agent, perhaps they can be the contact side of your courier operation since they already have the office and legit business presence and will make money both on a cut for the transport fee and on the tickets you will buy to make the delivery. Travel agents already have the access to travel and hotel discounts which they can transfer to you as "employees", they are also looking for new income streams since online ticket sites are cutting deep into their bottom lines.

Upgrades

Dress nice and ask politely for an upgrade for First or Business Class, on long flights the free booze and leg room is sometimes still just a request away. You might offer to wait for the next flight in the schedule if the volume is heavy and they need a few open seats, but it will be worth it on long flights. If you are "bumped" from an overbooked flight, you may get an upgraded seat if you raise enough of a fuss (If they do, it's mostly just to keep you quiet). The trick is to be good enough at complaining but make it sound like the airline is screwing both you and the agent, if you just act like an ass they can call security at the drop of a hat.

Support Gear

Have your in flight support gear in your carry on bag, buy a inflight audio plug adapter (two pin) and get some old style tube earphones for older airplanes. For those who are more sensitive when trying to nap, your pillow or neck pillow and a nicer sleeping mask and earplugs or noise canceling earphones(music works too) might make a difference. If you have a HPC or PDA you can extend the usable life on long flights with a external AA battery pack, now your e-book, movies, or music will last.

On newer aircraft (especially in first and business class) your seat may have a laptop power plug, but you will need a special adapter. Getting an air-to cigarette (12v) adapter and a 12v to 120v adapter will allow you to plug the gadgets made for Cars , and your normal laptop power brick. There are 'all in one' auto/air adapters but they are expensive! (NOTE: Not true any more. Now, $5-10 at flea markets or Chinese sites, and just pennies more at the temples of capitalism that line the roads of suburbia).

Carry your own food, enough for the whole flight. You will not be able to get your soda through security (as they try to make you buy their overpriced post-security items however possible), but if you bring an empty bottle, it's perfectly fine. So bring your favorite water bottle (make sure it's empty otherwise it's now the property of the government) and fill it up on the other side of security. Even with the security confiscation you still need to plan for the airplane to either not have your special meal or surprise you by charging for the meal. (NOTE: Sodas are free on most flights, but food within the US of A is charged for; expect $10) Use discretion on hyper-hydrating before the flight or eating salty food or coffee, we have heard of airlines ordering credit card slots for bathroom doors. Yup, they want to charge for joining the mile high crappers club. (NOTE: None in US and only RyanAir in Europe- Edit- Ryanair have been prevented from charging from using the bathroom)

Beating the Luggage Surcharge

You can avoid the $35 or so for that second piece of luggage by getting in touch with a friend, supportive relative or other trustworthy contact waiting for you at your destination and ship them your secondary gear a week or so before your flight, so it will be waiting for you when you arrive. When returning, take your less than necessary items and ship them back home before you leave.

Sky Phones

We have tried to stealthily use our mobile phones and a data cable to get an Internet connection over the US and Europe without success, but SMS reception seems to work at times. There are plans afoot for airlines to have their own hyper-expensive roaming plan with a special mini cell station on the airplane. Try to hack the Air-Fone on the seatback for free calls, with a modem port for super slow data you might get one or two web pages to load during the flight for a price of around $8 a minute.

Headphones

A big moneymaker is those little headphones that the flight attendants will sell on the plane for $5 so you can watch the in-flight movie or listen to the recorded music selections. Usually the sound quality of the headphones is poor and you can't plug in your own headphone because of the goofy twin-prong plug the airlines use. Check out your local Radio $hack or electronics gear shop and ask for an "airline headphone adapter". This is a twin-prong plug that you can plug your own headphones in, and then plug the adapter into the airline sockets. They range from $2 to $5.

