Best way out of Dublin in the event of a pandemic/apocolypse?

Denerick

I spend an unhealthy amount of time wondering how I'll escape the city of Dublin in the event of a pandemic (presumably I'll have a natural resistance to it along with maybe 1% of the population) or the apocolpyse (In this case, the zombie apocolypse)

I was thinking that my best bet would be by bicycle. There wouldn't be a chance of getting your car through the city as the roads would be chock a block with desperate people trying to escape. If its the zombie apocolypse you'll have to content with legions of undead craving your brain - hopefully they're crawlers and not the super fast 28 days later variety. So naturally I would need to butcher a zombie, wear a trenchcoat and cover his blood and cuts all over me so that I can blend in as best I can.

How long would it take to cycle out of the city (I'd be away off to a big farm up the country or something) and realistically what are your chances of surviving and not getting eaten alive in the process? What would be the best route? Should you allow others to tag along or should you go solo?

In some ways I'm kinda annoyed there never will be a zombie apocolypse because I think I'd be kinda good at surviving it!

Doc Ruby

Well leaving aside the question of zombies as there's a perfectly good forum for that purpose, here are my thoughts:

Step one, as always, stop and think. If you're immune, what's the rush? Sit back and relax while everyone else is running away, then wander out when its all over. If you aren't immune, you really shouldn't be mixing with hordes of refugees either, you should hunker down until the initial panic is through. In both cases making a break for it is counterproductive.

You should by rights have at least 3-4 weeks worth of food and water in your place, lifeboat rations, dried meat and legumes, vitamin pills, soup, honey, small but high value foodstuffs. Most people will have maybe 3-4 days food at home, so in the spirit of not doing what everyone else does you're ahead of the curve already.

Other people take it to extremes, the Mormons for example mandate a year's supply in each home, which is a bit much, but there are a variety of useful tools that can be picked up on the cheap and are handy in emergencies to better the odds somewhat. I swear by the kelly kettle, my leatherman, and a firesteel, with a good stretch of paracord, I don't really need much else. I have a lot more of course, but that would be the basics.

The time to move, aside from scouting, is when you have about a week of supplies left. That means your supplies are portable and you have enough time to get somewhere useful.

Where things get scary is when you don't have Stand-style epidemic, but rather a creeping plague with a high mortality rate. Society can keep ticking over plenty long enough for your supplies to run out in such a scenario, meaning you'd have to go mix with everyone else to get more stuff, and you won't be running off to some mythical farm unless you want to be shot for taking over someone's property. Tricky one. But in that case there won't be a swarm of people fleeing the capital either, at least not all at once, so again the escape route question is academic.

Maybe the only situation where getting out of Dublin in a hurry would become an issue would be if nuclear war broke out or a meteor was going to hit the place or something like that, too unlikely to bother with. Of course nobody can foresee all possibilities so maybe its best to have a plan along those lines, but I have a hard time envisioning a realistic scenario that would need to use it.

Rhinocharge

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Maybe the only situation where getting out of Dublin in a hurry would become an issue would be if nuclear war broke out or a meteor was going to hit the place or something like that, too unlikely to bother with. Of course nobody can foresee all possibilities so maybe its best to have a plan along those lines, but I have a hard time envisioning a realistic scenario that would need to use it.

Biological attack could be a contender. Either a pathogen or a biotoxin.
A motorbike gives you better options to escape the city limits.
OP which area of Dublin are you living?

Denerick

Rhinocharge wrote: »

Biological attack could be a contender. Either a pathogen or a biotoxin.
A motorbike gives you better options to escape the city limits.
OP which area of Dublin are you living?

A motorbike sounds good but in reality all of the roads will be virtually unpassable with it due to the high concentration of cars (The motorways too) I'm from the city center, which would be pretty much ground zero in the event of any kind of apocalyptic occurrence. Still think the humble bicycle would be my best bet.

I do think getting out of the city early is still the best plan though. I'm originally from the country so I'd just retreat to my old family home. As Doc Ruby has said it could be a plague instead of an instantaneous pandemic, in which case society and governance would probably break down (The Irish military is too weak to impose any effective martial law). I'd have bandits and thieves to contend with then. (My prized collection of tinned tomatoes all too vulnerable in this scenario). At least in the country you can grow your own veg and keep your own livestock, more than enough to keep a couple of families worth of survivors well fed.

Rhinocharge

Denerick wrote: »

A motorbike sounds good but in reality all of the roads will be virtually unpassable with it due to the high concentration of cars (The motorways too) I'm from the city center, which would be pretty much ground zero in the event of any kind of apocalyptic occurrence. Still think the humble bicycle would be my best bet.

