Ever notice what a stress reliever & sheer joy driving can be?

[Viper GTS]

I needed food for tomorrow, plus I was somewhat upset & felt like getting out of the house. So, I went for a drive. Headed into town the back way, where there's not likely to be any traffic. Pitch black, windy road, radio on... And 80 mph. Came up behind a car, then I saw it's profile... It had lights on top. Oops. OK, slow down, drop back, wait 'til he goes around the next corner... Pull over, turn around, head back where I came from. Went way out of my way to get into town at the far end of where I would have come in had I stayed on the road I was on. Went all the way through town, & came back home the back way. Took me an hour.

But...

There's something about driving fast in the middle of the night, hauling ass on deserted country roads. Narrow roads, tight corners, one hand on the wheel, one hand on the stick, watching that tach lest you fall below your power band... And then that perfect song comes on and...

The world's OK for a few minutes.

And to think I can get that out of an 11 year old, <100 HP Honda Accord.

God what it must be like driving a Porsche, Viper, or Ferrari.

Viper GTS

 

[dl]

hmmm....

kinda danger man Viper..

 

[3615buck]

Driving fast is not a stress reliever at all, you have to be much more concentrated and it is exhausting.
Last summer, I went on holiday with my girlfriend and both of us drove 375 miles at full speed (+/- 120 mph). At the end we were both exhausted.

 

[IBhacknU]

try it on a motorcycle (My Honda has only 1/2 the HP of your Accord, but about 1/4 the weight)

it can wear you out after a while, but it truly is a stress reliever and PURE JOY!

 

[Viper GTS]

IBhacknU...

Motorcycles scare me. I rather like having a protective shell around me. But... I would love to try it sometime. Late at night so I don't have to worry about traffic, of course. Friend of mine at work has a Honda CBR 929RR. He's had it up to 160 mph, I think. I dunno, though, there's something seriously wrong with going 160 mph without a shell.

Viper GTS

 

[optoman]

I love going for a ride with the radio blasting some of my favorite tunes. Sometimes you need to just get away from everyone and go for a little drive.

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

Driving rocks! Automobile travel is always good for the soul.

 

[3615buck]

Well Viper, at 160 mph, with or without a shell, there's no difference, you're dead.

 

[Viper GTS]

3615buck...

Not necessarily. Very likely, but not guaranteed. There have been 3 or so McLaren F1's wrecked at speeds above 160 mph (around 170 or 175 I think), &amp; all three drivers walked away from the wreck. Also, the place this particular guy drove that fast was on a straight, level highway. At like 2 AM.

Illegal as all hell, but not terribly dangerous IMO.

Viper GTS

 

[IBhacknU]

yea Viper,

In some ways they can be really scary. I don't have a death wish or anything, but the joy you speak of is also addictive on two wheels. Nothing like grabbing the throttle as you exit a corner and get that RUSH OF SPEED.

and as you say, deserted country roads are to die for (no pun intended)

 

[I'm Typing]

Viper: I know what you mean. When you drive, your focus becomes like a single point in time: you, the steering wheel, the road. You float along that point for hours, and the tension can just flow away...

I love to drive very very fast. A couple of memorable trips: I once drove from Ft Lauderdale Florida to Dahlonega Georgia (730 miles) in ten hours. What a trip! Got in a line of Semi's on the Turnpike and we must have gone between 90 and 100 for almost a hundred miles, only slowing for a couple of times because of traffic?the trip was from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

I also went from southwestern NY (south of Buffalo) to Ft Lauderdale (1346 miles) in 20 hours, 30 minutes. I had a van with a 33 gallon fuel tank, and ate meals while it was filling up. I probably spent almost two hours of that time in &quot;pit stops&quot; so the total on road time was closer to 19 hours.

My best long distance high speed run had to be the one from Ft Lauderdale to Orlando (185 miles) that I did in 2 hours FLAT. I started at 4 am, and got on the Turnpike behind some guy in a station wagon going about Warp 8. I let him get just far enough ahead in the fog so that I could see the taillights. Been driving 25 years like this, with only one speeding ticket (which I beat!).

Probably should shut up before my good luck runs out...

 

I used to go &quot;cruisin&quot; whenever I was bored. Gets expensive if you do it too much. I always had fun in the '78 280Z... I would agree that excessive speeding on the interstate is taxing, I've made it from St. Pete to Gainesville (141miles) in 1:15, that wasn't a leisurely drive... You have to focus bigtime, not that you're going so fast, but rather because you're going 40mph faster than everyone else!

Still cruise town sometimes to get my mind off school or something. Crank the tunes...

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I find driving to be rather relaxing, even driving in traffic can be relaxing if everyone is calm. Problem is that most people around here drive in traffic like they're in a hockey game. There's been a couple times when I've just gone driving, no destination, no planned route. Just driving. Made me feel good and relaxed.

 

[StageLeft]

Driving is great sometimes...the BEST is on a fall day through country roads and its just warm enough to keep windows open and get the tunes going.

 

[Viper GTS]

Speaking of fall roads, I've got some pictures of the roads down the back of my hill. It's a seriously windy road, with a 30 foot cliff off one edge. But it's lined with trees, &amp; two weeks ago it was freakin' gorgeous. Driving through there at like 40 mph (doesn't sound like much, but when I've taken FFMCobalt with me it scared the sh!t out of him), the leaves all blow up behind you...

