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Bicycles and Transportation:
For standard bicycle repair, see Bike_Web_Site (which is now free). Two excellent books on bicycle repair are; The Haynes Bicycle Book: The Haynes Repair Manual for Maintaining and Repairing Your Bike by Bob Henderson; and The Bicycle Repair Book : the New Complete Manual of Bicycle Care by Rob Van Der Plas. I found three organizations that will help with your bicycle needs: ITDP (they may be useful for other transportation as well), Bikes_Not_Bombs and International_Bicycle_Fund.
Recumbent bicycles are very fast (20 MPH) in flat areas (they are slow uphill) and don't require gasoline or much maintenance. They are comparable to a car in short commutes and highly recommended for the cities. See 'recumbent plans' at mamma.com ; and LaBent, RQRiley for the basics of recumbent design.
A recumbent bicycle is a very, very good idea for urban areas, and you might find a local bicycle or machine shop that can help you with the tools necessary to build your own from plans. This takes manufactured materials and knowledge of welding and the basics of bicycle manufacture. It is absolutely worth it as a substitute for buying a car or missing the advantage of transportation for work. And if you would rather just buy a recumbent already made, see 'recumbent bicycle' at google.com . You will have to write some letters, but you can probably find a recumbent bicycle dealer that can ship you a bike. Again, they are mainly for flat areas and are great for city commuting.
Another option is the electric bicycle. The electric bicycle is easier up hills (just turn on the battery) and can be used as a conventional bicycle. Please see Electric_Bikes_Northwest for more information. I need to caution you that electric bicycles have a short charge span (about 20 miles) and need an electric outlet to recharge the battery.
If you are driving and therefore supporting the oil industry (which kills thousands of people due to war and pollutes the environment, including causing global warming) please see the Chilton and Haynes manuals for repair. 'Chilton' is the best car repair manual series, and Chilton guides (highly recommended) for the specific make, model and year of your car can be found at Chilton's_Online for your specific vehicle needs, although the site appears to be finicky. For auto repair the Haynes manual is also very useful and easier to read than Chilton's: Hayne's_Manual
Caution: Cars that are improperly repaired are dangerous to the occupants of the car and to other drivers on the road. If at all possible, repair your vehicle with a friend or family member that is a mechanic or who has successfully repaired cars before.
I found a website on converting a gasoline engine to organic fuels, Veggie_Van . This is not popular in the US, but you might enjoy it. It certainly is thrifty! Ethanol (alcohol derivative of corn or other organic matter) is also a subject of research for fueling vehicles. Also, hydrogen powered (fuel cell) cars will be coming out soon.
Since trucks and other vehicles are so expensive to maintain I suggest that if you buy a necessary vehicle like a pickup truck that you buy it together with friends and family. This way, everyone benefits from the use of the vehicle and when there is a breakdown there is money and plenty of people to work on the vehicle. Just work it out together in the community.
For standard motorcycle repair I found a website, Dan's_Online_Motorcycle_Repair. It looked very useful (although annoyingly religious). The leading dealer for motorcycle repair manuals seems to be Camry, and I found a website that you will really like at Repair_Manuals.com
Motorcycles take less gas than cars, but are very, very dangerous. Enjoy them with a healthy respect for your personal safety and always wear a helmet and protective (leather) clothing.
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