History Main / NoBikesInTheApocalypse

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E127TheOldManInTheCave The Old Man in the Cave]]", the residents of the Village use dilapidated cars drawn by horses.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Zig-zagged. The group doesn't seem to grab a bike from anywhere, despite having practically the whole world to pick from. Averted in the pilot, though: after getting out the hospital, Rick rides a bike for a few minutes before abandoning it. Bikes show up again quite a bit later in the Season 7 finale, being used alongside garbage trucks by the Scavengers. Some of the last[[note]]before the season got extended by several episodes thanks to a retooling enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic[[/note]] episodes of Season 10 also see Eugene’s group find a group of bikes. Yumiko bemoans that the "wheels" promised by Princess aren’t automobiles since they’re on a tight schedule, but Eugene takes it in stride, pointing out that going a few more miles per hour beats traveling on foot.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Zig-zagged. The group doesn't seem to grab a bike from anywhere, despite having practically the whole world to pick from. Averted in the pilot, though: after getting out the hospital, Rick rides a bike for a few minutes before abandoning it. Bikes show up again quite a bit later in the Season 7 finale, being used alongside garbage trucks by the Scavengers.

* In the ''Homo Superior'' arc of ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'', a man named Greg happened to have been heading to the Florida trails for a biking and camping when the outbreak hit. He abandons his truck after learning that the roads and towns are overrun ([[TaughtByExperience and nearly getting killed in the first town he passed through]]) and sticks to the trails with his bike, where the Crossed are less prevalent. He meets another survivor named Steve, who has the same idea. They have a good run but are eventually forced to abandon their bikes after reaching the Everglades.

* In the ''Homo Superior'' arc of Crossed, a man named Greg happened to have been heading to the Florida trails for a biking and camping when the outbreak hit. He abandons his truck after learning that the roads and towns are overrun ([[TaughtByExperience and nearly getting killed in the first town he passed through]]) and sticks to the trails with his bike, where the Crossed are less prevalent. He meets another survivor named Steve, who has the same idea. They have a good run but are eventually forced to abandon their bikes after reaching the Everglades.

* In the ''Homo Superior'' arc of Crossed, a man named Greg happened to have been heading to the Florida trails for a biking and camping when the outbreak hit. He abandons his truck after learning that the roads and towns are overrun ([[TaughtByExperience and nearly getting killed in the first town he passed through]]) and sticks to the trails with his bike, where the Crossed are less prevalent. He meets another survivor named Steve, who has the same idea. They have a good run but are eventually forced to abandon their bikes after reaching an especially bad part of the Everglades.

* In the second arc of [[ComicBook/Crossed Crossed: Badlands]], a man named Greg happened to have been heading to the Florida trails for a biking and camping when the outbreak hit. He abandons his truck after learning that the roads and towns are overrun ([[TaughtByExperience and nearly getting killed in the first town he passed through]]) and sticks to the trails with his bike, where the Crossed are less prevalent. He meets another survivor named Steve, who has the same idea. They have a good run but are eventually forced to abandon their bikes after reaching the Everglades.

* ''Series/TheTribe'': Characters largely move around the city on foot; but also use bikes, skateboards, and roller skates. Of the original groups, only the Locos have a single working car. Justified even before the gas runs out by many of the survivors of the virus being kids who were too young to have learned how to drive.

On the other hand, the reasons might have less to do with what makes sense for the characters and more with what makes a better story. A great deal of the world's fiction is written in the United States, where bicycles are seen as uncool transportation devices for children, recreation and tree-hugging hippies. It might undercut the drama of a bleak post-apocalyptic thriller if our grizzled hero is pedaling around on a BMX bike. It's generally more interesting if our heroes find a CoolCar or BigBadassRig. Driving and scavenging for fuel provide opportunities for dialogue and characterization moments that would be more difficult if our characters were bicycling, and there are also opportunities for [[TheAllegedCar mechanical breakdowns]], unexpected fuel shortages and JammedSeatbelts to add some surprise [[RuleOfDrama drama]]. And all of this is to say nothing of the opportunities for auto ProductPlacement.

Compare SchizoTech and ScavengerWorld. Contrast RagnarokProofing, for those rare cases where bicycles (among other objects) ''are'' still around and in working order, even though bearings and chains should have long since rusted solid and rubber tires decayed into uselessness. Often involves GasolineLastsForever, where people still use cars instead of bikes years after the fuel should have become unusable.