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I would like to share a visual representation of my typical trip with you all.

Here I am going from Strawberry Lake to Portage Lake which is a 12.3 mile trip.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/Picture_1.png

It's 86 degrees and sunny so I will have the windows cracked. Front driver side and rear passenger side.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0961.JPG

And of course I'll be barefoot. ;)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0940.JPG

Alright, I'm ready for departure so first thing is to roll backwards from where I am parked in the driveway into the street. ICE-off, obviously.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0943.JPG

Here I am before take off.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0942.JPG

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0944.JPG

First stop sign at the corner of Lisch and Indianola.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0945.JPG

Next I am just cruising out of the neighborhood DWL and DWB.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0946.JPG

Now I am at the intersection of Indianola and Strawberry Lake Road. I have to use brakes for this one because the stop sign is at the bottom of the hill. :(

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0947.JPG

Next I am on Strawberry Lake Road for about 1.2 miles. Speed limit 55MPH.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0948.JPG

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0949.JPG

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0950.JPG

Here I am coming up on the intersection of Strawberry Lake Road and Merril Road.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0952.JPG

ScanGauge on Merril. Speed limit is 55MPH. :D

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0954.JPG

In this picture I am most likely DFCO all the way to the end of the road.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0955.JPG

After 1 mile I get to the intersection of Merril and M-36. (Lots of commotion at this intersection so the picture wasn't the greatest.)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0956.JPG

Now I am just cruising down M-36 at about 42MPH. Speed limit 45MPH.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0958.JPG

Alright, here I approach the first stop light and the intersection of M-36 and Chilson. This light is the easiest to predict. It has a crosswalk and the hand blinks 10 times before the light turns orange. In other words, I like this light. In this instance I just drove right through.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0959.JPG

The next light is at Pettys Road and M-36. This light gives no warning of changing unfortunately. Although it is usually green because of the low traffic on Pettys.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0960.JPG

Still cruising down M-36 crossing the Railroad tracks.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0963.JPG

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0964.JPG

Now I am at Pettysville light. This light is relatively new and I hate it. It gives no warning and is completely unpredictable. I hate it. What happened here was it changed so I FASed up to it and restarted right before I lost all my momentum. Lots of commotion so the picture is a little close.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0967.JPG

Still cruising down M-36.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0968.JPG

Checking my mirror, making sure no one is riding my butt.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0971.JPG

Once again, a light that is hard to read. I never know what this one is doing either. Here though, it stayed green. :D

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0972.JPG

Some more M-36. 6.3 Miles on M-36.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0973.JPG

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0974.JPG

The last light until my destination. This one is easy to figure out because it has a consistent pattern. Here I am turning left and the light is blinking red. Sometimes I hit it perfect with the green arrow and drive right through. It's a beautiful thing. ;)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0976.JPG

Heading down Dexter-Pinckney.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0980.JPG

Here is the video of the final leg of the trip.

http://www.youtube.com/v/98ymWkdmyKA&hl=en&fs=1&
Average MPG for this trip 51.7MPG. :Banane03:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/657/medium/DSCN0982.JPG

Thanks for checking this out. :D

Very nice and detailed. I share your love of a good light and hate of an unpredictable one.

That's a lot of 2-lane road. Is traffic light, or do you have to adjust your driving a lot to accommodate others?

I do the exact same window arrangement - 2 inches down on mine and the right rear.

Very nice and detailed. I share your love of a good light and hate of an unpredictable one.

That's a lot of 2-lane road. Is traffic light, or do you have to adjust your driving a lot to accommodate others?

I do the exact same window arrangement - 2 inches down on mine and the right rear.

Thank you! And yes, it is all 2-lane roads. And yes, I do have to adjust my driving to accommodate others, although I don't always adjust as much as they would like. ;)

Your goal, of course, is not high mpg per se, but rather low consumption. Therefore, I assume there is not a shorter route on the south side of the Portage Lake?

Having the same thought, I looked it at the satellite images, and it appears that bridges are lacking.

Yes. This bridge is under construction so the road is closed.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=42.417548,-83.925977&daddr=&geocode=&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=16&sll=42.418071,-83.922586&sspn=0.011564,0.033023&ie=UTF8&z=16

And this bridge no longer exists.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bell+Road,+Dexter,+MI&sll=42.400932,-83.907537&sspn=0.011567,0.033023&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bell+Rd,+Dexter,+Washtenaw,+Michigan+48130&ll=42.402941,-83.905785&spn=0.011567,0.033023&z=16

This is the only other way to get there with the current road construction. Besides 3.4 miles of that trip is dirt roads which aren't MPG friendly. ;)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Gallagher,+Whitmore+Lake,+MI&daddr=42.393037,-83.941555+to:Winston+Pinckney,+MI&geocode=FfGrhwId0Z0A-yn14efNCkwjiDEMByUFpodw6A%3B%3BFZlRhwId4mD_-ikTxsCKhEojiDGcCwfqqh25Ow&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=13&via=1&sll=42.402164,-83.94619&sspn=0.063887,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=42.411291,-83.924561&spn=0.127755,0.308647&z=12

I'll do another post soon taking this route:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Gallagher,+Whitmore+Lake,+MI&daddr=Kress+Rd+to:Shehan+Rd+to:Darwin+Rd+to:W+Sarah+Ave+to:42.423837,-83.923788&geocode=FfGrhwId0Z0A-yn14efNCkwjiDEMByUFpodw6A%3BFXi8hwIdGncA-w%3BFZiIhwIdxPX_-g%3BFUOghwId92z_-g%3BFf9YhwId-mD_-g%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4&sll=42.429349,-83.907051&sspn=0.03193,0.077162&ie=UTF8&ll=42.440688,-83.890228&spn=0.063848,0.154324&z=13

All back roads and some dirt. Should be fun. :D

Oh yea, and much less traffic.

Nice thread!!! I should do the same with my HX. ;)