xcel
03-19-2008, 08:42 AM
Two Honda Civic Hybrids take on the continent in an around the clock hypermiling-adventure with members in tow. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=78579)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_in_Reno.jpgWayne Gerdes - CleanMPG (www.cleanmpg.com) - February 12, 2008
The Thomas Flyer - 1908 Automobile Race Champion driven by Montague Roberts and George Schuster.
An ever changing world brings with it new modes of transport. Starting with mastery of bipedal motion and ranging to beyond the time man walked on the moon, the destination has always been the same -- somewhere beyond the horizon …
During the dawn of the 20th century, America itself was in the midst of great change. Enter the automobile. At first cars were fragile luxury items but thanks to those tireless few who drove them around the world in 1908, the contraption once thought to be less reliable than a horse was now carrying the dreams of our forefathers not just over the horizon but much much further.
The 1908 Automobile Race was not so much a race as an endurance challenge conducted to determine whether or not it was actually possible to drive a motor vehicle across the United States (which in the winter had never been done before), and then completely around the world to Paris. In 1908 roads were nearly non-existent and much of the route was across horse and buggy paths or worse yet, nothing but unplowed snow or muddy fields. Anywhere from tens to hundreds of miles of back breaking work separated unscheduled way points and uncertain lodgings.
Building upon the illustrious history of the automobile, a team of CleanMPG members gathered to commemorate the dawn of the automobile age. Rather than looking back at the past, we drove cars that are the future of transportation in a bold reenactment of the Greatest Automobile Race ever held. Though very different from the Thomas Flyer, the same pioneering spirit was with us as two Honda Civic Hybrids traversed the country in a 24/7 marathon -- won not by speed, but by best conservation of fuel.
February's temperatures and our tight schedule were both less than ideal for a fuel economy challenge but in 1908, winter timing was crucial for the race. Back then, it was believed the entrants would be able to drive across the frozen Bering Strait... but they would need to do so before the ice broke up. Little did they know such a crossing was completely impossible due to inaccessibility and ice structure. We would not cross the Bering Strait either. Neither did we drive into and through Japan, China, Siberia or Europe, but we did retrace nearly the entire route for the US segment of the original challenge.
Launch on the morning of February 12, 2008: New York City, NY, Times Square
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Great_Race_North_American_Route.jpgNew York: New York City, Hudson, Fonda, Canastota, Geneva and Buffalo
Pennsylvania: Erie
Ohio: Toledo
Indiana: Kendallville, Wawaka, Goshen, South Bend, New Carlisle, Rolling Prairie, Chesterton and Burdick
Illinois: Chicago and Rochelle
Iowa: Clarence, Belle Plaine, Ogden and Logan
Nebraska: Omaha, Columbus, Lexington, and Sidney
Wyoming : Cheyenne, Laramie, Walcott, Rawlins, Granger, and Evanston
Utah: Morgan, Ogden and Promontory Point
Nevada: Cobre, Ely and Tonopah
California: Ballarat, Bakersfield, Los Banos and San Francisco
Destination - San Francisco, CA
Enter the 2008 North American Centennial Reenactment Automobiles
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/2005_HCH-I_Silver.jpg----http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/2008_HCH-II.jpg
------Laurie’s 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid 5-speed---------------------------Honda supplied 2008 HCH-II w/ NAVI Press Vehicle
2008 - North American Centennial Reenactment Automobile Drivers
Bailout (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=576) - Known for his escapades driving up one side and down the other of those almost always snow covered Sierra Nevada’s -- all while maintaining an expert rating in his Toyota Yaris!
Billy (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=28) - Anyone who has seen the most beautiful Insight on the planet has seen Billy behind the wheel. He is usually found in the upper reaches of Washington State but when out to hypermile, watch records fall!
Tarabell (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=33) - If you own an HCH-II and do not know who this young lady is, you have missed out on a gold mine for far too long ;) She is author of the most famous Honda Civic Hybrid-II driving document of all, Adapting Basic Hypermiling-Techniques to the HCH-II (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306).
Right Lane Cruiser (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=678) - Coming out of nowhere with a 30 mpg Hyundai Elantra, he figured out a way to pull 60 mpg in the middle of a MN winter before transitioning to the ultimate fuel saver of them all -- the 5-speed Honda Insight. Managing 100 + mpg segments in 30 degree temps is among his latest accomplishments.
Slow Hands (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=748) - Driving an ancient by today’s standards '96 Ford Ranger, he has accomplished lmpg numbers beyond anyone’s wildest imagination while running deep inside some of the worst that Chicago has to offer.
Xcel (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=3) - Ringleader of the band -- or is it the asylum? :)
1908 New York to Paris – Thomas Flyer Automobile Driver and Passengers
Montague Roberts - 25, Race Car driver and demonstrator for the Thomas New York Dealer.
George Schuster – 35, E. R. Thomas Motor Company Chief Mechanic
T. Walter Williams - NY Times Reporter
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/racers2.jpg
George Schuster – Feb. 11, 1908
I received a call to be in New York City the following morning to drive a Thomas Flyer around the world. I had 12 hours to catch an overnight train from New England for the start of the longest auto race in history. You bet I made it!
Ken
I first read the book about George Schuster and the Greatest Race when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade and it completely captivated me. My mom probably still has colored pencil drawings I did back then of the cars like the Thomas Flyer. Getting a call from Wayne to participate in this adventure was a thrill to say the least. Trying to get some 'period costume' pieces and 45 star US Flags and tire chains before heading out to New York City was maddening in some ways: watching the best looking hats or goggles disappear in the frantic last 2 seconds on bidding on eBay! Begging the people to please PLEASE ship so that I would have it before leaving on this adventure.
Sean
Preparing for this race was quite the adventure all by itself... I swapped cars with Laurie Thursday February 7th after work so that I could leave directly after work the following day to get to Wayne's house. I wasn't certain I'd ever be able to get my newly acquired Insight back from Laurie so I resolved to get as comfortable driving her car as possible -- just in case the swap should become permanent! :eek:
As I stood out in her work's parking lot for an hour with temperatures in the low teens, I wondered how often Schuster's team had done the same? I was pretty sure they hadn't watched the pressures in each tire rise agonizingly slowly... but maybe I was wrong? How many more times would I be doing this in the next week or so?
While I stood there using a brief flash of my keychain light every once in a while to check progress, I answered the frequent "Are you okay?" and "Flat tire, huh?" questions cheerfully and thought about all the other quirky behaviors I'd probably have to answer for. I glanced at my watch, noticing the late hour and regretting the need to tell my wife I would be home later than planned. "Oh well," I thought... "she'll have to get used to it." Little did I know how prescient that fleeting consideration was...
Pre-launch …
Ken
The morning of February 12, 2008 is one I will never forget. Franticly shoving breakfast down, wondering where Billy was, hoping to get the WAI kit installed in time, the flags mounted without getting torn off by passing traffic. Preparations ended up going like a well oiled machine - we scurried about the cars installing, cleaning, wiping, sticking, taping our way to the final 'look'. The excitement kept building the whole time, and crested when we headed out for Times Square.
Sean
New Yorkers aren't quite as oblivious as I'd been led to believe -- I had plenty of curious stares as I waited to get started. Maybe that was due to the "hat" Ken had provided to fill out my period dress. I guess a tall guy wearing what looks like a dead animal on his head while standing next to an American flag that just happens to be hanging out the window of a car sporting big white signs on the doors is sort of odd?
Tarabell
Before we launched I watched the guys open the WAI box from Bob Winger, and install the kits. You never saw grown men so excited, like kids on Christmas Day. Strange metal tubing and rubber parts were flying everywhere and there were grunts of excitement at every item, which had apparently all been tailored and cut perfectly in advance. I remember hearing them try to explain all of it. Ever been to a United Nations session, without the headphones? That’s it.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_and_Wayne_installing_Bob_s_HCH-II_WA_Kit.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bob_s_WAI_kit_installed_in_NY.jpg
Brian and Wayne installing Bob's HCH-II WA Kit.---------------------------Bob’s WAI in its final form in downtown NY City.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_and_HCH-I_setup_and_ready_to_drive_to_Times_Square.jpg
HCH-I and II setup just before driving off to Times Square.
Launch!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_in_Times_Sqaure.jpg
Montague Roberts (driver), T. Williams (passenger) and George Schuster
(in the back seat) of the Flyer awaiting the gun signaling the start of the grandest
racing adventure in automotive history. Over 250,000 New Yorkers were standing
by to watch the launch out of Times Square on Lincoln’s Birthday, 1908.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/xcel_and_Tarabell_at_Times_Square_with_HCH-II.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_leaving_Times_Square_7th_Ave_and_43rd_Street.jpg
Xcel and Tarabell at Times Square with HCH-II.--------------------HCH-II leaving Times Square 7th Ave and 43rd Street.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Sean_FAS_ing_the_HCH-I_in_Times_Square.jpg
Sean FAS'ing the HCH-I in Times Square in an impossible attempt to save precious ounces of fuel in the traffic maelstrom.
George Schuster – Feb. 12, 1908
Six cars entered and we zoomed up Broadway. Our 1907-model Thomas Flyer roadster, powered by a 60-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, was in the lead. Behind it came an Italian Zust; a German Protos; and a French Motobloc, DeDion and a tiny Sizaire-Naudin.
Ken
As we drove into Times Square, Sean, Brian and I pulled up behind the leading '08 Honda Civic Hybrid. I jumped out in my trench coat, driving cap and goggles to snap a few quick pictures of Wayne and Tarabell with the HCH-II. Jumping back into the '05 HCH-I next to driver Sean, we started the adventure of a lifetime... and moved on 'in cabbie style'.
It was not more than about 40 minutes and the little Navi unit had a brain cramp and started heading us BACK to New York City! We ended up pulling over and I swapped seats with Wayne so he could beat some sense back into it ;)
Sean
Starting out from New York Times Square, Tarabell quickly slipped into LA driving mode and left me behind! I fired off a quick request via radio for her to start using signals so I could at least tell her zigs from her zags…
It wasn't long before I was sure that unless I got pushy about it I'd lose her entirely in the ridiculous traffic conditions. Glancing over at Ken I muttered, "Okay -- I'm going to have to resort to cabby tactics. There goes the pack!" I threw my precision distance estimation skills into high gear, took every opening offering at least 2" of clearance, and kept every move deliberate to broadcast to the competing taxis that YES, I was taking that space even if I had to remove a fender to do it. Scanning the environment in hyper-alert mode I thought, "Laurie wouldn't like what I'm doing with her car too much…" and caught sight of Ken clutching the door handle in what looked to be the grip of death.
There were no scratches when I came out the other side but the battery was tanked. Ken said he was impressed but I don't think that delicate shade of green in his complexion quite agreed with the enthusiasm I heard. :p
Tarabell
By the way, we had a Navi in the HCH-II, a GPS in the HCH-I, seven atlases, Navi-Billy and even some AAA maps I brought and there were still times we got confused about where we were going. I remember (silently) thinking at those times the REAL reason I was invited along was so the guys would have someone to get out and ask directions for them. But it never happened. As Laurie astutely observed, they would first have to admit they’re lost...
Wayne
At the start, we believed the 1908 Racers headed somewhat North up Broadway but it is now a one-way street and it heads in the wrong direction! Within 50 yards of the launch point, we had incurred our first alternate route ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/First_fuel_stop_in_Hudson_NY.jpg
First fuel stop in Hudson, NY.
Tarabell
Our first night driving in hard snow from Geneva NY. Most of this was a 2-lane interstate with lots of trucks. We passed a lot of snow plows but there was a couple inches snow covering most of the road. When we went below 40mph (which was pretty often) we turned on the flashers to keep the proctologists going around us. Saw one accident that kind of shocked us. First an ambulance shrieked by us on the left with sirens and lights going, followed by more fast traffic. For some reason one of those cars made the stupid decision to not only catch up with the ambulance but try to pass it. Apparently he got caught, couldn’t move back in or react to something else in time, spun around and crashed into the median. Brian who was driving watched the whole thing happen less than a mile in front of us. We passed the car just 30-40 seconds later sitting in the left lane with his front end completely accordioned. That was a lesson: don’t make sudden moves on snow.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Our_two_steed_s_in_Geneva_NY_during_snow_storm.jpg
Our two steeds in Geneva, NY during a lull in the blizzard.
Tarabell
Billy was possibly the most interesting person of the group. He has firsthand knowledge of every road and town west of the Mississippi and is like a walking atlas. In fact while Wayne was asleep, we ignored the GPS and relied on Bill’s pigeon-like homing instinct to get us to San Jose. As Ken said at the time “who needs a GPS when we have Navi-Bill?” Billy also was a fountain of useless knowledge and facts and kept us entertained on every drive. There was nothing he didn’t know on the road, even the history and age of the snow fences lining the road in Wyoming. His steer imitation is quite excellent. Also it’s fun to watch him meticulously washing the windshield and headlights every time we stop for gas. Once in a while he and Wayne would go at it: “hey Wayne I think I hear a bubble on one of the tires” and “yeah I think I’ve heard that too, right rear sidewall, right?” .......These people.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Erie_PA.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Billy_handing_off_in_Erie_PA.JPG
Erie, PA waypoint -- Snowing and cold :)------------------------Billy handing off in Erie during the snowstorm.
George Schuster – Feb. 17, 1908
Stopping for the night in Erie, we thought the worst was behind us. Oh how wrong that thought was. 10 to 12 inches of snow covered the paths and it was sleeting much of the way into Ohio. Despite the conditions, we covered 200 miles and made it to Toledo late the next evening.
