permaculture

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

Claude Genest said:
>>
> At minus 40 ?!
>

No, at minus 40 I would stay inside!  But if I *had* to go somewhere and
it was -40 icy/snowy on the ground I could still leverage that smooth wide
investment in a variety of low-tech ways - XC skis, for example, or
horse-drawn sleigh.

There are studded snow tires available for bicycles.  I biked all winter
in Sweden - though there they plow the dedicated bike paths just as quick
as they do the car-roads (and I was in the south, where -40 is pretty darn
unlikely).

Or, in place of the warm-season bicycle, a 'spark' (literally 'kick', in
Swedish or Norweigan, or in Finnish 'potku-kellka', 'kick-sled') like my
relatives in Finland still have in the garage - it's a two-runner sled
setup with upright seat with handle across rear top of seat.  A very
stylish modern custom version and brief info here:

http://hlockwood.com/scobie/spark.html

I tried one of these years ago in Finland in the winter - they're great
fun and also very practical for getting around and/or carrying small loads
(on the seat, instead of a person) when the ground is even too icy to walk
on safely.  Would need a brake setup on steeper terrain...

>> http://www.eco-living.net/writings/transport/effengine.html
>>
>> The pavement's already there, may as well leverage that investment...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> John Schinnerer, MA
>> -------------------------
>> - Eco-Living -
>> Cultural & Ecological Designing
>> People - Place - Learning - Integration
>> john@eco-living.net
>> http://eco-living.net
>> _______________________________________________