One of the challenges I see with get home bags, bug out bags, ARK (Autonomous Recovery Kit) packs, etc. is that it is always assumed that the person with said bag is close to home or their intended bug out location to where walking is not a big deal, or they have reliable transportation to get them there. This does not work very well though for people that are out of shape, older, have severe medical conditions and so forth. This is regardless of a black swan event.
What most people do not know is that you have about 24 hours to get from point A to point B before people realize normal is gone. So, what should a person do if they are two hundred miles from their home, and a cataclysmic event unfolds? Time will be of the essence, and even if you can hike twenty miles a day with an ARK loadout, you are going to need a force multiplier if you want to save yourself ten days of exhaustive walking home or to your loved ones. And that is where a scooter comes in.
Now, I am not talking about a little kid’s razor. I am talking about an adult-sized hard-tired push scooter that can easily be folded up and placed into your trunk or the back of your truck. Preparedness is not always about carrying more gear. Sometimes it is about finding force multipliers that allow you to conserve energy while covering more ground.
SCENARIO:
You are on business in East Tennessee and while at breakfast in your hotel lobby, you hear people panicking.
“What’s going on?” You ask an elderly man.
“Widespread terrorists’ attacks are happening across the major cities in the US… don’t you watch the news?”
Embarrassed, you peel away from the conversation, sprint to your room, throw everything into your luggage and you head to the rental parked outside.
Seconds count, and you need to head home ASAP. You will get caught up to speed with the news on the radio. Which, after an hour of driving East, is worse than you thought. Eighty-three attacks across the US and counting. As you reach the NC mountains, your SUV begins losing all power and you slowly glide to a complete halt. EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) more than likely. You are seventy-nine miles from home. That is 4 days of walking, or one long day of scootering. You grab your ARK pack, the scooter from the rear seat, and you start pushing East.
THE CALCULATIONS:
Before I go any further, I can let you know, the reader, I am more a math guy than a writer. But I can tell you, the math on the scooter is a massive force multiplier.
Example: On a straight road and one decent push, I have been able to assess that I can save at least five -seven Meters per push, or, fifteen to twenty feet. If a person’s pace count is sixty-seven, that is give or take ten pushes per one hundred Meters. That is approximately one hundred pushes per 1k meters, which is .62 miles. Again, this is for a straight terrain on asphalt in clear sunny morning spring conditions. Weather, geography, age of the rider, season will all affect this number, but this is a good base line.
To get home, you would need to push off over 12k times. But this is where the math works… you are tripling and at times quadrupling your distance scootering to walking ratio. Thus, you will exert less calories and increase your travel distance exponentially.
“Preparedness is not always about carrying more gear. Sometimes it is about finding force multipliers that allow you to conserve energy while covering more ground.”
THE PROS AND CONS OF SCOOTERING:
First for the Pros:
• An inexpensive investment.
• Easily rattle can spray paint able.
• Low profile.
• Does not need batteries or fuel.
• Will never get a flat tire.
• Easy to learn.
• Can easily be ditched (as opposed to dismounting a bike) if you need to engage an attacker or quickly need to hide.
Now, the cons:
• Balancing with a 25 lb. pack gets some getting used to.
• Can be brutal going downhill.
• Does not work well on ice / snow.
• Can be exhausting on a dominant push leg if you do not switch up every now and then, which means you need to be ambidextrous if possible.
• You WILL lose all cool points once someone spots you on one of these, especially if you fall off. Oof.
CONCLUSION:
At around $150, a push scooter may be a significant investment for some people. It may also be impractical in mountainous areas or colder climates. Still, if you are older, out of shape, or have physical limitations, it may be a solution you have not considered. Again, this is only a worst-case option for a much larger problem if an emergency arises as progression-based preparedness recognizes that every preparedness decision affects the next.
Stay healthy, keep the faith, and have fun scootering!
Sgt. Silverman
DISCLAIMER:
I am not a licensed nutritionist, financial advisor, or medical doctor. The information in this article is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional treatment, diagnosis, or advice. Always check with your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any medical questions, and never disregard professional medical advice based on something you read here.
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AI-Assisted Visuals & Examples
If you’ve been reading Tertiary Prepper for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed charts, graphs, calculations, and visuals that explain preparedness concepts in ways you don’t normally see discussed. Many of those examples were created with the assistance of artificial intelligence—but only after I gave it very specific instructions on what I wanted to teach.
I don’t use AI to create my preparedness philosophy. I use it to help visualize it.
Many of the tertiary concepts discussed throughout this magazine—such as Sustainment Foraging, Pressure Testing, The Autonomous Recovery Kit (ARK), Quiet Protein, and other original frameworks—are my own ideas and observations. AI simply helps me communicate those concepts through charts, graphics, and examples that make them easier to understand for you, the reader.
Preparedness is rarely black and white. There are very few absolute right or wrong answers—only different experiences, different priorities, and different ways of solving the same problem. My hope is that these articles simply give us another reason to sit around the campfire, challenge conventional thinking, and ponder practical solutions together.
