SpaceSteak

Wait so you mean if you have a healthy (and might I add educated) population, everyone benefits in the long run because everyone is worth more?

Mind = blown

Next you're going to tell me that treating sick people should also be a basic moral obligation for any society that has the means to do so?! Blasphemy.

LOL. It clearly makes way more sense to set people's health as a for-profit business where the end-game is trying to treat as many people as possible for the least important things as possible, thereby creating a feedback loop of health problems. Anyone who disagrees is a Stalin-level communist and deserves to go to the Gulag. Aka for-profit prisons.

Really depends. Certain highs can really help connect you more to the trail, make you hyper aware of everything around you and slow down time.

Not the OP, but traveled through South America on bike with my gf. The standard budget bike in the touring community is the Surly Long Haul Trucker (http://m6.i.pbase.com/g4/85/557985/2/65432496.jy0twfiN.jpg ) or the alternative from different manufacturers.

The problem with a lot of regular road, mountain or hybrid bikes is that they aren't made to carry tons of equipment... so there are custom bikes just for carrying lots of kit and maximum comfort. Tires depends on terrain you'll face, but with all the extra weight, I would never be comfortable with skinny tires. We used some nice bight Schwalbes and no flats throughout our trip.

There are specific types of Roman-like sandals that wrap around your foot that are great. I've been running in sandals for 5-6 years now, as completely barefoot in a big city is no fun, and they're great. Very light, completely breathable and they dry in an instant. I've done ultras in sandals and the run part of an Ironman.

The only downside is the fashion aspect... no matter how fast you're running, people are still weirded out by it.