Encouraging everyone to slow down a little

[Clev]

Originally Posted by JacobAziza

Wow.
And I thought I was slow, averaging about 12mph for 2600 miles bicycling down the coast of N. America

Cool. Crossing the country on bicycle is on my bucket list.

Do you have a travel journal for this trip?

[JacobAziza]

Not yet. I really should make it a blog before I forget more than I already have.

I started in San Francisco, with 2 other people, a 30lb bike, and 60lbs of gear. Rode 590 mile down the Coast Highway 1 to Mexico and then 950 miles through Baja, took a ferry to the mainland and continued down the coast 280 miles before my riding partners bailed (for personal reasons unrelated to the trip) and then 600 miles to Acapulco. Then, due to meeting up with another American cyclist, changed plans and rode with her north 245 miles to Mexico City from where I flew home. Took about 2 months or so.

But there was one guy I met on the trip who made us all look speedy. I met him in Mazatlan, maybe a week out of the country for me. He had left LA over a year prior. By kayak.

[Clev]

Sounds awesome. A lot of people keep their journals at crazyguyonabike.com

[martinafan]

living here in So. Fla. hypermiling is a 4 letter word I tried doing it last year when gas went up to over $4 a gallon and the amount of frustration and aggravation was not worth the benefits. People here just want to go fast does not matter if you stay in the right lane, they'll tailgate you to the point of intimidation. I remember one time on I95 I was driving right lane heavy traffic, guy tailgating me big time, when he finally passed me, gave me the finger and he was an off duty cop! I feel frustrated to see how people just dont want to save gas around here.

[JacobAziza]

Originally Posted by martinafan

living here in So. Fla. hypermiling is a 4 letter word

HyMi?

he was an off duty cop!

Whole reason I found this site was I got pulled over by a cop for driving slow, and I wanted to share that story.

does not matter if you stay in the right lane, they'll tailgate you

I find it helps a lot to:
1)have a big bumper sticker that says "please pass" and "driving slow saves gas" and
2) flashing my hazard lights 4 or 5 times whenever someone is coming up fast behind me. This lets them know that I am driving slow on purpose and won't be speeding up any time soon.
They probably assume its a mechanical issue or something, but it has the effect of people passing right away (or else settling behind me at a safe distance) pretty consistently.

[pgfpro]

This is a awesome thread.

Today I had my first experience of running at a slower speed to save fuel. I went from 65 mph down to 58 mph and still got my ass almost ran over.

But it was well worth it. I had a huge FE gain from 46mpg to 64.8mpg. Of course there were some major changes made to the tune up. Lean burn mode @18.5:1 A/F ratio etc.

But it makes you think why do we still have 75mph freeway speeds. The government needs to do their part and drop the speed limit and start saving fuel!!!

[JacobAziza]

I've been driving slowly for 9 months now.

Tonight was the first time I ever got someone agitated behind me, flashing their lights, tailgating, honking...
And it happened 3 separate times on one trip!

9 months! Never.
Tonight, 3 times.

What can one do?
There are 5 lanes, almost no traffic, and people want to speed in the slow lane. Can't say I feel bad about pissing them off...

[cfg83]

JacobAziza -

Originally Posted by JacobAziza

I've been driving slowly for 9 months now.

Tonight was the first time I ever got someone agitated behind me, flashing their lights, tailgating, honking...
And it happened 3 separate times on one trip!

9 months! Never.
Tonight, 3 times.

What can one do?
There are 5 lanes, almost no traffic, and people want to speed in the slow lane. Can't say I feel bad about pissing them off...

That's the part that gets me. If you're in the slow lane, then they are out of line. One lane in one direction I can understand, but 4 other lanes?!?!?!?

CarloSW2

[elhigh]

Surface streets are where my old hoopy shines. If I could just average 45mph, and not have to come to any stops, I think I could find the far side of 45mpg. It really is just loafing along at that speed, the vacuum gauge thinks it's on the moon.