Racing the Sun

"LemonsEngineer" (cegan09) 10/15/2015 at 10:35 • Filed to: roadtrip

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Many years ago while I was still in college my roommate brought up the idea of driving to the eastern most point in North America timed in such a way that we arrived there at sunrise. A fantastic idea, but it got put on the back burner because, well, college students are generally poor. Three years ago the idea popped back into my head, and left me thinking. A couple days later I gave the same friend a call and said “hey, let’s go race the sun.”

Reasonably he responded with “what the hell are you talking about?” So I explained. On the summer solstice the sun sets in North Adams MA at 8:34pm, and rises at 4:42am in Lubec Me. That’s 8 hours and 8 minutes. The drive from the top of Mt Greylock to Quoddy Head State Park is 468 miles, which at the time registered as a 9 hour 28 minute drive on google maps. In the past 3 years google has learned my, um, swift driving habits, so it lists 8 hours now. I think you can see where this is going though.

To make the drive in 8 hours and 8 minutes you need to average 57.6mph. That average needs to include any gas stops, back roads with stop lights/signs, etc. Realistically though, it’s beyond reasonable. You don’t need to drive at cannonball speeds to do this. And that’s exactly what we were after, something with a bit of challenge, but mostly just an adventure and a good story.

So on June 21st we jumped in my car, headed west, and arrived at the top of Mt. Greylock around 7:30pm. More than enough time to walk around, take pictures, check my maps a thousand more times, and drop hints to a few friends about what we were about to do. If you live in the North East and have never been to Greylock, go. The road is awesome, a proper mountain climb that thrusts you into open sky near the top. The views are excellent, and at the top is a Massachusetts War Veterans Memorial Tower with an excellent top viewing floor.

At 8:34 the sun dropped below the horizon and we made a mad dash to the car, determined not to get stuck behind a slow tourist on their way off the mountain. The Garmin was already running, my phone had google maps and Latitude running, and I had a camera running. Plunging down off the mountain and onto the start of Rt2 East we were flying.

At this time waze was probably barely an idea in some developer’s head. Google maps refused to modify ETAs to suit your driving habits. But my Garmin did, and it was showing an arrival time of 4:46am, a full 4 minutes late. More when you factored in we’d need fuel halfway there. So hammer down.

The first half of the trip was boring. We entertained ourselves with the typical car guy fantasies of what you’d buy with lotto money, how we planned on modding our cars, and how we were going to DOMINATE in the 24 Hours of Lemons after our failure of a first race. The Garmin slowly ticked minutes off the ETA, but for the most part I ignored it. We weren’t going to gain the time we needed on the highway, it was too risky bombing through the night to take on huge speeds. I knew once we hit the last 100 miles of back-roads that we’d be able to keep the speed up enough to drop time.

Turning off the highway somewhere North of Portland Maine to find gas I nearly had a heart attack. I merged onto the local road with some enthusiasm only to be greeted with the heart stopping wail of a Ka band alert. SHIT. I cut my speed quick and found the policeman approaching from further back. A half mile of being followed too close and I finally started breathing again when the officer turned into a parking lot. The gas stop took 6 minutes including a bathroom run.

Back on the highway I realized just how long we were going to be in Maine. We still had 186 miles of highway and 100+ miles of back-road. On top of that thunderstorms were showing themselves to the east. As we exited the highway for the last time the storms were picking up intensity. We spent most of the early morning hours chasing, catching, and passing these storms.

Around 3:30am, as we pulled ahead of the last patches of rain, we entered one of my favorite times to be behind the wheel. You can never pinpoint exactly when it happens, but you suddenly notice the sky is no longer an absolute black. A faint light brings definition to the clouds that have blocked out the stars all night. As the light grows so does the gradients in the sky. A deep black fading to indigo and blue. Occasionally a break in the clouds lets a shimmer of early morning pink through. With the approaching sun comes a second wind, a new determination so on we plowed through quiet empty towns happily unaware of our passing.

In the early morning hours we had picked off enough time to not only match the sunrise, but beat it. Twisting through the seacoast forest of Quoddy Head State park we finally popped out into a clearing filled with ocean, lighthouse, and color.

The clock read 4:25am when I turned the ignition off. 17 minutes early. As an added bonus we ended up crashing a newly wed’s romantic morning. They must have had a similar idea and showed up within a minute of us. We milled around for 30 minutes, taking pictures and enjoying the early summer morning. But finally the thunderstorms we had raced past caught up and forced us to return to the car.

