+GeoGeeBee Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 The price of gas in Venezuela is only 23 cents per gallon. You would think that they would export more to make money, but they dont because they cannot. Gas doesn't really cost 23 cents per gallon in Venezuela. Users may only pay 23 cents per gallon, but that's because the remaining cost is paid by a government subsidy. Quote Link to comment
+jcar Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Add more cachers to the geomobile. Splitting the gas bill makes for a much cheaper day. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Gas prices affect everything that is bought and sold, due to an increase in transportation costs. It also limits travel for people wishing to visit areas and spend money, preventing any stimulation of the economy. The previous rise in gas prices is what precipitated the downturn, and the economic crisis at the end of 2008. It it predicted that here will be a continuous rise in gas prices due to the turmoil in the middle east, which will cause a much larger economic crash at the end of 2012 after the Jeb Bush/Palin ticket wins, but just before they take office. Many ATMs will stop working and other mayhem will ensue. Enjoy the cheap travel and grab the caches now while you can. Gas prices will rise... Yes. The world will end as we know it. Unlikely. Gas was 0.21/gallon in 1928. It rose to 0.26/gallon by 1948. So..... I'm gonna take the above as a joke. The price of gas in Venezuela is only 23 cents per gallon. You would think that they would export more to make money, but they dont because they cannot. There is no competition in the oil industry. The last time gas prices soared, oil company profits soared also. When you have record prices, and record profits at the same time, that indicates that there is no competition. Some competitions are good, and some are not. When there is no competition, creativity follows. The oil companies are trying to get creative in their excuses to raise prices again. Similar to creativity in caching which dies when people start competing against each other, using cut and paste logs and similar hides. More business competition is good, but not in a hobby environment such as caching. The price of gas in Canada, where I live is $4.99/gallon today. Mind you, like the UK most of that is tax. Canada has twice the oil reserves Venezuela has. Why exactly does Libya affect the price of gas at my pump? Well for starters most of the gas in the Toronto area comes from .... Venezuela, not Alberta. Really makes ya think. Quote Link to comment
+Semper Questio Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 We incorporate our caching into other stuff we're doing anyway and we seldom go out solely for cache runs. The gas prices are gonna have to get pretty high to change our caching. FWIW, the gas prices I've seen here in Central Texas were anywhere from 3.12 to around 3.20 per gallon when I came to work this morning. Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Let's say you have a 15 gal. tank. Now let's say the price is up $.50 per. gallon over last year. That means a tank of fuel is $7.50 more than last year. OK. How much fuel did you use on an average caching trip last year? Half a tank? That's $3.50 more that it will cost this year. Is that really enough to stop you from having all that fun? That's only for one "caching trip" so if you do that 100 times in a year, there's an extra $350 on top of whatever it used to cost. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre ( Going on todays exchange rate of £1 = $1.60 That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 and one Imperial gallon (4.546 Litres) = an enormous $9.31 I'll swap you all day long and twice on Sundays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX I was just doing the calculations myself - you got there first! MrsB Quote Link to comment
+John in Valley Forge Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Let's say you have a 15 gal. tank. Now let's say the price is up $.50 per. gallon over last year. That means a tank of fuel is $7.50 more than last year. OK. How much fuel did you use on an average caching trip last year? Half a tank? That's $3.50 more that it will cost this year. Is that really enough to stop you from having all that fun? That's exactly the same logic I used when I was deciding between a hybrid and an SUV. Why would I want to drive something powered by hamsters. I went for the big extra cylinders and ignore the gas prices as I cache. Quote Link to comment
+John in Valley Forge Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 For once I agree with narcissa that much of this is fueled by market speculation and profit mongering. According to the most recent US Gummint data, Libyan imports represent less than .05% of our imports over the past three months. So why the reactionary price hikes? Because they can. Bastiges. I also agree with the OP and plan to get to the fun further away caches sooner instead of later, in case I do have to cut back on recreational driving. That's why I'm headed to the desert outside of LV in a few weeks. While I agree that market speciulation is a major cause, the lack of Lybian imports is oversimplifying it. Oil is a pure commodity. Yes, the US buys little Lybian oil. But others buy a lot. If it gets cut off, those that rely on it will drive the price up quickly trying to find replacement oil. The speculators know this and drive the price up on all oil. Quote Link to comment
