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Menlo Park, California to Winnemucca, Nevada, August 17, 2011 - I picked Kumba up at Laura's house in Menlo Park, California and started our long drive to Winnemucca, Nevada. Poor Kumba was initially stressed on this first day of travel. We couldn't explain to him that he would see Laura and Michael again in a couple of days. As far as Kumba was concerned he was being spirited away on a tedious drive through some godforsaken desert away from all of his familiar smells.
We stopped at most of the rest stops along the way. I wanted to give Kumba the opportunity to take a break from travel, give him some attention, walk him a bit, etc. This seemed to help, but it slowed our overall progress somewhat, taking 10 hours to drive from Menlo Park to Winnemucca.
At the rest stop just south of Winnemucca I fed Kumba dinner, and he pooped and pee'd immediately afterward. That made putting him to bed at the Motel 6 an easy task. Once in his bed he relaxed and went to sleep, though in spite of my wearing earplugs he awakened me with warning barks and growls a couple of times in the night when he heard guests arriving late to a nearby room and when a spirited late-night altercation could be heard in the adjacent room.
Winnemucca, Nevada to Ketchum, Idaho, August 18, 2011 - We woke up early in Winnemucca, ate a leisurely breakfast, took a short walk out behind the Motel 6, and then resumed our trip before 0900. Kumba was less stressed on the second day. By this time he knew I wasn't going to let him starve and that he'd have a cool stationary place to sleep at night. He settled into the routine of travel, although he never became so relaxed that he felt comfortable stretching out on his pet bed in the van.
Temperatures started off cool but warmed through the day and were hottest as we drove the final 100 miles from Twin Falls to Ketchum. Again we stopped at all of the rest stops, except the one immediately east of Winnemucca. Kumba especially enjoyed the rest stop outside of Jackpot, NV as he could dip his paws into Salmon Falls Creek.
He was happy to see Laura and Michael when we finally arrived in Ketchum.
Evening Walk with Laura, August 18, 2011 - Kumba seemed to have regained enough energy to accompany us to dinner and then on a short night walk around the neighborhood.
At Michael's Condo, August, 2011 - These are a couple of candid photos of Laura, Michael, and Kumba at Michael's condo in Ketchum, Idaho.
Morning Walk with Laura and Kumba, August 19, 2011 - The next morning Laura and Kumba accompanied me on my bike as I left Michael's condo to do my ride. We walked down to the river and the River Run Lodge before we went our separate ways for the rest of the day. Kumba recovered his energy and played with an Australian Shepherd, "Bear", took a dip in the Big Wood River, and seemed to enjoy getting outdoors. He also was quite curious how I managed to turn myself into a big yellow thing on wheels.
| Bike Ridden: | Power Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 77 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 5500 feet |
| Total Time: | 5:48:51 |
| Riding Time: | 5:10:07 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 14.83 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 45.4 mph |
| Nominal System Voltage: | 24 |
| Battery energy capacity: | 1024 wh |
| Battery energy consumed: | 707.11 wh |
| Wh/mi: | 9.3 |
| Battery Amps-Hour Used: | 27.557 |
| Max. Current: | 82.91 Amps |
| Min. Voltage: | 15.2 |
| Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? watts |
| Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? watts |
| Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? kJ (1629 wh) |
| Total energy from motor (calculated): | 1782 kJ (495 wh) |
| Total energy from human (calculated): | ? kJ (? wh) |
| Total energy from human (Polar HRM est.): | ? kJ (? wh) |
Galena Summit, August 19, 2010 - I took most of the day to explore ID75 over Galena Summit as far as the Smiley Creek Lodge. I enjoyed beautiful views of the mountains north of Ketchum and around the headwaters of the Salmon River.
On the way up to Galena Summit I saw a few cyclists, including one older guy on a Bacchetta Giro (I think) at the Galena Lodge. While I was stopped at the Alexander Ross turnout I met a couple of cycle tourists descending from the pass who stopped to check out the big yellow bike-thing. One of them took my photo.
After crossing Galena Summit I stopped at the Church Overlook to admire the view of the Salmon River Valley and the Sawtooth Mountains in the distance. I continued down into the Salmon River Valley as far as Smiley Creek as I didn't have enough time or energy to ride all the way to Stanley and back.
The return trip covered the same road until I got into Ketchum, where I stayed on the main highway into town and stopped by the supermarket to pick up a few groceries before heading back to Michael's condo.