Sean
Driving to the rest stop to meet Bestmapman, Tarabell was in frequent contact with him via cell to be sure we got off at the right place. I was looking forward to meeting him and hearing the story he'd mentioned was the inspiration for his nick on CleanMPG. As I exited the highway I spotted his shiny red car and headed for it in a FAS. "Dang!" I thought, "Our cars are going to look pretty dirty next to that!" Remembering too late that I really shouldn't be nosing in to the curb next to him as there was no slope and the snow was making rolling non-trivial I shrugged and resolved to push it back out.
Jud turned out to be very personable and very enthusiastic about his vehicle and our journey. The visit was regrettably short but we had to keep to our schedule! Heading back to the cars, we took pictures and then got them situated -- pushing of course. ;) A bit more pushing and Wayne was able to bump start Laurie's car and get going toward the highway. As I headed back to a passenger seat in the '08 I heard Tarabell in fits of laughter?? I guess she'd never seen a car pushed around like that....
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_cleaning_the_car_shortly_after_leaving_Toledo_OH.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bestmapman_and_his_Prius-II_following_in_Toledo_OH.jpg
Brian cleaning the headlights and windshield in Toledo, Ohio.----------------Bestmapman and his Red Prius-II following in Toledo, OH.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Leaving_Toledo_-_over_3_000_miles_to_go.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-I_at_Josh_s_sit_down_lunch_in_Kendallville_IN.jpg
Toledo waypoint behind with over 3,000 miles to go.---------------------------HCH-I at Josh’s Bar– Lunch in Kendallville, IN.
George Schuster – Feb. 20, 1908
A long hard week and more across Indiana. At one point, we covered just 8 miles over a 22 hour period including multiple horse teams pulling and volunteers helping us shovel as we made our way towards Chicago. When this pic was taken, the Thomas Flyer was stuck in radiator deep snow as we neared Wawaka, IN.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_stuck_in_the_snow_nearing_Wawaka_IN.jpg
Buried above the axles and thousands of miles to go …
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Wawaka_IN.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Goshen_IN.jpg
Wawaka, IN and I think enough said about that :rolleyes:----------Goshen, IN – DiamondLarry’s stomping ground ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Coming_up_on_South_Bend_IN.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Rani_-_Ken_-_Brian_-_Sean_at_Rest_Stop_between_Burdick_and_Chicago.jpg
Coming up on South Bend, IN.-----------------------------------------Tarabell, Ken, Brian and Sean before Chicago.
George Schuster – Feb. 25, 1908
Roberts had done most of the driving so far and when he stepped on the scale at our Chicago waypoint, the Chicago Athletic Club, he found he had lost 20 pounds!
T. Williams, the NY Times reporter bagged out in Chicago and in a fit of rage, called our little adventure “Insanity.”
Tarabell
Wayne has this way of making his car dance through heavy traffic, like in Chicago. While everyone else’s car is grinding along, accelerating and braking, nose to bumper, his car is sort of floating mid-air and scooting in, out, and around everyone, like the traffic didn't exist. He’s not exactly weaving, just finding the perfect pocket to be in for this second and preparing to float over to an even better pocket. Nothing hurried -- it's as if every move was planned to happen a mile back. The car manages to hover, FAS, draft and glide all in the same minute. It looks like a bee buzzing around flowers.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Wayne_and_HCH-I_driving_his_hood_into_Chicago.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Attempting_to_leave_Chicago_at_Rush_hour_-_Typical.jpg
Wayne and the HCH-I in his (its) element ;)------------------------------Attempting to leave Chicago at Rush hour - Typical.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Chicago_at_its_finest.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Proctologist_on_I-88_West_of_Chicago.jpg
Chicago at Rush hour again :D or :( depending.------------------------------------Proctologist on I-88 West of Chicago at dusk.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Fuel_Stop_in_Belle_Plaine_IA.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Dickie_Doodles_in_Columbus_NE.jpg
Fuel Stop in Belle Plaine, IA.-------------------------------------------------Dickie Doodles – Columbus, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Chili_at_Dickie_Doodles_in_NE.jpg
Dickie Doodle’s Gas station Chili – None of us took them up on the offer for Tarabell’s sake :D
Sean
As we traveled, I used my iPhone to access the site and post every once in a while. I frequently read comments to the group from the thread about our progress and did my best to keep on top of the questions that popped up. It was uplifting to read all the encouraging remarks and at times the speculation appearing between my posts regarding our progress/status was pretty funny. :)
Wayne
About half way across Nebraska, my mother called on the cell and was really worried. She said, “One of the car's casters is broken according to the guys on the forum following your progress. You have to stop as soon as possible and get it fixed!” First off, whose mom would be reading every update and worrying about her 40 + something son crossing the country in a reenactment as well as making sure we fix a fictional broken caster? A broken what? We all had a roaring good laugh over that one! :D
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Cornhusker_Honda_in_Grand_Island_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Cool_Overpass_in_Nebraska.jpg
Cornhusker Honda in Grand Island, NE. - oil change.-----------------------------Stunning museum overpass in Kearney, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_in_Western_Nebraska.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Nebraska_Cows_in_field.jpg
HCH-II RR in Western Nebraska.--------------------------------------------The Nebraska Cows kept coming and coming.
George Schuster – Mar. 7, 1908
If it wasn’t the snow and cold, it was the mud. Mud was so thick in some places that if we had not washed off the Thomas, it would have added thousands of pounds of weight in mud alone! We searched for waypoints with fire trucks to help clean off the Thomas Flyer every chance we got!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_stuck_in_the_Mud_between_Ogallala_and_Sidney_Nebraska.jpg
The Thomas Flyer mired in the mud between Ogallala and Sidney, NE. Locals helped as we pulled the Thomas back out of this axle-deep bog. Just one of hundreds we faced crossing the country.
Tarabell
Brian was like our version of Barney (the electronics guy) from “Mission Impossible”. He brought two variations of every adapter, battery, cable and charger you could think of and made our life so much easier. The most invaluable of all was the pair of CB radios so we could communicate changes of plans or directions to the other vehicle. Of course he brought 2 sets of rechargeable batteries for these, so he always had a set charging in the center console and ready to swap in at a moments notice. Brian was the only one of us disciplined enough to take naps both day and night. Though they weren’t long naps he always woke up looking like he slept 12 hours, then enjoyed a pancake breakfast and a deep tissue massage. Disgusting. He has a bad habit of midnight snacking though. On trucks.......Don’t ask.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_in_the_HCH-II_nearing_Sidney_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/IMG_0039.jpg
Brian in the HCH-II approaching Sidney, NE laughing at the cows or something :) If he wasn’t driving or a passenger laughing aloud, he was out cold!
Sean
Somewhere outside Sidney I lost the last bar on the HCH-I fuel gauge. Wayne assured me there was over 100mi of range left after that bar made its exit so I just kept on truckin'... At one point, Ken leaned over and took a short video saying something about no fuel and no gas stations anywhere around but I didn't worry. After around 80mi or so I saw an exit with fuel stops so I cut the engine and FAS'd the last 100' to the exit, down the hill after that, around the corner to the right and down a further hill, bump started for some regen with fuel cut to slow down approaching a red light, killed it again to hang a left as the light turned green and headed uphill to another right leading behind a McDonald's and a Shell station. I got into the lot, through the truck pumps, and halfway around the service station before I had to get out and push it to the pump.
As we got it up to the pump I noticed there was a non-ethanol option and got excited -- we don't have that in MN! We started filling the car and... it just kept going. I was thinking it would stop little over 15g but no, it just kept going! I asked Ken if he wanted to check the trunk to make sure we weren't filling that and we both stood staring in disbelief as it kept ticking up toward 16g... and over that mark. "Cripes!" I thought, "Good thing I FAS'd all the way here!"
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Sean_smirking_at_the_Shell_Fuel_Stretch_sign_in_Sidney_NE.jpg
Sean smirking at the Shell Fuel Stretch sign in Sidney, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/16_352_gallon_top_off_in_Sidney_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/16_352_gallon_top_off_gas_pump_in_Sidney_NE.jpg
HCH-I from fumes to a top off yielded a whopping 16.352 gallon fill with a 13.2 gallon capacity tank :rolleyes:
http://www.youtube.com/v/pkKcsnwZJEo
Somebody was pushing a hybrid out of a mis-parked face-in spot (you know who ;)) and
said pusher forgot that a certain other someone wasn’t in the car yet. A short time later, an expletive
was loosed into the wild from the last person we would have expected :D :D :D
George Schuster – Mar. 9, 1908
Into and then leaving Laramie, WY, the road ahead was rolling range with winding curves as we continued to climb. Though our progress slow, the scenery was absolutely beautiful.
Ken
I had the dubious pleasure of being in the same car with Sean on both occasions of pushing the tanks to the limit and beyond. Somehow both these puckering incidents occurred one after the other. Oh yeah Sean knows how to 'FuelStretch' as the sign says in Sidney... and then I got to see it again when Rawlins disappeared (for us!). That one had me more concerned since we were dealing with -3F temps with 40mph winds that would suck the life out of you in a short time if we did run out of fuel and had to wait for the others to find us.
Sean
Climbing behind the wheel of the HCH-II for second (and as it happened, the last!) time in Laramie I notice the fuel gauge is pretty low. Shrugging, I head out for the next waypoint on our journey.
Some time later I run out of the last bar and start looking for fuel stations. Wayne has again assured me I have 100mi of range after my last bar but running Laurie's car down to fumes earlier that evening at less than this estimated range has me none too confident in that assessment. Checking the factory installed GPS it seems our next stop isn't that far so I keep driving... to the middle of nowhere! There is construction everywhere, no exits I can turn around on, and no lights in sight! "Oh great! Not again! Twice in one freakin' night?!" I've no idea why the GPS tells me I'm in a city when quite obviously there is nothing here. At this point Ken is reaching for the radio and Brian is glumly telling me I should FAS at every dip in the road.
Tarabell
Speaking of gas gauges, I recall pulling into an Auto Plaza with the fuel warning light on. I go inside, assuming they are going to fill up. I come back out and we go, Wayne is driving.
Twenty miles later my eyes widen – What? How is that light still on. "Didn’t we fill up back there?"
"Nope"
Deep breath. OK still a bar left. I close my eyes and nap.
Around 5am I jerk awake. With a hard look at the driver....“Um...just how long ago did the last bar disappear?”
<Tiny Shrug>
I close my eyes again. I remember I'm with five men who all seem to greatly enjoy pushing cars...it will be fine.
Wayne
A little fuel stop location issue arose on our way to a waypoint in Rawlins, WY. Given the way we push tanks, a little comedic relief happened at the most inopportune time. At least for the driver and passengers in the HCH-II during the middle of the night on the WY Ice-Road :)
Ken and Sean: We have to refuel. We have been on the low fuel light and now 0 bars for the last 20 miles.
Wayne: You can fuel at Rawlins – 5 miles of Off-ramps and one of the larger waypoints in all of Wyoming …
Ken: Where is Rawlins? We are in the middle of nowhere … Just starting to fume.
Wayne: It’s the city that lit up the sky for the last 10 miles! Where are you?
Ken and Sean: Mile Marker 206
Wayne: You passed it 5 miles ago!
Ken and Sean: No comment … Fuming a little now.
Wayne: Don’t worry, if you run out we will purchase a gas can and bring you some.
Ken and Sean: Expletive … no comment … kettles on full boil :angry:
Billy: They can fill up in Wamsutter, approximately 30 miles ahead.
Ken and Sean: No comment … Pucker factor cranked up to MAX
Sound of laughter emitting from the HCH-I for some reason :D :D :D
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/-_3_degrees_F_-_Welcome_to_WY.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_at_58_5_mpg_in_-_3_degrees_F_temp.jpg
Fuel stop in Wamsutter, WY. HCH-II showing an 58.5 mpg segment in - 3 degrees F temp. After a fresh oil change and decent fuel, even the colder temps could not keep the HCH-II from waking up.
Brian
I will never forget how Ken deals with getting pulled over by a Wyoming State Trooper. ;)
I was asleep on the back seat of the HCH II around 11 PM local time when I felt us come to a stop and awoke to flashing lights. I had the presence of mind to roll to the side and put a seat belt on before popping my head up above the level of the back dash. As I was doing so the situation and the sight of Ken in the driver's seat with his period cap on totally reminded me of that scene from "The DaVinci Code" so I asked, "You don't have any outstanding warrants, do you?" ;)
Rani snickered in the passenger seat. Ken was flummoxed by it and it was obvious I had totally wrecked his nervous concentration so maybe I was responsible for what followed next. I can't recall the conversation word for word as it was so surreal but it went something like this:
Trooper (from the passenger window): Are you folks ok?
Ken, sounding totally confused: Uhhhh.... yeah. We have to be in San Francisco by Saturday.
Trooper: Well, I pulled you over because you kept using your hazard lights.
Ken, pointing out the passenger window towards the side of the car … We're coming from New York... going to San Francisco like they did in 1908.
Ken, who continues throughout the entire event to sound completely confused: Yeah. I'm driving for some economy and some of the trucks are really fast. Really fast. San Fran... west coast.
Trooper: Why were you using your hazards?
Ken: Because... (extra long, open-mouthed pause) they're so fast. Too fast.
Trooper: How fast were you going?
Ken: Yeah. Hazards. So we don't get hit. On and off. On and off.
Trooper: Where are you headed?
Ken: What's the minimum speed here? I saw a sign back there that said 45 MPH.
