Dream Machines

With the price of gas going through the roof, I have been looking up information related to alternative fuels and experimental vehicles hoping to find a future car that would run on air or water and be pollution free.

In a short time, I found quite a lot of info on the web by using the Google Search Engine. Google is a great modern research tool for the general public. It sure beats going to the library and looking through the card catalog index and hundreds of books. I listed some of the web sites below for future reference in case anyone wants to look at the sources.

Through a Google search I found that YouTube also has some great videos on future cars and innovations that are being carried out by enterprising experimenters in their home garage or basement. These guys have invented all sorts of gadgets related to getting better mpg (miles per gallon) on traditional and modified gas engines.

One such innovation is the Weed Wacker Bike where the inventor attached a gas powered weed wacker to a bicycle. He then put a small airplane propeller on the end. The weed wacker propeller pushed the bike along a straight road and provided about 200 mpg. See the link ….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h7AmVPpaEY

Another innovation was the Water Powered Car. This takes water and breaks it down to Hydrogen and Oxygen which are used as combustible fuel in a modified gas engine. See the link …. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIgOn1kRw5s&feature=related

Cars with diesel engines can be modified to burn filtered french fry or vegetable cooking oils. This is a great way to recycle this waste product from restaurants and to reduce the use of regular diesel fuel. However, one of the side effects is the car exhaust smells like French fries and makes you hungry. See the link …. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0WTkpQbv1w&feature=related

Another alternative is Biofuel or Ethanol made from corn or soy beans. Presently, unleaded gas at the pump has 10% Ethanol. Some hybrid cars can burn 85% ethanol mixed with regular gasoline. The problem with ethanol is farmers are growing less corn for food and more to make ethanol which consequently drives up the price of food corn. Farmers in the Amazon Basin are also clearing large areas of Rain Forest to grow soy beans that can also be used to make ethanol. This leads to more global warming and other ecological problems. However, a company in Medford, MA is developing a way to make ethanol from corn husks. That way the corn can still be used for food. See link ….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_ZLSzuQFTE

How would you like to get over 3000 mpg. New experimental cars have set new records for mpg and distance. See the link …. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY59yD7fsYE&eurl


You can also see other information about fuels and cars at the government web site … http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm Here you can find cheap gas prices by zip code, hybrids, mpg, money saving tips, and experimental cars that give extreme mpg.
Also, look at the US Dept. Energy website for future alternative vehicles. See the link …
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/index.html

National Bike Month (May 2008)

As a young boy fifty years ago, I lived in the city in a triple decker apartment building. Most of the kids on my block had bicycles that we would ride each day around the neighborhood bouncing up on the sidewalk or following one another in a parade.

We were always doing something with the bike. Adjusting this or that or trying out some new riding trick. One bike craze was to fasten a stiff playing card next to the spokes of the back wheel. As the wheel turned, it snapped the card and made a loud sound like a motor cycle. Some bikes had horns and lights built into the frame while others had attachments like bells, whip antennae or fox tails that flapped in the wind. Daniel Boone Raccoon Hats were also in fashion. The bike with all its attachments was your pride and joy.

Over the years, I taught my children to ride bikes and to enjoy them as I did. I showed them how to repair a flat tire, tighten the spokes, adjust the seat and put on all sorts of attachments. We took the bikes on short trips around the neighborhood or transported them by car on camping trips. We rebuilt old bikes and also bought new ones.

Now that I am retired, I have had the opportunity to take short bike trips with my grandchildren and pass on some bike information to them. A few years ago we took a trip to the Break Heart Reservation in Wakefield. The tarred trails are quite hilly and although the older grandchildren enjoyed riding fast up and down the hills, the younger ones were more cautious.

Presently, I am exploring some trails around town to ride that are not too taxing for me or the grandchildren. The bike rides take us along side streets and sidewalks with little car traffic and end at a destination that we can explore. I have mapped out a few bike rides around the neighborhood and have listed them on Google Maps. You can see some bike routes by going to Google Maps and then typing in (Bike Routes , Name of Town, Name of State) http://maps.google.com/

Since May is National Bike month, it would be appropriate to get out the old bike and take a trip. In the Boston area, it is also Bay State Bike Week, May 12-17, 2008. You can join in on the fun with a bike ride in Boston. All the details are at the link: http://baystatebikeweek.org/

With the price of gas for the car approaching $4.00 per gallon, people are looking for alternative methods of travel. Maybe the old bike can get you around town instead of the car and at the same time save you money and be good for the environment.

If you want to explore other bike trails around the area you can go to the following web sites for trail maps or road directions. Click the links below:

Resources:
http://www.pedaling.com/index.asp - Trails and Resources around the US
http://www.trails.com/ - Free Trial Memberships (Some info w/o memberships) Maps
http://www.localhikes.com/MSA/MSA_1123.asp Local Hikes and Bike Trails
http://www.bikely.com/listpaths Find a trail with Google Maps
http://www.fellsbiker.com/riding/ Middlesex Fells Trails & Maps
http://trails.mtbr.com/ Mountain Bike Trails and Maps
http://www.mapmyride.com/ Local rides and Google Maps