Notes from JWR:

Because of a recent influx of book orders, I am TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK of copies of my novel “Patriots.” Another 250 copies are due to arrive in mid-May. Please don’t send me any orders for autographed copies until you see my catalog web page updated to show that the book is back in stock. Thanks!

Today we present another article for Round 10 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I might again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win the contest, start writing and e-mail us your article for Round 10, which ends May 30th. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Mountain Bikes as Survival Utility Vehicles for TEOTWAWKI, by Anetprophet

A quick look back at developing nations during recent/modern history will be adequate to put the bicycle in a top priority as a must have post-TEOTWAWKI asset. This simple, self-powered, mode of transportation has been a common stepping stone of all culture’s, building and development, as I believe we will experience “after a collapse” of our current society. In Asia, for example, bikes are used as taxis, trucking, and commuters every day, by a majority of the population.
Why:
Before I moved to our retreat over a year ago, I practiced martial arts for my fitness. After moving to the semi-hinterboonies, and the nearest dojo is a serious drive away, I reluctantly had to give up my regular classes. I looked around for a replacement activity and could not find anything that filled the void. I noticed one of my employees would come to work with a mountain bike in the bed of his truck several days a week. He told me that he went for trail rides after work. He brought in a stack of back issues of Mountain Bike magazines and let my interest germinate. I had a basic, entry-level, Trek brand bike in one of my sheds and after reading a few back issues, I dusted my unused bike off and asked him to take me along on a ride. That was it, and I was hooked. Across the canyon from my house there is national forest for miles and miles. This has hundreds of miles of trails and fire break roads that are perfect for mountain biking. I can travel on my bike using these trails and get to five neighboring towns, in all directions, in less than an hour. And, I can do so, on quiet and beautiful back-wood trails. Remember when you were a kid and all you had was your bike. I grew up in rural Kansas and I knew the 20 to 30 miles around our farm in a way that the adults did not. You experience the territory differently from a bike than you do in a car. This knowledge and perspective on your surrounding area could be very valuable WTSHTF. With most retreats being secluded and rural, even animal trails can be transformed in to “bike highways” to transport your surplus garden vegetables to barter.
What:
The Humvee version of this simple mode of transport is available to us now as “the full suspension mountain bike”. This is not one of those Wal-Mart, $100, so-called mountain bikes, but a real, good quality, piece of machinery that can go almost anywhere and can go places where other post-WTSHTF vehicles cannot. They have front and rear shocks, disc brakes, and 8-9 speeds.
Most good bike shops have demo bikes from the manufacturers that are meant to be ridden by potential buyers.
Try some out and find one that fits you and that is comfortable. Don’t be intimidated and take a lot of demos out before you buy. That is what they are for!
WHY? – Value Proposition:
A good bike will cost you. They start around $500 and go up to several thousand. I know this sounds like a lot for a bike but these are specialized pieces of machinery that can take you where only goats can run. Many people with a survival mind set will think nothing of dropping $1500 on a great rifle, and that much again or more, on a good stock of ammo and spare parts. Mountain bikes don’t need fuel storage, parts are cheap and easy to store, you will stay in great shape, they can go places that other vehicles cannot, they don’t eat hay, the view from a bike on the trail is great, the view from a bike on the top of a mountain you just climbed is priceless, you get to know the territory from the saddle of a bike, (like you did when you were a kid) plus, they are EMP proof! Bikes have a history, in developing nations, as a basic and first step in personal transportation. Take a look at Asia. Could billions of bike riding people be wrong?! Of course, bikes won’t plow your field for you, but that is why I have draft horses.

Some brands: (check out their web sites)
Ellsworth
Turner
Specialized
Santa Cruz
Giant
Kona
I have a Turner “5 Spot” bike. I like that they are built by hand here in the US and they have awesome customer support and customer satisfaction. Many of the high end bikes are built in Asia. Nothing inherently wrong with these bikes, and in some cases, but not most, they can be less expensive, but why not support the bike makers here in the US?!
Accessories:
Helmet – Get a good one, or two, believe me, you will fall off sometimes and your head is worth it!
Hydration = Camelback (you can use this all the time, as noted elsewhere on SurvivalBlog)
Riding shorts – These have padding built-in where you need it, and make long rides on the trail, much more comfortable
Jerseys – They are made of high tech materials that keep you warm or cool and wick away moisture. You will sweat climbing a 2500 foot uphill fire break and the right clothes make a huge difference.
Shoes – There are many types of mountain bike specific shoes. There are some with clips (that connect to the pedals) and some without.
Extra tubes – You will get flats on the trail, buy lots and lots of tubes. Or you can convert your tires to tubeless.
Tires – Kenda and Maxxis are two great brands; like tubes, buy spares.
Tool kit – Specifically for bikes. Includes tire changing tools, chain breaker, multi-tool with allen wrenches and screwdrivers, patches, air adaptors, etc… carry this in your camelback.
A couple of hand pumps – A large one for home and a small one for in your camelback on the trail.
Extra parts – Forks, shocks, brake pads, derailers, chains, shifters, cables, pedals, etc…
Sunglasses – Buy the ones made for bicycling. They have light sensitive lenses and are designed to not fog from your sweat.
If you are, as recommended by Jim Rawles, living at your retreat, planting your garden, pruning your orchard, tending your herd, and holding the high-ground, then just outside of your back door is where. You should be able to find trails all around your property and beyond. If you still live in the city, you too, can find trails nearby. Check the forums on the www.MTBR.com site for trails near you.