Bicycles

If you are flying with a bicycle visit a bike shop and ask for a free box, if they want money go to the next shop, these are thrown away otherwise. If you have a full size bike you will normally be charged for oversize, so stuff the box with other gear too. Remove wheels and pedals, take off the derailleur and zip tie to the frame, load the frame against one side of the box and the wheels on the other, remove the skewers and tape the pedals together then to the frame. Don't worry about deflating your tires the urban legend is that depressurized air inside the plane can cause the air in the tires to expand, possibly even burst if there is serious structural damage, but don't let it stress you out, atmospheric pressure is 15psi and you only loose about 5psi when in at altitude, a good intact bicycle can easily survive even being blown out the airlock of a spaceship into hard vacuum, direct summer sunlight heating the tires will cause a much greater change in tire pressure. Carry the tools to attach your pedals. Use fiber packing tape to secure the box and pack the tape and loading instructions in the box for security repacking.

If you have a folding bike use similar technique and even a 20" wheel bike should fit into a regular check suitcase if you remove the wheels, derailleur, and seat post from the frame. Bike Friday in Eugene, Oregon sells a clamshell suitcase drilled for a trailer tongue and wheels that attach to the suitcase with wingnuts, the suitcase that your folding bike rides in becomes the trailer. (://bikefriday.com/ ) We expect that you could also make such a setup for much less with a trip to the thrift store and hardware shop.

Guns

Legal firearms and limited ammo can be checked on domestic flights and with proper permits also international flights. A record may be kept that you have traveled with firearms. Cover your locked gun case with a generic cardboard box. Pyrotechnics are not allowed including signal flares. A bonus to sending a gun is that once you declare the firearm and check the bag the TSA is from then on forbidden by federal law to randomly open and root through that bag. This, of course, can be used to your advantage. Check out Packing and the Friendly Skies ( https://web.archive.org/web/20110903191748/://deviating.net/firearms/ ) (the first presentation at the top of the page) by Deviant Olam for more on this.

Heavy Baggage

After your check in and weigh and tag your bags go back and add a few pounds of stuff before giving to the freight guy. Overload your carry-on with heavy stuff if you can avoid an overweight charge but make sure the bag still fits into the size test box. Grab a few duty-free bags so you look legit taking extra stuff on as carryon. Sometimes you can gate check stuff like strollers and wheelchairs so you will have them right away at landing.

Camping Gear

Camping gear that uses stinky fuel can't be taken along unless you clean out the fuel bottles with alcohol and let them dry. Leave the bottles open. If there is a problem with your clean fuel bottles or stove, ask for a manager. Compressed fuel is not allowed on flights, so mail it to General Delivery at your destination.

Layovers

Strikes, bad weather, fuel shortages, volcanoes, just about anything can cancel a flight and leave you stranded overnight. For those who expect the worst, check out "The Guide to Sleeping in Airports" (://www.sleepinginairports.net/ ) to see what, if any, amenities are available for stranded passengers. (The best rated at the site is Singapore's Changi Airport, while the worst is Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.)

Stowing Away

We in no way recommend this foolhardy way of catching a ride in the skies! This is information for someone desperate enough to try this anyway. Most stow away attempts are made at airports outside the United States where security is lower and involve jumping or cutting the fence to access the runway and taxiway areas. Most of these attempts result in the crush death of the stow away as the landing gear comes up or when the rider dies of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) or hypothermia (cold exposure). It is much better to fake your way on board with fake ID as a bogus pilot or flight attendant and end up in jail than this 70-90% fatal stunt.

Anyone planning to stow away needs to plan for where to hide from the security teams but also avoid the retracting landing gear, do some research into the design of the aircraft and evaluate the space one more time as you crawl in and attach your climbing harness taking into account any attachments on the landing gear.

Avoiding the cold requires planning for many hours at forty to sixty degrees below zero Fahrenheit or around -50C. Mountaineering grade warm clothing must be worn paying particular attention to keeping your hands, face, and feet from frostbite and your head armpits and crotch well insulated to keep your core temperature. Some aircraft have hot pipes that pass through the wheel wells which might save your hands or feet. Be sure to eat a very protein and fat heavy meal before and carry hot water with you in durable bottles for the flight inside your coat. Don't go if you are having any gas or ear problems at all the change in altitude could cause massive pain and damage.

http://wiki.stealthiswiki.org/wiki/Airlines 6/8

Oxygen is required since a modern jet flies between 35000 and 40000 feet, hypoxia knocks out most airplane stow aways. A non-rebreather or even better a pressure type aviation oxygen mask mask fed with oxygen from a paramedic type oxygen bottle will keep you alive and often even conscious during the trip but don't expect one small bottle to last the whole flight, plan for blacking out at altitude. Be sure to calculate oxygen use and carry enough or you will likely die from hypoxia. Representative oxygen bottle sizes and duration at 15,000 ft not using a CO2 scrubber rebreather.