+Sins DS Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 One question to put the increase in gas costs into perspective. How much did everyone here spend on GPSrs, hiking gear, cache containers, logbooks, pens, camouflage, swag, and DEET? Quote Link to comment
+John in Valley Forge Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 One question to put the increase in gas costs into perspective. How much did everyone here spend on GPSrs, hiking gear, cache containers, logbooks, pens, camouflage, swag, and DEET? LOL, probably more than I spent on gas going specifically to caches. Usually I look for caches around places I am already going to for other reasons. Quote Link to comment
+Student Camper Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Jeb Bush/Palin ticket?, now you're scarin me. Quote Link to comment
+Chokecherry Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Let's say you have a 15 gal. tank. Now let's say the price is up $.50 per. gallon over last year. That means a tank of fuel is $7.50 more than last year. OK. How much fuel did you use on an average caching trip last year? Half a tank? That's $3.50 more that it will cost this year. Is that really enough to stop you from having all that fun? That's only for one "caching trip" so if you do that 100 times in a year, there's an extra $350 on top of whatever it used to cost. My theory is that I can realistically do caching trips lets say May through October and only once on a weekend and I don't go every single weekend. So that's potentially 20 trips and lets say I do 15. It's not going to impact me that hard especially if I incorporate it with stuff I'm already doing in the area where I'm caching which is what I usually do. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre ( Going on todays exchange rate of £1 = $1.60 That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 and one Imperial gallon (4.546 Litres) = an enormous $9.31 I'll swap you all day long and twice on Sundays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX True, we've got a little further to drive her, remember. Most of our states are larger than your entire country, and right or wrong, our society has been built around our ability to commute for long distances. We still probably spend at least as much on petrol as you folks do. Quote Link to comment
Trader Rick & Rosie Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Jeb Bush/Palin ticket?, now you're scarin me. Scaring you STRAIGHT!!! Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) Let's say you have a 15 gal. tank. Now let's say the price is up $.50 per. gallon over last year. That means a tank of fuel is $7.50 more than last year. OK. How much fuel did you use on an average caching trip last year? Half a tank? That's $3.50 more that it will cost this year. Is that really enough to stop you from having all that fun? That's only for one "caching trip" so if you do that 100 times in a year, there's an extra $350 on top of whatever it used to cost. I'm already close to my limit. Not sure how much longer the pocket can spare all that extra fun. I don't do C&Ds. My other 2/3rds likes to see if she can find 'em - and that's more than fine by me. She could play for weeks and never seems to get our "ten miles" cleared. They seem to be the norm now, with longer walks few (and very) far between. I like to hike and hit 4+ in terrain. I've had most of the gear for years, so I never really considered those costs excessive. Replacements are just part of the hobby. If I want to hike and cache though, I'm already around page 34 on "nearest to home". A one way trip is now around 50-70 miles. I get home to fill the half-tank used, it's around forty bucks. If I went out every Saturday to hike, we're talking One sixty a month now. Becoming an expensive hobby (for me) in gas alone. I have the AT a little more than two miles from me. Hiking there would mean nada in cost. So yes, it would affect my geocaching if gas continues to climb. Edited February 26, 2011 by cerberus1 Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 One question to put the increase in gas costs into perspective. How much did everyone here spend on GPSrs, hiking gear, cache containers, logbooks, pens, camouflage, swag, and DEET? Most items are bought once, or are used for years before they need replacement. The others are cheap, negligible in cost. They don't compare to gas costs, which are added each time you go out. Quote Link to comment
+Scubasonic Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I usually just go with some else and we split the gas takes the sting away a little bit Scubasonic Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 True, we've got a little further to drive her, remember. Most of our states are larger than your entire country, and right or wrong, our society has been built around our ability to commute for long distances. We still probably spend at least as much on petrol as you folks do. I cannot follow you as geocaching (not the daily life) is concerned. Why do you need to drive larger distances for caching when your country is larger? You do not need to find all caches in a state. The cache density in an area does not depend on the size of the country it is located into. Cezanne Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 True, we've got a little further to drive her, remember. Most of our states are larger than your entire country, and right or wrong, our society has been built around our ability to commute for long distances. We still probably spend at least as much on petrol as you folks do. I cannot follow you as geocaching (not the daily life) is concerned. Why do