The tire pressure monitor light started to blink. Crap.
Now, illuminating is one thing.. low pressure I can deal with. But flashing? that either means system fault, or flat tire. I'm crossing my fingers hard for system fault, as I really don't want to have to deal with a flat tire this early in my journey.. or at all in my journey.
I pulled off at the next exit which also happened to have a truck stop, and did an immediate walk around. Nope no flat tire.. whew. But it doesn't mean one of them isn't under inflated, and I didn't think to throw a tire pressure gauge in my travel kit. But hey, truck stop. They've gotta sell 'em. And they do, thankfully. They also offer a loaner, but being I was going on a long drive I figured having one along wouldn't be a bad plan.
So I check pressures on three out of four tires and it's all looking good, then I came across what's probably the source of the fault. On the back right wheel the valve stem is damaged. it's missing enough threads that the highest point on it is the actual valve plunger. It was conveniently covered by a cap. I can't even get a seal enough to get a pressure reading, but the tire isn't flat.
[caption id="attachment_86" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
A quick shot at the truck stop[/caption]I've got to gamble and keep going for a few reasons. The biggest being the tire is stretched onto the wheel, so even if take it to a tire shop to have another valve stem installed, they may not be able to re-seat the bead with their equipment, or the tire may be damaged in the process. They're terrible tires, but the replacements are about 800 miles away and were little big to get into carry on. Besides, if it's going to break, the closer it breaks to home the less it's going to cost me to rectify.
So, I buy a bottle of water, stick my gopro to the window to start my time lapse experiment (didn't quite work out) and got back on the road. I've got a long way to go.
[caption id="attachment_87" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
The time lapse didn't work out. Imagine this picture, moving slightly for 12 hours.[/caption]At this point I've also kicked off Google maps, and it's saying I should make it home around 1am. "That's actually pretty doable" I think, and throw my plans for another night's hotel room into the wind. I'm going to do this in one shot.
I got out of OKC just fine, and got out onto the wide open nothingness that is I-35 that far south. The more I'm driving the more I'm noticing things. The instrument cluster is pretty handy, as it has kind of a "mission clock" function that will show you duration and distance traveled in one view. The stereo is feeding me tunes, but not pleasantly.. those blown speakers really suck. But Bluetooth is nice. I attempted to take a call with it, but it seems that the microphone isn't hooked up or damaged. It's present, but non-functional. Put another check box on the list. And to top it off, the stereo's in demo mode.. so I get an awesome disco effect while it tells me about "BASS BOOST" and loops my phone's name. I've pushed every button and menu I can find on it, and can't figure out how to disable it. I'm also noticing there's no clock.. it must have been integrated into the factory head unit. I can probably get the new head unit to be a clock, but not in demo mode. By this point, the lack of cruise control is starting to make itself apparent.
But it's time for the first pit stop.
I stopped at 1/4 tank left, as it's a new to me car, and I'll figure out the limits of the fuel tank when I'm closer to home. I pulled into the next exit displaying a shell station, to promptly find the lack of anything higher than 87 octane. Crap. I passed a Cenex on the way to the shell, so I swung back and luckily find they have 91 oct. As I'm filling up, I looked up how to disable demo mode on the stereo. Hold down menu while it's off? who the hell would think to try that? Whatever. it's now not flashing. I also got curous about the rear suspension. A quick second on my belly shows me that it's already got a part I ordered... the SPC Camber arms. Guess I can return those.
After all that's done, I head into use the restroom to find a bunch of "good 'ol boys" hanging out at some tables in the gas station. Now, this isn't a gas station plus food court sort of place.. it's just kind of a dumpy gas station with a few card tables setup to one side and about 4-5 chaw-chewin grizzly lookin' dudes just hanging out having coffee.. on a Friday afternoon. Oh the joys of small town America. Walking into the bathroom, I'm greeted by a lovely handwritten sign over the urinal "Don't put paper towels in the toilet! it backs up!" Fair words of wisdom.. but there's more.. in different pen, written below it is also written "Or condoms!". Wow. this may be the worst gas station restroom I've ever set foot in.. and people are fucking here. Society has reached a new low. And yet, there's another line. "Or hot sauce!". What? I have no.. whatever. I turn to the sink and immediately come to the conclusion that my hands are cleaner not having touched that, and opt to move on.
Back on the road again with a full tank of gas, I spend some time jockeying the phone and my maps. It looks like i'll be hitting Kansas City around 5pm. Damn.. traffic. Getting dinner in KC was always in the plans, as I can't pass up a damn good plate of BBQ. I demanded yelp point me at the best BBQ in KC and set Google nav towards it.
