Huh? Not like graduate school but longer. This was a 300 mile long beer run back and forth from home in Southern NH to my favorite brewery, The Alchemist in Stowe, VT. The Alchemist brews a couple of my favorite IPAs, Heady Topper and the Focal Banger.




You guys will probably laugh at a mere 300 mile drive but I approached it with trepidation. I can tolerate 1-2 hour drives in my car but longer drives are painful thanks to the multiple pelvic fractures and torn muscles I sustained from a cycling accident in Florida last year (thanks to an SUV) and from which, I am still recovering. But never having done a longish drive in my car since I bought it last year, I said what the heck. So I popped a meloxicam, slipped on my stylish Pilotis (hahaha) and headed out on I-89, a scenic highway that runs from Concord NH to Burlington VT.

What did I learn?

•  
  • Car is surprisingly (to me) very nice for touring on a mostly empty highway especially on a warm day like today with the top down. (I wouldn’t want to drive this car on I-95 from Boston to NY like I used to sometimes for work).
  • Cruise control works well despite the somewhat hilly terrain.
  • The footwell is deep so I could rest my right foot under the brake pedal thereby alleviating pain to my right hip.
  • 18-way seats are very comfortable for my thin frame.
  • Highway mileage was ~27 mpg at 73-75 mph. Not bad for a manual.
  • Kline exhaust with open valves did not drone me into submission. I could barely hear it at 3000 rpms. It was mostly wind and tire noise.
  • SPASM suspension could be a little more compliant on bumps.
  • The best part being, the Boxster’s boot will hold 2 cases of 16 ounce beer cans and is a great vehicle for interstate liquor trafficking (haha).

Very relieved that I didn’t have to pull over doubled up in pain and/or get arrested by the state police. BTW, Stowe, VT is a nice little town.

 

Cool trip! A bit far from Seattle

Isn't the engine next to your trunk/boot heating up your beer? Or are you British?

 

Well, the beer stayed relatively cold during the 2 hour drive back home. I was pleasantly surprised. It went straight to my wine cooler.
And no, I am not British. Warm beer is 🤮

 

I love these little road trip adventures! Good for you! These are the kinds of trips I love doing in my Spyder too.
I recently did a little road trip myself - 2 hours each way -

1. I got 31.7 MPG! I also have a 6MT. I was using cylinder deactivation (ON) though. Had cruise set at around 73 I think.
2. I noticed that the speedo is about 0.5 to 1 MPH off (showing high). My waze app would show 70 and the car would be showing 71 for example. The slower you go the less the difference. At 60 I think it's about even...

I think these are great road trip cars!

 

I thought I was the only person who loads up their frunk with beer (I live out in East TX where there's no place closer than 50 miles that has the selection of beers I was used to being able to buy at Total Wine and More stores when I used to live in DFW).

Why'd you put yours in the trunk, instead of the frunk? Trunk is for pizza or anything to keep warm, and frunk for beer!

 

I will remember that for my next trip. 😀

 

My frunk gets warm too so neither the frunk nor the trunk are good for beer!

 

You're doing it wrong!
You need to get the rubber liner in the Frunk - then base it with a few inches of ice, then put the beers in there (skip the cardboard trays though)

 

So I end up with hot water and beer? LOL

 

Actually, the trunk was pretty good for transporting the 2 cases of beer. They were cold to begin with from the brewery and with the cardboard trays under them, the beer remained reasonably cold for the two and half hours it took me to drive back home. Couldn't drink them right away without chiiling them but they didn't warm up to ambient temperature in the trunk of my Boxster.

Heady Topper is very popular here in the New Engalnd area and is rated very highly by Beer Advocate (if one cares for that). I find it be somewhat similar to another favorite beer, the original Stone Ruination IPA, Heady Topper is better IMO. Not too boozy but packs a punch at 8% ABV.

 

I luv IPA’s, just wondering if they distribute it?
I’ll have to look for it at our local beer store, or Fatty’s who bring in all sorts of crazy beers.
We have some similar local breweries, Southern Tier is one of my favs:

https://stbcbeer.com/the-brewery/

 

@Mike981S. Ready when you are. But then The Red Hot isn’t so bad after a nice day autocrossing.

 

For the most part you need to go to VT to get the beer he is mentioning. They have a very small distribution radius and anytime I've seen it outside of VT someone had gone and gotten it from there to serve. They may have expanding their distribution but I don't think that was ever in their plans. You can find where to buy it on their website.

 

Might look into a DSC controller from TPC racing. Allows you to customize the suspension settings. Easy install. I use their default settings but they are great people and will guide you if you want your own custom settings.