Greatest Driving Moments

[Patrick Austin]

In the 16v Jetta...Montana, a day before speed limits took effect, but
AFTER "reasonable and prudent" was ruled unconstitutional...passing cops at
110 mph.

Later in the same trip, I was just outside glacier national park.  There
are no guardrails where I was, on a paved road outside the eastern part of
the park.  Probably a 1000 foot drop on one side down a VERY steep slope,
and a rock face on the other.  I've spent almost two months on a 20K mile
road trip at this point, and have driven through most of oregon, BC and WA,
so I'm really in the groove.  This road stretches on for at least another
20 twisty, windy miles.  I'm trying to make time and my girlfriend is
starting to get a little nervous.  I'd noticed at the beginning of the trip
that the brake proportioning valve is sticking a bit, and the road surface
is wavvy.  I hit a dip in front of a tight left hander, the trunk full of
camping gear compresses the p-valve and IT STICKS.  Press the brakes, rear
end locks up, car spins.  Thank god we went off the road on the side with
the rock face AND that we literally hit the one place in several miles that
wouldn't kill us OR the car.  We went strait through a big bush, not
knowing what was on the other side, and somehow the didn't hit any cliff
faces or anything.  Dented the oil pan enough that the crankshaft was
tapping it, and ripped off a fender liner, but we were otherwise unharmed.  

As a result, my girlfriend and I celebrated her 21st birthday in the
parking lot of a Safeway eating store bought doughnuts waiting for my car
to get its oil pan put back on.  We then got in the car and made the 9 hour
drive down to Yellowstone.  When we got to west yellowstone, she went to
call her parents and while waiting on the phone a drunk and/or disturbed
guy came over to us and started talking REALLY LOUDLY and swinging his
arms, picking up his bicylce and SLAMMING IT on the ground, etc.  We jumped
back in the car and went to a pay phone a few blocks away, and the guy
followed us.  We went to go get a camp site in the park, but they were all
full because we got there so late.  We wound up camping in a $30 a night
private campground in the middle of this town...ugliest place I've ever been.

She's still with me two years later!  And now she wants to be my Co-Driver
when I start rallying!



At 01:20 PM 1/17/01 -0600, Sperry, Peter  A -Syntegra US wrote:
>Driving home late at night with 4 friends in my VW Jetta, 3 of them
>sleeping.  It was a remote highway, and my awake friend and I thought it
>would be fun to scare sleeping buddies.  I slammed on the brakes and swerved
>toward the ditch while we were both screaming "Deer! Deer!" 
>
>Same awake friend and I riding in van late at night (different night).
>Neither of us were driving, but the driver was riding the shoulder like
>crazy.  We came to a crest in the hill, and we saw a runner on the shoulder.
>We both told the driver that he was going to hit the runner, he said no way.
>As we approached, the runner jumped in the ditch, but the guy driving the
>car didn't see her jump.  My friend and I, at the appropriate moment, hit
>the sides of the van (so it sounded like we hit something), and the guy
>driving slammed on the brakes and got out and was looking hysterically for
>the person he hit, meanwhile, my friend and I were peeing our pants
>laughing.
>
>Peter
>

						**************
						Patrick Austin
						paanta at bu.edu
						(617)782-9115
						**************

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