"Mike Fields" wrote:

Actually the solution is to put a pickup coil on the bottom of the
bike and magnets in the road -- the faster you go, the more
energy you get from the "linear generator" (and if you don't get
enough that way, you can use an amplifier). ..... WHAT ??
there is a problem with that reasoning ??? ;-)

Reverse the setup, power the coils, and you have a railgun. Actually,
that could be the seed of an interesting idea. You would need to
build some access bridges, but the technology is simple...

Convert one HOV lane on a freeway to bicycles only and barricade it
off from other traffic. One freeway lane could probably fit four bike
lanes, two in each direction. Put four lines of your coils in the
roadway, equip the bikes with a drop-down metal plate, magnet, or
coil, and phase the energising of the road coils to power the bikes at
25 mph. Since the bikes would be forced into traveling at a constant
rate of speed relative to each other, and have to center over the
energised coils, accidents would be minimized and there would be no
traffic jams caused by "slowpoke" drivers. Make a covered recumbant
bike to keep the elements off the rider, and a lot of commuters would
be interested.

With stops and traffic, busses have an average speed that is often
less than what this setup would allow. Freeways in most major cities
get to gridlock during rush hours, making this type of transportation
faster and cheaper. Pollution and noise is taken out of city centers
and moved to more efficient (and possibly environmentally friendly)
power plants. There is no physical connection or moving parts within
the powering coils, so they should last as long as the roadway. The
lighter bike frames cutting through the air at a slower speed than
cars reduces energy use. The cost of building a bike with no onboard
motor is less than building a car or motorcycle. Parking lots could
double or triple capacity.