The Wheeled Warriors of the Wastes
The cold spell was a curse for many. It killed crops, wiped out animals, and killed thousands of men and women. However, it was a blessing for many others. As rain came back to the deserts of the west, forests grew and villages thrived. However, areas like the Chihuahuan Desert only received a slight increase in rainfall. While the forests around them began to grow, many of the nomads were unaware about the droughts and harvests that happened around them. However, they began to use the expanding forests to good use and created strange wooden machines.
Tales of the early collapse were mostly about men riding metal machines through the barren wasteland. However, metal turns to rust and the fuel for these metal machines became harder to find. So mankind turned to the beasts of the world for guidance. But just like man and his machines, the creatures that man tamed had their limits. They required more food and water than your Uncle Joe and would die in the extreme cold or heat. This was the case for the the Chihuahuan desert who had lands so barren, not even the horse arches would think about raiding it. With no horse and no cattle, the Chihuahuas picked up their tools and created something new.
The people would take long walks up the ‘sky islands’ which had large and bountiful forests on their peaks. The trees that grew upon these mountains held the leaves and wood that created their homes. Yet wood was not the deserts only gift for you will spot prickly pears and mormon tea in these drylands. However, the mountain's resources did not last forever and forcing people to once again, roam the lowlands. It was clear that the people of Chihuahua would need a new form of transport that would not only minimize exhaustion, but also allow them to deliver loads that a man could not carry on his own. The vehicle was an odd wooden structure that was known as the kickbike or the ruedaleta.
As you know, metal is much too expensive for something so frivolous in the middle ages especially for a nomad. That is why all kickbikes are created from the wood harvested from the mountain trees. Many could also argue that a wooden chain is far too fragile for something that is used so frequently. That is why the kickbikes are not pedal-powered but powered by one kicking the ground of with his or her foot. The closest thing we have to a kickbike is a large knee scooter with a cart attached to the front. By balancing your body, you can waste much less energy than running especially in the hot summers.
The people of Chihuahua mostly used this as a vehicle that could carry around light loads. The kickbikes were also much faster than your brother Jimmy carrying around a cart all day. These were very useful for the nomads that lived in places where the horse and the camel was rare. It was also much easier to chase down your prey if you didn’t carry all of your weapons on your back. The stray cattle population was hardly affected by the mexican wolves and the increased rainfall only allowed its numbers to grow. This was good news for the desert men that found a new way to bring the hides, meat, and bones back to base camp.
As the years passed, the kickbike found another place in Chihuahuan society, warfare. When the warrior cultures declared war upon each other, the kickbike was used to send messages from camp to camp. No longer would a messenger suffer the fate of Pheidippides by dying only minutes after completing his or her mission. However, they also sent scouts that could travel long distances and spy on enemy tribes and report back to the elders. Smoke messengers could send signals from far away to alert the tribe whether or not they found food.
Mobile infantry now existed thanks to these vehicles and these military kickbikes were usually ridden by two people. The person in the back would usually be the one to power and steer the vehicle while the person in the front would shoot arrows or throw knives at their unsuspecting victims. Several modifications have been made to this machine such as adding daggers, shields, or spikes in order to wound your enemies. While some horses did roam the southern deserts, it was the ruedaleta that allowed the nomads to prosper.