It's almost like a scene from NFS3, just without the Ferrari.



Viper GTS

 

[ratkil]

I know the feeling, but it takes a rumbling big block for me to really get a grin going on my face

 

[beat mania]

You maniacs on the road are a danger to everybody.
...

alright ... I'm just jealous because my car can barely do 80.

 

[DaveJ]

Man, driving seriously rocks! I've been stressed quite a bit lately, so I get the urge to go driving more often... there's nothing like flying down a deserted 8 lane highway at 3am with the stereo blasting... until you hit the damn governor that kicks in at 105! :| Hey, I've got airbags, why can't I go faster?

Dave

 

[StageLeft]

Show us pics Viper!

 

[Viper GTS]

I would, but I don't have a scanner.



Viper GTS

 

[konichiwa]

For anyone who's interested in hearing a song that replicates the experience of fast night driving:

Open Road Song (Eve 6)

IMO, highly underrated band. I love that song:

Tonight I feel ambitious
And so does my foot, as it sinks on the pedal
I press it to the floor
I don't need a girl, don't need a friend
'Cuz my friend lonesome's unconditional
...
For a moment I love everything I see and think and feel
I love my broken side view mirror
'Cuz it's so perfect, I'm so perfect
You're so perfect, You're not here
...
I hear the change in gears
My pile shakes as I hit eighty on the open road
...
The night is beckoningm although I have nowhere to go but home
Feels so good to be alone
With every turn comes a new frame of mind
if I could frame my mind where would it hang?
...
This is an open road song
I crack a window
And feel the cool air
Cleanse my every pore as I pour my poor heart out
To a radio song that's patient and willing to listen

 

[The Stigenator]

I agree its relaxing if you are doing it nicely. I love long dark country roads, but then the problem is that sometimes you nver know where smokey is. I try and keep my radar detector on, but doesnt help in the back of my mind is this lunatic with handcuffs.

I do like to unwind over a nice drive thru angeles crest.
I dont mind high speed as long its safe. If conditions are not safe I wont speed much.
I have been known to slow down when the winds blowing hard to port/starboard.

 

[MajesticMoose]

Driving fast is great.

Just imagine if you a mclaren F1. only 64 of them made. v12, 6.6L. (start drooling) sitting in the middle w/ 2 passengers, doin' 200MPH down a deserted highway w/ so much down force you could do it upside down. suddenly you see a flash of red and blue but it disapears faster than it started. (drool puddle forming as tonque hits floor. Eventually you gotta stop for gas but when you go again, the acceleration is so quick that you can't your head off the back of the seat.

Oh if I only had some mo money.

Moose

(retrieve tongue now)

 

[Zenmervolt]

Driving is the greatest feeling in the world that I have experienced. Though I always claim I hate flying because it is expensive, the real reason is the same as why I don't like to take the bus or a taxi; why let someone else have all the fun. Maybe someday I'll have enough money for an old Piper J3 Cub so I can have the fun of flying.

Viper: Only 80? Actually, 80 is a good cruise on the freeway but one hell of a hustle down a back road at night. The fastest I've ever had my Accord up to is ~114 on an old, straight, flat (all NW Ohio roads are flat, in fact all NW Ohio is flat) road at around 12 Midnight after a HS football game, no smokey in sight thankfully. The feeling is euphoric, though I much prefer a winding road that challenges rather than a straightaway where all you have to do is have a heavy foot.

As for motorcycles, I love my 1982 Honda CB450SC (Night Hawk 450, first year of production). You absolutely have to be &quot;in the moment&quot; when driving a motorcycle, if you stop thinking about &quot;now&quot; for even a second you can bet that someone will be using your full face helmet to scoop you up off the road. The motorcycle is, as the name suggests, only 450 CC and tops out at ~80 (redline in 5th gear, shift to 6th and it slows down).

I think the way it forces you to be &quot;in the moment&quot; iw why it's so good, you forget everything except you and the car.

Sorry to make this longer, but I just have to include my all time favorite driving song:
Red Barchetta
By: RUSH

My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about.
He says it used to be a farm,
Before the Motor Law.
And on Sundays I elude the Eyes,
And hop the Turbine Freight
To far outside the Wire,
Where my white-haired uncle waits.


Jump to the ground
As the Turbo slows to cross the Borderline.
Run like the wind,
As excitement shivers up and down my spine.
Down in his barn,
My uncle preserved for me an old machine,
For fifty-odd years.
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream.


I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car.
A brilliant red Barchetta
From a better, vanished time.
I fire up the willing engine,
Responding with a roar.
Tires spitting gravel,
I commit my weekly crime...


Wind-
In my hair-
Shifting and drifting-
Mechanical music-
Adrenalin surge...


Well-weathered leather,
Hot metal and oil,
The scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome,
The blur of the landscape,
Every nerve aware.


Suddenly ahead of me,
Across the mountainside,
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide.
I spin around with shrieking tires,
To run the deadly race,
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase.


Drive like the wind,
Straining the limits of machine and man.
Laughing out loud
With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan.
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside.
Race back to the farm, to dream with my uncle at the fireside.