One remarkable aspect of the ride included the longest coasting I can recall having enjoyed. From Galena Summit eastward I coasted without pedaling (or motoring) for about 15 miles, sometimes slowing to about 10mph, but never stopping. I had to pedal on a slight uphill after passing Cathedral Pines, but then I was able to coast again for another 10 miles, although more slowly and tediously, slowing sometimes to 6mph. When I got close to town I grew tired of coasting at walking pace and decided to ride normally the rest of the way in.
Dinner at Rico's, August 19, 2011 - We enjoyed dinner at Rico's in Ketchum with Michael's mom, Eleanor, and step-dad, Norm.
Hike to The Roundhouse, August 20, 2011 - Laura, Michael, Kumba, and I hiked from Michael's condo in Ketchum to the River Run Lodge and then up the Bald Mountain Trail to The Roundhouse for lunch.
Since dogs were not allowed at The Roundhouse (or on its rear deck) we had to tie Kumba at the base of the stairs where he whined and howled unless one of us were with him. So we took turns keeping him company while the rest of us ate.
Laura and I had planned to continue up to the summit of Bald Mountain on the Christmas lift, then take the lifts down while Michael walked Kumba down the mountain as we felt Kumba had had enough hiking and because dogs were not allowed on the lifts or the gondola. But, Kumba balked at walking down the mountain without the whole group, so we ended up all hiking down the steep service road to the lodge at the bottom.
(Distance: 7 miles; Climbing: 2100 feet)
Visiting Kerry and Family, August 20, 2011 - Michael, Laura, and I were invited to a family dinner party at the house of the parents of Laura's friend, Kerry.
Warm Springs Road, August 21, 2010 - I got a late start on a shorter day of biking. I first took a ride up to the end of the pavement on Warm Springs Road. Someday I'll have to explore the quiet dirt road further upstream. Looks like there's a hot spring 6.5 miles in.
| Bike Ridden: | Power Gold Rush |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 40 miles |
| Cumulative climbing: | 3000 feet |
| Total Time: | 4:00 |
| Riding Time: | 3:06:45 |
| Avg. Speed (moving): | 13.01 mph |
| Max. Speed: | 40.7 mph |
| Nominal System Voltage: | 24 |
| Battery energy capacity: | 1024 wh |
| Battery energy consumed: | 461.73 wh |
| Wh/mi: | 11.4 |
| Battery Amps-Hour Used: | 17.92 |
| Max. Current: | 83.92 Amps |
| Min. Voltage: | 19.6 |
| Max. power to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? watts |
| Avg. power to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? watts |
| Total energy to rear wheel (PowerTap): | ? kJ (? wh) |
| Total energy from motor (calculated): | 1164 kJ (323 wh) |
| Total energy from human (calculated): | ? kJ (? wh) |
| Total energy from human (Polar HRM est.): | ? kJ (? wh) |
Trail Creek Road, August 21, 2010 - My main ride of the day was to climb up Trail Creek Road as far as seemed prudent.
Trail Creek Road starts as Sun Valley Road and continues past Sun Valley up the initially broad canyon that narrows considerably as the road begins its climb up to Trail Creek Pass (7894ft). About 1/2-mile after the road begins its long climb, its surface transitions to well-graded dirt.
I hadn't planned to ride dirt roads on this trip, but this road was just starting to get pretty, so I pressed on. Fortunately, there wasn't too much traffic, although when motorists passed me they stirred up a cloud of dust.
I was able to enjoy nice views down into the canyon as the road climbed further. The climb ends at a wooded pass where there is no view.
I did not continue down the other side as the day was getting late, and I knew that I had ridden the scenic part already, so I turned around and went back toward Sun Valley.
Sun Valley - Elkhorn, August 21, 2010 - After riding up Trail Creek Road I took the long way back to Ketchum by way of Sun Valley and Elkhorn. I rode mostly the paved bike path that would probably irritate many bicycle commuters, but it was a nice way to tool along slowly and enjoy the scenery, as long as I was attentive at intersections and road crossings.
Ketchum, Idaho to Reno, Nevada, August 22, 2011 - The first day of our return trip home was a long drive as the goal was to get to Reno before nightfall. By this time Kumba knew the drill and exhibited more an air of resignation rather than stress about the long drive. He was also quite tired from the weekend full of activity. I think he managed to sleep on part of the drive, but he still never really stretched out and relaxed, always ready to spring onto four feet at a moment's notice.
