Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 3

Boy am I glad that I drove the extra miles yesterday! The weather today wasn’t the greatest and most of the morning I was driving through spitting rain. This was a bit of a concern since I had planned on driving some twisty roads; and didn’t know if they would be effected.

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Fortunately Wyoming has an awesome website for tracking road conditions (Wyoming Travel Information Map). I was even able to pull-up a webcam for each of the twisty roads I planned on driving so I could monitor road conditions. I was also able to see one area of WY-70 that was under construction after a landslide… and that the detour was appropriate for the lowered suspension of the G8.

I’ve been spending far too much time driving on I-80 the past few days, but today I made a detour to drive some twisty roads. It felt a little weird getting off the interstate to drive 48 minutes the wrong way, but when I turned onto Wyoming 70 it was totally worth it.

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WY-70 is mostly sweeping curves, and climbs nearly 3000ft into the mountains. The best sections are in the Medicine Bow National Forest, where the road winds through a mixture of birch and pine forests. The weather today resulted in most of the views being obstructed, but it was very cool driving though the fog/rain.

The posted 55 mph speed limit was very obtainable in the corners, but the wet roads made things a little challenging… it was fun having to dodge the standing water in the curves. My favorite part of this drive was the complete lack of people on the road. I think I counted a total of three cars driving in the same direction as me, all of which were very easy to pass. For about half an hour I must have had a stupid grin on my face… the drive was quite euphoric!

The last 150 miles of my day was back on I-80 cruising at 75mph. There was a little rain at first, and I was surprised to see signs saying “Wet Pavement Turn off Cruise Control”… I guess it makes you pay attention a little more (and keeps your car from running away if your wheels start to spin). Fortunately the rain didn’t last too long and I was able to enjoy the nearly empty road a little more.

So far on this trip I’ve been very good about filling-up on gas early; as I don’t want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. As I approached Nebraska I started looking at my fuel gauge and where the next gas station was. I found myself ~35 miles from my stopping point for the day with a little over 1/8th of a tank left… and figured I’d be able to make it.

Just as I pasted the “last gas” sign the “Low Fuel” indicator turned on and I had no choice but to push it! I started looking at the numbers, trying to see if my instantaneous fuel economy would increase if I slowed down to 65 mph… or if I drafted a semi-truck. The last few miles were a little nerve-wracking, but I pulled into the gas station with the gauge hovering just above empty (I didn’t get the “Very Low Fuel” alarm, and took 16.738 gallons to fill-up).

After getting gas I headed-out to find a place to take a photo that said “Welcome to Nebraska”. As I drove down the street I found the perfect thing… What else says Nebraska better than a harvester?

Today I logged 529 miles and had a very enjoyable time. I only have ~700 miles left to drive until I reach Bettendorf, IA for the National G8 Meet. I don’t have any more twisty roads planned (there are no mountains in these areas of Nebraska and Iowa), so will be traveling on I-80. While I could go crazy and drive all the way to Bettendorf tomorrow, one of the reasons I left a day early was so that I could take my time.

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 2

Welcome to Utah! I spent several months this year working in this area (one of the reasons I have so many free hotels), so figured it would be fitting to stop-by on my way through.

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I left my hotel a little earlier than expected (for some reason I woke-up early, I guess it’s all the anticipation). The drive on I-80 through Eastern Nevada was enjoyable, but nothing too exciting. However, on my way I came across a couple cars I had seen at a rest stop yesterday. What stood-out were the large CB antennas mounted on the backs of the sports cars. I figure the group is going someplace fun, as there were several Corvettes (including a Le Mans C6.R tribute car), 350z, GT-R, etc.!

The caravan eventually pulled-off at a rest stop, so I wasn’t able to determine who they were or where they were going. Since most people had California license plates, I can only figure they were going my way… maybe to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah?

As I entered Utah I noticed some road signs and had to pull-off to take a photo!

Earlier in the year I was in Tooele, UT and contemplated making the drive to Bonneville for Speed Weeks, but it just didn’t workout. While I didn’t go drive on the salt, it was really cool visiting the place where land speed records are broken!

I had originally planned on making a detour to drive the roads that I took to/from work every day when I was working in Utah. After considering it a little more, I realized that driving almost 2hrs out of the way (into the middle of the desert on “Skull Valley Rd” none the less) for a 10min section of twisty roads is crazy… even for me!

Earlier this year I took a Road Trip in a rental V6 Mustang. One of the roads I drove was Utah-65. I was so impressed by it after the first time driving it that I went out of my way to drive it a second time!

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I knew I had to drive this road in the G8, and it was a good excuse to get off of I-80. I was a little leery driving this road on Labor Day weekend, since there is a reservoir at the end (with RVs, people towing boats, etc.). To my surprise I was able to make the entire run up the hill without any slow vehicles in my way! On my way down I only had one slowpoke, but I just stopped and gave myself some room to play.

The G8 did a great job on UT-65 road… with the only drama occurring when I was a little over zealous with my corner speed (the car wanted to push into the oncoming lane). The Bridgestone RE-11’s are working out nicely as well, and even “protesting” (aka. squealing) when they are being pushed (unlike my RE050a’s which almost never made noise until the car didn’t want to turn).

