500 Miles and Runnin'!

I thought it was awesome when I rolled into work and my trip odometer read 475 miles. Then I decided to just drive home normally and head directly to USA Fuel in Marina Del Rey. Pulled up to the pump, and there it was. 500.1 miles.
Beauty!
That was on 50/50 petro/biodiesel. This tank is all bio. Let's see what this puppy can do.
I have been accused of driving a bit grandmotherly since getting the TDI. I want to suck as many miles out of the tank as possible, but also, I'm getting used to the dimensions of the car.
Peppier driving to come.

Pictures from the Acura L.A. Bike Tour

Pictures of the lovely Robyn, and my intrepid compatriots, Andy, John, and Brad. Had fun. Felt good. I need to ride to work. Just once.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40598603@N00/sets/72157594571608674/

The first real fllup. 458 miles on this one...

Wow. After years of thinking it wasn't so bad getting 23 mpg in the Alero, and then the years of thinking, 23 mpg sucks and I need a new car, getting 458 miles to the tank is awesome!
Right now, it's working out to about 38 mpg, which is pretty good. I've been doing more coasting. Coasting is good. Sometimes coasting pisses off the driver behind you, but whatever. The light is red, calm down.

So here's the deal. I did 7 gallons of petro-diesel, at $3.09 / gal (which was the lowest priced fuel at the station. Hah!) And then I went to USA Fuel in Marina Del Rey and topped off the tank with Biodiesel. I don't know what the deal is, but the car is noticably quieter at idle. Must be that lubrcity thing.

I sold my car (the Alero) Thursday night and things are good. Got a car cover for the Jetta so the Burbank sun and grime doesn't destroy the finish which was so well cared for by its previous owner. Got a car wash today, and I love the diesel.

I still feel weird filling up half as often as I used to, and always being able to find a vacant pump. It will be interesting to see what happens to gas prices this summer.

As others have said... I'm burnin the bean!

Withdrawal

This is amazing. I fueled up on Sunday, and it's Thursday, and the gas guage has barely moved! I'm going through serious gasoline withdrawal here. What am I going to do with the extra time each week where I don't have to stop and fill up?

So taking the advice of other TDI folks on TDIclub.com I pushed in the vent button while filling up, and got the maximum full-ness out of the tank. We'll see how far it goes.

Oh, and if you know anyone looking to buy a '99 Olds Alero V6 with a really nice interior, let me know.

Quite a Day. Both Biking and Bio-ing

Well, today was amazing. Acura L.A. Bike tour this morning (3:30 Wakeup!!) and this evening, i picked up my 2003 Jetta TDI.
I'm psyched. Got a medal for riding the 22 miles through Los Angeles with my buddies, and I got my car. Great day.

This morning, my lovely wife used the utility of her SUV to drive two of us to the bike tour, and we met the other guys at the parking lot.
We lined up, and in a barrage of booming fireworks, the ride was on!
We got to see parts of LA we normally wouldn't or couldn't ride through if there were traffic. Props to all who rode and finished. Thoughts out to the person who had a nasty fall on the bridge. Hope everything is okay.
We finished, met for breakfast, and then got some sleep. I'm going to train for the MS 150 in October. Now I definately feel like I could ride to work.

Tonight we went down to Long Beach and met the guy from whom I bought my TDI. That thing gets FAST on the freeway! I'm looking forward to "walking the walk" and it's onward from here.

Today was a great day. Felt accomplished, and now I have a new car.

Pictures from the ride soon.