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Yup, on many rural roads there is barely enough room for two cars to go past one another safely, adding cyclists to the mix usually ends with dead cyclists.

You could always subtract the cars from the mix.

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 02:54:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
True enough... peak oil is doing that now. However, how will the roads be maintained? A return to steam-powered construction equipment?
by Magnifico on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 03:02:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Synthetic hydrocarbons from renewable electricity?

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 03:10:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
A more serious concern than the machinery is that presumably the tar used for road building is a byproduct of oil refining for fuels. If you don't have oil, where do you get the tar from? What other materials are good for road surfacing?

When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 03:12:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
If you don't have oil, where do you get the tar from? What other materials are good for road surfacing?

Possibly Sugar or vegetable oil (links via Wikipedia's Asphalt article). Brick, cobblestone, or cement could also be used, but uneven road joints are a pain to cyclists' joints. Plus they don't do well in freezing/heating environments.

by Magnifico on Wed Jul 2nd, 2008 at 03:25:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Building a flat cycle path is much, much cheaper and easier than a road that has to accommodate vehicles weighting a few tons ; indeed, asphalt is not all that necessary for a good enough for biking path.  

Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
by linca (antonin POINT lucas AROBASE gmail.com) on Thu Jul 3rd, 2008 at 05:26:30 AM EST
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