My camera skills are nonexistent

We had raced the sun and won. Not that it was that challenging. But it’s a story that I still hold dear to this day. It was an adventure, for a brief night we were Top Gear on some grand road trip racing The Stig’s Astral Cousin. Others could have gone faster, others could have done it with more flash, but we had actually gone out and did it. And what did we do to celebrate? We jumped in the car and drove the 400 miles home. I got home some 32 hours since I last slept and passed out smiling ear to ear.

Edit: I forgot to clarify. Origionally we wanted to drive all the way to the eastern tip of Newfoundland. When I came up with this idea we decided to stay in the US. I’m already planning a new trip that would see us actually drive up through Canada to Nova Scotia, take the ferry to Newfoundland, and drive to the eastern shore. An adventure for a future date.

Nate Bleker > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 10:42

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We’re going to need more of this kind of writing from you in the future.

Future next gen S2000 owner > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 10:46

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People need to do more things like this.

Brian, The Life of > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 10:46

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Neat story. Great photos. This is good Oppo.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 10:47

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Did Canada get expelled from North America? How does Mexico feel about that?

Amazing article though. Awesome stuff!

LemonsEngineer > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 10/15/2015 at 10:49

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I did forget to clarify that didn’t I? The original plan was to drive to the eastern tip of Newfoundland. I still want to do this, but we couldn’t swing that trip a few years ago. Already planning the multi-day trip to actually do this going to the true north american eastern point.

LemonsEngineer > Nate Bleker 10/15/2015 at 10:50

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I will do what I can.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 10:53

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You can just edit your article :). I still bet you and your friend had an experience of a lifetime doing this!

LemonsEngineer > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 10/15/2015 at 10:59

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I threw an edit at the end.

Trip was awesome. I’m very much looking forward to the next one.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 11:35

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Fantastic.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:10

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This is fantastic but I have to ask, was this inspired by Clarkson racing the sun (or as he said, god) in a Jag XJ?

This reminds me of the time that a buddy of mine and I were sitting around listening to Jimmy Buffett when Cheeseburger in Paradise came on. He said, “Hey, let’s go get a cheeseburger in paradise this weekend.” It was a 15+ hour drive, one way, from Birmingham to Key West. We drove down, stayed one night, then drove home. All for a fucking cheeseburger in paradise. Totally worth it though.

ironic_username > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:13

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You and your roommate should have cited John Knowles book A Separate Peace as the inspiration for your trip.

LemonsEngineer > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 10/15/2015 at 14:14

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I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a factor. It wasn’t the original inspiration, but halfway through planning we realized that top gear had already done it. Who cares though, this trip was ours.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:17

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I completely agree with you, I was just wondering if it sparked the idea or something. It wouldn’t be a knock on you guys because as you said, this trip was yours, and it seems like it was great. I also asked because truthfully, if I were going to take one of their races/challenges and try it in my own way, it would be this one.

Stephen > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:21

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This one time, Brasky was on a vision quest in rural Maine. One night at sunset, Brasky reached peak enlightenment. Also, he was high on LSD. Looking to the horizon, he decided right then and there to challenge THE SUN to a race! Brasky climbed into his Subaru hatchback, raced the sun , and wouldn’t you know it? The sonofabitch won by a full 17 minutes!

TO BILL BRASKY!!!

LemonsEngineer > Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) 10/15/2015 at 14:21

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No, I got what you were after. i’m sure the idea was planted from seeing that episode, but it wasn’t the driving factor in creating the trip. We both just kind of remembered about that episode halfway through figuring out all the details.

klurejr > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:26

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At first I thought you were going to be chasing the sun from east to west. Interesting idea.

An interesting challenge might be to race with the sun from east to west, you can only make progress while the sun is up, once it is down you have to stay put for the night. That might be more interesting than a Cannonball run.

chato > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:26

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isn’t Cadillac Mountain the actual first place to see the sunrise?

JoeB8S4 > Future next gen S2000 owner 10/15/2015 at 14:26

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I agree. I feel like sometimes we are just killing time..for what, who knows. Many of us are all stuck in our routines, and feel like if we break them, our lives would crumble. I used to do things like this in my early 20s. Great post!

Hooneriphic > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:28

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First off, great post. I recently spent a week in Acadia and did both sunrise and sunset on Cadillac mountain. First trip to Maine, it was every bit as beautiful as people claimed.

But now to what’s really piqued my attention. Google learns your driving habits and adjusts drive times accordingly?

Alphacock > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:29

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Great story, great pics! I’m from Western Mass an drive through Maine to Nova Scotia every year.