you need to drive larger distances for caching when your country is larger? You do not need to find all caches in a state. The cache density in an area does not depend on the size of the country it is located into. Cezanne you have to look at it from the bigger picture...geocaching is a hobby, first and foremost we have to drive to work for those on a budget, the fact that over in NA we have longer distances to travel for work the hike in the gas prices eats into the entertainment budget nobody is going to stay home from work to save the gas so they can go geocaching, well maybe not nobody, but you get the idea at least that is how i interpret knowschad's reply, we certainly need a bigger allowance for gas here in NA last year i got a new job and for almost 3 months i drove 75km's one way until i moved closer, but i have someone i work with that has been driving that distance for the past 10 years, and no, not everyone is able to just up and move Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 you have to look at it from the bigger picture...geocaching is a hobby, first and foremost we have to drive to work for those on a budget, the fact that over in NA we have longer distances to travel for work the hike in the gas prices eats into the entertainment budget You are right and I am well aware of that, but that's the reason why I asked my question only with respect to geocaching and the size of the country. last year i got a new job and for almost 3 months i drove 75km's one way until i moved closer, but i have someone i work with that has been driving that distance for the past 10 years, and no, not everyone is able to just up and move 75km one way to the work place is howeever also not too uncommon in European countries for those leaving in rural areas (which hardly offer any job opportunities) and gas prices in the UK are not the highest in Europe. Some can at least partially rely on public transportation, but many cannot. The increasing gas prices do hurt the people who are on a tighter budget worldwide. I agree, howeever, that for many aspects of daily life (shopping and many other things) larger distances have to be driven in NA than e.g. in Middle Europe. The focus of my question was, however, only with respect to distances driving while going for geocaches. Cezanne Quote Link to comment
+popokiiti Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Meh, I choose to not panic. And I use premium. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110223/gas-prices-rise-unrest-in-libya-110223/ I get an extra week between fill-ups when I use premium, for only another $5. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 True, we've got a little further to drive her, remember. Most of our states are larger than your entire country, and right or wrong, our society has been built around our ability to commute for long distances. We still probably spend at least as much on petrol as you folks do. I cannot follow you as geocaching (not the daily life) is concerned. Why do you need to drive larger distances for caching when your country is larger? You do not need to find all caches in a state. The cache density in an area does not depend on the size of the country it is located into. Cezanne Sometimes I am just amazed at how seriously a totally innocent post can be taken. But OK... I will try to explain what was intended as funny, but we forewarned that it won't be any funnier once explained. My point was to go as far as a dollar will take you, because as prices go up, it will continue to take you less far. I have plenty of unfound caches near home that I will save for when gas is too expensive to go further. I could get them now, at relatively cheap gas prices, and then be left without affordable caches, or I could get those far from home now, while prices are low, and then start getting those close to home once prices skyrocket. Now, aren't you glad you asked? Quote Link to comment
+Don_J Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 My advice... start caching as far from home as you can afford. Looks as though your affordable radius will be quickly decreasing soon. $3.75 on the corner. Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Sometimes I am just amazed at how seriously a totally innocent post can be taken. But OK... I will try to explain what was intended as funny, but we forewarned that it won't be any funnier once explained. Thanks for your explanation. I understood the intent of your first posting already when I read it, and I got the sarcastic side of it. In fact, this posting applies not only to the US, but to almost all countries of the world. Gas prices go up nearly everywhere. I wondered about your reply to the cacher from the UK. I still cannot follow your argument in that posting (the geocaching aspect of it and not the daily life aspect) and I do not think that what you wrote was intended as a joke by you, but forget about it, my question was not really important. I was just trying ro understand what other people are saying and not just taking it for granted. Sorry for that. Cezanne Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 There are plenty of caches nearby and I prefer hiking to driving. You people are taking me MUCH too seriously! Is this a first? Took a thirty mile run today, to knock eight caches off my ten-mile list. At $3.19/gallon and thirty MPH, that cost me $3.19! Quote Link to comment
+releasethedogs Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 You know, their are other ways to get around. Bike, bus, walk, ect. Or may I just think this way because I am an expat in east asia. Quote Link to comment
