Night Train

[Kent McLean]

About a month ago I gave up being unemployed and
took a HUGE paycut (well, I already took that
when Kana laid me off over a year ago) and took
a job down in NC. Two weeks ago I brought my
Audi 200 TQ down from NH.

I left Concord NH about 7am Sunday morning in the
midst of a big snowstorm.  There was about 6" (15cm)
of snow in the unplowed parking lot, and lots of big
flakes still coming down. I hit the diff lock button,
and calmly pulled out of my parking spot. In spite
of the quattro, I was slipping and sliding all over
the place -- my Firestone SHs(?) are not snow tires.
By the time I got to the Mass border, there were 7
cars off the road.  It took about an hour and a half
for a 40 mile ride. Not a good start to a 850 mile
trip.

But my 14-year-old 200 soldiered on. The weather
got better.  I made my first stop for gas and a
bio break at the top of the NJ Garden State
Parkway.  Traffic was flowing nicely, and you
could keep an 80mph pace on the NJ Turnpike. I
skirted Washington DC.  Passing through Virginia
was fast and uneventful.  When I hit the NC border,
the speed limit signs changed to 70mph! Yahoo!
You could cruise in the right lane at 80, and
hit 85+ in the left lane.  The 200 TQ sure likes
to cruise at 85-90.  And I know she's good for a
lot more. Only the long arm of the law kept me
at 80. (NH plates in NC -- for our non-American
friends, think of the Roger Moore James Bond flick
when he had that Southern Sheriff tagging along.
I could hear it now, "What 'cha doing down here,
boy? What's an 'oddey'? Is that one of them thar
for-ine cars?") Otherwise I'd have been hitting
triple digits for sure.

I probably could have made it to my destination
(Merritt NC, along the coast) on the second tank
of gas, but it was late and dark and I had the
chance to fill up, so I took it when I reached
Rocky Mount, NC, just over the border from VA.

Audi God moment: When I went to start my car
after filling up, I turned the key and ...
nothing.  I didn't even swear. I just turned
the key to Off, and tried starting it again ...
Vrroooooom. And I was on my way.

The Euro headlights really light up the road,
even on low beam.  When I got off of Route 95
and onto the back roads, into the woods where
the deer (and the antelope) play, the high beams
just burned up the darkness. Sweet.

In summary, I am still impressed with my 200TQ's
ability to eat up the miles in her old age. My
butt wasn't sore, the car returned about 25mpg
(according to the instrument cluster), and I
arrived safe and sound after 14 hours on the
road.  You can't ask for more than that.

Cheers from the warm and Audi-less South,

Kent
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy" with 221K miles

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.454 / Virus Database: 253 - Release Date: 2/10/03