Trooper: There is no minimum speed limit here so I'm not sure where you saw a sign. Let me see your license, registration and insurance.
Ken, license in hand: Those guys are really fast. There's another car. Our friends. Somewhere up there.
Trooper, looking even more confused than Ken at this point, goes back to his car to run the checks.
Trooper comes back after a few minutes and hands Ken a written warning for improper use of hazards and says something about only using them for true emergencies, then sends us on our way.
Hell, by the time it was over even *I* was confused. I have no idea how Ken didn't get pulled out of the car for a roadside DUI check. He's got the secret sauce, I tell ya... When I get older I'm going to keep one of those hats in the glove box and act like a confused old man when I get pulled over, too. :D
Ken
At least the second time I met up with the Wyoming Troopers it went smoother ;)
Tarabell
I wake up Friday morning in the back seat --it's zero degrees outside and everything outside is white. The road is white, the sky, and the snow-covered ground. WTH I wonder is going on. I sit up straight, look around and I think I’m in some kind of Dr. Zhivago movie, on some beautiful vast Siberian plain. Ken is driving and we’re in Wyoming on I-80. We’re surrounded by nervous truckers all going about 25mph and slipping around on the ice. The sun is just rising making the snow and sky pearly, and all of a sudden I hear you know who over the CB saying something about a little FAS on the ice and of course, doing exactly that. Now his car is ice skating --hovering between huge trucks one minute, buzzing around our car the next minute, gliding onto an exit ramp then suddenly pulling back again and disappears out of sight somewhere. Meanwhile my mouth still hasn’t closed from looking at the Wyoming scenery. There are herds of elk or something grazing in the distance just like Billy said there would be. It’s like a snow-covered garden of Eden. Tall drifts of snow line the sides of the highway. I learned it snowed just enough so as not to melt right away, but not enough to close the road so we were lucky enough to see the Wyoming countryside like this on just the right day.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Dawn_on_the_WY_Ice_Road_I-80_.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/WY_Ice_Road_I-80_.jpg
Dawn on the WY Ice-Road (I-80).-----------------------------WY Ice-Road (I-80) – just ice and snow!
Only a patch of real pavement every so often while climbing and descending up to 5% grades! The 18-wheeler’s were blowing by at upwards of 40 mph :angel:
Sean
Somewhere in WY we pull over at a tiny gas station for a bathroom break and maybe a little food. As we walk in the door I can't help but notice most everything is made of rough-hewn wood and the scruffy owner (complete with gray beard) turns out to be from Yonkers! He is pretty interested in our run and has some advice for avoiding traffic pileups when we get back on the ice highway we just left. As he and Wayne are chatting I notice there's a Jackalope head mounted on the wall! :eek:
"Hey, Ken." I say, "Get a load of that!!" :D
The next thing I know Ken is busy debating the merits of free-range versus feedlot jackalopes with the guy from Yonkers...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Jacklelope_in_Evanston_WY.jpg
The ever elusive Jackalope spotted in Central WY. Who would have thought ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Evanston_WY_Waypoint.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/After_the_I-80_Ice-road_-_it_was_beautiful.jpg
Evanston, WY waypoint.------------After the WY I-80 Ice-road.------------Utah was beautiful!
George Schuster – Mar. 13, 1908
In Carter, Utah the snow was so deep that we could continue no further. We were allowed access to the rails and became a Union Pacific “special train”. Blowing tire after tire on the ties without ballast, we installed the chains so as to minimize tire explosions and changes. The car took a terrific beating cracking two countershaft housings and we were fortunate to make it off the tracks.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/After_the_I-80_Ice-road_-_it_was_beautiful_2.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Great_Salt_Lake_-_Utah.jpg
After the WY I-80 Ice-road #2!----------------------------------------------Driving by the Great Salt Lake.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Heading_into_Salt_Lake_City_Utah.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Salt_Flats_just_before_NV.jpg
Gorgeous while driving towards Salt Lake City, UT!----------------------------Utah Salt Flats before driving into NV.
Sean
Seeing the Salt Flats in person for the first time was quite interesting. Brian had all sorts of information to share about it and there were tire ruts all over the edges where cars had been pulled out into it and sunk in a bit. I guess it was softer right there at the road at times but Brian says the flats are really about the consistency and hardness of concrete when you get out onto them. We saw all sorts of odd things littering the edges of the flats -- things like trees, signs, an old shopping cart... and something that looked like a tremendous metal cactus with different types of sports balls at the tops of the branches? :confused: Maybe it was a disguised cell tower but it sure looked strange!!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Tree_of_Utah.jpg
Tree of Utah – An interesting marker on the Salt Flat’s along the route to San Francisco.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Salt_Flats_with_a_little_water_on_top.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Nevada_-_Middle_of_nowhere_flavor.jpg
Utah Salt Flats with a little water on top.-----------------------------------Middle of Nowhere, Nevada ;)
George Schuster – Mar. 18, 1908
We had numerous railroad track crossings including this one between Cobre, UT and Ely, NV. Since we could not simply drive up and over, we had to create wedges for both the Ties and Tracks and block in between as there was little to no gravel bedding between the Ties! Once the front wheels were up and over the second track, we attempted to do the same with the rears.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_crossing_the_tracks_near_ELY_NV.jpg
Since there were no roads, there were no railroad crossings!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_NV_Flavor.jpg
Welcome to Ely, Nevada!
Tarabell
The road I want to nominate for 'hypermiling road of the year' is Highway #6 which we took from Ely to Tonopah, Nevada. From what I’ve read, Hwy 50 (which kind of runs in parallel) has the title of the “loneliest road in America” but #6 has to be a close second. From all appearances, it goes nowhere, and there is nobody on it. But there is no better FAS'ing road in all of America. I vividly recall for example, a 6 mile FAS out of Ely.
Our part started with a 13 mile downhill with small switchbacks passing through the Humboldt National Forest. Beautiful mountains in the distance and some snow still on the ground. It levels out to a long straight road heading for the next 10 miles right into the sunset. Not a damn thing on either side of you, ahead, or behind for miles except some scrub. You FAS’d down onto the level part and after a bunch of miles and just about the time you thought the fun was over, there would be a 2 or 3 bump boost good for another couple miles. Then you’d head into a small mountain pass, climb a little and you got another nice little descent onto another 7-10 mile road again heading straight as an arrow. It repeated this incredibly pleasant pattern about 4-5 times and we could not believe how it went on and on this way. We saw maybe 3-5 cars total on this road. (The HCH-II finally showed some spirit here and reported 68mpg at the bottom of one FAS with tens of miles built up beforehand, compared with the HCH-1 at 62.)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Vista_1.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Vista_3.jpg
Ely to Tonopah on Rt. 6 – Vista #1.------------------------------------------Ely to Tonopah on Rt. 6 – Vista #2.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads_2.jpg
Ely to Tonopah – Tens of miles of ruler straight roads. Rt. 6 was a hoot!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads_3.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_10_mile_long_FAS_anyone.jpg
Ely to Tonopah – More miles of ruler straight roads.-------------------------Ely to Tonopah - 10 + mile long FAS anyone :D
George Schuster – Mar. 19, 1908
Climbing a particular nasty water crossing with steep bank on the other side, we broke 6 teeth from the drive pinion and cracked the transmission case wide open.
I rented a horse from a local farm and road towards Tonopah, 75 miles ahead. Resting the mare and myself at a local Farmhouse, men from Tonopah came out and found us. We asked and received permission to borrow parts out of a Thomas Flyer owned by a local Doctor. After the repairs were made, we were back on the trail.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Having_fun_with_cameras.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Tonopah.jpg
Nearing Tonopah - Fun with cameras while in a long FAS :D-----------------------Entering the infamous and historic Tonopah, NV.
George Schuster – Mar. 21, 1908
Arriving at 03:00 AM in Ballarat, CA, a one-street mining camp, we had a much needed few hours rest.
Ken
Just before Ballarat … Man, I will NEVER forget waking up because my head slammed into the window and when my eyes opened all I saw was GUARD RAIL at what seemed like 2' from the front of the car and the sound of the engine at about 4000 rpm and Sean saying... ummm Brian doesn't that sign say 25mph???
Tarabell
Driving into Ballarat was unforgettable in the HCH-II. I remember following Brian down these intense switchbacks into Death Valley. It was pitch black night and not a sign of civilization anywhere for miles. I found the GPS to be an excellent driving aid in this situation because it previewed each curve coming up and how sharp or wide it would be. Then Wayne helpfully commented how it’s a good thing that it’s night because if I could see what was below the switchbacks I probably wouldn’t drive. Kind of boosted the adrenaline.
Finally at the bottom, I didn’t believe the GPS telling me where to turn off. Wayne says yes, turn here at the road. It’s dirt. No, it’s a road. I’m SORRY, this is NOT a road. Yes it is. I turn and motherofgod here it is, the proverbial "7 miles of bad road (trail)" with deep hard ruts and I’m driving it into Ballarat. Keeping the iFCD up while going 13 mph through the dirt was about the time the phrase "hypermiling immersion school" floated through my mind. The whole seven miles I had the urge to bang my head on the steering wheel.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Jail-Morgue_exterior.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Jail-Morgue_interior_2.jpg
Ballarat, CA Ghost town - Jail-Morgue.---------------------------------------Interior of the Ballarat Jail-Morgue.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Ghost_Town_Post_Office_2.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Ghost_Town_Ken_-_Wayne_-_Brian_-_Tarabell.jpg
Ballarat, CA. Ghost Town – Post Office closed in 1917.-----------------------------Ballarat, CA. – Ken, Wayne, Brian and Tarabell.
George Schuster – Mar. 22, 1908
From Ballarat, CA, we made great progress. Through Mojave, Tehachapi and into Bakersfield long after midnight, we covered over 382 miles!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bakersfield.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Los_Banos_CA.jpg
Bakersfield, California.---------------------------------------------------Los Banos, California.
Final Destination of the 1908 - 2008 US Centennial - NY to San Francisco Race Reenactment
George Schuster – Mar. 24, 1908
We arrived into San Francisco in 41 days, 8 hours and 15 minutes after leaving NY City! A young woman stepped up to me amongst the crowd and handed me a tiny baby slipper wrapped in a foot square American flag. I placed this gift in my breast pocket of my coat and kept it there the rest of our journey.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Team_and_vehicles_in_San_Francisco.jpg
CleanMPG members and the Hybrid vehicles near Fisherman's Wharf – San Francisco, CA.
Left to Right: Tarabell, Ken, Sean, Bill, Wayne, and Brian.
Ken
This Reenactment was something truly special. I still have a hard time believing that we were able to put something this monumental together in such a short time, and then actually pull it off! We six were such an incredible team, helping each other throughout the trip in so many ways. Sometimes it was as simple as staying up for a little while longer to keep someone awake, sometimes it was having just the right all natural fruit bar to quench a moment of hunger, sometimes it was saying just the right thing to bring a smile to your face or outright laughter.
In light of the original event, I like to think about a 'factor of ten'. We did it 10 times 10 years later. We did it in a tenth of the time (4.2 days versus 42 days). We used approximately a tenth of the fuel -- an educated guess of about 60 MPG versus 6 MPG that they probably did. But there is one area in which we are equal: The feeling of accomplishing a feat like no other, with a group of people like no other. I am proud to be a member of this elite team of hypermilers.
Tarabell
There’s a scene from a favorite movie of mine "Marathon Man" which sums up this trip pretty well. It’s where Dustin Hoffman asks these Puerto Rican gang members to steal some clothes out of his apartment. The PR guy thinks he’s crazy to ask something so simple and says, "what’s the catch?" Hoffman says "the catch is, it’s dangerous" and the PR guy laughs and says "that ain’t the catch, that’s the fun!"
If someone said --you’re going to drive long hours, in every imaginable road condition, without showering, much sleep, or decent food, and have to hypermile while you’re doing it, and oh by the way you have to do this continuously for four days -- I distinctly remember replying that I’d have to be nuts to do this.
But every day I was on the road I thought I couldn’t remember when I had so much fun and couldn’t believe I was going to have the chance to do it all over again the next day. :bananajump: What was the saddest part was the final day, after we left Ballarat and I realized this amazing trip was quickly coming to an end.
I’m sure others will give a more cohesive story with stop-by-stop details, but in a nutshell this was hypermiling immersion school. There wasn’t a type of road we didn’t drive, from rutted dirt roads to paved. Uphill, downhill and flat as a board. Some roads empty for miles except for us and some bumper to bumper like in Chicago. Some with violently sharp switchbacks and some that went straight as an arrow for miles to the horizon. We drove through mountains, desert, farmland and plains. There wasn’t a weather condition we missed either --from black ice to snow to sun, to freezing rain. We drove in all of it, and everyone was made to drive both cars so we learned each car’s limitations and capabilities under those conditions. We drove day and we drove night, we drove tired and awake.
There was no getting away from driving and if you weren’t driving you were watching the other guy drive, or listening to stories about somebody’s last drive, or mentally preparing ourselves for what was coming up in the next drive.
I probably had the least experience in long distance driving of the group – my husband drove us pretty much everywhere. So 90% of my driving experience came solely from my city work commute and short trips around LA. Talk about being thrown into the pool.
Driving for four hours plus at a stretch isn’t easy even when you do it 'normally'. Hypermiling for that long is quite a workout, mentally and physically. My shoulders were tensed and my right leg was sore from holding it up. I remember once after an hour or so of driving I had even had to crack a window in 10 degree weather because I was so heated up from concentration and iFCD/pedal/gear coordination. (Luckily, my poor passengers alerted me that I was freezing them.) When I got home I was afraid to step on the scale to see what all the fast food and sitting for days did to me and found I actually lost two pounds.
