Total miles driven on Day Two: 323
Total time start/finish Day Two: (6 hrs driving, 3:35 hrs charging)
So let's recap. My last blog entry ended in Yreka, CA. When I arrived, I'd blown through a lot of miles. (So here's a tip - when you know you're going to be charging overnight, the phrase 'drive conservatively' seems to disappear. Have fun! Enjoy the electric ride. The battery will be full in the morning.)
Here was what I arrived with at the end of Day One:
Odometer: 15171
Miles Driven: 156
Ideal Miles: 35
Miles Driven: 156
Ideal Miles: 35
And after a full night of charging, I woke up to:
Ideal Miles: 238
64 kWh
Charge time: 5:40 (it wasn't the advertised 70 amps, but who cares? I was sleeping)
64 kWh
Charge time: 5:40 (it wasn't the advertised 70 amps, but who cares? I was sleeping)
Day Two, destination is Portland, OR - we have an office in Beaverton where I'll work a couple of days before continuing on the rest of the trip.
Conveniently, my room at the Comfort Inn the night before overlooked my car. When the Roadster is locked, the charging indicator lights go dark so it doesn't draw undue attention to the car (blue=good connection, flashing yellow=charging, green=fully charged, red=problem). So I could stand at my hotel room window, press the key fob and unlock the car, check the charging status, lock it back up. Vastly entertaining.
Reloaded the car, grabbed some coffee, and started playing the 'hmmm, wonder if I really need to stop at the next charger?' game. If I drove conservatively, it's possible I could make it to Eugene instead of Canyonville. Tip: DON'T PLAY THAT GAME, JUST TOP OFF WHENEVER YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. (Sorry for the shouting.) Seriously, on a roadtrip, you should always have enough charge to make it one charging station beyond where you're planning to stop. It's called mitigating risk.
Elevation climbs can be a bit nerve wracking. Your estimated miles drop rapidly. You start wondering if you'll make it. Then as you start back down, regen kicks in and your miles skyrocket. I started in Yreka at about 2700 feet, climbed to 4310 ... and then dropped to 2000 over a short span of freeway.
Charge stop #1: Canyonville, OR - 70 amp Tesla charging station
Upon arrival,
Odometer: 15295
Miles driven: 124
Ideal Miles: 105
Miles driven: 124
Ideal Miles: 105
Did I mention that the charging station in Canyonville is at a restaurant and a ... casino? (Thank you, Chad, for selecting this location & working with the casino to have it installed. Brilliant!) Did I mention that the charging station in Canyonville is not only at a casino, but at a casino with ... a SPA?? YES! There is a spa at the casino hotel. Okay, you have to take a shuttle from the restaurant location, but besides gambling, you could get a pedicure, massage, facial, etc. You could. So what did I do? -sigh- I sat in the restaurant and did some work. Sad, really. (But watch me on the way home.)
Really nice charging spot, plenty of shade ... I met a lot of people here, wandering by, curious. A lot of Roadster owners, myself included, keep a small stack of Tesla brochures in the car. People appreciate walking away from the conversation with something in their hand to show friends. It's also a great way to end the conversation, "Oh hey, I've gotta go - but would you like this Tesla brochure?"
My final destination for the day, Portland, was just over 200 miles away. With conservative driving and less passes to cross, I could probably make it without another charge. But I'd hate to arrive in Portland with the battery nearly depleted.
So I stopped the charge before the battery was completely full (better for the battery & the last few miles of range take longer to charge - so made sense to pack it up). Besides, looking at the VDS in the car, I could see that the power to the car wasn't 70 amps, but rather ranging from 42-62. Maybe I'd have better luck at the next stop.
Car status when leaving Canyonville:
Ideal Miles: 228
37 kWh
Charge time: 2:35 hrs
37 kWh
Charge time: 2:35 hrs
Charge stop #2: Eugene, OR - 70 amp Tesla charging station
Upon arrival,
Odometer: 15295
Miles driven: 124
Ideal Miles: 105
Miles driven: 124
Ideal Miles: 105
Where to start ... when I pulled up, one of the staff came out immediately (like before I got out of the car) to uncoil the cable and bring the plug to me.
Inside, there was an organic espresso/coffee bar, tons of homemade snacks and pastries, a counter bar, and free wifi. And the people were the best. Every single person in and out of the station wanted to know more about the car. Not a single 'oh nice if you can afford it' snarky comment - all positive, all 'this is the way we need to go'.
Yay, Eugene, OR. You all rock.
Oh yeah - and the advertised 70 amp really WAS 70 amp.
Portland wasn't that far away, so again, I didn't fully recharge the battery. Stats when I left Eugene and all my new friends at Sequential Biofuels:
Ideal Miles: 181
20 kWh
1:23 hrs charge time
20 kWh
1:23 hrs charge time
Destination: Embassy Suites Hotel - Washington Square, Portland, OR
Upon arrival:
Ideal miles remaining: 40
Odometer: 15494
Miles driven: 108
Odometer: 15494
Miles driven: 108
That *might* be evidence of a little fun acceleration and playtime on the final leg of the trip. I can't remember.
One last thing before I wrap up this entry: When you stop at a restaurant, check into a hotel, whatever ... ASK 'is there a place where I can plug in my electric car?'. I did that checking in at the Embassy Suites, even though I already knew there was no place to plug in. And guess what? The response was 'we really should have a place for guests to plug in.' YAY. That's the right response! The maintenance guy set up a 110 plug for me at night, reserved the spot so I could park there - and the hotel manager contacted me the next morning to get more information on installation options.