I was really surprised how much more invigorated I became after driving a few miles of twisty roads. I was originally scheduled to spend the night in Evanston, but when I arrived a little after 1pm I decided I could cover some more distance today. After a few phone calls I changed my reservation and headed East towards Rock Springs, WY.

The scenery in Wyoming is definitely different than it is in California. While things were still quite brown in spots, Wyoming has all sorts of awesome rock formations. The different valleys and rivers were very unique.

Today I covered over 400 miles across three states. With the extra 100 miles I drove today it will make tomorrow’s drive quite a bit more manageable.

Pre-National G8 Meet: Day 1

Last year was the first for a National G8 Meet and it was a huge success (article in High Performance Pontiac). Unfortunately, since the meet was in Bettendorf, IA… and I was working on the East Coast… I was unable to attend.

This year, there was no way I was going to miss out on all the fun! While I’ve been spending far too much time away from home, spending some time driving across the Country sounds like a blast!

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I was originally scheduled to start the journey tomorrow, but just couldn’t wait! I crammed my trunk as full as it could and headed-out on the road.

The first day of my drive to the G8 National Meet took me 551 miles up and over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I need to be in Iowa by Thursday night, but whenever possible I’m trying to avoid hours of monotonous driving on I-80. In this regard I chose to take US-50 into South Lake Tahoe and then the Kingsbury Grade down into Carson City, NV.

The drive up US-50 was quite enjoyable. The first section was freshly paved, and after passing a slow moving car, I had it all to myself for ~10 miles. While US-50 is one lane each way, it does a great job providing passing lanes. Not only are they well marked (at the end of one lane they tell you how far to the next), but they also include curves. There is nothing better than blasting past slow cars on a climb (thank you Magnacharger) and flying past other cars when they slow down to take corners (thank you Pedders)!

I’ve wanted to drive the Kingsbury Grade for quite a while (since July 2009). Unlike US-50, the Kingsbury Grade is only one lane each way… and I found myself getting stuck behind a slow moving car. Fortunately the road was nearly empty, so I just slowed-down and played “catch-up” several times.

When I arrived in Carson City I was confronted with my first hurdle of the trip… a Check Engine light and the car going into “limp mode”! I quickly pulled-off the road and tried to figure out what was going on. The car was shaking quite heavily, like there was a big misfire… and there was almost zero power. Fortunately I had my DashHawk and could pull-up the Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC).

After some quick searching online, it sounded like the DTC wasn’t going to be too big of a deal. The first time I restarted the car it exited “limp mode” on its own. I waited a little while and everything seemed good (none of the previous symptoms). I used the DashHawk to clear the DTC and hit the road again.

The remainder of the drive was less exciting, as I just took I-80 into Elko, NV. While I’m sure I would have enjoyed going I-50 (“The Loneliest Road in America”) more, it just didn’t put me in the right place for tomorrow’s drive across Utah.

Driving on I-80 did give me some time to observe things… like how my Carbon Fiber hood moves/shakes when closely trailing another vehicle at 75mph. It’s not a speed thing, or really a “high winds” thing, rather the turbulence coming off the other vehicle. The first time I noticed it I was a little nervous, but after some experimentation it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be an issue (fingers crossed).

On I-80 I also spent quite some time observing how my radar detector works in the presence of LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers). In Nevada it seemed like ever few miles there was another Sheriff car/truck/bike trying to catch speeders. I was really impressed that most of the LEOs were not just sitting with their radar always on… rather they were turning their guns on/off for individual cars. While it made it a little more difficult to detect the LEOs, the Valentine 1 did an awesome job. If I hadn’t been going the speed limit, I would have had more than enough time to slow down before the speed traps.

Tonight I’m staying in a free hotel in Elko, NV. After checking-into the hotel I went out to snap a few quick photos, refill my gas tank, and get some dinner.

The worst part of today’s drive was the last mile of it. To get to the gas station I needed to travel through downtown Elko. It just so happens that they are repaving the main street, so I was forced to drive through a muddy construction zone. I wonder if Adam’s Waterless wash will work on the mud? Just kidding… good thing I didn’t wash my car before leaving!

Cross Country Drive

Soon I will be departing on a drive across the Country. My planned route takes me over 10,000 miles and through 19 states. On route I will be attending the 2nd Annual National G8 Meet (Bettendorf, IA) and GoatRun 2011 (Las Vegas, NV).

Most of the driving will be on backroads, avoiding the interstates. I have spent countless hours looking at maps and planning routes that travel every twisty road I can find. How twisty is the journey? For example, the direct route from St. Louis to Washington DC to Nashville is 1479 miles… my route is 4845 miles!

Most of the days are limited to 6-8hrs of driving, but many of them are 300 miles of almost non-stop twisty roads. Fortunately, I was able to plan ahead and book nice hotels along the journey… and I’m not paying for a single one of them (thank you non-stop travel for work)!

Stay tuned for updates as I make the journey, as I hope to have daily entries on my blog.