[brian orr]

Well my appointment for Fri was cancelled and my wife is 300 miles away - and tomorrow is Valentine's Day!

So completely on a whim, with no preparation at all - and its already 1 pm - I've decided to drive to Whitby, N.Yorks. Can I get there today? Probably not!

I'll run the Follow Mee and App and lets see how easy it is!

At least the rain has stopped.

 

[brian orr]

9.20 into York with 227 miles done. Unfortunately, I'm now in the famous Yorkshire Black Hole!
There are no Rapid Chargers in York - in fact until these outlets at the Designer Outlet there wasn't a public 'fast' charger. Come on Ecotricity and Nissan - this is the gateway to the Yorks Moors and the rugged Yorks Coast?Considering the temp is almost zero - this is not going to be a pleasant wait!

 

[brian orr]

Thanks Paul, I arrived at 01:10 after 276 miles - no problem - except my legs being numb, from driving the last 2 legs without heater! Will give an update a.m!

 

[brian orr]

Well it's the day after and offer a quick review:

* this was a trip by iMiev, with range/ perf similar to MK 1 Leaf - I accept that with. Mh 2 Leaf - it wouldn't be a challenge, at all!
* the trip was made without any planning whatsoever;
* the same trip in Mar 13 took 1 and 2 half days - and was far from pleasant with u/s chargers and fictitious chargers - weeks from commissioning;
* the old route staggered around the country and no more than 100 mikes were possible on motorways;
* I used my IPad to check on Ecotricity serviceability and adapted my route accordingly;
* 2 rapids were down on which made me 'run long' and meet the 'turtle' - not recommended;
* the overhead of charging delays was less if a burden than the stop go traffic!

Lessons learnt:
* Spontaneous long-range BEV is easy - there are 'uncertainties' - but with the density of rapid charging, is making it more feasible;
* 'running short' is a good idea - grab a charge early and skip the next! Then you have a fall back?
* 'running long' and 'meeting the turtle' is a bad idea. to do it on the last leg to destination may be OK, but it's an 'all-or-nothing' technique;
* indicated battery range can be very misleading - at home with temp of +4 the range, indicated as 70+\-. After a couple of Rapids (Temp +2) the range indicated in 83! But it doesn't go any further!
* Yorkshire's 'blackhole' is still there!
* York - Whitby is a marginal route for 1st Gen EV. It only 50 miles, but the long uphill is a killer for range! At the highest point (Salter's Gate) my range surplus was only 4 miles. In rain and wind (very common) you would be lucky to make it in a 1st Gen!
Was it worth the effort - to do 272 EV miles - on a whim! Sure it was - I got here for Valentine's Day and the effort was very much appreciated!

There is a bonus - I've save the fuel for 544 miles and that's a huge pot-of-cash to treat my Valentine!

 

[brian orr]

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=http:%2F%2Fwww.followmee.com%2Fkml%2Fo/orrbrian/BA17.kml&amp;output=embed"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.followmee.com/mapx.aspx?file=o/orrbrian/BA17.kml" >View GPS Tracks in Larger Map</a>

Ok, when you go long range there is always the chance to foul-up on the return leg!

So Sunday it's Whitby to Wokigham 272+ miles! Absolutely no pre-planning - except to check the Wx!

Anyone curious about progress - just check back here!
Whitby to York : Dep 0730 Range 80 DTG 50 Total Miles 19869 this Trip 0
Arrived York @0905 Miles done 49.4 Range Rem: 5 miles
York Desgner Outlet is an easy place to kill time - but partner's expenditure makes it a v.expensive stop. It's not always cheaper, by EV!
York to Doncaster Serv M18: Dep. 1150 Range 39 DTG 32 (only 2/3 charge)
At Doncaster @1240 miles from start 78.6 Last Leg 27 Range Rem 13
Leaving Donc for Tibshelf Services @ 1315 Range 78 DTG 50 90% charged
Tibshelf Services @ 1400 miles from start 117
Leicester Services @ 1520 miles start 158
Northampton @ 1640
Chargemaster, Luton @ 1730 Miles from start 226.(last stop - we hope)
Back at base 1850 - Total distance 279 miles!

In my view there are no barriers to long-haul BEV operation. If you acknowledge that the trip will not be as efficient has previous ICE journey's - then you can be pragmatic by the number of stops - offer by the fact that the whole exercise remain free-of-charge!

 

[brian orr]

In another thread Kevin suggest a Glimpsee.
Unfortunately, I used 'followmee'. I would like to have embedded it here - but I no luck with the widgets, so use this link!

http://www.followmee.com/mapx.aspx?file=o/orrbrian/BA17.kml