Cubic Feet 6 CU. FT. 9 CU. FT. 15 CU. FT. 24 CU. FT.

Capacity L 198 liters 297 liters 495 liters 792 liters

Duration 5:28 hours 8:07 hours 13:48 hours 22:42 hours

Bottle life will actually be better at higher altitude since each breath takes in less bottle volume. Breathe slowly conserving oxygen, set the oxygen flow to just fill the reservoir bag below the mask so you get a good breath without wasting. This chart is a guide, only trust your own research.

The rebreather design in Underwater Trashing will give you many times longer oxygen supply from the same volume of oxygen because it doesn't waste good oxygen but recycles it scrubbing out the CO2 waste. Be sure the rebreather system has a demand valve so you do not need to manually add oxygen to your loop if you black out.

Once you have go so far as to prepare an oxygen system you should invest the time and money in finding a quality parachute, that way as soon as the landing gear door opens you can jump and avoid the security patrol at the destination airport and probably jail or deportation. This works better if you arrive at night when people will not see the parachutist drop from a commercial airliner near the airport.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said in 2007, that since 1947, there have been 74 known airplane stowaway attempts worldwide. Only 14 of the individuals survived. Here is one story of a survivor http://www.altitude.org/survival.php So you say the good ones got away without being found out, and most fatalities were wearing jeans and a shirt, but still...

Now, after reading this, ask yourself this question: Do you still want to try this incredibly stupid stunt?

Mail Yourself

Dead bodies in caskets and large parcels are frequently sent as air freight on passenger and cargo flights. The good news is unlike a death wish inside a wheel well the cargo area is pressurized and kept at normal temperatures, the only thing missing is drink service, movies, and dog food meals. If you are the really paranoid type have a friend do a gray or green latex face mask job to make you look like a sculpture in case the feds make a check on the box before it goes into the airplane, whatever you do make the packing list match your reasonable weight. Be sure you are overnighting or next day shipping yourself or you could get stuck in a warehouse for a few days, have a tool to break out in case of emergencies.

If you are going with the casket gig you will need a copy of the "death certificate" and a burial permit, the good news is you will not need long term reservations. If you go out like the title character in the film "Weekend at Bernie's" you should be able to make a few trips to Hawaii and South America before you begin to smell bad. This trick should freak out the feds; now they will have open every casket to taser the corpses just to be sure!! Always have your straighter friends ask for the bereavement discount as they accompany the dearly departing at gate 27, final boarding call.

Fly Your Own Plane

It is possible with a few months of evening work to build a full sized working air legal airplane with nothing but painted fabric, plywood, glued douglas fir pine, hardware store parts, and an air cooled VW bug motor. Looking for more power add a second pusher engine, you could probably get a friend or two into the air, maybe even some luggage. The greatest expense will be the radios, instruments, and navigation aids, which are mostly optional on nice days. You can actually make and fly these DIY planes legally, but unless some tests are done by the FAA only other certified pilots may ride with you. Expect to spend around $1000 to $2000 depending on size and what you use to make your plane and if you choose to buy a hand held nav/com radio so you can talk to air traffic control and use navigation beacons.

In the United States no license or training is required by law for ultralights, but training is highly advisable. For light-sport aircraft a sport pilot certificate is required, which is similar in requirements to other countries' ultralight license. The governing regulation in the United States is FAR 103, which specifies a powered "ultralight" as a single seat vehicle of less than 5 US gallons (19 L) fuel capacity, empty weight of less than 254 pounds (115 kg), a top speed of 55 knots (102 km/h or 64 mph), and a maximum stall speed not exceeding 24 knots (45 km/h or 27.6 mph). Restrictions include flying only during daylight hours and over unpopulated areas. Unpowered "ultralights" (hang gliders, paragliders, etc.) are limited to a weight of 155 lb (70 kg) with extra weight allowed for amphibious landing gear and ballistic parachute systems.

