May 15, Littleton MA

[bwilson4web]

Acton Toyota of Littleton | New Toyota dealership in Littleton, MA 01460

It looks to be a hoot with a route laid out by good Prius friend Hobbit:

MPG rally 2011

I used Google 'Street View' to drive most of the route and it looks lovely ... narrow New England roads that meander through tree lined lanes. But it doesn't make sense to drive 2,400 miles between Huntsville and Littleton for this one hour New England tour. Still, if you live close ...

Bob Wilson

[NeilBlanchard]

I am very close by -- Wayne Gerdes will be there, as well.

Kimball's has awesome ice cream...

[JethroBodine]

I'm about 120 miles from there. Give me 24 hours, I have to consult with my co-pilot(Son). I think the "ice cream" may be the deciding factor.

[NeilBlanchard]

Kimball's ice cream is among the best I have had; and they have more flavors than you can imagine. The servings are huge -- a "kiddie" is plenty for me, and the small is about a pint. Large -- never mind...

By the way, I am not sure they want me to run with my ScanGauge II as the guide -- they are concerned about it being calibrated properly. Frankly, I know the factory gauges in Prii, etc. are far from accurate. And, it is a little hard to see how I will threaten any Prius -- if they cannot manage 45-50mpg then they deserve to lose?

[bwilson4web]

Bring back pictures?

Bob Wilson

[NeilBlanchard]

Sure! I'll be meeting the organizer, Ben Koller at 8:30am at Kimball's.

I've been okay'd to participate using a calibrated ScanGauge.

[JethroBodine]

My son and I will be there on Sunday( the ice cream definately helped). Going to try to fit in a few more mods before the trip. If I can beat one prius, I'll be happy.

[NeilBlanchard]

I'll see you there!

[NeilBlanchard]

Okay, I've driven the course a few times; to both try and calibrate my SG2 Speed factor and to learn the course, and I have some things to point out: I hope the course is well marked with eye-catching signs, because the first time I drove it I made 3 wrong turns, and there is a *very* tight turn on a very narrow road after a steep downhill that might cause problems for folks.

The first turn I missed was the fourth one on the map (linked above) -- the left turn onto Old Dunstable Road at the 7.8 mile mark. Missing this completely messed me up and I had to return to the beginning and start again. This turn is fairly wide intersection, going in under the trees, and it narrows up after you get onto Old Dunstable Road, with some very quick ups and downs -- they are way too small to be called hills.

The second one was the 8th turn -- the right onto Oak Hill Road at the 15.9 mile mark. I knew that I had missed it when I got within sight of Rt. 3. There is a Tool & Die company on the right with a large flag pole just before the turn, and then there is a gas station on the left with a lot of red on it's sign, that is at the turn.

The 3rd error was missing the 12th turn -- the right onto Cold Spring Road at the 19.0 mile mark. There is a steep downhill when the fork merges in on the right (they have the Yield sign), then you go over the elevated railroad tracks, then stay right, then very soon, the right turn onto Cold Spring Road.

The tight turn is on Island Pond Road at about the 10.4 mile mark -- it is a very tight right hander and quite narrow and fairly bumpy.

[JethroBodine]

Thanks for the tips. Are the pics that are linked on the web page helpful? I printed them out so my son can keep track, tell me what to look for, and which way to turn. I thought about running the course and trying out the ice cream on Saturday, But I think I'll still be trying to finish my wheel covers and maybe kilts( blue car=kilts, pink car=skirts). Still trying to calibrate my MPGuino, at least the fuel part, still no VSS.