2011 2WD Cross-Country Specs
Total Distance: 2515.7 miles over 28 days. A new unoffical World Record.
Farthest single distance in one day: 186.6 miles between Pioneer and Fresno.
Farthest distance on a single charge: 165.3 miles between San Rafael and
Fort Bragg
Top Speed: 44 mph heading downhill w/ trailer on Hwy 88 after Carson Pass.
Average Speed: About 26 mph.
Average operating voltage: Starting = 63.3; Ending = 56.1
Opportunity charges: Most per day tied at 2.
Highest Pass climbed: Tied at > 8600 feet; Hwy 89 over Mount Lassen National
Park going to Greenville & Hwy 88 over Kit Carson Pass going to Pioneer.
Longest day: About 13.5 hours between Pioneer and Fresno due to the flat
tire.
Departures: Earliest was 6 AM leaving Fort Bragg to Eureka, and the latest
was 4:50 PM to head across the Golden Gate to San Rafael. Average departure time
was 8:15 AM. Leaving early proved to be much safer and quicker.
Time in the Saddle: Depends how this is calculated. Average was about 5 hours.
Scariest moment: Probably coming into Portland on US-30 the last 10 miles.
Biggest arsehole: Too many to count when they use their vehicle as a weapon,
but there was about one/day.
Prettiest segment: Far too many to count! The ugliest though was where I
had the flat.
Nicest gal: "Marie" at the Union 76 Station in Truckee, who let me park and
charge for 2 hours whilst I had lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Nicest guy: Attendant at the Chevron Station in Angels Camp, who let me park
and charge for an hour whilst I had breakfast at a nearby restaurant.
Nicest strangers: The Hells Angels gathering for Sunday Brunch at Addison's
Timber Mountain Store on the Tionesta Road heading towards Medicine Lake. I stopped
for an hour and asked to charge (they let me), and then after learning that I wasn't
an FBI informant, but a simple engineer on an ebike - they wanted to make me a "brother".
Missed opportunity if there ever was.
Cheapest motel: Motel 6 in Centralia at $43.95, followed by the Cinderella
Motel in Hollister at $48.60, and in a close third – The Ferryman's Inn again
in Centralia for $49.44.
Most Expensive motel: The Lighthouse Inn at Florence for $103.40, followed
by the Fort Bragg Travelodge at $93.47, and in a close third, again Travelodge in
Eureka for $87.99.
Best and worst motel rooms: Cinderella Motel in Hollister had the best charm.
Least impressive was a tie between the spendy Charm Motel in Burney, both Travelodge's
in Fort Bragg and Eureka, and the Lighthouse Inn at Florence – all were not
worth the money and run down.
Best road surface: US-101 when it was freeway, with a runner-up as the Avenue
of the Giants for best 2-lane road (little to no traffic).
Worst Road Surface: Tied between Tionesta Road – the first 15 miles
heading up to Medicine Lake, Panoche Road between I-5 and Hwy 25, and the dirt road
leading into my folk's property.
Best Bombing Runs: Tied between Medicine Lake, from the summit to about 5
miles before Hwy 89 junction, Mount Lassen from the summit to the junction with
Hwy 36, and Hwy 88 about 10 miles west of Carson Spur Summit heading towards Pioneer.
Best Weather: Between Johnsville and Pioneer, heading around the west shore
of Lake Tahoe and over Carson Pass; the whole day was marvelous!
Worst Weather: Tied between leaving Redmond and coming back to Redmond. A
runner-up would be the last 18 miles to Gold Beach facing 35 mph head winds + gusts,
though up till then it was one of the finest days on the coast and I was making
great time!
Best Brewery: I thought the Park Chalet in San Francisco had the most memorable
beer cos I woz enjoying it with my ePals!
Worst moment: The Flat Tire, bar none. Second to that would be the pesky
rear fender & tire rubbing issues.
Closest I came to running out of power: Tied at 54.3V left on the pack; coming
into Fort Bragg and again two days later coming in to Gold beach after fighting
the fierce buffeting with the sag dropping as low as 52.7. LVC was set to 50V so
I had only a few minutes left – possibly ½ hour.
The best piece of equiment: People always ask about the ebike and want to
know how it works. However there was one piece of equipment that consistently brought
a smile to all, and was a great source of entertainment.
Can you spot it?
It's the "Diametric Coriolis Inductive Regenerator" of course!
Life should be fun!
☺