Stats from the drive down

Total elapsed time 12:15 (twelve hours, fifteen minutes)
Left my house at 3:10am, arrived at the SF Marriott at 3:25pm

Average speed 70.666 MPH.

Fuel stops: 3
5 gallons (from jerry can) in Jantzen Beach, Oregon
4.9 gallons from pump in some little Oregon town (the temp dropped radically in the hills below the Siskyous and I needed to thin my oil mixture)
9.9 gallon in Vacaville, CA (5 gallons from jerry can, 4.9 from pump)

Pit stops: 3
Two pee breaks and one look-see under my hood to check my air filter box duct-tape repair job

Run-ins with the law: 0

Issued Citations: 0

BUT, my overall slowish time was attributable to a significant number of Highway Patrolman out on the road, especially in California. More than I have ever seen here. I rolled up behind one, while going 100 MPH but recognized the silhouette of the Crown Vic from 2/10ths of a mile away and slowed up before he saw me. I paced him @ 80 MPH for easily 50 miles. :\

I did have several instances where the detector saved me from certain citation.

Average speeds (which includes stops… which you guys did not factor in!) on a per-hour basis were:
62.5 (I had a ~10 minute interlude where I stopped for a panic wallet search a few miles from my house!)
73.5
77
64
73
65
77
78
65
89
78
46

The first half of the trip was into a 40+ MPH headwind. This and my lead foot caused my worst mileage EVER in my car. 42.9 MPG.

–chuck

Arrived in SF…

I arrived yesterday afternoon. I apologize for making those of you that guessed the stats for the drive a bit, but in the meantime, enjoy the movie above, (or here to view) a timelapse of the drive. It starts just before dawn in Portland, Oregon, and finishes at the SF Marriott. There is a section of NoCal misssing due to a computer error. The WA portion was sort of dull to look at being in the dark.

More details of yesterday to come later… I have an important errand to run.

Prepping for a road trip.


Above: The TDI on the lift after an oil change last weekend.

I’m heading down to San Francisco next week. I’ll be speaking at Macworld Expo’s “Mac IT Conference”… so “why…” do you ask, “is this post listed under “Cars?”

Well, I did the math and the round trip drive should cost about $80*, as opposed to the $300 or so to fly. Go figure.

* roughly 2000 miles all told, which in my car should be around 40 gallons… figure $2.00 a gallon on a 40% mixture of my homebrew.

So I’m tossing about 25 gallons of my pre-mixed homebrew into the TDI’s trunk. Luggage will go in the back seat. I’ll pump half a tank of hot oil into the tank and pull out of Arlington in the pre-dawn darkness Sunday morning. Here is the route I plan on taking.

Knowing me so well, I suggest you guys make some guesses as to:

Total elapsed time, door to door (Arlington, WA, to downtown San Francisco)
Average speed.
Number of fueling stops. (car & driver)
Number of “pit” stops (driver)
Number of encounters with Local Constabulary.
Number of Issued Citations.

Anything else you think I may have left out.

I’ll also (hopefully) have a surprise for the blog if everything works out right. Stay tuned.

–chuck

65E gets “Pixared”

I couldn’t resist… Here is my son Nicholas, enjoying an ice cream break on our father/son roadtrip in 2003 with the 65E somewhere in NW Colorado… but somehow the Jaguar has gained a bit of personality!

Here is where I learned how to do it: How to do the “Cars” Photoshop.

Took me about 20 minutes. Very cool. What do ya think?

The Truth About Cars | German Speed Limits: I Can’t Drive 155?

The Truth About Cars | German Speed Limits: I Can’t Drive 155?

I recall being in the back of a big Benz cab, going from the Munich airport into the city (a very long drive)… I was behind the driver, with my co-worker opposite me. It was his first trip to Munich, but I had been there many times before. I was just looking out the window, enjoying the scenery when I turned to say something to him. I stopped speaking when I noted his eyeballs were as big as saucers. He was staring at the dashboard in front of the cab driver with a look of fear. I glanced over the driver’s shoulder and he had the big S-class barge floating along at well over 200 Kp/h.

I just smiled and said to my friend: “Welcome to Germany.”

Up until that moment, I had no sensation of speed at all… just another cab ride on the Autobahn.

I also agree that the 80-110 MPH zone on most restricted access highways is quite comfortable, and would be achievable here in the USA if they made getting (and keeping) a driver’s license more stringent than it is now. My son is 16 and I’ve been helping him learn, but the testing – at least in my state – is laughable. 20 questions, easily half of which are concerned with fines and DUI, and very little about actual driving.

Here, take it yourself!

That is an embarrassment and pretty much sums up why Americans drive the way they do.

–chuck