Mustang Marathon Day 1

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Day 1 of the Mustang Marathon ended here after a 13-hour, 834.8-mile jaunt from Oxnard. I’m moving my car to Akron, Ohio in advance of our planned moved there in September. It seemed stupid for both Amy and I to drive back there in two cars at the same time, so the Mustang heads back this week.

Amy flew to Ohio Sunday, which is very good deal for me. I have all that extra leg room.

Fairly easy drive today. I started late because I was very tired and I slept an extra hour, finally leaving the house at 4:59 a.m. I drove across the top of the desert because the late start meant I was too late to go through Pasadena toward the I-15. Traffic would eventually trap me. Anyway, I took the back roads to Victorville, topped off the tank there and dropped the hammer.

Flagstaff, Ariz. is better than 7,000 feet above sea level and there were clouds waiting for me there and the clouds had rain in them. Witnessed a very picturesque lightning bolt as it struck the ground while I was heading through Flagstaff. It was one of those storms you can see in the distance in front of you and you see the rain as a downward extension of the clouds, like a grey veil. Warm as it was, you could see that in some spots the rain did not reach the ground.

My co-driver, Bucky Weber, was nice enough to call and chat. He had a sudden business situation jump up and was unable to make the drive with me, as we planned. So every time it rained, I groused out loud (to an otherwise empty car) that I was driving his shift. When he called, I informed him of this.

We both laughed. We’ve been friends for nearly 41 years.

Most of today’s area was covered at high speed, as the limit was 75 mph. The Mustang produces good gas mileage (for a V-8) at lower speeds, but I pushed back thoughts of economy in favor of reaching the hotel here before falling asleep.

Sean and Mindy, my son and daughter-in-law, live here and we had dinner together. A nice visit for us but we had to cut it short so I can get to bed at a reasonable time.

Tomorrow’s stop is in Oklahoma City, Ok. That’s a shorter run than today’s lap and I don’t expect to push as hard. From there I go to Indianapolis and then to Akron on Thursday.

Today’s stats do not include the final stint, which was also the longest. However, the first 512.8 miles were covered with 20.1 gallons of gas, an average of 25.5 mph. Much of the distance came with the air conditioning operating and at a good rate of speed.  The first stint, in the dark hours of early morning and without the a/c running, the Mustang hit 27.5 mpg and the second stint, higher speeds and air-conditioned, saw us get 26.9 mpg.

I am not displeased with the fuel usage. The Mustang has well over 143,000 miles on it and I pushed it a little hard. She’s a fun car to drive and it was fun to listen to her rumble.

Thanks for reading.