an alternate route
I tested out a new route to work this afternoon, because it was a nice day and I was looking at a map and thought, Well, why not drive it now to see how long it takes?
The thing about my typical route is that it involves sixteen traffic lights. Sixteen! In five miles! That's ridiculous! Back in my day that same stretch had half as many traffic lights and now look at it! Honestly though if I don't time it right I end up hitting almost all of those lights, and it's infuriating and then I'm late to work.
A few weeks ago I noticed my gas mileage was tanking, which, when you have a car as old as mine, is alarming. What could it mean?? I'm used to the Hondallennium Falcon getting about 35mpg, and it dropped to 29mpg, two tanks ago. Aiee! Then I took a trip involving a lot of highway miles, and the mileage for that tank resumed its normal efficiency. Now, fresh tank, I'm watching the meter sink again.
Sixteen traffic lights.
*shakes angry fist*
So I am going to try this new route, which is longer in distance but -- at least this afternoon, when I clocked it -- takes the same amount of time. It's all the backroads, the narrow roads over tiny bridges and around precarious turns, past many many many election signs (none of them for candidates I'm voting for) and also cows. Already I can tell that it will be way less stressful to drive than yellowlight after yellowlight after peddling out-of-towner looking for their hotel.
I'm curious to find out if this helps improve my mileage. I've taken to just throwing the engine into neutral any time I'm going down a hill, but so far that hasn't seemed to make much of an impact.
At the very least I'm sure that having to stop less often will be better for my (blessed, original) clutch.
The thing about my typical route is that it involves sixteen traffic lights. Sixteen! In five miles! That's ridiculous! Back in my day that same stretch had half as many traffic lights and now look at it! Honestly though if I don't time it right I end up hitting almost all of those lights, and it's infuriating and then I'm late to work.
A few weeks ago I noticed my gas mileage was tanking, which, when you have a car as old as mine, is alarming. What could it mean?? I'm used to the Hondallennium Falcon getting about 35mpg, and it dropped to 29mpg, two tanks ago. Aiee! Then I took a trip involving a lot of highway miles, and the mileage for that tank resumed its normal efficiency. Now, fresh tank, I'm watching the meter sink again.
Sixteen traffic lights.
*shakes angry fist*
So I am going to try this new route, which is longer in distance but -- at least this afternoon, when I clocked it -- takes the same amount of time. It's all the backroads, the narrow roads over tiny bridges and around precarious turns, past many many many election signs (none of them for candidates I'm voting for) and also cows. Already I can tell that it will be way less stressful to drive than yellowlight after yellowlight after peddling out-of-towner looking for their hotel.
I'm curious to find out if this helps improve my mileage. I've taken to just throwing the engine into neutral any time I'm going down a hill, but so far that hasn't seemed to make much of an impact.
At the very least I'm sure that having to stop less often will be better for my (blessed, original) clutch.