Recommendation and resources
Mountain Bike Action Magazine. There is an online version of this print-based magazine
(their reader’s average age is 30 something)
Mountain Bike Review (forums) great for FAQs and tons of opinions and information from around the world.
Get a mountain bike, get out there, and ride! – Anetprophet

Letter Re: Judging Soil Quality When Selecting a Retreat Property

Hi James,
I am a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber and an agricultural appraiser. Just thought I’d let you know that most areas of the US have been mapped and you can find your soil USDA classification on the web site. It takes some navigating through the site to find your soil characteristics, but most of the detail is there. Look for the Storie rating if available in your area, which will classify your soil type by its crop productivity, i.e., excellent, good, fair, et cetera. Will also tell you how many bushels of corn, alfalfa, etc, the soil can produce per acre if irrigated or un-irrigated. I really enjoy your site and keep up the good work. Best Regards, – Mike P.

Letter Re: Great Results with MURS Band Handheld Transceivers

Sir:
I got two MURS radios from Rob [at $49 MURS Radios] and I am very pleased with these radios. They are in great shape and even though I live in the mountains of Western NC they have an excellent range, five times more than the GRMS radios that I have. Rob was excellent to deal with and answered all my questions. I would encourage anyone who is looking for short range communications s to consider Rob and the MURS radios. I will be trying the radios later on at my In-laws home because they live in the piedmont region and the radios should have even more range. – Randy in Asheville, North Carolina

Note from JWR:

I’ve caught up on my writing workload, so I have resumed sales through my Mail Order Catalog. (Which had been on hiatus for nearly a month) Note that I have added a number of new items to including the following full-capacity magazines, in limited quantities: Original Belgian FN-FAL, original CETME, original Imperial Defence SA-80 (AR-15) steel 30 round, original USGI contract M16 (AR-15) 30 round, original HK 91 / G3 alloy 20 rounders as well as HK 93 / 33 / 53–in the scarce 40 round “The Thing” capacity, original Beretta M9/M92, and Sterling 9mm SMG.

Letter Re: Be Prepared to Perform Tooth Extractions

Hi Jim,
A late night espresso kept me from sleeping, so I dove into some analysis of my dental office [records] for 2006. I practice in northern Idaho, so you know the population base I serve. My numbers surprised me. On average, I pull four teeth per day, perform three root canals per day, and fill 11 teeth per day, four days per week.
So in my office I treated about 1,350 people in varying degrees of pain in 2006. Those cavities I filled if left untreated would eventually cause mild to severe pain. Combine those numbers with all the other offices in the area, and the odds are at best that any person has a 12% chance of being inconvenienced with dental problems. Perhaps painfully inconvenienced.
People take their teeth for granted. It drives me crazy. Imagine your post-civilization lifestyle: try doing hard physical labor sunup/sundown with severe pulpitis. Try staying focused while standing guard when you are so swollen you look like elephant man. Try to shoot straight when the rifle recoil smashes into that rotten molar. Try getting your sweetie to kiss you when your mouth smells like jungle rot.

Now I haven’t read the book :”Where There Is No Dentist“, but it would probably be a good thing to have on one’s bookshelf. Laying on top of that book should be a #304 elevator, a 150 forcep, and 151 forcep. [Available from Zoll Dental and other Internet dental instrument suppliers.] I’ve pulled thousands of teeth with just these three instruments. Remember: elevate first and foremost! Get that tooth rocking, don’t force it or it will just snap and then the novice oral surgeon is probably SOL (the patient even more so). Check YouTube and the web, there might be some close-up videos of extractions. Get the instruments from eBay.
As I told an acquaintance: Research it now, or you’ll wish you had, later. Otherwise, you might be walking bare-a**ed and buck naked up my hill with nothing but a basket of eggs to hide your junk. That way I know you mean well and intend on bartering for my services. Alright, Alright, I’ll let folks wear boots and skivvies.
One other thing. I know your opinion on fluoride is negative. But as I treat people from all over the world, I can tell you from experience that fluoridated teeth are harder and much more resistant to tooth decay that non-fluoridated. I would have you consider this: post-civilization human life expectancy is going to drop. Violence and effects from malnutrition will be the primary killers, I imagine. Lets say you are right and everything you believe about fluoride is true–something else is going to kill you long before the effects from that element. I’d keep some on hand. Just my most humble two cents (copper) worth. Regards, – J.