I do think getting out of the city early is still the best plan though. I'm originally from the country so I'd just retreat to my old family home. As Doc Ruby has said it could be a plague instead of an instantaneous pandemic, in which case society and governance would probably break down (The Irish military is too weak to impose any effective martial law). I'd have bandits and thieves to contend with then. (My prized collection of tinned tomatoes all too vulnerable in this scenario). At least in the country you can grow your own veg and keep your own livestock, more than enough to keep a couple of families worth of survivors well fed.

Well you can drive a motorbike across fields, parks & greens if need be, in & out of traffic, around traffic, down lane ways, over pedestrian bridges & footpaths. One way streets wouldn't be an issue either.

Head towards the Phoenix park & cut straight through same. After that you have the choice of heading north or south bound.
There are back roads in every housing estate in Dublin that you can use to get out if you really wanted it's all about knowing the city.

Denerick

Rhinocharge wrote: »

Well you can drive a motorbike across fields, parks & greens if need be, in & out of traffic, around traffic, down lane ways, over pedestrian bridges & footpaths. One way streets wouldn't be an issue either.

Head towards the Phoenix park & cut straight through same. After that you have the choice of heading north or south bound.
There are back roads in every housing estate in Dublin that you can use to get out if you really wanted it's all about knowing the city.

I'm pretty handy on my bicycle, explored and lived in most parts of the inner city (From Drumcondra as south as Ranelagh) over the years, cycled down many of those lanes as well.

What do you do about the roving armed bandits though?

username123

One of those Domino pizza delivery mopeds would be useful, small and light enough to lift over or around some blockages, and with the box for carrying supplies.

Id be straight up to the nearest farmhouse looking for a firearm. Do Garda Stations have firearms?

Denerick

username123 wrote: »

One of those Domino pizza delivery mopeds would be useful, small and light enough to lift over or around some blockages, and with the box for carrying supplies.

Id be straight up to the nearest farmhouse looking for a firearm. Do Garda Stations have firearms?

Yes, homicide detectives are mostly armed and the bigger ones have an armoury which has an array of light arms. The HQ in the park is your best bet.

username123

Denerick wrote: »

Yes, homicide detectives are mostly armed and the bigger ones have an armoury which has an array of light arms. The HQ in the park is your best bet.

Bit far for me to get to - weighing up risk of being attacked. Better for me to get going.

The island that waterford castle is on would be a good place to go, you could cut the lines for the barge and wreck the footbridge - people could swim over, but safe from zombies. If you got a reasonable crew together you could defend it - plus there are lots of deer in the woods and mushrooms for foraging. The castle walls are thick too, if you had control of it it would be a good place to hole up while you thought about your next move.

Ken.

Get a medium size boat,stock up as much stuff as possible and sail down the liffey.

Rhinocharge

Denerick wrote: »

I'm pretty handy on my bicycle, explored and lived in most parts of the inner city (From Drumcondra as south as Ranelagh) over the years, cycled down many of those lanes as well.

What do you do about the roving armed bandits though?

Drumcondra to Ranelagh is still well inside the city limits though. You need to have the knowledge of areas beyond that to get out of danger. They are also heavily populated areas. Meaning crowds of people on the streets.

Well if you get out of the city you won't have to deal with too many armed gangs.
If you get caught by them, pedal fast or don't get caught.

Paddysnapper

:eek:.... Just stay where you are:cool::cool::cool::cool:... Why should use reviled culchies have to suffer:eek::eek::eek:

Witcher

username123 wrote: »

Id be straight up to the nearest farmhouse looking for a firearm. Do Garda Stations have firearms?

Farmers wouldn't appreciate you trying to steal from them and you could find yourself under a mound in a field:pac:

Realistically in Ireland you have to do your planning under the assumption you'll never come across a firearm because those that do have them will prize them, you won't be trading a bag of jelly beans for one that's for sure...spears all round:P

username123

Blay wrote: »

Farmers wouldn't appreciate you trying to steal from them and you could find yourself under a mound in a field:pac:

Oh, I was on the assumption that the farmer had succumbed to the virus. I know they have firearms in the nearest one to me because I hear them shooting sometimes.

That said, given the noise of a firearm, perhaps a bludgeoning type weapon would be a better option.

Doc Ruby

Can't talk about guns guys, zombie survival is pure fantasy and so okay, hunting is shooting animals, so also okay, but hereabouts the lines get a little blurred which is dodgyville.

I do however keep a cold steel shillelagh walking stick for hiking purposes, really great for that.

Remmy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

I do however keep a cold steel shillelagh walking stick for hiking purposes, really great for that.

OT but did you have much bother getting that into Eire?

Doc Ruby

Remmy wrote: »

OT but did you have much bother getting that into Eire?

Nah not a bother, its just a walking stick, and that's the only purpose it will ever be put to.

opti76

get a rokon ...http://www.rokon.com/

bonniebede

I like the idea of a bike as bug out vehicle, with paniers and maybe a little cart to tow.

