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You actually picked a good time to do it. Traffic is minimal, gas is cheap. Getting through major cities has never been less of a hassle.
I drive truck for a living and I've found it's ok out on the road.
The major chain truck stops are all open and trying very hard to provide a safe environment.
I haven't found any place that had closed bathrooms or zero food.
The 'roller grills' are all shut down, but the restaurants are serving take out.
The coffee is still available, but travel mugs won't be filled and the staff will fill the cup for you.
I wouldn't worry about wearing the mask anywhere but inside the stores. Keep in mind that the mask isn't likely to protect you from catching it. It keeps you from spreading it if you're infectious.
Gloves while handling the pump nozzle would be a good idea (I wear work gloves for that all the time anyway).
Doing the 'wash your hands after using the bathroom, then use a paper towel to open the door and a foot to go out the exit door' (they all open outwards) is something I've been doing for a long time anyway.
When I spoke with Dave yesterday around 9am, he was in the Chicago area, the weather here in MI was 50 mph wind gusts and lake affect snow, so not making good time, his ETA was around 1030pm.
I'm sure once he gets some rest we'll hear about the trip.
The trip started at 3:51 am on Tuesday (9 minutes ahead of schedule). I arrived at 10:04 pm in Fort Worth, Texas at Darien's... 1,359 miles, averaging 70 mph...
At 43 miles in, the roads turned to solid ICE! Shifted Big Blue into 4wd after a nice fishtail going up a hill. At mile 48 a Ford Explorer slid through an intersection and t-boned a pickup truck sending it spinning off the road at about 60 mph... That was about 300 yards in front of me... I weaved through the debris all over the road... At mile 90 (ish) I came over another hill and saw four cars spinning and bouncing off of the guardrails... one jumped the guardrail and flipped into the median. I maintained my direction and throttle position (couldn't do anything else) and drove straight through the carnage... missing contact with all of them! When I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw nothing but spinning cars (at least five). A pair of semis tangled in the northbound lanes and completely blocked traffic! My wife was monitoring google and the roadway was promptly closed in both directions. Leaving 9 minutes early had saved the day!
Here is a quick shot from the camera of what I could see... Needless to say... It was a white knuckle drive!
Had I known the roads were so bad, I never would have left... Pulling 8,500 pounds of trailer through this kind of activity is...
The rest of the trip was completely uneventful and I was able to make up all of the time I lost and arrived only four minutes after my initial projected arrival of 10:00 (sorry Darien) ;-)
Darien was ready and we toured "Louie the Beast" OMG! What a car! I promptly wore out the word Wow...
It is a gorgeous sunny day here in Fort Worth and I am truly grateful to Darien and his wife for their hospitality and a great nights rest...
With all the bad weather and all you went through, glad that you made it safely.
Have a safe trip back.
Can't wait to hear more about "Louie the Beast"!
Last edited by Bertrand Daoust; 04-15-2020 at 07:27 PM.
I have been wearing out the word "WOW" while exploring Louie...
Mr. Ott has been one of my heroes for many years. To have the car "in hand" and follow his extensions of design logic is a fun undertaking and Darien and I have just scratched the surface of what will be a multi year exploration of the cars capacities.
My first impression is how broad of a spectrum this car this car is functional in. Despite's its extraordinary power level, it is quite drivable on the street. I can't wait to get it on the track to tear open the envelope...
It was great meeting you today, Dave. I'm glad Darien has made you the new caretaker of Louie. Have safe travels home and we will see you in S.D. in July.
04-13-2020, 10:22 AM