+sTeamTraen Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre (... That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 True. But I'm betting that you get more than 20mpg imperial/16mpg US. Americans spend almost as much on gas as Europeans, plus they spend way more time than we do pumping the stuff into their huge tanks. (I'm paying $7/US gallon for diesel, but I get the equivalent of 35 mpg US from my Korean car.) BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX That's what the companies tell you... but they tend not to update those forecourt propaganda information stickers very often. The ex-tax price is currently round about 50p/litre. (The tax still dominates, of course.) Quote Link to comment
+CT A-Team Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I agree with the original topic suggestion - start distant and work toward home. But for those of us who have been around for a while we have mostly done all the caches close to home. I know that is the case with me. The only way I do any caching now (and that is hardly ever any more) is if it is on the way to some location (great opportunity for new caches) or if I can grab a bunch of them in one trip. Although I love the more challenging ones with mountain top views, I can no longer afford to spend a day trip on one or two great caches. I will not give up, however, I just plan better. Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 But for those of us who have been around for a while we have mostly done all the caches close to home. I know that is the case with me. Actually, in my area new caches pop up all the time (like you I started geocaching in 2002) - most often not of the type I enjoy, but that's another topic. There are many that are easily reachable by bicycle or bus or train and still the majority comes by car. So the gas prices are not high enough to encourage more cachers to use alternative ways of approaching caches. Of course, not everyone has alternatives to using a car, but many do have, but not make use of them. Cezanne Quote Link to comment
+triga Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre ( Going on todays exchange rate of £1 = $1.60 That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 and one Imperial gallon (4.546 Litres) = an enormous $9.31 I'll swap you all day long and twice on Sundays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX Was about to say the same thing. Gas here is around €1.5 per litre which is $7.8505655 per gallon. Luckely my car does 33.6020833 miles per gallon Gas is mostly Taxes here, it's ridiculous Quote Link to comment
+GeoReapers Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 We are currently working on an (at present) unofficial challenege to cover all of washington state. We have determined caching all over is worth the extra 20 cents to us, but I am starting to think our hotel quality (we do a ton of overnighters) will rapidly decline soon. Then, we may decent to couch surfing. Or rocking chair surfing. Possibly even cardboard box surfing. Quote Link to comment
+GeoReapers Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) ugh...double post, sorry. Edited March 1, 2011 by GeoReapers Quote Link to comment
+luvvinbird Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre ( Going on todays exchange rate of £1 = $1.60 That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 and one Imperial gallon (4.546 Litres) = an enormous $9.31 I'll swap you all day long and twice on Sundays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX Was about to say the same thing. Gas here is around €1.5 per litre which is $7.8505655 per gallon. Luckely my car does 33.6020833 miles per gallon Gas is mostly Taxes here, it's ridiculous Edited March 1, 2011 by luvvinbird Quote Link to comment
+luvvinbird Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Here in the UK, petrol(gas) is currently £1.28/litre ( Going on todays exchange rate of £1 = $1.60 That makes One US gallon (3.785 Litres) = $7.75 and one Imperial gallon (4.546 Litres) = an enormous $9.31 I'll swap you all day long and twice on Sundays ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BUT ,, the main complaint here is the fact that the petrol(gas)is £0.32/litre the rest is TAX Was about to say the same thing. Gas here is around €1.5 per litre which is $7.8505655 per gallon. Luckely my car does 33.6020833 miles per gallon Gas is mostly Taxes here, it's ridiculous We're at $1.21 per litre here in Toronto, Canada. I cache like I shop, "around the horn". Starting at the farthest and working back to the closest and, finally, home. Quote Link to comment
+DanOCan Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 We're at $1.21 per litre here in Toronto, Canada. I cache like I shop, "around the horn". Starting at the farthest and working back to the closest and, finally, home. One thing is guaranteed -- a couple years from now someone will look at this thread and laugh saying "Can you believe they were complaining about gas prices of $1.21/L? Quote Link to comment
+semstix Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Very informative topic. I will need to cache more to keep my CPG at around a buck Quote Link to comment
+Mark+Karen Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 My advice... start caching as far from home as you can afford. Looks as though your affordable radius will be quickly decreasing soon. Meh, I have about 100 caches in about a 5 mile radius, that'll keep me busy for a while. Quote Link to comment