Shortly after I crossed the border into Kansas, and was greeted by their turnpike toll booth. It's a check in/check out style toll where you're given a ticket at your entry point and pay when you get off the road. At this point, I'm a bit nervous. I've heard people getting through the state a little too quickly receiving a speeding ticket on the spot.. and I'm not exactly a light foot, especially on these long trips where you can make up serious time doing 5-10mph faster than usual. I opt to keep going, and slow at one of the rest stations for awhile instead.
It's about 2 hours later that I notice some people are really ripping it up on the freeway. Lets just say in my road trip history in the past few years, I don't have a lot of occurrences of being passed.. and certainly not at the pace these people are. I know the tires on the rear are the wrong size, but I had assumed only about a 1-2 mph variant from the speedo. I downloaded a GPS speedo to my phone (why do I have almost perfect LTE in the middle of nowhere, and practically none in downtown Minneapolis Sprint!?) and line up a long straight. Wow.. it's 6mph slower than what the speedo's reading at 75. Damn it, I've practically been obeying the speed limit! I kept wondering why I wasn't seeing big changes in Google's ETA, and now I know. Time to hammer down. With the speedo now reading 90, ground peeled away much faster, and my fears of getting a ticket from the border guards in Missouri have subsided.
I hit Kansas city only slightly earlier than anticipated (damn spedo) and so as expected i've landed in traffic. Definitely getting some practice with this clutch. Oh well, only a few minutes of traffic before I arrive at my chosen dinner spot, I can live with that.
Dinner is at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ and if you think it looks like a run down gas station.. you'd be absolutely correct. But god damn if the yelp reviews haven't pointed me correctly again.. this food is AWESOME. bonus points that I could grab some snacks at the wal-mart across the street for the rest of the drive.
[caption id="attachment_81" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
A stop for some tasty BBQ.[/caption]Leaving Kansas city I hit a little more traffic, but nothing terrible, and started again with my blitzkrieg. I was at over half tank on the Z, so I didn't bother to refuel before leaving. I'd have to make another stop either way, might as well do it in Iowa and get a stretch sooner than later.
As the sun came down, I got to switch on the headlights.. oh my. Factory HIDs are very, very nice.
As I headed north, the temperatures dropped. Minnesota had a late snowstorm the night I left, and I was a little worried about what I'd find. If roads got too slick, I'd have to find somewhere to bed down as the shot summer tires would do me no favors if I encountered any ice or snow.
The gas needle is now getting closer to E than I feel comfortable after dark in the middle of Iowa in a car I have no clue as to weather or not the gas gauge reads even close to accurate. It's time for a stop.. and how could I not opt for something as well named as a Kum & Go.
[caption id="attachment_83" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Just a routine gas stop..[/caption]As I topped off, a couple of local kids rolled up in their pickup.. looked like an S-10, but appeared lowered and like it had a V8. The driver eyeballed the Z and gave me a nod. I returned the gesture and went about filling the tank and dealing with the bug stained windshield.
Pit stop completed, the locals leave just before me and I can't help but think they may be willing to play. I take the left at the light with a little speed, pick my line, and start to roll on the gas and WHOA.. she starts to step out. Combo of much power, shitty tires, and just the right throttle point and she wanted to bite me back. Doesn't mean I gave up though. I closed on the locals before they made it to the on ramp and got right on their ass. Play they did. They couldn't get away. This car is QUICK. I gave 'em a wave as we both hit the freeway and I passed 'em.
The final stretch. You know Iowa is a sad place where just about every distance sign you see past Des Monies includes how far you are to the Twin Cities. "We know where you're going. There's nothing interesting between here and there." But seeing each sign confirms I have enough gas to get all the way home.
But as I'm approaching the Minnesota border, the indicator comes on the dash. "ICY". It's 37 degrees out and dark, and I'm starting to see that reflective sheen of what was a slightly damp road now frozen. Crap. Okay, drop speed and keep a feel for the road.. if anything gets dicey, it's time to pull off.
As I get to 494 an unwelcome sight appears.. they've closed the exit.. for snow removal. Oh well, I guess I have to go to 62.. but I'm not a fan of how that on ramp is designed. I take care and drive it nice and smooth, but I can't get a run on it. As I approach the crest, I suddenly feel like I know how Hans Gruber felt when John McClain threw him out that window. The wheels started to spin. crap, Crap, CRAP! Thinking fast I lift just a little bit and regain traction enough to get over the crest and safely onto 62. Thankfully I'm close to home, so that I don't have to drive very far with that much shit in my pants.
A few minutes I was home.. new baby safely tucked into my driveway, and me safely tucked into bed.
[caption id="attachment_84" align="aligncenter" width="271"]
The Google Log of the whole trip[/caption]
No comments:
Post a Comment