Letter Re: Safety of Storing Ammunition in a Gun Vault

Jim,
Sorry if you’ve covered this topic before. First off, I’d like to thank you for the information on your blog. I bought a gun safe yesterday, and thanks to Bruce H.’s question a few weeks ago about the effects of an EMP on a safe’s electronic lock, I didn’t make the mistake of buying one with such a lock. (I’m close to Nellis AFB and somewhat close to the Nevada [nuclear] test site)
After I got done putting in my guns, family heirlooms, coin collection, etc., I put 500 rounds of .223 in the safe, too. I figured that if there was a break-in, flood, fire, or whatever, I’d still have some ammo to roll with. After I closed the rather large, armor plated door, I thought, “Now let’s see a burglar or inferno try and take our stuff away from us!”
Then the thought occurred to me: “What if it’s not the fire that destroys our stuff? What if it’s the 500 rounds inside that destroys our stuff after they cook off in there?” The manufacturer claims that the safe will withstand 1,275 degrees F for 90 minutes and writes about the safe, “Designed to maintain an interior temperature of less than 350 degrees.”
My question is this – Will ammo inside a safe at or near 350 degrees F cook off inside there? Thanks, Bill in Las Vegas


JWR Replies: Ammunition inside a vault will not “cook off” until temperatures reach very high levels–by that time your house will doubtless be totally engulfed in flames. And even then most ammunition is far less of a hazard than the house fire itself. (They essentially pop like firecrackers–their projectiles have very little velocity.)

Letter Re: Oregon’s Willamette Valley as a Retreat Locale?

Mr Rawles,
First off, I just wanted to thank you for having such a fantastic blog site, so much information and advice from one site is truly a time and hopefully life saver, thank you. Both me and my girlfriend have been rudely awakened by Peak Oil after watching [the documentary] “The End of Suburbia” on PBS last year, and after gathering as much information as possible from sites ( Peakoil.com, LATOC.com, TheOilDrum.com, et cetera) with what little spare time we have had, we have come to the conclusion that this will be the opening salvo for TSHTF. Add in global climate change, a collapsing economy and we come to the possibility of the beginning of TEOTWAWKI. We hope not yet.
Our question to you is about Oregon, specifically the Eugene area. We think this area might do well, but would consider all advice from someone such as yourself. Again thank you for your time.
Keep safe, – Todd and Kaye

JWR Replies: I do not recommend living anywhere within 125 miles of Portland. I do recommend some portions of eastern Oregon, and southwestern and south-central Oregon (detailed in my recently-released nonfiction book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation), because of their relatively lower population density–much lower than Portland and the Willamette Valley that stretches to the south. Although it is a agricultural region with a mild climate, the Portland-Eugene corridor has far too much population to leave me with a confident “comfort level.” The region might fare just fine in a 1930s-style depression, but in the event of something more severe–like a grid-down socioeconomic collapse, in my estimation there are about three or four times too many people than can be supported peaceably. (OBTW, if you’d like a glimpse of what the Willamette Valley might be like in a worst case economic collapse, read S.M. Stirling’s science fiction novel “Dies The Fire“.) Since you are concerned about a post-Peak Oil collapse, you might look particularly at the Grande Ronde Valley. Its population density is much more in line with sustainable self-sufficiency. And it gets a lot more sunshine than western Oregon, so it is more advantageous for photovoltaic (PV) alternative power systems. Just be sure to get a parcel that has plentiful water. And unless you have your heart set on Oregon, my personal recommendation for a much better Peak Oil retreat locale is the Palouse Hills region of north-central Idaho. It is a very good agricultural region with reliable rains, but it is far removed from the population centers of Portland and Seattle, as well as California’s enormous Golden Horde. (Again, for details on the Palouse, see Rawles on Retreats and Relocation.)

Two Letters Re: SurvivalBlog Hats and T-Shirts

Mr. Rawles,
I’ve talked to you a few times via e-mail and once in person. Recently you said you would like a photo of one of your hats being worn in Afghanistan or Iraq. I am headed back over again in a few weeks and would be glad to do that. I didn’t see a link to your hats etc. on the web so I thought I’d drop you a line and see how to buy one. Take care. – W.