+Mark+Karen Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 One thing is guaranteed -- a couple years from now someone will look at this thread and laugh saying "Can you believe they were complaining about gas prices of $1.21/L? In the UK it's about £1.30/litre. $2.05 Canadian. Quote Link to comment
+pklong Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 One thing is guaranteed -- a couple years from now someone will look at this thread and laugh saying "Can you believe they were complaining about gas prices of $1.21/L? In the UK it's about £1.30/litre. $2.05 Canadian. Cheap! On the M1 at the weekend it was £1.39/ litre which is $8.56 per US Gallon. Quote Link to comment
+lifechooser Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 The odd comparison never made between the UK and US is the $ per mile. A few years ago, the average American was paying $2 / gallon to fill up his 14mpg truck. 1 mile = 14c / mile. Meanwhile, here in the UK we were paying 90p/litre to fill up our 30mpg(uk) hatchbacks. 1 mile = 13p / mile (20.8c) Now Americans are paying $3.80 which is 27c /mile and we are paying £1.30 which is 20p or 32 cents. There is a point at which the Americans will be paying more per mile than Brits, and we're approaching that point quickly. The biggest change though is the percentage rise, gas prices in the US have doubled nearly, but in the UK they've gone up by 30%, because the tax rate is mostly static. We may be paying a lot, but at least the money is going towards public healthcare etc. The money that Americans pay is going to the oil producers in the middle east. The ideal solution is for Americans to drive European style cars. It would be better for the environment, for the US economy (buying less oil) and for world stability. What most Americans don't realise is that in the UK, nearly all large cars are diesel powered. Mine is a BMW 5 Series diesel. They're nothing like how they were 20 years ago, and get similar MPG to hybrids. Take a look at a BMW 320d Ed - 0-60mph in 7.8s, yet it does 55 US mpg. Now work out your cents per mile Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 The ideal solution is for Americans to drive European style cars. It would be better for the environment, for the US economy (buying less oil) and for world stability. A lot of them do, particularly in the last few years. There are 200 million people in the USA, not all of them are driving light trucks. Quote Link to comment
+Happy Humphrey Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I'm also having to suffer $7.75-$8 per US Gallon. In my limited US experience the big pick-up trucks tend to be seen more in rural districts and cities have a high proportion of "European style" cars. Although it's quite common for UK drivers to have a 300-mile round trip to work (mine's further that that but I don't drive it all!), and probably a lot more in the US, we're talking caching distance here. I guess it depends what type of caching you like doing, but I'm getting more tempted by those groups of caches less than ten miles away and less by the really good ones 100 miles from home. At least the cache density is high in most parts of the UK, so it's less of a problem than in some US areas where caching is not as popular. Quote Link to comment
+Happy Humphrey Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There are many that are easily reachable by bicycle or bus or train and still the majority comes by car. So the gas prices are not high enough to encourage more cachers to use alternative ways of approaching caches. Of course, not everyone has alternatives to using a car, but many do have, but not make use of them. That might be feasible in Austria, but railway stations are rather spaced in the UK (except around London) and bus services very limited (except around London). Not many can reasonably be expected to cache by bike (too many hills, too much rain and wind, roads too busy, too old and unfit, no bike). So there is only a very small proportion who could consider caching by bike or public transport. I've done it quite a bit by combining caching with country walking; but even then I've usually started the day with a lengthy drive to a railway station or bus stop, and I have to face caching alone in these circumstances, and I have to tolerate getting very wet after a day out. Plus, a cache might only be a mile off-route but it's off limits if you're not in a car. Let's face it, geocaching is basically a motorist's pastime. Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Let's face it, geocaching is basically a motorist's pastime. Sometimes it is, but there are exceptions. I know a geocacher here with over 2000 finds and his primary transportation is a bicycle - he's been known to bike over 100km in a day, and find tupperware. You can also hook up with Hiking groups and use their trail shuttles / busses to get to trailheads. For example, the Bruce Trail Conservacy has bus/carpool hikes every weekend and that trail has well over 500 caches on it (800km length for the trail). I have personally hiked over 30 kilometers in a day, several times. We have a group that does that a couple times a year actually. If you're creative, there are options. But having a car certainly does help. Quote Link to comment