If you stick to rural areas and operate from dirt strips you can probably get away with flying a larger than ultralight plane pirate, although if caught you can get in big trouble for operating an aircraft without a license, use an airman's map to stay away from real airports, large cities, or flight paths. If you want to stay legal keep at or near the ultralight rules and you wont need to certify yourself or your aircraft, but take flying lessons anyway. Border crossings are very iffy, you might get away with it if you know how to hide below radar by using hills and valleys but remember even with an all wood and cloth airplane the control cables and engine will still show up on military radar moving at 50-100mph. One trick that an airborne drug smuggler we knew in the 1980's used was to find a police radar detector which covered the military radar bands near the border, the detectors were able to pick up a radar installation or fighter jet radar signal before it could detect the small airplane.

The biggest danger with home made aircraft is safety, you are in a vehicle moving through the air at highways speeds without brakes and three dimensions of possible movement, plus the ability to stall out if you make too violent a maneuver. It is imperative to use a good design and to pre-stress all joints before you go up the first time. This is not your junker car, regular manitinence and inspection are key to survival.

Sail Away

While a bit unorthodox for a yippie, the suits have it right on this one; Sailing is fun and a very revolutionary way to live and travel. Once a boat gets "old" the yuppies., being disgusting spendthrifts, have to upgrade so they aren't shown-up by the Jones'. Most yuppies run the sails for looks and are under power at all times. Save a dinosaur and use the motor only when you have to.

Buying and Preparation

A 27 foot ocean-capable craft can be acquired for very cheap by visiting the docks regularly and asking about any abandoned boats being sold to recover moorage fees. Look for auctions in the paper and inquire at boat repair shops. Always go browsing with an experienced skipper who can assess weak spots in the rigging and hull, sail quality, and engine wear before buying.

With a little cleanup you have a house, an intercontinental get away vehicle, and an almost free way to get up and down the coast. For free mooring look for a small sound or cove near a public park where the water is in another jurisdiction, drop an old engine block with a chain and float, this is your new anchorage. Leave no valuables in your boat, the only security is that thieves must cross a bit of water. Never leave the launch aboard if you use this storage method and even more importantly do not leave your launch at the beach or thieves will have easy access to your sailboat and free launch. If the sailboat doesn't have a launch a canoe will work quite nicely, also it is easier to paddle than a Zodiac.

Training

It is worthwhile to spend a few months getting familiar with your boating skills. A boat is not a car you are at the mercy of the wind, current, and inertia. A power motor is a good idea for docking. Accidents with boats can lead to a sinking or severe damage especially in a boatyard, some places will land you in jail if you damage another boat and are uninsured. Look into a university sailing team or post an offer to crew for free to locals out for a joy ride.

All of the advice in this article is great for a cheap abode and for the fun of it. However one should never enter into the world of sailing lightly. The old saying that I've heard is that "The Sea is like a woman; Know how to handle her and she will love you. Because if you don't know how to handle her she will wreck you."

This is true and with this said it should be seriously recommended to anyone who is considering taking up the sailing/boating route that they enroll themselves in as many safe boating and seamanship courses as possible. Here you will gain much needed knowledge on how to handle the sea and it's challenges. Some of the best instruction in seamanship is offered by the U.S. Power Squadron and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. All of their classes are approved by the Coast Guard for training purposes. One I'm sure would agree that it's better to never have to call the Coast Guard or any other law enforcement than to have to perhaps explain your stash on board. Therefore with this premise alone it's important to learn good seamanship and how to handle your boat. Also the classes offered by the USPS and USCGAUX are usually low cost and rarely over $100 each. Also other agencies such as your state's Bureau of Marine Resources may offer some boating classes for free. In addition to this one may find some classes online for free such as the one offered in basic boating skills by Boat U.S. which is on their website at www.boatus.com . Boating is not like car driving and there are numerous more rules that one should be aware of in order to safely operate a boat. Also one should consider investing in the Boater's Bible also known by it's official name, The Chapman School of Seamanship Manual of Basic Seamanship. This book contains all that one needs to know for safe boating skills from things as simple as how to tie an anchor on to what international signal flags mean. It is an indispensable tool to boaters.

