I made a quick run to the inlaws’ house tonight, about a 60 mile drive, each way. Along the way I made a few observations…
- Since the BMW doesn’t have a working odometer, I thought this might be a good opportunity to check the gas mileage, so I filled up before leaving Sioux Falls and again at the same station when I got back. On the 117.6 mile trip I used 5.074 gallons of fuel, which translates to 23.18 miles per gallon. Not bad, especially considering the, um, spirited driving enjoyed along the way.
- The driving was particularly spirited along one of my favorite drives, a lonely 8 mile stretch of highway that runs along the river between Beloit, IA, and Fairview, SD. I hit three digits each way through there tonight; what a blast! On the way out there was a Ford F350 pickup traveling the same direction. I thought I’d overtake him quickly, but he was cooking along at a little over 90. I think he was a little surprised when I blew by him at about 120 or so. The white stripes on the highway zip by pretty quickly at that speed.
My observation? Moving along at 55-60mph feels like a crawl when you were doing twice that only moments before. Also, it’s amazing how smooth and stable that ratty looking e28 is at high speeds.
- The stars! I stopped along the way on the return trip just to take in the view. It’s amazing how much more you can see in the sky without the light interference you find in the city. I’m becoming more convinced that people who spend most of their time in urban environments tend to become more detached from their Creator. It’s easy to think that man is the epitome of evolution when all you see is man-made. Here’s a tip; first chance you get, get far enough out of Dodge to escape the glow dome surrounding the city — about 30 miles or so — so you can really see the sky. It is truly amazing, and humbling. It makes a guy feel really small and insignificant, and makes one wonder how the God of the universe could take an interest in something so small.
That’s all I can think of right now. Other than a few niggling issues with the car that popped up along the way. The cruise control was working fine most of the way, but near my destination on the way out the brake light warning came on, and the cruise control wouldn’t work. It came back on for the return trip, but later the brake light warning came on again, and again the cruise wouldn’t work. The power windows quit working a couple of days ago, but along the way I fiddled with the breaker switch under the dash and they started working again, for a short time. That narrows down the possible problem areas anyway. Also, the brake pedal seems to be getting a little on the soft side; might have to bring it over to Abe & have him check things over.