I also realized just now, how much I must have missed at night. When you cross the country in four days, and 50% of that time is night driving, that’s a lot of scenery and towns and landscape you don’t see. So for that reason (besides well, sleep) it would have been nice to stop driving at night and start again in the morning. I think “not wanting to miss stuff” also made most of us want to sleep as little as possible during the day, which wasn’t a good thing when we also had to drive at night.
I believe I only got 6-8 hours of sleep over the entire trip, but luckily I didn't feel it till I left the group and drove to a relative's house in San Jose. They told me I looked pretty glassy eyed. I think there were just enough micro-naps and adrenaline to keep me pumped.
I am so glad that it worked out so that most of Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada happened during daytime because those states had the most magnificent scenery of all. Now I know I want to return to those places, just to see more.
I noticed another thing. I’m normally a slightly tense passenger when others drive but I saw within 5 minutes of driving with each one of the group that I could completely relax. And little things, like I could take a swig of water without worrying I might bash my teeth with the bottle. In fact I think I could have safely put on makeup, lipstick and eaten a four-course dinner on my lap while we went through downtown Chicago traffic without worry. ;)
Anyway, I learned a lot. I learned to hypermile Laurie’s stick, though I never did uh, drive it very well :D. I learned how not to walk on icy sidewalks. I learned to stop clutching the steering wheel going around mountain curves because it does what you want more easily when relaxed. I’ve learned the McDonalds menu by heart (I wish I didn’t). I finally learned the difference between low and S gear. I learned to expect to find cans of Pepsi in every orifice of the car. I learned there’s no reason the oncoming lane can’t be "your" lane, when it’s empty. I learned that memory foam pillows freeze to a very interesting rock-like state in the cold. I learned so much more I still can’t sort it all out yet, but little things keep coming back to me while driving now.
This was fun --non-stop and intense, but maybe not for fussy or nervous types. The main realization about this trip is that reading on a forum about driving techniques can’t possibly substitute for first-hand experience. If any of us are crazy enough to do anything like this again, I highly encourage you to join in.
Wayne
For those who have not completed a cross country trip, all I can say is I hope you get the chance to do so just once. We all saw and experienced things that would take a month to explain but the trip can best be summed up as WOW! The trials, tribulations and especially joys of 6 members taking two vehicles to their limits in the absolute worst conditions I have ever driven in is something you have to experience for yourself!
Highlights? Leaving Times Square, meeting Bestmapman in Toledo, driving the HCH-I from Gary, IN through Chicago (my hood ;)) during Rush Hour, gas and pit stops in some of the most tucked away corners the country has to offer, watching Tarabell take on Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains in the middle of the night driving the HCH-I (she was over 74.x at one point :rolleyes:), watching Ken just go and go and go (Iron Man is his new nick!), Brian (Bailout) coming out of the mountains into Death Valley at night on the way to the Ballarat ghost town (it looked like he was driving in a slot car through the fast falling switchbacks :D), Sean pushing mile after mile in either vehicle while offering encouragement to everyone, Bill’s sense of humor (you have to meet him sometime), some of the most beautiful and picturesque scenic views while traveling the high plains between huge plateaus after Ely, NV, Salt Flat's of Utah and literally falling out of both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada’s numerous times. I seem to remember a 15 mile long FAS into Salt Lake City, similar into Bakersfield, CA., a ton of 5 – 10 milers across those high plains in NV and one very interesting one out of Tonopah that left Brian, Sean and Ken with an aFCD at 108.x mpg after some 22.x miles out :p) and of course actually arriving at San Francisco within 2 hours of our scheduled arrival time.
Low points? Weather conditions and missing three waypoints due to it as well as climbing thousands and thousands of feet of vertical again and again :( The teams that left in Feb. 1908 have got to be the hardiest men ever to sit behind the wheel of an automobile. Some of the Ice-Road stuff in Wyoming had us literally white knuckle driving for multi-hundreds of miles. And of course saying good bye to Tarabell and Bill in San Francisco, Brian in Reno, Ken in Elk Grove Village, IL and Sean as he headed back to MN.
Given how well the two hybrids performed in terms of fuel economy, let us all hope enough are sold after the fact with this reenactment as a guide to cover our fuel consumption…
2005 Honda Civic Hybrid – FE data and Driver Swap Locations
Town/City|Driver|Temp(F)|Trip A MPG|Trip A Odo|Trip B MPG|Trip B Odo|Odometer|Fuel consumed (gal)|Actual MPG|Notes
Times Square|Sean|34|--|--|--|--|69,040|--|--|
Hudson, NY|Sean|36|64.7|131.1|61.4|131.1|69,172|2.13|61.1|First fill – 131.1 miles/2.13 gal.
Fonda, NY|Bill|18|66.0|078.0|66.0|078.0|69,250|--|--|Dinner.
Geneva, NY|Wayne|25|65.1|152.9|65.8|230.9|69,403|--|--|
Erie, PA.|Brian|25|56.7|206.0|61.3|436.9|69,609|--|--|
Toledo, OH|Ken|15|63.2|225.2|61.6|662.2|69,834|--|--|Snow part way than wet roads.
Gary, IN|Rani|19|65.8|214.6|62.8|876.9|70,649|--|--|Light head winds.
Chicago, IL|Wayne|23|73.8|044.9|63.2|921.8|70,093|15.052|61.24|Second Fill – 921.8 miles/15.052 gal.
Clinton, IA|Wayne|16|66.9|155.0|66.9|155.0|70,249|--|--|
Clarence, IA|Sean|14|65.1|064.9|66.6|220.0|70,313|--|--|
US 30 & I-35|Bill|11|64.3|124.0|65.8|344.0|70,437|--|--|
Grand Island, NE|Ken|19|61.6|292.1|63.9|636.3|70,730|--|--|Some snow and 40 + mph cross winds.
North Platte, NE|Bill|21|58.6|155.2|62.8|791.5|70,855|--|--|40 + mph cross winds.
Sidney, NE|Sean|21|62.8|105.3|62.8|896.9|70,990|16.352|54.85|Third Fill – 896.9 miles/16.352 gal.
Laramie, WY|Wayne|4|64.3|151.8|64.3|151.8|71,142|--|--|Climbed from 4,200’ to 8,800’ and down to 7,200’ – WOW!
Wamsutter, WY|Rani|-3|71.5|139.0|67.3|290.9|71,281|--|--|
Little America, WY|Brian|-3|57.7|104.1|67.7|395.1|71,386|--|--|
Salt Lake City, UT|Wayne|28|70.4|167.7|68.5|562.9|71,553|--|--|Fell out of the Rockies – 7,200’ to 4,235’.
Ely, NV|Sean|33|53.7|218.5|63.5|781.4|71,772|--|--|High speed runs making up time.
Tonopah, NV|Brian|40|59.8|170.1|62.8|951.5|71,942|14.984|63.5|High speed. Fourth Fill – 951.5 miles/14.984 gal.
Ballarat, CA|Brian|51|70.0|252.3|70.0|252.3|72,194|--|--|High speed through Sierra’s and Death Valley.
Bakersfield, CA|Sean|51|54.5|154.9|63.2|407.2|72,349|--|--|High speed and climbing most of the segment.
McDonald’s (84 miles from Los Banos)|Sean|39|68.8|077.0|63.9|484.3|72,426|--|--|20 miles of slow roads from 40 – 55 mph.
San Francisco, CA|Ken|46|60.5|204.9|63.2|689.2|72,631|11.447|60.21|High speeds. Fifth Fill – 689.2 miles/11.447 gal.
San Francisco, CA (Fisherman’s Wharf)|Ken|50|55.2|019.5|55.2|019.5|72,651|--|--|Finish – 19.5 miles/.353 gal.
Total Miles and Fuel consumed from NY City - Times Square to San Francisco - Fisherman’s Wharf
3,611 miles/60.32 gal. = 59.86 mpg. -- 3,611 miles/94 hours = 38.4 mph.
2008 Honda Civic Hybrid – FE data and Driver Swap Locations
Town/City|Driver|Temp(F)|Trip A MPG|Trip A Odo|Trip B MPG|Trip B Odo|Odometer|Fuel consumed (gal)|Actual MPG|Notes
Times Square|Rani|34|--|--|--|--|5,630|--|--|
Hudson, NY|Rani|36|51.6|129.5|51.6|129.5|5,759|2.509|51.6|First fill – 129.5 miles/2.509 gal.
Fonda, NY|Brian|18|52.1|077.5|52.1|077.5|5,836|--|--|
Geneva, NY|Ken|25|52.4|150.3|53.1|229.3|5,988|--|--|Heavy sleet and snow.
Erie, PA.|Bill|25|48.4|202.3|50.8|431.6|6,190|--|--|
Near Cleveland, OH|Wayne|17|54.5|133.0|51.6|564.7|6,323|--|--|
Toledo, OH|Sean|12|53.7|090.0|51.9|654.7|6,414|12.085|54.17|Second Fill – 654.7 miles/12.085 gal.
LaPorte, IN|Brian|24|52.7|179.0|52.7|179.0|6,593|--|--|Strong head winds.
Davenport, IA|Ken|15|53.4|232.2|53.1|411.3|6,825|--|--|
Clarence, IA|Rani|14|57.7|077.4|53.8|488.7|6,902|--|--|
Ogden, IA|Brian|30|53.7|157.5|53.7|646.3|7,060|--|--|
Logan, IA|Wayne|28|57.8|095.2|54.2|741.6|7,155|13.566|54.67|Third Fill – 741.6 miles/13.566 gal.
Grand Island, NE|Wayne|21|52.7|159.5|52.7|159.5|7,315|--|--|Some snow and 40 + mph cross winds.
Outside Grand Island|Rani|19|52.5|035.2|52.5|194.8|7,350|--|--|Test run after oil change.
Sidney, NE|Brian|20|52.4|222.7|52.4|417.6|7,573|--|--|
Laramie, WY|Ken|4|53.6|150.5|52.7|568.1|7,723|--|--|Climbed from 4,200’ to 8,800’ and down to 7,200’.
Wamsutter, WY|Sean|-3|58.5|137.8|53.7|705.9|7,861|12.554|56.23|Fourth Fill – 705.9 miles/12.554 gal.
Little America, WY|Brian|-3|58.8|100.0|58.8|100.0|7,962|--|--|
Ely, NV|Ken|33|49.9|386.1|51.5|487.0|8,348|--|--|Mountains, desert and sunny.
Tonopah, NV|Bill|40|56.7|167.0|52.7|654.0|8,515|12.409|52.70|High speed. Fifth Fill – 654.0 miles/12.409 gal.
Ballarat, CA|Rani|51|61.7|248.0|61.7|248.0|8,767|--|--|High speed through Sierra’s and Death Valley.
Glidden, CA.|Wayne|39|57.0|228.4|59.4|476.4|8,995|--|--|20 miles of slow roads from 40 – 55 mph.
Burlingame, CA|Bill|46|52.4|202.7|57.1|679.2|9,198|11.284|55.83|High speeds. Sixth Fill – 689.2 miles/11.447 gal.
San Francisco, CA (Fisherman’s Wharf)|Bill|50|54.2|019.5|54.2|019.5|9,218|--|--|Finish! – 19.3 miles/.353 gal.
Total Miles and Fuel consumed from NY City - Times Square to San Francisco - Fisherman’s Wharf
3,588 miles/64.76 gal. = 55.40 mpg. -- 3,588 miles/94 hours = 38.2 mph.
All said, the 1908 race generated much needed press about the poor condition of America’s roads and upgrade work began almost immediately following. With the race as its impetus, the first transcontinental road, the Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1912. That highway laid the ground work for an even larger project, that being the current Interstate highway system.
About the Fuel Economy of the Honda Hybrid vehicles. Given the winter conditions, full loads (3 people + 250 #’s of gear), huge climbs (from sea level on both coasts to over 8,000 feet a number of times) and high speeds from Salt Lake City to San Francisco (averaging over 70 mph in some areas), the Honda Civic Hybrids achieving 59.9 mpg in the HCH-I and 55.40 mpg in the HCH-II proved that the current EPA estimates of just 41 for the 2005 and 42 for the 2008 are labeled far below what can be achieved in the worst of conditions. In more temperate conditions, you could easily tack on another 10 mpg for each vehicle given both have seen over 80 mpg’s over a tank with single drivers in summer like conditions. With a little work, you should see the same.
We have to give Honda credit for the older 2005 HCH-I with its leanburn technology proving itself the most fuel efficient highway hybrid sedan through the worst that America has to offer in terms of weather and terrain.
A huge thank you goes out to our friend Laurieaw (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=111) who could not participate due to a scheduling conflict but was willing to lend out her vehicle in exchange for an Insight for a week. I want to also thank Chuck Schifsky, Chris Naughton and Chris Martin of the Honda Motor Company for the use of a 2008 HCH-II for the reenactment with a unique delivery and drop off location. Additionally, I want to thank Meghan Lynch of Specialty Transport for transferring the HCH-II to Tarabell at the Long Island NY Airport. Finally, I want to thank Bradlee Fons of the MiHG (http://www.milwaukeehybridgroup.com/) who donated enough $’s to cover the cost of the HCH-II’s fuel. Without any of the above, this event would not have been possible in the manner completed.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_in_Reno.jpgWayne Gerdes - CleanMPG (www.cleanmpg.com) - February 12, 2008
The Thomas Flyer - 1908 Automobile Race Champion driven by Montague Roberts and George Schuster.