Crewing

Look for adds of people who want a crew for an ocean crossing to Europe, South America, or Hawaii trip. Get to know those that want you for crew a little before agreeing to accompany them on such a trip. There are stories of the free riders being treated like slaves in exchange for their food while the yuppie owners sat around smoking (and not sharing) their doob.

Skipper

The skipper is one of the top reasons to choose or reject a boat. If she is a philosopher queen the voyage may be hard but her leadership will keep arguments from going too far and working arrangements fair. The captain is the heart and the head of the boat, defy her at your own and the crews peril.

Sextant

If you like math or are paranoid that the aliens are going to steal the GPS satellites learn to use a sextant. A sextant, while sounding sexy, just measures the angle between the sun, moon star, or planet and the horizon. When combined with a stellar movement book and an exact clock you can compute your location on earth to within a few nautical miles.

Drugs

If you have a stash hide it well, the US Coast Guard feels the right to patrol the high seas and search any vessel it wishes. Flying our pot leaf flag is a sure way to get boarded, try running the Jolly Rodger like American imperial aircraft carriers instead.

Stowing Away and Cargo Cruises

Old books mentioned cheap passage on cargo vessels. Our research seems to indicate that said travel is still slow but can now cost as much as $3000 to get to Europe or Asia from the North American coast. You might investigate getting a job on a cargo ship, but few have American or Anglo crews, and some require you to have some form of merchant seaman registration. Stowing away on most modern vessels is not such a bright idea either. With most ships being either auto, container, or tanker there is a very small crew but this also means few places to hide with any shelter and nowhere to get food or water during the several week voyage. Some human smugglers pack a group of refugees into a shipping container with a toilet bucket, some water, and food; there was also a report of terrorists making hidden rooms in the rear of containers although this seems uncomfortable as well and still expensive.

The exception is cruise ships and ferries. Once you sneak on board, if you can look the part and nap in the lounges by the pool, you should be able to stay out of the brig. Eat only at open buffets or leftovers you find since there is assigned seating for meals and purchases are charged directly to your room account and there's no cash or credit card purchases. A real help is to meet a cool passenger and have them smuggle food and let you crash in their room. We once read of cruise ship stowaways who were fine until it was noticed by room service crew that someone was sleeping in the beds of a made up cabin that was as yet unassigned. Do not get off of the ship at port visits until you reach your destination. Ferries are probably the easiest ships to stow away on since the trip is usually less than a day or two and we have never been asked for a ticket once aboard.

Pirate Radio

It used to be European radio waves were full of pirate stations with great music and radical politics immune from prosecution because they were in international waters. Since the signing of international sea treaties a pirate operator transmitting on unauthorized signals may be boarded even in international waters and the craft impounded by the offended nations navy or coastal police. Tehcnically, one could get a broadcasting license from a country and register the ship there, but broadcasting into another country's territory from outside their national waters could cause an international incident.

International Maritime Law

The days when people could just go off into international waters and be immune to the laws of any country are pretty much gone. Those with spare time can study the following databases on the various laws of the sea:

• International Law of the Sea Research Guide: http://lib.law.washington.edu/ref/LOS.shtml

• International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: http://www.itlos.org/

• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/uncls/uncls.html

Building

One may wish to consider is to build their own boat especially if cost is an issue or finding a seaworthy boat is an issue as it can sometimes be. There are numerous books out there on this. Some of the best are those by George Buehler such as Backyard Boat Building, Howard I. Chappelle such as BoatBuilding and the History of American Small Craft, and the Sharpie Book by Reul Parker. These books all illustrate step by step how one can build a boat. A sharpie is one of the easiest boats to build and will provide the added benefit of not only being a seaworthy craft but if made of wood will lend itself to easy repairability anywhere in the world but also due to the hull design allows one to go inland to many places many larger boats can't go. Which can be most helpful if needing to find a good hiding location from which to plan your next move or just to satisfy the need to get away from everyone and everything. Also based on my research a good cruising sized sharpie could be built for less than $1000. The only problem might be where to build but then seeing how a group of two or three could build them one in a matter of a couple of weeks I would say that any State or National Forest or State or National Park that lies on a gentle flowing river should provide a good location on which to build. Just remember to camouflage your boatyard so that Smokey (aka Forest or Park Ranger) doesn't come looking for you and practice good woodsmanship so as to not start any forest fires or brush fires which could ruin your boat and boatyard not to mention call much undue attention to you.

