WOW! It was a looong trip,
Phew! Made it to Houston finally.
Drove a couple of extra miles...to get closer to the END of the tank, and it got there
, the
end of the tank...!
So this is the way the journey started...
Left Boulder directly towards Denver where I filled the tank ALL the way up to the
brim of the tank mouth(venting, OF COURSE) .
This was at the Shamrock station on I-25 and 58th Street ZIP 80216(some of the best DZL prices in town).
Mileage at start was: 280.988 miles
(corrected from 280.088)
After PICS. of wagon and odometer..., onwards to Albuquerque,NM on I-25 S. The worst thing could have happened and it did happen
, TRAFFIC! in Denver. Then some intermittent rain all the way to Colorado Springs
and worse traffic than in Denver(ARGH, as Charlie Brown would have said...). So I persevered...rolling close to 10-ish MPH for the duration of town(Colorado Springs). It was now getting dark and still raining at a drizzle but the best part was a really clean black '99 VR6 with nice wheels leading the way.
I liked to just follow because neither one of us was using the brakes much(I wonder what other vehicles that were following us were saying about our actions?). It is soo nice to have the idling ability of a TDI in 1, 2 and third gears
.
So it rained even harder on an off all the way to Socorro, NM which was about 11 hours and 487 miles from start.
Bed time, I said at 02:20 in the very early AM...
Mileage at end of day: 281.475
Next day: NO cheap coffee for me, just a little cheap orange juice from the dispenser machine instead... and off "we" go towards El Paso, Tx. Having bought snacks and three bananas yesterday that would mix great with a bag of Lay's potato chips and plenty of water to clean the palate(Lay's leaves a residue, YUCK!), I cruised on...!
Texas is a long trip and can get hot even in the early part of May(2nd of May-05/02/07). I passed many a vehicle that was on the side of the road at the break areas that had just passed me earlier at a much higher rate of speed that what I was mustering, to be passed again and again and sometimes again.
For the longest... I contemplated a good size meal for the day, so Ozona, Tx was the proper location at the proper distance and had the most proper "Two Pork Chop plate" with a DOUBLE helping of Guacamole. Did I say... WOLFED it down? No, I did not, but I did WOLF it down !
And I keep on chugging along...
My plan was to get across San Antonio before I had to stop for the night but with a full belly and only 4.5 hours of sleep the night before, I did not get across San Antonio
.
Beddy bye was nice IN the Variant(that was a reason I bought the wagon!) 12.5 hours and 598 miles later...
Mileage: 282.073
After getting the wagon purring at close to 09:00 AM to continue my
odd-yssey; BAD timing again..., morning rush hour on Loop 1604(around San Antonio)! So I get to the closest grocery store that I believed had a Starbucks and take a "break" from the insanity of a Metropolis...(Argh, again...).
By this time, heat was a happening thing and for MAX MPG's the A/C is definitely
OFF limits
.
So yes... it was getting hot now!
Being on a MAJOR highway and keeping a lower than "normal" road speed CAN be quite harmfull, I-10 is NOT an exception...HAZARDS ON, are MANDATORY!
Final leg heading eastwards to Houston believing to be the final destination.
I get to Houston's surroundings after stopping to get a half gallon of D2 for the refueling(you'll know what for in a minute...), and I cannot believe it, TRAFFIC everywhere!
I cannot make the mistake of getting in there, I said!
So, I make a U-turn and head back towards San Antonio(this is actually going the OPPOSITE way of Houston and where I had just come from..! Hmmm, a I felt sanity embracing me again
.
So now I cruise for about 70 miles headed WEST and guess what? About then..., I slam the clutch pedal all the way to the floor as I search for a good place to pull the Variant over and OFF the main artery WHILE I turn the ignition key OFF and coast to the on ramp(I had just passed an intersection), and as far away from traffic as I could do so WITHOUT getting on the grass(remember, this is Texas and there ARE
rabbid ants here!).
I then give a sigh and a SMILE because I don't have to drive "
this thing" at such a low rate of speed any more...Yipee!
YES, the Variant had finally ran out of ULSD!
And yes... the emergency 1/2 gallon was for this one purpose...to prime the filter and lines(but "you know that...").
Mileage to the point of final breath: 282.305
Mind you; that this is with about 250 miles of rain, two major traffic areas(Denver and Colorado Springs) and a minor one(San Antonio), two 8K foot elevation passes(Monument and Raton on I-25 S.) and lots of music CD's to keep me company and "The Count of Monte Cristo", the book on CD's.
MY final calculation is that I DID get past 1.400 miles to the tank but barely, even going at a faster rate of speed than what I should have and all the MPG destruction events..., like the rain, traffic, etc.
Am I going to try again? maybe not anytime soon but...YES!
Left home @ 280.717(not counted on MPG effort)
started MPG effort @ 280.988
end of MPG effort @ 282.305
total of MPG effort = 1.315 not inc. 8% tire error, etc
103 @ 8 % tire error
Total miles to the TANK with ODO. correction 1.418 ! NICE!!!!!!!!!!!
Did I get anyone to cheer for me, NO!
The G.F.(in Boulder, mentioned that there has to be something loose in my head).
My best friend aggrees w/ the G.F.
The mother just rolls her eyes, and the rest of family...
"whatever" is the concensus
.
Others are still wondering what I did to make teh VW go so far and if my rear end is sore...
I did make it in one piece; the Variant almost blew up and at the final fill (with an adjustment for earlier adding emergency fuel) was
25.8 gallons.
(I know, I know..., but MY B4 Variant can only seem to get ~<26 gallons in the tank {?})
And about the "blew up" part...; I was so happy to be able to motor along on the way back that I held 85+ and then 100+ for a good while when I felt the ECU go into "limp" mode (ARGH, again...).
I asked no one around me, ***? and gradually slowed to regular speed (ECU mandate) and cruised close to 12+ miles to later realize that the CCV breather hose had come off the valve cover side
, and oil had spewed all over the engine(a lot @ 100 MPH +) and the underhood/TDI cover.
No worries, I caught it just right. Said I...!
So for now...good night, I deserve a good sleep!
Edit 05/004/07: Using Mapquest, the total mileage is 1.526.75(minus ~10 for going around S. Antonio).
Final Mapquest mileage: 1.516.75
Odo. reading w/ 8% tire error: 1.418
The question is which one to believe?
I like the larger number... !
Ps> Some editing of numbers/mileage has been done to correct late night "gremlins' of cross eye-ness.