cezanne Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 There are many that are easily reachable by bicycle or bus or train and still the majority comes by car. So the gas prices are not high enough to encourage more cachers to use alternative ways of approaching caches. Of course, not everyone has alternatives to using a car, but many do have, but not make use of them. That might be feasible in Austria, but railway stations are rather spaced in the UK (except around London) and bus services very limited (except around London). I do know that there differences between different countries and regions and have experienced them by myself as well. The public transportation system in Austria outside of larger cities is bad. not to be compared with the better situation in Switzerland and the Netherlands e.g. I agree, however, that the Austrian train system is better than the UK train system (no wonder). Not many can reasonably be expected to cache by bike (too many hills, too much rain and wind, roads too busy, too old and unfit, no bike). So there is only a very small proportion who could consider caching by bike or public transport. In areas around larger cities the percentage of those who could is larger than it appears from what you write. I am noticing that a huge number of my fellow cachers who do have many options rather go collect powertrail 100+ caches that are 200km away by car than visit some very close and nicely done caches that they could reach with much shorter drives and/or by public transportation, bicycles etc Many of them are younger than I am, much fitter, do not suffer from health problems and are not caching with small children and/or dogs, and own more fancy bicycles than I do. The weather cannot be blamed either as the proportion of cachers using a bicycle is not considerably higher from Spring-Autumn than in Winter. If there is snow, I might go for a short urban cache by bike, but certainly not for a longer tour. The group I mentioned has a lot of alternatives, but hardly uses them. The gas/diesel prices are still not high enough. I've done it quite a bit by combining caching with country walking; but even then I've usually started the day with a lengthy drive to a railway station or bus stop, and I have to face caching alone in these circumstances, and I have to tolerate getting very wet after a day out. Plus, a cache might only be a mile off-route but it's off limits if you're not in a car. Yes, of course caching that way means to accept some compromises. I e.g. did a 120 km multi cache around my home town in eight legs and only used public transportation. Of course my total track length increased by about 25km and I had to plan my legs very carefully and it was not possible to just start spontaneously because there might be only 1 or at most two fitting bus services or none at all on Sunday. It is, however, not always the most convenient way that is the best. In case someone has to arrange his daily way to work, I can understand that often the car is the only available option, but as leisure activities are regarded this is true only for a minority group. (The size of the group of course varies from country to country and from region to region.) Let's face it, geocaching is basically a motorist's pastime. Actually, it turned into that direction over the years. When I started geocaching, almost all cachers in my area were mainly interested into hiking and enjoying the nature and not in driving around long distances with their cars. Cezanne Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Jeb Bush/Palin ticket?, now you're scarin me. Scaring you STRAIGHT!!! Jeb Bush met secretly with Obama to discuss how he will turn over the presidency to him during the 2012 election. This occured after a public appearance at a Miami high school: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110304/pl_yblog_theticket/jeb-bush-was-not-about-to-let-president-obama-sneak-a-hug The rising gas prices are planned to peak in 2012, slowing the economy and triggering a second financial collapse. Edited March 5, 2011 by 4wheelin_fool Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 The rising gas prices are planned to peak in 2012, slowing the economy and triggering a second financial collapse. But it's all gonna be over after 2012 anyway, so what's the point? Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 My advice... start caching as far from home as you can afford. Looks as though your affordable radius will be quickly decreasing soon. Meh, I have about 100 caches in about a 5 mile radius, that'll keep me busy for a while. Exactly my point. Once you have those caches found, you will have to widen your radius/drive further. Do you think that gas will be cheaper by then? Get those now, and when gas is up to $5 / gal, then you can get those within 5 miles. Quote Link to comment
knowschad Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 (edited) Jeb Bush/Palin ticket?, now you're scarin me. Scaring you STRAIGHT!!! Jeb Bush met secretly with Obama to discuss how he will turn over the presidency to him during the 2012 election. This occured after a public appearance at a Miami high school: http://news.yahoo.co...ama-sneak-a-hug The rising gas prices are planned to peak in 2012, slowing the economy and triggering a second financial collapse. If that isn't the secret handshake, then I'll be a monkey's uncle!! Notice Jeb's hair cleverly covering up the pointed reptilian ears? [Edited to erase top secret information] Edited March 5, 2011 by knowschad Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 If that isn't the secret handshake, then I'll be a monkey's uncle!! Notice Jeb's hair cleverly covering up the pointed reptilian ears? [Edited to erase top secret information] They are the same ears that Hinckley has! But I already covered that in another thread.. Quote Link to comment
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