An ever changing world brings with it new modes of transport. Starting with mastery of bipedal motion and ranging to beyond the time man walked on the moon, the destination has always been the same -- somewhere beyond the horizon …
During the dawn of the 20th century, America itself was in the midst of great change. Enter the automobile. At first cars were fragile luxury items but thanks to those tireless few who drove them around the world in 1908, the contraption once thought to be less reliable than a horse was now carrying the dreams of our forefathers not just over the horizon but much much further.
The 1908 Automobile Race was not so much a race as an endurance challenge conducted to determine whether or not it was actually possible to drive a motor vehicle across the United States (which in the winter had never been done before), and then completely around the world to Paris. In 1908 roads were nearly non-existent and much of the route was across horse and buggy paths or worse yet, nothing but unplowed snow or muddy fields. Anywhere from tens to hundreds of miles of back breaking work separated unscheduled way points and uncertain lodgings.
Building upon the illustrious history of the automobile, a team of CleanMPG members gathered to commemorate the dawn of the automobile age. Rather than looking back at the past, we drove cars that are the future of transportation in a bold reenactment of the Greatest Automobile Race ever held. Though very different from the Thomas Flyer, the same pioneering spirit was with us as two Honda Civic Hybrids traversed the country in a 24/7 marathon -- won not by speed, but by best conservation of fuel.
February's temperatures and our tight schedule were both less than ideal for a fuel economy challenge but in 1908, winter timing was crucial for the race. Back then, it was believed the entrants would be able to drive across the frozen Bering Strait... but they would need to do so before the ice broke up. Little did they know such a crossing was completely impossible due to inaccessibility and ice structure. We would not cross the Bering Strait either. Neither did we drive into and through Japan, China, Siberia or Europe, but we did retrace nearly the entire route for the US segment of the original challenge.
Launch on the morning of February 12, 2008: New York City, NY, Times Square
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Great_Race_North_American_Route.jpgNew York: New York City, Hudson, Fonda, Canastota, Geneva and Buffalo
Pennsylvania: Erie
Ohio: Toledo
Indiana: Kendallville, Wawaka, Goshen, South Bend, New Carlisle, Rolling Prairie, Chesterton and Burdick
Illinois: Chicago and Rochelle
Iowa: Clarence, Belle Plaine, Ogden and Logan
Nebraska: Omaha, Columbus, Lexington, and Sidney
Wyoming : Cheyenne, Laramie, Walcott, Rawlins, Granger, and Evanston
Utah: Morgan, Ogden and Promontory Point
Nevada: Cobre, Ely and Tonopah
California: Ballarat, Bakersfield, Los Banos and San Francisco
Destination - San Francisco, CA
Enter the 2008 North American Centennial Reenactment Automobiles
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/2005_HCH-I_Silver.jpg----http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/2008_HCH-II.jpg
------Laurie’s 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid 5-speed---------------------------Honda supplied 2008 HCH-II w/ NAVI Press Vehicle
2008 - North American Centennial Reenactment Automobile Drivers
Bailout (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=576) - Known for his escapades driving up one side and down the other of those almost always snow covered Sierra Nevada’s -- all while maintaining an expert rating in his Toyota Yaris!
Billy (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=28) - Anyone who has seen the most beautiful Insight on the planet has seen Billy behind the wheel. He is usually found in the upper reaches of Washington State but when out to hypermile, watch records fall!
Tarabell (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=33) - If you own an HCH-II and do not know who this young lady is, you have missed out on a gold mine for far too long ;) She is author of the most famous Honda Civic Hybrid-II driving document of all, Adapting Basic Hypermiling-Techniques to the HCH-II (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1306).
Right Lane Cruiser (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=678) - Coming out of nowhere with a 30 mpg Hyundai Elantra, he figured out a way to pull 60 mpg in the middle of a MN winter before transitioning to the ultimate fuel saver of them all -- the 5-speed Honda Insight. Managing 100 + mpg segments in 30 degree temps is among his latest accomplishments.
Slow Hands (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=748) - Driving an ancient by today’s standards '96 Ford Ranger, he has accomplished lmpg numbers beyond anyone’s wildest imagination while running deep inside some of the worst that Chicago has to offer.
Xcel (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=3) - Ringleader of the band -- or is it the asylum? :)
1908 New York to Paris – Thomas Flyer Automobile Driver and Passengers
Montague Roberts - 25, Race Car driver and demonstrator for the Thomas New York Dealer.
George Schuster – 35, E. R. Thomas Motor Company Chief Mechanic
T. Walter Williams - NY Times Reporter
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/racers2.jpg
George Schuster – Feb. 11, 1908
I received a call to be in New York City the following morning to drive a Thomas Flyer around the world. I had 12 hours to catch an overnight train from New England for the start of the longest auto race in history. You bet I made it!
Ken
I first read the book about George Schuster and the Greatest Race when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade and it completely captivated me. My mom probably still has colored pencil drawings I did back then of the cars like the Thomas Flyer. Getting a call from Wayne to participate in this adventure was a thrill to say the least. Trying to get some 'period costume' pieces and 45 star US Flags and tire chains before heading out to New York City was maddening in some ways: watching the best looking hats or goggles disappear in the frantic last 2 seconds on bidding on eBay! Begging the people to please PLEASE ship so that I would have it before leaving on this adventure.
Sean
Preparing for this race was quite the adventure all by itself... I swapped cars with Laurie Thursday February 7th after work so that I could leave directly after work the following day to get to Wayne's house. I wasn't certain I'd ever be able to get my newly acquired Insight back from Laurie so I resolved to get as comfortable driving her car as possible -- just in case the swap should become permanent! :eek:
As I stood out in her work's parking lot for an hour with temperatures in the low teens, I wondered how often Schuster's team had done the same? I was pretty sure they hadn't watched the pressures in each tire rise agonizingly slowly... but maybe I was wrong? How many more times would I be doing this in the next week or so?
While I stood there using a brief flash of my keychain light every once in a while to check progress, I answered the frequent "Are you okay?" and "Flat tire, huh?" questions cheerfully and thought about all the other quirky behaviors I'd probably have to answer for. I glanced at my watch, noticing the late hour and regretting the need to tell my wife I would be home later than planned. "Oh well," I thought... "she'll have to get used to it." Little did I know how prescient that fleeting consideration was...
Pre-launch …
Ken
The morning of February 12, 2008 is one I will never forget. Franticly shoving breakfast down, wondering where Billy was, hoping to get the WAI kit installed in time, the flags mounted without getting torn off by passing traffic. Preparations ended up going like a well oiled machine - we scurried about the cars installing, cleaning, wiping, sticking, taping our way to the final 'look'. The excitement kept building the whole time, and crested when we headed out for Times Square.
Sean
New Yorkers aren't quite as oblivious as I'd been led to believe -- I had plenty of curious stares as I waited to get started. Maybe that was due to the "hat" Ken had provided to fill out my period dress. I guess a tall guy wearing what looks like a dead animal on his head while standing next to an American flag that just happens to be hanging out the window of a car sporting big white signs on the doors is sort of odd?
Tarabell
Before we launched I watched the guys open the WAI box from Bob Winger, and install the kits. You never saw grown men so excited, like kids on Christmas Day. Strange metal tubing and rubber parts were flying everywhere and there were grunts of excitement at every item, which had apparently all been tailored and cut perfectly in advance. I remember hearing them try to explain all of it. Ever been to a United Nations session, without the headphones? That’s it.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_and_Wayne_installing_Bob_s_HCH-II_WA_Kit.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bob_s_WAI_kit_installed_in_NY.jpg
Brian and Wayne installing Bob's HCH-II WA Kit.---------------------------Bob’s WAI in its final form in downtown NY City.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_and_HCH-I_setup_and_ready_to_drive_to_Times_Square.jpg
HCH-I and II setup just before driving off to Times Square.
Launch!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_in_Times_Sqaure.jpg
Montague Roberts (driver), T. Williams (passenger) and George Schuster
(in the back seat) of the Flyer awaiting the gun signaling the start of the grandest
racing adventure in automotive history. Over 250,000 New Yorkers were standing
by to watch the launch out of Times Square on Lincoln’s Birthday, 1908.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/xcel_and_Tarabell_at_Times_Square_with_HCH-II.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_leaving_Times_Square_7th_Ave_and_43rd_Street.jpg
Xcel and Tarabell at Times Square with HCH-II.--------------------HCH-II leaving Times Square 7th Ave and 43rd Street.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Sean_FAS_ing_the_HCH-I_in_Times_Square.jpg
Sean FAS'ing the HCH-I in Times Square in an impossible attempt to save precious ounces of fuel in the traffic maelstrom.
George Schuster – Feb. 12, 1908
Six cars entered and we zoomed up Broadway. Our 1907-model Thomas Flyer roadster, powered by a 60-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, was in the lead. Behind it came an Italian Zust; a German Protos; and a French Motobloc, DeDion and a tiny Sizaire-Naudin.
Ken
As we drove into Times Square, Sean, Brian and I pulled up behind the leading '08 Honda Civic Hybrid. I jumped out in my trench coat, driving cap and goggles to snap a few quick pictures of Wayne and Tarabell with the HCH-II. Jumping back into the '05 HCH-I next to driver Sean, we started the adventure of a lifetime... and moved on 'in cabbie style'.
It was not more than about 40 minutes and the little Navi unit had a brain cramp and started heading us BACK to New York City! We ended up pulling over and I swapped seats with Wayne so he could beat some sense back into it ;)
Sean
Starting out from New York Times Square, Tarabell quickly slipped into LA driving mode and left me behind! I fired off a quick request via radio for her to start using signals so I could at least tell her zigs from her zags…
It wasn't long before I was sure that unless I got pushy about it I'd lose her entirely in the ridiculous traffic conditions. Glancing over at Ken I muttered, "Okay -- I'm going to have to resort to cabby tactics. There goes the pack!" I threw my precision distance estimation skills into high gear, took every opening offering at least 2" of clearance, and kept every move deliberate to broadcast to the competing taxis that YES, I was taking that space even if I had to remove a fender to do it. Scanning the environment in hyper-alert mode I thought, "Laurie wouldn't like what I'm doing with her car too much…" and caught sight of Ken clutching the door handle in what looked to be the grip of death.
There were no scratches when I came out the other side but the battery was tanked. Ken said he was impressed but I don't think that delicate shade of green in his complexion quite agreed with the enthusiasm I heard. :p
Tarabell
By the way, we had a Navi in the HCH-II, a GPS in the HCH-I, seven atlases, Navi-Billy and even some AAA maps I brought and there were still times we got confused about where we were going. I remember (silently) thinking at those times the REAL reason I was invited along was so the guys would have someone to get out and ask directions for them. But it never happened. As Laurie astutely observed, they would first have to admit they’re lost...
Wayne
At the start, we believed the 1908 Racers headed somewhat North up Broadway but it is now a one-way street and it heads in the wrong direction! Within 50 yards of the launch point, we had incurred our first alternate route ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/First_fuel_stop_in_Hudson_NY.jpg
First fuel stop in Hudson, NY.
Tarabell
Our first night driving in hard snow from Geneva NY. Most of this was a 2-lane interstate with lots of trucks. We passed a lot of snow plows but there was a couple inches snow covering most of the road. When we went below 40mph (which was pretty often) we turned on the flashers to keep the proctologists going around us. Saw one accident that kind of shocked us. First an ambulance shrieked by us on the left with sirens and lights going, followed by more fast traffic. For some reason one of those cars made the stupid decision to not only catch up with the ambulance but try to pass it. Apparently he got caught, couldn’t move back in or react to something else in time, spun around and crashed into the median. Brian who was driving watched the whole thing happen less than a mile in front of us. We passed the car just 30-40 seconds later sitting in the left lane with his front end completely accordioned. That was a lesson: don’t make sudden moves on snow.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Our_two_steed_s_in_Geneva_NY_during_snow_storm.jpg
Our two steeds in Geneva, NY during a lull in the blizzard.
Tarabell
Billy was possibly the most interesting person of the group. He has firsthand knowledge of every road and town west of the Mississippi and is like a walking atlas. In fact while Wayne was asleep, we ignored the GPS and relied on Bill’s pigeon-like homing instinct to get us to San Jose. As Ken said at the time “who needs a GPS when we have Navi-Bill?” Billy also was a fountain of useless knowledge and facts and kept us entertained on every drive. There was nothing he didn’t know on the road, even the history and age of the snow fences lining the road in Wyoming. His steer imitation is quite excellent. Also it’s fun to watch him meticulously washing the windshield and headlights every time we stop for gas. Once in a while he and Wayne would go at it: “hey Wayne I think I hear a bubble on one of the tires” and “yeah I think I’ve heard that too, right rear sidewall, right?” .......These people.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Erie_PA.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Billy_handing_off_in_Erie_PA.JPG
Erie, PA waypoint -- Snowing and cold :)------------------------Billy handing off in Erie during the snowstorm.
George Schuster – Feb. 17, 1908
Stopping for the night in Erie, we thought the worst was behind us. Oh how wrong that thought was. 10 to 12 inches of snow covered the paths and it was sleeting much of the way into Ohio. Despite the conditions, we covered 200 miles and made it to Toledo late the next evening.