Agree with Doc that you should have the supplies to stay in place for a while and choose the optimum time to bug out to the countryside, which is the onlut longterm option for survival.

One thing to think abotu in the case of a pandemic, slow fast or otherwise, is that as society breaks down, other diseases will spread opportunistically.

Unburied bodies for exmple are a hygiene hazard, water supplies may be off, or unsafe and so you would need to have water reserves and harvesting, purifying technology, which can be operated in a fairly covert way.

Maps and compass and so on for navigation are a definite part of my bug out bag, as is scouting routes for car, bike and on foot to get to my rural location.

Somethings you can only make a judgement call on as the situation unfolds. For example, suppose this pandemic of yours hits somewhere else first, say, asia, so there is time to hear about it and judge its potential. Thats when being prepped and ready to bug out comes in handy. You can move stocks, relocate, even buy a bit more while everyone else is carrying on as normal, and then be ready to go into quarantine before the danger is widespread.

Heres a question. Suppose you manage to isolate yourself/family/small group while the pandemic burns through, once you are in the rebuilding phase, do you remain in quarantine, or how do you go about managing that? What i'm thinking about is that some will survive becasue of isolation, others because of some immunity or genetic advantage, butr that means they could be carriers. How do you handle that?

ShadowFox

I see alot more cons to a bicycle than pros like if the place is flooded or covered in snow/ice plus your limited to the weight you can carry and speed you can get out of the infected area in
Id look at "borrowing" a boat from Howth Malahide Bray Dunlaoghaire and making my escape by sea. A couple of friends of mine hire a boat ( and skipper) in Dunlaoghaire to go fishing from time to time (easy way to learn how one works) Id also say that 80% of people in this country are sheep and would never think of leaving the city until they were told to by the Government so i wouldnt say there would be a major problem on the back roads out of the city as most people use the main motor ways and bypasses as they use them in every day life and they dont have a clue about the back roads

Tabnabs

If you're in the city centre then forget any of the harbours mentioned above (much further than necessary), head straight for Poolbeg on the south bank of the Liffey and choose one of theirs!

I'd also through the LUAS and train lines into the mix. Obviously a huge safety concern if they are running, but I can't see Irish Rail employees being bothered to work post SHTF?

Finally, don't forget about the Royal and Grand canals. Nice and straight with a path on one side of the other for the entire length to the Shannon (with the possibility of accommodation on the boats along the way).

Markcheese

ken wrote: »

Get a medium size boat,stock up as much stuff as possible and sail down the liffey.

Are there many useable (fueled and easy to manover) boats in Dublin .
Are there paths along the canals still ? Assume most people would overlook tow paths as main routeway... No steep slopes so easy on a bike .... Or just a punt with a small outboard and oars (and a lock key ) a canoe if yr going solo and quietly.,.. If the power is out and there are no street lights would people hang around canals and locks ...

I suppose the trains and Luas are out of action in this apocalypse, either through lack of fuel/power or the organisations have disintegrated, so the lines are a walkway and well fenced so even if someone wants to do you harm it'll take a while for them to get at you...

ShadowFox

Markcheese wrote: »

Are there many useable (fueled and easy to manover) boats in Dublin .
Are there paths along the canals still ? Assume most people would overlook tow paths as main routeway... No steep slopes so easy on a bike .... Or just a punt with a small outboard and oars (and a lock key ) a canoe if yr going solo and quietly.,.. If the power is out and there are no street lights would people hang around canals and locks ...

I suppose the trains and Luas are out of action in this apocalypse, either through lack of fuel/power or the organisations have disintegrated, so the lines are a walkway and well fenced so even if someone wants to do you harm it'll take a while for them to get at you...

Id give the train lines a miss even if the SHTF and there are no passenger trains out Maintenance trains would be out checking the lines and repairing signals there is more than enough fuel storage to keep maintenance running for months
Also the lines arent that well fenced in so id still be on my guard if i was mad enough to risk walking the lines

Rodin

Take to the sea

Danpad

One option I've always thought of is to get onto the Wicklow way trails and camp/hike my way into Wexford, avoiding the main urban areas whilst heading for the south coast. Hopefully (and that's a BIG 'hopefully') on the trails you'd only ever encounter like minded people. There may be a chance to buddy up or form a survival group. I couldn't see the rampaging maniacs heading for the trails of the Wicklow way in a sitX.

ShadowFox

Danpad wrote: »

One option I've always thought of is to get onto the Wicklow way trails and camp/hike my way into Wexford, avoiding the main urban areas whilst heading for the south coast. Hopefully (and that's a BIG 'hopefully') on the trails you'd only ever encounter like minded people. There may be a chance to buddy up or form a survival group. I couldn't see the rampaging maniacs heading for the trails of the Wicklow way in a sitX.

Also an ideal place to hide caches of supplies on your route using gps way points