Outrigger Canoes

For undocumented low budget travel in the Caribbean, Hawaii, or other island chains it might be possible to make your trip using an outrigger canoe. The first outrigger canoes were paddle powered but of course a sail does the work for you. You can build a heavy slow moving burnout canoe from a log like the natives did, but why not find a regular canoe to give you a jump start. Your outrigger pontoon can be a shaped piece of sealed wood or fiberglass filled with expanding foam. You will most likely want to build the cross members from a good marine treated lumber, properly glue laminating and sealing several thin boards is stronger than a few thick ones. The best mast and sail is from a used windsurfing board, you will probably also want to make a jib sail. Be sure that the spacing of your outrigger is far enough to prevent swamping in high wind, for serious sailing a second outrigger might even be included on the other side but above the water line. You will need to build a strong rudder that will not break, many people put a trampoline like tarp on the cross members connecting the so they can sleep stretched out. you might consider filling empty spaces in the canoe with expanding foam for additional emergency flotation. Stress test the cross members occasionally so they wont fail when you are in high wind. Instead of an outrigger a second canoe can be used to build a catamaran. Don't forget high energy ready to eat food, water or a reverse osmosis fresh water making pump, communication, and navigation gear as well as your emergency signal and man-overboard equipment.

A quick note: do NOT attempt to cross from one island to another until you have reliable data on what, if any, currents there are in the waters you will be crossing. Getting swept away in a sailboat can be an inconvenience; getting swept away in a canoe could very well mean never being seen again.

Weblinks to cheap boat buying sites

Below you'll find a couple of links to websites offering cheap boats to be bought. These are both in Florida which on the East and Gulf Coasts is going to be the best place to look for a boat. If you're out west check out California. It seems that both LA and San Diego are good places for finding cheap boats.

In Florida check the following:

1. Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart, FL http://www.chapman.org/boats/index.html

2. Eckerd College Waterfront in Tampa, FL http://www.eckerd.edu/waterfront/boats.php

Nationally (U.S.) check out the following:

1. Boat Trader http://www.boattrader.com/search/

2. I Boats http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/marine_classifieds/adv-search.cgi

Another tack that one could take is to set up their own charity and get someone to donate a boat to them. This would work maybe by taking advantage of some of the ideas in the Free Ministry section and then setting up a church and using it to get someone to donate a boat to you for a tax deduction. This could be a way to get a free or almost free boat in really good condition.

Good luck to all future children of Neptune and Poseidon but remember the saying that we mentioned first. Safety should always be the first rule in dealing with boats.

Outside Links to Resources

• American Public Transportation Association - http://www.publictransportation.org/systems/ - Search for public transportation by city. Questionably free.

• Backpackers.com - http://www.backpackers.com/ - This site has TONS of tips on traveling and backpacking.

• eRideShare.com - http://www.erideshare.com/ Carpools may not be totally free, but very resourceful.

• Guide to Sleeping in Airports - http://sleepinginairports.com/index.htm - Just what it says. Lets you know what to expect if you're held over in airports around the world.

• National Runaway Switchboard - http://www.nrscrisisline.org/youth _teens/home_free.html - Get a ticket home if you need one. If you're under 18, you have to be returning to a legal guardian. Over 18, other arrangements can be made. (1-800-RUNAWAY)

• Travelers Aid International - http://www.travelersaid.org/ - "Mission: To advance and support a network of human service provider organizations committed to assisting individuals and families who are in transition, or crisis, and are disconnected from their support systems." Not always free, but they can help you out (or direct you to someone who can) if you're ever stranded. Note: If you're trying to get back to the USA, you'll need a valid USA passport.