Sean
Driving to the rest stop to meet Bestmapman, Tarabell was in frequent contact with him via cell to be sure we got off at the right place. I was looking forward to meeting him and hearing the story he'd mentioned was the inspiration for his nick on CleanMPG. As I exited the highway I spotted his shiny red car and headed for it in a FAS. "Dang!" I thought, "Our cars are going to look pretty dirty next to that!" Remembering too late that I really shouldn't be nosing in to the curb next to him as there was no slope and the snow was making rolling non-trivial I shrugged and resolved to push it back out.
Jud turned out to be very personable and very enthusiastic about his vehicle and our journey. The visit was regrettably short but we had to keep to our schedule! Heading back to the cars, we took pictures and then got them situated -- pushing of course. ;) A bit more pushing and Wayne was able to bump start Laurie's car and get going toward the highway. As I headed back to a passenger seat in the '08 I heard Tarabell in fits of laughter?? I guess she'd never seen a car pushed around like that....
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_cleaning_the_car_shortly_after_leaving_Toledo_OH.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bestmapman_and_his_Prius-II_following_in_Toledo_OH.jpg
Brian cleaning the headlights and windshield in Toledo, Ohio.----------------Bestmapman and his Red Prius-II following in Toledo, OH.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Leaving_Toledo_-_over_3_000_miles_to_go.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-I_at_Josh_s_sit_down_lunch_in_Kendallville_IN.jpg
Toledo waypoint behind with over 3,000 miles to go.---------------------------HCH-I at Josh’s Bar– Lunch in Kendallville, IN.
George Schuster – Feb. 20, 1908
A long hard week and more across Indiana. At one point, we covered just 8 miles over a 22 hour period including multiple horse teams pulling and volunteers helping us shovel as we made our way towards Chicago. When this pic was taken, the Thomas Flyer was stuck in radiator deep snow as we neared Wawaka, IN.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_stuck_in_the_snow_nearing_Wawaka_IN.jpg
Buried above the axles and thousands of miles to go …
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Wawaka_IN.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Goshen_IN.jpg
Wawaka, IN and I think enough said about that :rolleyes:----------Goshen, IN – DiamondLarry’s stomping ground ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Coming_up_on_South_Bend_IN.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Rani_-_Ken_-_Brian_-_Sean_at_Rest_Stop_between_Burdick_and_Chicago.jpg
Coming up on South Bend, IN.-----------------------------------------Tarabell, Ken, Brian and Sean before Chicago.
George Schuster – Feb. 25, 1908
Roberts had done most of the driving so far and when he stepped on the scale at our Chicago waypoint, the Chicago Athletic Club, he found he had lost 20 pounds!
T. Williams, the NY Times reporter bagged out in Chicago and in a fit of rage, called our little adventure “Insanity.”
Tarabell
Wayne has this way of making his car dance through heavy traffic, like in Chicago. While everyone else’s car is grinding along, accelerating and braking, nose to bumper, his car is sort of floating mid-air and scooting in, out, and around everyone, like the traffic didn't exist. He’s not exactly weaving, just finding the perfect pocket to be in for this second and preparing to float over to an even better pocket. Nothing hurried -- it's as if every move was planned to happen a mile back. The car manages to hover, FAS, draft and glide all in the same minute. It looks like a bee buzzing around flowers.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Wayne_and_HCH-I_driving_his_hood_into_Chicago.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Attempting_to_leave_Chicago_at_Rush_hour_-_Typical.jpg
Wayne and the HCH-I in his (its) element ;)------------------------------Attempting to leave Chicago at Rush hour - Typical.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Chicago_at_its_finest.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Proctologist_on_I-88_West_of_Chicago.jpg
Chicago at Rush hour again :D or :( depending.------------------------------------Proctologist on I-88 West of Chicago at dusk.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Fuel_Stop_in_Belle_Plaine_IA.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Dickie_Doodles_in_Columbus_NE.jpg
Fuel Stop in Belle Plaine, IA.-------------------------------------------------Dickie Doodles – Columbus, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Chili_at_Dickie_Doodles_in_NE.jpg
Dickie Doodle’s Gas station Chili – None of us took them up on the offer for Tarabell’s sake :D
Sean
As we traveled, I used my iPhone to access the site and post every once in a while. I frequently read comments to the group from the thread about our progress and did my best to keep on top of the questions that popped up. It was uplifting to read all the encouraging remarks and at times the speculation appearing between my posts regarding our progress/status was pretty funny. :)
Wayne
About half way across Nebraska, my mother called on the cell and was really worried. She said, “One of the car's casters is broken according to the guys on the forum following your progress. You have to stop as soon as possible and get it fixed!” First off, whose mom would be reading every update and worrying about her 40 + something son crossing the country in a reenactment as well as making sure we fix a fictional broken caster? A broken what? We all had a roaring good laugh over that one! :D
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Cornhusker_Honda_in_Grand_Island_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Cool_Overpass_in_Nebraska.jpg
Cornhusker Honda in Grand Island, NE. - oil change.-----------------------------Stunning museum overpass in Kearney, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_in_Western_Nebraska.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Nebraska_Cows_in_field.jpg
HCH-II RR in Western Nebraska.--------------------------------------------The Nebraska Cows kept coming and coming.
George Schuster – Mar. 7, 1908
If it wasn’t the snow and cold, it was the mud. Mud was so thick in some places that if we had not washed off the Thomas, it would have added thousands of pounds of weight in mud alone! We searched for waypoints with fire trucks to help clean off the Thomas Flyer every chance we got!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_stuck_in_the_Mud_between_Ogallala_and_Sidney_Nebraska.jpg
The Thomas Flyer mired in the mud between Ogallala and Sidney, NE. Locals helped as we pulled the Thomas back out of this axle-deep bog. Just one of hundreds we faced crossing the country.
Tarabell
Brian was like our version of Barney (the electronics guy) from “Mission Impossible”. He brought two variations of every adapter, battery, cable and charger you could think of and made our life so much easier. The most invaluable of all was the pair of CB radios so we could communicate changes of plans or directions to the other vehicle. Of course he brought 2 sets of rechargeable batteries for these, so he always had a set charging in the center console and ready to swap in at a moments notice. Brian was the only one of us disciplined enough to take naps both day and night. Though they weren’t long naps he always woke up looking like he slept 12 hours, then enjoyed a pancake breakfast and a deep tissue massage. Disgusting. He has a bad habit of midnight snacking though. On trucks.......Don’t ask.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Brian_in_the_HCH-II_nearing_Sidney_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/IMG_0039.jpg
Brian in the HCH-II approaching Sidney, NE laughing at the cows or something :) If he wasn’t driving or a passenger laughing aloud, he was out cold!
Sean
Somewhere outside Sidney I lost the last bar on the HCH-I fuel gauge. Wayne assured me there was over 100mi of range left after that bar made its exit so I just kept on truckin'... At one point, Ken leaned over and took a short video saying something about no fuel and no gas stations anywhere around but I didn't worry. After around 80mi or so I saw an exit with fuel stops so I cut the engine and FAS'd the last 100' to the exit, down the hill after that, around the corner to the right and down a further hill, bump started for some regen with fuel cut to slow down approaching a red light, killed it again to hang a left as the light turned green and headed uphill to another right leading behind a McDonald's and a Shell station. I got into the lot, through the truck pumps, and halfway around the service station before I had to get out and push it to the pump.
As we got it up to the pump I noticed there was a non-ethanol option and got excited -- we don't have that in MN! We started filling the car and... it just kept going. I was thinking it would stop little over 15g but no, it just kept going! I asked Ken if he wanted to check the trunk to make sure we weren't filling that and we both stood staring in disbelief as it kept ticking up toward 16g... and over that mark. "Cripes!" I thought, "Good thing I FAS'd all the way here!"
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Sean_smirking_at_the_Shell_Fuel_Stretch_sign_in_Sidney_NE.jpg
Sean smirking at the Shell Fuel Stretch sign in Sidney, NE.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/16_352_gallon_top_off_in_Sidney_NE.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/16_352_gallon_top_off_gas_pump_in_Sidney_NE.jpg
HCH-I from fumes to a top off yielded a whopping 16.352 gallon fill with a 13.2 gallon capacity tank :rolleyes:
http://www.youtube.com/v/pkKcsnwZJEo
Somebody was pushing a hybrid out of a mis-parked face-in spot (you know who ;)) and
said pusher forgot that a certain other someone wasn’t in the car yet. A short time later, an expletive
was loosed into the wild from the last person we would have expected :D :D :D
George Schuster – Mar. 9, 1908
Into and then leaving Laramie, WY, the road ahead was rolling range with winding curves as we continued to climb. Though our progress slow, the scenery was absolutely beautiful.
Ken
I had the dubious pleasure of being in the same car with Sean on both occasions of pushing the tanks to the limit and beyond. Somehow both these puckering incidents occurred one after the other. Oh yeah Sean knows how to 'FuelStretch' as the sign says in Sidney... and then I got to see it again when Rawlins disappeared (for us!). That one had me more concerned since we were dealing with -3F temps with 40mph winds that would suck the life out of you in a short time if we did run out of fuel and had to wait for the others to find us.
Sean
Climbing behind the wheel of the HCH-II for second (and as it happened, the last!) time in Laramie I notice the fuel gauge is pretty low. Shrugging, I head out for the next waypoint on our journey.
Some time later I run out of the last bar and start looking for fuel stations. Wayne has again assured me I have 100mi of range after my last bar but running Laurie's car down to fumes earlier that evening at less than this estimated range has me none too confident in that assessment. Checking the factory installed GPS it seems our next stop isn't that far so I keep driving... to the middle of nowhere! There is construction everywhere, no exits I can turn around on, and no lights in sight! "Oh great! Not again! Twice in one freakin' night?!" I've no idea why the GPS tells me I'm in a city when quite obviously there is nothing here. At this point Ken is reaching for the radio and Brian is glumly telling me I should FAS at every dip in the road.
Tarabell
Speaking of gas gauges, I recall pulling into an Auto Plaza with the fuel warning light on. I go inside, assuming they are going to fill up. I come back out and we go, Wayne is driving.
Twenty miles later my eyes widen – What? How is that light still on. "Didn’t we fill up back there?"
"Nope"
Deep breath. OK still a bar left. I close my eyes and nap.
Around 5am I jerk awake. With a hard look at the driver....“Um...just how long ago did the last bar disappear?”
<Tiny Shrug>
I close my eyes again. I remember I'm with five men who all seem to greatly enjoy pushing cars...it will be fine.
Wayne
A little fuel stop location issue arose on our way to a waypoint in Rawlins, WY. Given the way we push tanks, a little comedic relief happened at the most inopportune time. At least for the driver and passengers in the HCH-II during the middle of the night on the WY Ice-Road :)
Ken and Sean: We have to refuel. We have been on the low fuel light and now 0 bars for the last 20 miles.
Wayne: You can fuel at Rawlins – 5 miles of Off-ramps and one of the larger waypoints in all of Wyoming …
Ken: Where is Rawlins? We are in the middle of nowhere … Just starting to fume.
Wayne: It’s the city that lit up the sky for the last 10 miles! Where are you?
Ken and Sean: Mile Marker 206
Wayne: You passed it 5 miles ago!
Ken and Sean: No comment … Fuming a little now.
Wayne: Don’t worry, if you run out we will purchase a gas can and bring you some.
Ken and Sean: Expletive … no comment … kettles on full boil :angry:
Billy: They can fill up in Wamsutter, approximately 30 miles ahead.
Ken and Sean: No comment … Pucker factor cranked up to MAX
Sound of laughter emitting from the HCH-I for some reason :D :D :D
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/-_3_degrees_F_-_Welcome_to_WY.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/HCH-II_at_58_5_mpg_in_-_3_degrees_F_temp.jpg
Fuel stop in Wamsutter, WY. HCH-II showing an 58.5 mpg segment in - 3 degrees F temp. After a fresh oil change and decent fuel, even the colder temps could not keep the HCH-II from waking up.
Brian
I will never forget how Ken deals with getting pulled over by a Wyoming State Trooper. ;)
I was asleep on the back seat of the HCH II around 11 PM local time when I felt us come to a stop and awoke to flashing lights. I had the presence of mind to roll to the side and put a seat belt on before popping my head up above the level of the back dash. As I was doing so the situation and the sight of Ken in the driver's seat with his period cap on totally reminded me of that scene from "The DaVinci Code" so I asked, "You don't have any outstanding warrants, do you?" ;)
Rani snickered in the passenger seat. Ken was flummoxed by it and it was obvious I had totally wrecked his nervous concentration so maybe I was responsible for what followed next. I can't recall the conversation word for word as it was so surreal but it went something like this:
Trooper (from the passenger window): Are you folks ok?
Ken, sounding totally confused: Uhhhh.... yeah. We have to be in San Francisco by Saturday.
Trooper: Well, I pulled you over because you kept using your hazard lights.
Ken, pointing out the passenger window towards the side of the car … We're coming from New York... going to San Francisco like they did in 1908.
Ken, who continues throughout the entire event to sound completely confused: Yeah. I'm driving for some economy and some of the trucks are really fast. Really fast. San Fran... west coast.
Trooper: Why were you using your hazards?
Ken: Because... (extra long, open-mouthed pause) they're so fast. Too fast.
Trooper: How fast were you going?
Ken: Yeah. Hazards. So we don't get hit. On and off. On and off.
Trooper: Where are you headed?
Ken: What's the minimum speed here? I saw a sign back there that said 45 MPH.
Trooper: There is no minimum speed limit here so I'm not sure where you saw a sign. Let me see your license, registration and insurance.
