MB as a Post Storm Assistance Tool

S

sabrewalt

Guest
As I write this, Ike is slamming into the Texas Coast and possibly on its way up here. It is windy here and it is projected that we are going to get some 40 to 60 mph winds this evening. Nothing like our friends to the south are going through right now but worthy of respect in any case. My thoughts turned to preparing. Fill the trucks, stow the grill, hoses trash cans ladders... Get some water, Charge the SLA battery kits. nothing sitting around loose. Then I looked at my two MB's...The little voice say's make sure you have plenty of fuel for those.... Think about it... Its the perfect post storm transportation... Fallen tree limb.. Pick the bike up and put it on the other side and keep going. Go off road. Deliver bottled water, sandwiches, medicine, recharged cell phone batteries, go check on the elderly in homes that are no longer accessible because of road debris.

Just some thoughts.
 
Method...

Remove bike from garage..

pre-flight check..

Load bike up with goodies for the injured and homeless..

Start bike... start bike again, fix chain tensioner... start bike

Find needy personages - share goodies with bike 3 feet away

turn round to see bike disappearing in cloud of pale blue smoke (and incandescent annoyance)

I've got to say I have given up on other people big time at the moment. I have to keep myself safe and sane right now.. and something expensive, useful and portable like an MB would be a thief magnet at the best of times.. and this is not the best of times..

At least with a car/truck you can shut the doors if someone gets unpleasant

Jemma xx
 
Its hard to read how people will react in a fear induced frenzy. I applaud your
idea but Jemma has a few good points. It may work if the police or national guard
were riding them. terrence
 
our rigs might be put to use but i have always wondered why the people with sea dos and such arent seen in water rescues.
 
Flood waters are typically full of debris. Hydrojet propulsion doesn't like debris. Down here the fire depts all keep a few airboats in reserve - flat bottom, you can navigate in an inch of water or across wet grass, get into places not otherwise accessible. A good flat bottomed bass boat with a low power/low rpm outboard works pretty well, too.
 
Jemma's comments.

Jemma, I think we are talking about 2 different things.I can understand your comments and when your dealing with the chronic homeless I see your point. I tried Freecycle once and the vile stinky people that verbally attacked me when I GAVE away some old but usable computers was appalling. I did not have enough for everybody and those that did not get one actually wished me harm. I never did it again. Those people I met were poor for a reason. They were greedy beyond belief. Sorry to offend you if your poor and times are tough right now but I believe we have the power to change our situations more than we realize. Especially in the USA.

Regarding hurricane type disasters, Generally, those victims are a different breed of people. GENERALLY!!! I have a lot of experience since I lived on the Mississippi Coast for quite a few years as a young adult and was also Military and they were always asking us to go out and help. I actually got some satisfaction out working these of under the right circumstances.

I think Katrina/New Orleans has given Disaster Victims a black eye with the rest of the world. I was in New Orleans a few weeks after Katrina. I had co workers in there on Labor Day weekend. The behaviour of most of the Katrina victims I met was appaling. Rather than being grateful that we were there to help them (for FREE). They were screaming at us like WE caused the Hurricane. I was disgusted and disappointed.

ALL of my other experiences with these types of natural disasters have been quite different. Before the storm arrives, You work about 30 straight hours in driving HEAVY rain getting everyhing prepared. Then you get home from work, board up your own house, then go around the neighborhood making sure the older folks and single moms have their houses prepared. Then your so darned tired that you sleep through the actual hurricane. Then you come out of your house. Check for damage, go check on your neighbors, then pull out the chain saws and pickup trucks and get busy. No need to wait for FEMA and the National Guard.
 
I thought about government funded and government-ridden MBs during Gustav. A few hours after the power went out, my sister called to say that she heard her house was flooding from being right next to the bay. I was considering riding my bike over there if it weren't for the mandatory curfew that was supposed to put everybody in jail that wasn't a cop. There were definitely a few cars/trucks driving, tho. But anyway, my sister managed to take a back way to her house, where she found that it wasn't flooding. The next subdivision did have water coming up in their backyards, but most houses seemed to be OK.

In Ike, we didn't get a drop of rain, but nobody wanted to drive down to the beach to confirm reports of Hwy 90 flooding from the surge. I rode down there, but it wasn't even close to flooding where I live. There wasn't a soul on Hwy 90, tho. I wanted to ride along the beach without traffic so bad, but the thought of being thrown in jail is quite the deterrent.
 

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