Running on Empty

McLaren at 926 and 322

After supper on Sunday I put in a handful of miles on the Bullet because the weather was too good not to ride.  I didn't have a specific flight plan in mind, just wanted to head out to the end of Goshen/Strasburg and figure it out from there.

As cut across 252 on Goshen I fell in behind a red 1950s convertible Jag which looked a lot like the one I saw earlier in the day while on the MG.  I feel pretty sure it was the same but I will count it as a separate sighting.  I followed him down Goshen until he turned of on Old Covered Bridge Rd.  I gave in a honk and a wave and he responded in kind.

The road up Goshen/Strasburg was pretty clear and, while still pocked marked in some areas, there has been some work done so it's a lot more enjoyable to ride than it has been.  This time I brought both my sunglasses and my regular glasses so I didn't have to worry about the long shadows.  I've discovered that if I wear my sunglasses, I can ride with the visor up and other than an occasional bug slapping my in the face it feels better and more enjoyable than riding with the visor down.  Using my regular glasses I can't do this because the lenses are so small and wind and dust get in my eyes fairly easily.

3202.4 at refuel

The end of Strasburg snuck up on me but I did a quick turn around at the bank parking lot and headed back.  I noticed that the odo was reading close to 3200, if not over, and I couldn't remember what it was at my last refuel but I figured I must be close to 200 miles on this tank.  (Last refuel was at Boyle's where the odo read 3018.7 so at an estimated 60 mpg and a little under 3.0 gallons of usable fuel in the tank I was pretty close to empty.)  So I headed for the Wawa at 352 and the West Chester Pike for a fill up.   At the pump the odo read 3202.4 for 183.7 miles since the last refuel.  The tank took 3.247 gallons at $3.27 per gallon for a total of $10.65.  Mileage on this tank was 56.57 mpg.  This new setup with the Power Commander does eat more fuel than before but I still think it's worth it.  At 3.247 gallons the tank had to be completely empty and the Bullet running on fumes.

From the Wawa I headed up 352 to 926 and took that to 322 with the intention of using one of the parking lots there as a turn around.  As I approached Concord Rd, I saw a tan Austin-Healey sitting on my right waiting for the light.  Soon after that I came up on the lot on the right at 322 and turned in there.  Being late Sunday, that lot was mostly empty and I used to do some figure 8s and some weaving for my own amusement.  There was a burned yellow exotic parked among the few other cars and I rode over there to figure out what it was.  It turned out to be a McLaren. This car reminded me of the exotic I saw last summer that I couldn't identify, so much that I am sure it was the same model car.  Due to the highly scientific nature of this tally, I will count that car with this one as a McLaren.  After fooling around in the lot I headed back to 926 and then it struck me that taking a pic of the McLaren would be like shooting fish in a barrel so I crossed 926 to turn around in that lot and come back.  Lo and behold but who should I run into there but my friend in the Austin-Healey I had seen at Concord Rd.  I gave him the thumbs up and he smiled and returned it.  A good time was had by all.  I then went back to the MacLaren and took a couple of happy snaps.

This time I did head back down 926 to Garret Mill and Goshen for the ride home.  The ride was amazing.  I'm glad I lucked into not running out of gas and everything worked out fine.  The roads are looking better here too.  A big portion of 926, where the bigger holes were, has now been completely repaved making it a safer ride.  Looking forward to the Bullet's one year anniversary on the eighth of this month.

On departure the odo read 3189.6 and on return 3223.2 for a total of 42.6 miles on this run.

The classic car tally is now three Nash Metropolitans, three 1950s Jag,one MGA, one Hot Rod, one 1950s Chrysler, one 1950's Plymouth, and one Ford Model A.  The exotic tally stands at 10 Ferraris, 9 Teslas, 6 Maseratis, 3 Cobras, 2 Bentleys, 2, McLarens,  1 Austin-Healeys, 2 Lambos, 1 Rolls Royce, 1 DeLorean, and 1 Unknown.

McLaren

On departure 3189.6 at 18:10

On return 3223.2 at 19:15