Ken, license in hand: Those guys are really fast. There's another car. Our friends. Somewhere up there.
Trooper, looking even more confused than Ken at this point, goes back to his car to run the checks.
Trooper comes back after a few minutes and hands Ken a written warning for improper use of hazards and says something about only using them for true emergencies, then sends us on our way.
Hell, by the time it was over even *I* was confused. I have no idea how Ken didn't get pulled out of the car for a roadside DUI check. He's got the secret sauce, I tell ya... When I get older I'm going to keep one of those hats in the glove box and act like a confused old man when I get pulled over, too. :D
Ken
At least the second time I met up with the Wyoming Troopers it went smoother ;)
Tarabell
I wake up Friday morning in the back seat --it's zero degrees outside and everything outside is white. The road is white, the sky, and the snow-covered ground. WTH I wonder is going on. I sit up straight, look around and I think I’m in some kind of Dr. Zhivago movie, on some beautiful vast Siberian plain. Ken is driving and we’re in Wyoming on I-80. We’re surrounded by nervous truckers all going about 25mph and slipping around on the ice. The sun is just rising making the snow and sky pearly, and all of a sudden I hear you know who over the CB saying something about a little FAS on the ice and of course, doing exactly that. Now his car is ice skating --hovering between huge trucks one minute, buzzing around our car the next minute, gliding onto an exit ramp then suddenly pulling back again and disappears out of sight somewhere. Meanwhile my mouth still hasn’t closed from looking at the Wyoming scenery. There are herds of elk or something grazing in the distance just like Billy said there would be. It’s like a snow-covered garden of Eden. Tall drifts of snow line the sides of the highway. I learned it snowed just enough so as not to melt right away, but not enough to close the road so we were lucky enough to see the Wyoming countryside like this on just the right day.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Dawn_on_the_WY_Ice_Road_I-80_.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/WY_Ice_Road_I-80_.jpg
Dawn on the WY Ice-Road (I-80).-----------------------------WY Ice-Road (I-80) – just ice and snow!
Only a patch of real pavement every so often while climbing and descending up to 5% grades! The 18-wheeler’s were blowing by at upwards of 40 mph :angel:
Sean
Somewhere in WY we pull over at a tiny gas station for a bathroom break and maybe a little food. As we walk in the door I can't help but notice most everything is made of rough-hewn wood and the scruffy owner (complete with gray beard) turns out to be from Yonkers! He is pretty interested in our run and has some advice for avoiding traffic pileups when we get back on the ice highway we just left. As he and Wayne are chatting I notice there's a Jackalope head mounted on the wall! :eek:
"Hey, Ken." I say, "Get a load of that!!" :D
The next thing I know Ken is busy debating the merits of free-range versus feedlot jackalopes with the guy from Yonkers...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Jacklelope_in_Evanston_WY.jpg
The ever elusive Jackalope spotted in Central WY. Who would have thought ;)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Evanston_WY_Waypoint.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/After_the_I-80_Ice-road_-_it_was_beautiful.jpg
Evanston, WY waypoint.------------After the WY I-80 Ice-road.------------Utah was beautiful!
George Schuster – Mar. 13, 1908
In Carter, Utah the snow was so deep that we could continue no further. We were allowed access to the rails and became a Union Pacific “special train”. Blowing tire after tire on the ties without ballast, we installed the chains so as to minimize tire explosions and changes. The car took a terrific beating cracking two countershaft housings and we were fortunate to make it off the tracks.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/After_the_I-80_Ice-road_-_it_was_beautiful_2.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Great_Salt_Lake_-_Utah.jpg
After the WY I-80 Ice-road #2!----------------------------------------------Driving by the Great Salt Lake.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Heading_into_Salt_Lake_City_Utah.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Salt_Flats_just_before_NV.jpg
Gorgeous while driving towards Salt Lake City, UT!----------------------------Utah Salt Flats before driving into NV.
Sean
Seeing the Salt Flats in person for the first time was quite interesting. Brian had all sorts of information to share about it and there were tire ruts all over the edges where cars had been pulled out into it and sunk in a bit. I guess it was softer right there at the road at times but Brian says the flats are really about the consistency and hardness of concrete when you get out onto them. We saw all sorts of odd things littering the edges of the flats -- things like trees, signs, an old shopping cart... and something that looked like a tremendous metal cactus with different types of sports balls at the tops of the branches? :confused: Maybe it was a disguised cell tower but it sure looked strange!!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Tree_of_Utah.jpg
Tree of Utah – An interesting marker on the Salt Flat’s along the route to San Francisco.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Salt_Flats_with_a_little_water_on_top.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Nevada_-_Middle_of_nowhere_flavor.jpg
Utah Salt Flats with a little water on top.-----------------------------------Middle of Nowhere, Nevada ;)
George Schuster – Mar. 18, 1908
We had numerous railroad track crossings including this one between Cobre, UT and Ely, NV. Since we could not simply drive up and over, we had to create wedges for both the Ties and Tracks and block in between as there was little to no gravel bedding between the Ties! Once the front wheels were up and over the second track, we attempted to do the same with the rears.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Thomas_Flyer_crossing_the_tracks_near_ELY_NV.jpg
Since there were no roads, there were no railroad crossings!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_NV_Flavor.jpg
Welcome to Ely, Nevada!
Tarabell
The road I want to nominate for 'hypermiling road of the year' is Highway #6 which we took from Ely to Tonopah, Nevada. From what I’ve read, Hwy 50 (which kind of runs in parallel) has the title of the “loneliest road in America” but #6 has to be a close second. From all appearances, it goes nowhere, and there is nobody on it. But there is no better FAS'ing road in all of America. I vividly recall for example, a 6 mile FAS out of Ely.
Our part started with a 13 mile downhill with small switchbacks passing through the Humboldt National Forest. Beautiful mountains in the distance and some snow still on the ground. It levels out to a long straight road heading for the next 10 miles right into the sunset. Not a damn thing on either side of you, ahead, or behind for miles except some scrub. You FAS’d down onto the level part and after a bunch of miles and just about the time you thought the fun was over, there would be a 2 or 3 bump boost good for another couple miles. Then you’d head into a small mountain pass, climb a little and you got another nice little descent onto another 7-10 mile road again heading straight as an arrow. It repeated this incredibly pleasant pattern about 4-5 times and we could not believe how it went on and on this way. We saw maybe 3-5 cars total on this road. (The HCH-II finally showed some spirit here and reported 68mpg at the bottom of one FAS with tens of miles built up beforehand, compared with the HCH-1 at 62.)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Vista_1.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Vista_3.jpg
Ely to Tonopah on Rt. 6 – Vista #1.------------------------------------------Ely to Tonopah on Rt. 6 – Vista #2.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads_2.jpg
Ely to Tonopah – Tens of miles of ruler straight roads. Rt. 6 was a hoot!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_tens_of_miles_of_ruler_straight_roads_3.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_10_mile_long_FAS_anyone.jpg
Ely to Tonopah – More miles of ruler straight roads.-------------------------Ely to Tonopah - 10 + mile long FAS anyone :D
George Schuster – Mar. 19, 1908
Climbing a particular nasty water crossing with steep bank on the other side, we broke 6 teeth from the drive pinion and cracked the transmission case wide open.
I rented a horse from a local farm and road towards Tonopah, 75 miles ahead. Resting the mare and myself at a local Farmhouse, men from Tonopah came out and found us. We asked and received permission to borrow parts out of a Thomas Flyer owned by a local Doctor. After the repairs were made, we were back on the trail.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ely_to_Tonopah_-_Having_fun_with_cameras.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Tonopah.jpg
Nearing Tonopah - Fun with cameras while in a long FAS :D-----------------------Entering the infamous and historic Tonopah, NV.
George Schuster – Mar. 21, 1908
Arriving at 03:00 AM in Ballarat, CA, a one-street mining camp, we had a much needed few hours rest.
Ken
Just before Ballarat … Man, I will NEVER forget waking up because my head slammed into the window and when my eyes opened all I saw was GUARD RAIL at what seemed like 2' from the front of the car and the sound of the engine at about 4000 rpm and Sean saying... ummm Brian doesn't that sign say 25mph???
Tarabell
Driving into Ballarat was unforgettable in the HCH-II. I remember following Brian down these intense switchbacks into Death Valley. It was pitch black night and not a sign of civilization anywhere for miles. I found the GPS to be an excellent driving aid in this situation because it previewed each curve coming up and how sharp or wide it would be. Then Wayne helpfully commented how it’s a good thing that it’s night because if I could see what was below the switchbacks I probably wouldn’t drive. Kind of boosted the adrenaline.
Finally at the bottom, I didn’t believe the GPS telling me where to turn off. Wayne says yes, turn here at the road. It’s dirt. No, it’s a road. I’m SORRY, this is NOT a road. Yes it is. I turn and motherofgod here it is, the proverbial "7 miles of bad road (trail)" with deep hard ruts and I’m driving it into Ballarat. Keeping the iFCD up while going 13 mph through the dirt was about the time the phrase "hypermiling immersion school" floated through my mind. The whole seven miles I had the urge to bang my head on the steering wheel.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Jail-Morgue_exterior.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Jail-Morgue_interior_2.jpg
Ballarat, CA Ghost town - Jail-Morgue.---------------------------------------Interior of the Ballarat Jail-Morgue.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Ghost_Town_Post_Office_2.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Ballarat_Ghost_Town_Ken_-_Wayne_-_Brian_-_Tarabell.jpg
Ballarat, CA. Ghost Town – Post Office closed in 1917.-----------------------------Ballarat, CA. – Ken, Wayne, Brian and Tarabell.
George Schuster – Mar. 22, 1908
From Ballarat, CA, we made great progress. Through Mojave, Tehachapi and into Bakersfield long after midnight, we covered over 382 miles!
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Bakersfield.jpghttp://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Los_Banos_CA.jpg
Bakersfield, California.---------------------------------------------------Los Banos, California.
Final Destination of the 1908 - 2008 US Centennial - NY to San Francisco Race Reenactment
George Schuster – Mar. 24, 1908
We arrived into San Francisco in 41 days, 8 hours and 15 minutes after leaving NY City! A young woman stepped up to me amongst the crowd and handed me a tiny baby slipper wrapped in a foot square American flag. I placed this gift in my breast pocket of my coat and kept it there the rest of our journey.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/569/Team_and_vehicles_in_San_Francisco.jpg
CleanMPG members and the Hybrid vehicles near Fisherman's Wharf – San Francisco, CA.
Left to Right: Tarabell, Ken, Sean, Bill, Wayne, and Brian.
Ken
This Reenactment was something truly special. I still have a hard time believing that we were able to put something this monumental together in such a short time, and then actually pull it off! We six were such an incredible team, helping each other throughout the trip in so many ways. Sometimes it was as simple as staying up for a little while longer to keep someone awake, sometimes it was having just the right all natural fruit bar to quench a moment of hunger, sometimes it was saying just the right thing to bring a smile to your face or outright laughter.
In light of the original event, I like to think about a 'factor of ten'. We did it 10 times 10 years later. We did it in a tenth of the time (4.2 days versus 42 days). We used approximately a tenth of the fuel -- an educated guess of about 60 MPG versus 6 MPG that they probably did. But there is one area in which we are equal: The feeling of accomplishing a feat like no other, with a group of people like no other. I am proud to be a member of this elite team of hypermilers.
Tarabell
There’s a scene from a favorite movie of mine "Marathon Man" which sums up this trip pretty well. It’s where Dustin Hoffman asks these Puerto Rican gang members to steal some clothes out of his apartment. The PR guy thinks he’s crazy to ask something so simple and says, "what’s the catch?" Hoffman says "the catch is, it’s dangerous" and the PR guy laughs and says "that ain’t the catch, that’s the fun!"
If someone said --you’re going to drive long hours, in every imaginable road condition, without showering, much sleep, or decent food, and have to hypermile while you’re doing it, and oh by the way you have to do this continuously for four days -- I distinctly remember replying that I’d have to be nuts to do this.
But every day I was on the road I thought I couldn’t remember when I had so much fun and couldn’t believe I was going to have the chance to do it all over again the next day. :bananajump: What was the saddest part was the final day, after we left Ballarat and I realized this amazing trip was quickly coming to an end.
I’m sure others will give a more cohesive story with stop-by-stop details, but in a nutshell this was hypermiling immersion school. There wasn’t a type of road we didn’t drive, from rutted dirt roads to paved. Uphill, downhill and flat as a board. Some roads empty for miles except for us and some bumper to bumper like in Chicago. Some with violently sharp switchbacks and some that went straight as an arrow for miles to the horizon. We drove through mountains, desert, farmland and plains. There wasn’t a weather condition we missed either --from black ice to snow to sun, to freezing rain. We drove in all of it, and everyone was made to drive both cars so we learned each car’s limitations and capabilities under those conditions. We drove day and we drove night, we drove tired and awake.
There was no getting away from driving and if you weren’t driving you were watching the other guy drive, or listening to stories about somebody’s last drive, or mentally preparing ourselves for what was coming up in the next drive.
I probably had the least experience in long distance driving of the group – my husband drove us pretty much everywhere. So 90% of my driving experience came solely from my city work commute and short trips around LA. Talk about being thrown into the pool.
Driving for four hours plus at a stretch isn’t easy even when you do it 'normally'. Hypermiling for that long is quite a workout, mentally and physically. My shoulders were tensed and my right leg was sore from holding it up. I remember once after an hour or so of driving I had even had to crack a window in 10 degree weather because I was so heated up from concentration and iFCD/pedal/gear coordination. (Luckily, my poor passengers alerted me that I was freezing them.) When I got home I was afraid to step on the scale to see what all the fast food and sitting for days did to me and found I actually lost two pounds.