JWR Replies: May God grant you safety on you next trip to The Big Sandbox. In answer to your question, SurvivalBlog hats, T-shirts, bumper stickers, tote bags, mouse pads, mugs, and so forth are available from Cafe Press, which is also the print-on-demand publisher of several of my non-fiction books sw well as my “Pulling Through” screenplay.

Hello Jim,
I have purchased four SurvivalBlog shirts from Cafe Press and have had the same results in public. Once in awhile someone will ask what the [quote on the] back of the shirt means, or makes a positive comment,… however, no one has commented about your blog as the blog name is only printed on the front. Since 50% of the shirt [surface area] is on the back side, I think it would be a huge value to your readership if you would put “survivalblog.com” on the rear. We wore ours out to Front Sight over the weekend and struck up some great conversations after going prone. Since we can’t always engage conversation with everyone, I think the change would be monumental on expanded readership and hopefully sponsorship/donations.
One of the range masters commented on how it took him several times to “get” everything on the rear of the shirt, it may be important to use a different font, size of letters, color, (which obviously adds cost therefore not as productive), or location on the shirt. Since shirts get tucked in many times, I feel readership would be best just below the neck, (i.e.- above the current text). This may still be visible if one was to wear to a college class just above their backpack as well. Of course, longer hair may impair some readability, but FFTAGFFR.
We had a great time in some crazy “combat conditions”, but an excellent result nonetheless.
Please do not consider this as chastising, rather desire to expand your success! Thanks Jim, – The Wanderer

Odds ‘n Sods:

Plant vault passes billion mark

   o o o

Readers Tom and “K”. both mentioned that D.S. Arms is another great source for FN-FAL magazines. They even have some 30 rounders.

  o o o

Wheat prices rise on scares

   o o o

SurvivalBlog reader Cliff mentioned that he was in the Douglasville, Georgia WalMart and noticed that they have, on clearance, boxes of sandbags, 100 bags for $5, marked down from $14.95. He said that these are all tagged on the boxes “www.911sandbags.com.” You might check your local WalMart to see if they have the same product and price.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis

Letter Re: Advice on Enhancing Cool Basement Food Storage

Mr. Rawles:

We are building a new house with a basement. I am planning a food storage room in the corner of the basement that is the furthest underground. Can you guide me with details about how to plan that room, mainly about temperature. I know that cooler is better. The basement has poured cement walls. Should I insulate the [other] two walls [that are partitions] inside the basement? The rest of the basement will be heated, should I leave the vents out of that room all together? What about the vent that pulls air in for circulation? We are in Kentucky and have cold winters and hot summers. I am excited to finally have enough room to prepare my family for anything. Any help you can give me will be appreciated.
Thanks, – Linda

JWR Replies: To take best advantage of the ambient ground temperature and isolate the food storage area from the heated portion of your basement, you should definitely construct well-insulated partition walls–preferably using 2x6s and two bats (two thicknesses) of insulation. The thickness of the door through the partition wall is not as crucial as it being relatively airtight–to keep the cool air from "spilling out" from under the door. In my experience you should omit any vents unless the humidity is high, but your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Letter Re: Barbed Wire and/or Concertina Wire to Supplement Retreat Defense

James,
It is 4:00 PM and I have been out since 7:00 AM this morning repairing and running new barbed wire on my property. I ran about two miles worth today. While I was out enjoying the sun and spring air I got to thinking about some of the profiles in your database and how some of our friends say they X amount of Razor Wire ready to be installed when TSHTF. I would like to suggest that during or after TSHTF is the wrong time to be doing this kind of work. It is back breaking, dangerous work to be done by experienced people.

As I take inventory of the puncture wounds, the cuts, the scrapes and other sundry wounds I incurred today I wonder how in the world a city couple with little or no experience is going to manage putting up plain old barbed wire much less seriously more dangerous Razor Wire in a hurry after some event ends the world as we know it.

I have been doing fencing here for over 20 years and therefore have some degree of experience doing it. No matter how you try you will tear up your leather gloves, put holes in your t-shirt and your Blue Jeans. You have to stretch Barbed Wire and you need the proper tools to do that. Even if you wrap the wire around your hands and lean backwards to stretch it and have your wife run from post to post either nailing or wiring it up you will be dead tired and bleeding some multiple places. Oh, and by the way so will she.( I know this because the first time I did it I watched my wife running from post to post). Barbed Wire is heavy and uncooperative. It wants to roll back up onto the reel it just came off of.

So a word to the wise, if you really think you need to have that Barbed or Razor Wire consider putting it up now while you can do it leisurely or have the local Amish do it for you. – Carl in Wisconsin.