Several orders of magnitude faster than being on foot.

Impressive.

Some keys to bike comfort that I'm fond of linked to below.

What do you all recommend for cold and wet weather riding?

padded bike underwear
http://www.rei.com/product/765678

For the fellas
http://www.rei.com/product/763566

Sugoi Zap Helmet Cover
http://www.rei.com/product/756396

Sugoi Subzero Skull Cap
http://www.rei.com/product/725336

Sugoi MidZero Balaclava
http://www.rei.com/product/659704

Smartwool neck gaiter
http://www.rei.com/product/738922

And, of course, good gloves. We're just back from bikejoring in DC's wet snow. Started out with my winter bike gloves but halfway through switched to ski gloves. Bulky but toasty and dry. Have to find better waterproof and warm bike gloves.

The Sugoig Zap Helmet Cover kept by head dry and fit my Bell helmet like a glove. The skull cap kept my head warm. Marmot parka kept me dry and warm as always. That thing has paid for itself several times over. Gore-tex low-cut boots and Smartwool snowboarding socks kept my lower legs warm. Unfortunately my waterproof pants are in the teardrop trailer in the mountains so my legs got damp but we were constantly on the move and it wasn't until after I got out of the car at home that I felt chilled.

Here's a bikejoring pic from Thanksgiving week

I find my Trek mountain/hybrid to be extremely uncomfortable to ride for a long time. The front end is way too low for comfort, even with raised handlebars. I'm going to see if I can find a very long stem or handlebars that come up a lot farther (sissy bars?).

Where do you find racks for your bike that can handle 65 lbs? I have trouble finding a rack that can hold anything bigger than a basketball...

The Surly Rack can handle 80# per the NiceRack_Rear.pdf.

I think it's been covered, my experience as an amateur cycling enthusiast as a teen.

Heavy back packs are bad, high centering on a bike in not what you want.

The saddle bags are great, the lower your gear can ride, the better, polar opposite of hiking.

You want your bike to act like a top, that's to say while moving the heavy parts lower mean greater stability, which means less reflex muscles get used, which means more raw power for a greater period of time. I'd equate it to track running vs. cross country running.

Even if you have to walk your bike, it removes the burden, bikes are priceless in this regard.

I think I might have seen a pull behind for a bike at one time also, let me see if I can dig it up.

Similar to this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/...s=baby-products

http://www.bicycletrailers.com/BOB-Ibex....100481DRYSAK000

usual disclaimer. not mine, don't sell it, don't own it, looks nifty.

There are a lot of plans online for homebuilt bike trailers, spare parts, conduit or pipe, etc.
With the kid seats on the back of ours we can't carry any saddle bags.

The Blast-family's Bug Out Bike:

We still need panniers and other cargo racks but we do have a trailer that can be hooked behind it.

-Blast

Adorable!

Now that I'm a bit older, and narrower in the saddle, I prefer beach cruiser style bikes to traditional road bikes and mountain bikes. Traditional bikes tend to hit my pelvic bones or isches wrong.

And my favorite (so far) is the Townie by Electra. I sit more naturally, it has a wider seat to help with long distance soreness, it's affordable and uses easily found replacement parts. I have smooth tires with Mr. Tuffy as opposed to Slime for puncture resistance.

You feel it on the hills if trying to push, and the flat foot position means the seat is farther back so it takes an adjustment to get used to standing in the pedals and staying as balanced as on a traditional stance bike.

But my wife and I could routinely do 20 miles with no soreness or pain.

As a cyclist a bike is my preferred method for bugging out, the pros out way the cons by miles. I have a distinct advantage though; I own a lot of different bikes. Buying a bike for bugging out would be a waste of money. You say you do a lot of mountain biking. Maybe you should think of a road type bike next. Road riding is fun, improves you cycling ability and fitness.

Looking through the thread I don’t see any posts that suggest there are any real all round cyclists on the forum. So I will make some suggestions.

Road Touring bikes come in many shapes and sizes, they are build strong are designed to carry weight for mile after mile. They often have a more relaxed riding style which is great for distance but still fast. Touring bikes have been to most places on the planet.

Cyclocross bikes are built very strong for rough ground and have plenty of mud clearance. They are as good as any cross country mountain bike. Cyclocross bikes are fast, I have ridden my cyclocross bike in races against full specked race bikes with no problems. They can be loaded up with racks and panniers like a touring bike. A cross bike is normally faster than a touring bike.

Then there is the hard core option, which happens to be my option. The Fixie, running a flipflop at the rear. The reason I say running a flipflop because if you are on good roads you can run the fix wheel for speed and control. If on hilly roads or on country tracks or paths you can flip the wheel allowing you to free wheel.

Why a fixie? Because there are no gears to go wrong and you don’t need your brakes although it is advisable to have breaks especially when you are riding using the freewheel. The chain is larger and stronger. They are good strong bikes that have nothing other than a couple of bearings to go wrong. They take skill to ride though.

When I say Fixie I don’t mean a track bike, although they are fast you won’t want to ride it anywhere with a load on your back, the only place you could put the load.

I would not use a mountain bike, they are heavy and cumbersome. The riding position is not great and even when running slicks they are slow. And, if they have suspension much of your efficiency is lost through the suspension.

This is all relative as it also has a lot to do with the rider. I could ride a penny farthing faster and for longer than many people could ride their chosen bike. The average bike rider cycles between 12 and 18 miles an hour and could manage 50 to 100 miles a day on roads. A competent cyclist can cycle between 18 to 25 miles an hour for 100 to 200 miles on the same roads with ease. It is not down to fitness but more to do with efficiency. Efficiency is gained through hours in the saddle.

As for tires I would be looking at slicks for road but if there was any chance of going off road I would be looking for an aggressive semi slick for best on road and off road performance. Slick tires have far more puncture resistance than treaded tires. Tire pressures are very important too.

One last point I want to make is replace you wheels if you have bought a new bike. They are the weakest link and are tied by machine. Although the machines are getting better they are not all the same. If I am buying a £200 or £6000 off the peg bike the wheels go straight in the bin and are replaced by hand tied wheels built by a competent wheel builder. Although lets be honest if anyone spends a grand or two on a bike they are dumb buying an of the peg bike without having it custom specked. If you can’t afford new wheels have a wheel builder strip them down and rebuild them.

I have done a lot of racing on cobles during one day classics in Europe. Riding cobbles is no different than riding rough tracks. The secret is going light. A nice fluid relaxed stile, relaxed grip, keeping a just a light contact with the saddle allowing the bike to move around under you but keeping the tension through your legs into the peddles. It is easier said than done though; it’s very tiring keeping it up over any distance.