I also realized just now, how much I must have missed at night. When you cross the country in four days, and 50% of that time is night driving, that’s a lot of scenery and towns and landscape you don’t see. So for that reason (besides well, sleep) it would have been nice to stop driving at night and start again in the morning. I think “not wanting to miss stuff” also made most of us want to sleep as little as possible during the day, which wasn’t a good thing when we also had to drive at night.
I believe I only got 6-8 hours of sleep over the entire trip, but luckily I didn't feel it till I left the group and drove to a relative's house in San Jose. They told me I looked pretty glassy eyed. I think there were just enough micro-naps and adrenaline to keep me pumped.
I am so glad that it worked out so that most of Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada happened during daytime because those states had the most magnificent scenery of all. Now I know I want to return to those places, just to see more.
I noticed another thing. I’m normally a slightly tense passenger when others drive but I saw within 5 minutes of driving with each one of the group that I could completely relax. And little things, like I could take a swig of water without worrying I might bash my teeth with the bottle. In fact I think I could have safely put on makeup, lipstick and eaten a four-course dinner on my lap while we went through downtown Chicago traffic without worry. ;)
Anyway, I learned a lot. I learned to hypermile Laurie’s stick, though I never did uh, drive it very well :D. I learned how not to walk on icy sidewalks. I learned to stop clutching the steering wheel going around mountain curves because it does what you want more easily when relaxed. I’ve learned the McDonalds menu by heart (I wish I didn’t). I finally learned the difference between low and S gear. I learned to expect to find cans of Pepsi in every orifice of the car. I learned there’s no reason the oncoming lane can’t be "your" lane, when it’s empty. I learned that memory foam pillows freeze to a very interesting rock-like state in the cold. I learned so much more I still can’t sort it all out yet, but little things keep coming back to me while driving now.
This was fun --non-stop and intense, but maybe not for fussy or nervous types. The main realization about this trip is that reading on a forum about driving techniques can’t possibly substitute for first-hand experience. If any of us are crazy enough to do anything like this again, I highly encourage you to join in.
Wayne
For those who have not completed a cross country trip, all I can say is I hope you get the chance to do so just once. We all saw and experienced things that would take a month to explain but the trip can best be summed up as WOW! The trials, tribulations and especially joys of 6 members taking two vehicles to their limits in the absolute worst conditions I have ever driven in is something you have to experience for yourself!
Highlights? Leaving Times Square, meeting Bestmapman in Toledo, driving the HCH-I from Gary, IN through Chicago (my hood ;)) during Rush Hour, gas and pit stops in some of the most tucked away corners the country has to offer, watching Tarabell take on Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains in the middle of the night driving the HCH-I (she was over 74.x at one point :rolleyes:), watching Ken just go and go and go (Iron Man is his new nick!), Brian (Bailout) coming out of the mountains into Death Valley at night on the way to the Ballarat ghost town (it looked like he was driving in a slot car through the fast falling switchbacks :D), Sean pushing mile after mile in either vehicle while offering encouragement to everyone, Bill’s sense of humor (you have to meet him sometime), some of the most beautiful and picturesque scenic views while traveling the high plains between huge plateaus after Ely, NV, Salt Flat's of Utah and literally falling out of both the Rockies and Sierra Nevada’s numerous times. I seem to remember a 15 mile long FAS into Salt Lake City, similar into Bakersfield, CA., a ton of 5 – 10 milers across those high plains in NV and one very interesting one out of Tonopah that left Brian, Sean and Ken with an aFCD at 108.x mpg after some 22.x miles out :p) and of course actually arriving at San Francisco within 2 hours of our scheduled arrival time.
Low points? Weather conditions and missing three waypoints due to it as well as climbing thousands and thousands of feet of vertical again and again :( The teams that left in Feb. 1908 have got to be the hardiest men ever to sit behind the wheel of an automobile. Some of the Ice-Road stuff in Wyoming had us literally white knuckle driving for multi-hundreds of miles. And of course saying good bye to Tarabell and Bill in San Francisco, Brian in Reno, Ken in Elk Grove Village, IL and Sean as he headed back to MN.
Given how well the two hybrids performed in terms of fuel economy, let us all hope enough are sold after the fact with this reenactment as a guide to cover our fuel consumption…
2005 Honda Civic Hybrid – FE data and Driver Swap Locations
Town/City|Driver|Temp(F)|Trip A MPG|Trip A Odo|Trip B MPG|Trip B Odo|Odometer|Fuel consumed (gal)|Actual MPG|Notes
Times Square|Sean|34|--|--|--|--|69,040|--|--|
Hudson, NY|Sean|36|64.7|131.1|61.4|131.1|69,172|2.13|61.1|First fill – 131.1 miles/2.13 gal.
Fonda, NY|Bill|18|66.0|078.0|66.0|078.0|69,250|--|--|Dinner.
Geneva, NY|Wayne|25|65.1|152.9|65.8|230.9|69,403|--|--|
Erie, PA.|Brian|25|56.7|206.0|61.3|436.9|69,609|--|--|
Toledo, OH|Ken|15|63.2|225.2|61.6|662.2|69,834|--|--|Snow part way than wet roads.
Gary, IN|Rani|19|65.8|214.6|62.8|876.9|70,649|--|--|Light head winds.
Chicago, IL|Wayne|23|73.8|044.9|63.2|921.8|70,093|15.052|61.24|Second Fill – 921.8 miles/15.052 gal.
Clinton, IA|Wayne|16|66.9|155.0|66.9|155.0|70,249|--|--|
Clarence, IA|Sean|14|65.1|064.9|66.6|220.0|70,313|--|--|
US 30 & I-35|Bill|11|64.3|124.0|65.8|344.0|70,437|--|--|
Grand Island, NE|Ken|19|61.6|292.1|63.9|636.3|70,730|--|--|Some snow and 40 + mph cross winds.
North Platte, NE|Bill|21|58.6|155.2|62.8|791.5|70,855|--|--|40 + mph cross winds.
Sidney, NE|Sean|21|62.8|105.3|62.8|896.9|70,990|16.352|54.85|Third Fill – 896.9 miles/16.352 gal.
Laramie, WY|Wayne|4|64.3|151.8|64.3|151.8|71,142|--|--|Climbed from 4,200’ to 8,800’ and down to 7,200’ – WOW!
Wamsutter, WY|Rani|-3|71.5|139.0|67.3|290.9|71,281|--|--|
Little America, WY|Brian|-3|57.7|104.1|67.7|395.1|71,386|--|--|
Salt Lake City, UT|Wayne|28|70.4|167.7|68.5|562.9|71,553|--|--|Fell out of the Rockies – 7,200’ to 4,235’.
Ely, NV|Sean|33|53.7|218.5|63.5|781.4|71,772|--|--|High speed runs making up time.
Tonopah, NV|Brian|40|59.8|170.1|62.8|951.5|71,942|14.984|63.5|High speed. Fourth Fill – 951.5 miles/14.984 gal.
Ballarat, CA|Brian|51|70.0|252.3|70.0|252.3|72,194|--|--|High speed through Sierra’s and Death Valley.
Bakersfield, CA|Sean|51|54.5|154.9|63.2|407.2|72,349|--|--|High speed and climbing most of the segment.
McDonald’s (84 miles from Los Banos)|Sean|39|68.8|077.0|63.9|484.3|72,426|--|--|20 miles of slow roads from 40 – 55 mph.
San Francisco, CA|Ken|46|60.5|204.9|63.2|689.2|72,631|11.447|60.21|High speeds. Fifth Fill – 689.2 miles/11.447 gal.
San Francisco, CA (Fisherman’s Wharf)|Ken|50|55.2|019.5|55.2|019.5|72,651|--|--|Finish – 19.5 miles/.353 gal.
Total Miles and Fuel consumed from NY City - Times Square to San Francisco - Fisherman’s Wharf
3,611 miles/60.32 gal. = 59.86 mpg. -- 3,611 miles/94 hours = 38.4 mph.
2008 Honda Civic Hybrid – FE data and Driver Swap Locations
Town/City|Driver|Temp(F)|Trip A MPG|Trip A Odo|Trip B MPG|Trip B Odo|Odometer|Fuel consumed (gal)|Actual MPG|Notes
Times Square|Rani|34|--|--|--|--|5,630|--|--|
Hudson, NY|Rani|36|51.6|129.5|51.6|129.5|5,759|2.509|51.6|First fill – 129.5 miles/2.509 gal.
Fonda, NY|Brian|18|52.1|077.5|52.1|077.5|5,836|--|--|
Geneva, NY|Ken|25|52.4|150.3|53.1|229.3|5,988|--|--|Heavy sleet and snow.
Erie, PA.|Bill|25|48.4|202.3|50.8|431.6|6,190|--|--|
Near Cleveland, OH|Wayne|17|54.5|133.0|51.6|564.7|6,323|--|--|
Toledo, OH|Sean|12|53.7|090.0|51.9|654.7|6,414|12.085|54.17|Second Fill – 654.7 miles/12.085 gal.
LaPorte, IN|Brian|24|52.7|179.0|52.7|179.0|6,593|--|--|Strong head winds.
Davenport, IA|Ken|15|53.4|232.2|53.1|411.3|6,825|--|--|
Clarence, IA|Rani|14|57.7|077.4|53.8|488.7|6,902|--|--|
Ogden, IA|Brian|30|53.7|157.5|53.7|646.3|7,060|--|--|
Logan, IA|Wayne|28|57.8|095.2|54.2|741.6|7,155|13.566|54.67|Third Fill – 741.6 miles/13.566 gal.
Grand Island, NE|Wayne|21|52.7|159.5|52.7|159.5|7,315|--|--|Some snow and 40 + mph cross winds.
Outside Grand Island|Rani|19|52.5|035.2|52.5|194.8|7,350|--|--|Test run after oil change.
Sidney, NE|Brian|20|52.4|222.7|52.4|417.6|7,573|--|--|
Laramie, WY|Ken|4|53.6|150.5|52.7|568.1|7,723|--|--|Climbed from 4,200’ to 8,800’ and down to 7,200’.
Wamsutter, WY|Sean|-3|58.5|137.8|53.7|705.9|7,861|12.554|56.23|Fourth Fill – 705.9 miles/12.554 gal.
Little America, WY|Brian|-3|58.8|100.0|58.8|100.0|7,962|--|--|
Ely, NV|Ken|33|49.9|386.1|51.5|487.0|8,348|--|--|Mountains, desert and sunny.
Tonopah, NV|Bill|40|56.7|167.0|52.7|654.0|8,515|12.409|52.70|High speed. Fifth Fill – 654.0 miles/12.409 gal.
Ballarat, CA|Rani|51|61.7|248.0|61.7|248.0|8,767|--|--|High speed through Sierra’s and Death Valley.
Glidden, CA.|Wayne|39|57.0|228.4|59.4|476.4|8,995|--|--|20 miles of slow roads from 40 – 55 mph.
Burlingame, CA|Bill|46|52.4|202.7|57.1|679.2|9,198|11.284|55.83|High speeds. Sixth Fill – 689.2 miles/11.447 gal.
San Francisco, CA (Fisherman’s Wharf)|Bill|50|54.2|019.5|54.2|019.5|9,218|--|--|Finish! – 19.3 miles/.353 gal.
Total Miles and Fuel consumed from NY City - Times Square to San Francisco - Fisherman’s Wharf
3,588 miles/64.76 gal. = 55.40 mpg. -- 3,588 miles/94 hours = 38.2 mph.
All said, the 1908 race generated much needed press about the poor condition of America’s roads and upgrade work began almost immediately following. With the race as its impetus, the first transcontinental road, the Lincoln Highway was initiated in 1912. That highway laid the ground work for an even larger project, that being the current Interstate highway system.
About the Fuel Economy of the Honda Hybrid vehicles. Given the winter conditions, full loads (3 people + 250 #’s of gear), huge climbs (from sea level on both coasts to over 8,000 feet a number of times) and high speeds from Salt Lake City to San Francisco (averaging over 70 mph in some areas), the Honda Civic Hybrids achieving 59.9 mpg in the HCH-I and 55.40 mpg in the HCH-II proved that the current EPA estimates of just 41 for the 2005 and 42 for the 2008 are labeled far below what can be achieved in the worst of conditions. In more temperate conditions, you could easily tack on another 10 mpg for each vehicle given both have seen over 80 mpg’s over a tank with single drivers in summer like conditions. With a little work, you should see the same.
We have to give Honda credit for the older 2005 HCH-I with its leanburn technology proving itself the most fuel efficient highway hybrid sedan through the worst that America has to offer in terms of weather and terrain.
A huge thank you goes out to our friend Laurieaw (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/member.php?u=111) who could not participate due to a scheduling conflict but was willing to lend out her vehicle in exchange for an Insight for a week. I want to also thank Chuck Schifsky, Chris Naughton and Chris Martin of the Honda Motor Company for the use of a 2008 HCH-II for the reenactment with a unique delivery and drop off location. Additionally, I want to thank Meghan Lynch of Specialty Transport for transferring the HCH-II to Tarabell at the Long Island NY Airport. Finally, I want to thank Bradlee Fons of the MiHG (http://www.milwaukeehybridgroup.com/) who donated enough $’s to cover the cost of the HCH-II’s fuel. Without any of the above, this event would not have been possible in the manner completed.