We stopped to take some photos at the Vista Point at the Snake River Bridge (US93) at Twin Falls that we hadn't done on our outbound trip. Otherwise we kept moving, stopping only a few other times at rest stops or to refuel. At the last rest stop near Fernley I fed Kumba his dinner, and he obliged me by producing a Number One and Number Two before we got to the Motel Six that night in Reno. The room was cool when we arrived, and Kumba plopped down onto his nest and went promptly to sleep.
Reno, Nevada to Menlo Park, California, August 23, 2011 - During the night Kumba had awakened me a couple of times growling at noises of guests arriving late to the nearby rooms. When I got up the next morning I discovered that he had pulled his nest out from under the desk and into the middle of the walkway at the foot of the bed. I almost tripped over him as I stumbled to the bathroom.
After I fed him breakfast I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came back out into the room Kumba was standing over a pile of mucus-encapsulated half-digested kibble on the floor. He had brought up half of his breakfast. He looked so guilty, and as I made sounds of displeasure while cleaning it up he tried to hide himself in a corner of the small hotel room.
Fortunately, the vomit was more gelatinous than liquid and was easy to clean up. It didn't leave a stain on the carpet.
Our drive started with a trip to the gas station and then the long climb alongside the Truckee River to Truckee. After Truckee I80 climbs past Donner Lake (that is rarely visible from the freeway). We stopped at a vista point where we got out of the van.
In spite of keeping down only half of his breakfast Kumba was full of energy. He pulled me up the nearby slope. I think he smelled remnants of people using the area as an impromptu toilet as there were no toilet facilities as this vista point. Still, we saw no view of Donner Lake.
We continued over Donner Summit and down through Auburn, around Sacramento, past Davis, and stopped again for cheap gas in Fairfield before continuing on into the inner Bay Area.
We made a final and extended stop at the newly rebuilt rest stop north of Vallejo where I ate lunch, exercised Kumba with the aid of some doggie treats, and walked him around the spacious and well-maintained grounds.
After lunch we pressed on through Contra Costa, Oakland, across the Bay Bridge, and then down the Peninsula to Menlo Park, where Michael was waiting at Laura's house for me to arrive.
Starting from a couple of miles from Menlo Park Kumba seemed to know he was nearing a familiar place. He was standing with his nose to the window. When we arrived Kumba was excited to be home. But, not five minutes later he was sound asleep on the living room floor. Time to catch up on sleep.
Before this trip I had just had the van's 30k service interval done that includes a tune up and oil change, and I had put new tires on all four wheels. I cruised at 55mph on the outbound trip and at the speed limit on most of the inbound trip. The engine burned about 1/2-quart of oil in both directions. Although it's counterintuitive, engine speed appeared to have no effect on the amount of oil burned, just mileage covered.
The table below gives the raw data that I use to calculate gas mileage and a few notes for each refueling, during which the tank was filled to the top.
| Datetime | miles since last fillup | cost | # gallons | maximum cruising speed (mph) on prior tank | Avg. air temp. (deg. C) when driving on prior tank | Temp. (deg. C) at fillup | notes | mpg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011/08/17 - 1130 | - | 47.50 | 13.4 | 55 | 30 | 30 | ||
| 2011/08/18 - 0830 | 332 | 39.51 | 10.8 | 55 | 30 | 15 | 30.7 | |
| 2011/08/18 - 1500 | 291 | 30.59 | 8.4 | 55 | 35 | 35 | 34.6 | |
| 2011/08/22 - 1000 | 142 | 17.43 | 4.8 | 55 | 30 | 25 | 29.6 | |
| 2011/08/22 - 1630 | 314 | 51.23 | 14.0 | 75 | 30 | 35 | A couple ounces spilled out the fill tube. Tank was full up the neck of the filler. | 22.4 |
| 2011/08/23 - 0845 | 167 | 24.00 | 6.7 | 65 | 30 | 15 | 24.9 | |
| 2011/08/23 - 1300 | 167 | 18.01 | 5.1 | 65 | 30 | 30 | 32.7 |
The table shows that gas mileage was around 30-32mpg when maximum cruising speed was 55mph. This dropped to the high 20s mpg at 65mph, but really dropped to the low 20s mpg when cruising at 75mph.
Aside from that cruising at 75mph seems too fast in this short wheelbase van. I tended to get blown around too much at 75mph and it felt unsafe. 65mph is a good top speed, but if I have the extra time, 55mph saves even more fuel.
All web site content except where otherwise noted: ©2024 Bill Bushnell
Background texture courtesy of Iridia's Backgrounds.
Please send comments or questions to the .