by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 11/16/2017 at 11:56
by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 11/16/2017 at 11:56
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STARS: 8
Today I have completed my first week of commuting to and from work in the Miata. Monday and Tuesday I took the canyons to and from work. Wednesday and Thursday I drove to work via the highway (US 101) and home via the canyons. Every day going home has been in the dark so its uhh quite the adventure! Anyways, I have marked the map above so far with my usual routes. Of course there are a few more canyons to try as well but they are a little out of the way and will best be saved for when I have daylight in the summer months.
Y - Yerba Buena Road (have not tried this one yet, but have driven it in the past so I know its fun)
M - Mulholland Highway
D - Decker Canyon (23)
E - Encinal Canyon
C - Coral Canyon
H - Highway (101)
Every route going home begins on the PCH which is a nice treat in the Miata. Riding along the coast, smelling the ocean breeze, and feeling like I am in some sort of paradise. Then it heads up a crazy route into the mountains, thankfully without getting stuck behind people all that often. As I get closer to home, I almost always get stuck behind slow people with no passing zones. But that is just in the final stretch on Mulholland.
So far my favorite has been Decker Canyon which I had driven for the first time in the dark. There were some 1st gear turns in the beginning that came out of nowhere so it was surprising and exciting to be going full speed through there! Going all the way out to Coral Canyon is kind of boring and Malibu canyon to get there from the PCH is quite congested so it moves slowly to get there. It is actually the fastest route overall since it is the straightest but I dont mind the extra 10-15 minutes of canyon carving elsewhere.
Overall I think I will take Mulholland to Encinal to PCH in the morning when I have time and the 101 when I wake up late. There is minimal 101 traffic in the morning so it takes just 45 minutes to get in. But in the evening google maps shows just over an hour for the 101 to get home so its worth the extra couple minutes to get some canyon runs in and see minimal if any traffic. Although of course my gas mileage and tire life suffers, but at least there are plenty of smiles per gallon that way!
We shall see how this commute is in the STi next week! Looking forward to posting about that car over the weekend. Should be a pretty sweet stable indeed.
"RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire" (ricerocketeer2)
11/16/2017 at 12:11, STARS: 1
Don’t forget Latigo Canyon and Tuna Canyon (downhill only) but be careful, both will get you in big trouble if you’re not paying attention.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/16/2017 at 12:17, STARS: 1
You lucky dog! I haven’t had a good commute to work in years and I haven’t been in LA to drive good canyons in a very long time.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/16/2017 at 12:22, STARS: 1
Well yeah both of those are a bit more out of the way and like you said, dangerous. So Id like to do them when I have daylight as well as more time to explore. Right now I am also still getting used to having a commute at all, regardless of how fun this one actually can be. Unfortunately for Tuna, I will rarely have extra time in the morning so that one will end up being tried on a day off or a weekend.
Keep in mind I am doing all of these in the dark right now lol.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/16/2017 at 12:28, STARS: 1
While I am definitely going to break the Miata doing this every day, at least thats exactly why I have the car! Saves me money on track days for now lol. I think I will appreciate it more when I can drive home in daylight. The night time canyon runs require so much focus that it truly is exhausting.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/16/2017 at 12:32, STARS: 1
I agree with you there. Night runs are harder, but I do enjoy being able to anticipate oncoming traffic easier.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/16/2017 at 12:44, STARS: 1
I think night runs are fine on the more sweeper style curves that are well marked, especially the ones with the reflectors in every lane marker, those are awesome. But its the SUPER tight hairpins that I am not expecting and the crazy elevation changes that throw me off in the dark. Yesterday I was actually feeling a bit motion sick after my ride home so I know I did a good job haha.
"arl" (arl1968)
11/16/2017 at 12:48, STARS: 1
Nice. I have like, 2 exit ramps in my commute that sometimes are not crowded, where I can gun it bit. Otherwise it’s stop, go, stop, go. Well... you get the idea.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/16/2017 at 12:54, STARS: 0
Well yeah stop and go traffic is mind numbing to me. And taking the freeway is going to get me arrested, I have already hit the 90s in the Miata just passing stupid people clogging the left lane. The STi is going to be like an evil cackling laugh that just encourages me to do all sorts of stupid shit. So keeping to the canyons is probably safer for both my health and my wallet.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
11/16/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 0
Huh, I don’t mind either way. But I have never felt motion sickness in my life
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
11/16/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0
You lucky, lucky man...