QCIC > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:33

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I was expecting this to be about starting on the east coast at dawn and trying to get to the west coast before sunset. Obviously planes need to be involved, or you could just do it driving and accept failure.

Alaska subaru > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:36

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Actually the eastern most point by longitude is in Alaska. It is a tiny island that is out at the end of the Aleutian Islands.

MrMcQueen21v2 > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:48

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Well done sir! I want to do something similar after reading this story!

Jeb_Hoge > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:49

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Your description of how you suddenly realize it’s getting lighter out was sublime. I remember trips to the beach with my parents where we’d leave before dawn and I’d watch the sky brighten as we drove. Then we’d stop for doughnuts shortly after sunrise.

Rex > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:51

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Needs more WRX.

Blondude > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:54

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For whatever reason this reminded me of the race in Forza Horizon 2 that has you racing an F40 along the Mediterranean coast while trying to make it to Nice before sundown. Only yours is cooler because it was done in real life.

LemonsEngineer > chato 10/15/2015 at 14:56

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Yes it is. But when we were looking we weren’t sure the auto road would be open that early. Plus Quoddy Head State Park is a great place too.

LemonsEngineer > klurejr 10/15/2015 at 14:57

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I toyed with the idea of doing something like this on the winter solstice (shortest day). Still haven’t found a good route that matches the length.

LemonsEngineer > Jeb_Hoge 10/15/2015 at 14:58

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Thank you, I spent more time on that paragraph than the rest of the story. Those early morning hours are absolutely some of my favorite to be driving.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:58

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Congrats on the front page! OppoBlog bump?

http://oppositeblog.kinja.com/

chato > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 14:59

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probably a lot less asshats to share the sunrise with up at Quoddy too.

LemonsEngineer > Hooneriphic 10/15/2015 at 14:59

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It appears to. Google nav on a smart phone definitely does. It’s possible that google updated speed limits on maps to reflect some of the change I’ve seen in route length estimates.

LemonsEngineer > Alaska subaru 10/15/2015 at 15:01

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Well sure, if you want to be pedantic.

LemonsEngineer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 10/15/2015 at 15:03

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Very possibly. Thanks for the initial bump.

LemonsEngineer > Alphacock 10/15/2015 at 15:04

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I did that drive a couple years ago as well. Friends and I drove up to stay in Baddeck and drive the Cabbot Trail. Absolutely beautiful drive and area.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:05

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It’s really great: an epic idea, well-executed and then well-remembered in prose.

Alaska subaru > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:16

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Not really. Your trip was probably a lot nicer than taking a boat all the way out to the end of Aleutians islands.

thejustache > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:34

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You can drive up Greylock? I need to get on that. The route 2 pass from NY to MA is one of my favorite driving roads, but I haven’t explored many of the other mountains around there.

One-Wheel-Peel > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:35

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I wonder how far you could get racing with the sun. Start east coast @ sunrise, keep going west with the time zones effectively dilating the day. probably not that far.

bmw325_num99 > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:38

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Gorgeous picture

StalePhish > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:39

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This reminds me of this past July when I flew from Newark, NJ all the way to Oahu, Hawaii non-stop. I accidentally raced the sun from sunrise to early afternoon and almost won! I had the seatback screen showing our current position, and it also showed the sun’s position. It took nearly 6 time zones for the sun to finally pass overhead as we were already in the Hawaiian time zone. The sun’s ground speed is somewhere around 600 mph and I assume out jet was doing nearly the same for it to take all day (11 hours) to just catch up.

LemonsEngineer > thejustache 10/15/2015 at 15:46

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Yup, great road. They close it in the late fall and open it mid-late spring. Really is worth a detour.

Hooneriphic > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:48

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The only thing I’ve seen is that google says it uses data from all it’s users to improve the accuracy of Google Maps routes. And of course, traffic plays a big role in arrival times for GM, and the only way they know abotu traffic is by polling the speeds of their users and comparing them to posted speed limits right?

But the reason why I somehow believe it’s tied directly to the singular user is that I drive fairly fast. I run the blue route (greater Philadelphia region) at 80 mph. The speed limit is 55. I also run the northeast extension at 85 except for construction areas where you just can’t drive that fast. My arrival times using Google Maps are dead on. I know lots of people speed, but I feel like I’m in the upper end of that. I also feel like way back when I used to be able to cut time off my trips based on the expected arrival time within the app. Now, not so much.

DamnTheNoise > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:48

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Oh man, I can’t wait to read through this when I’m not at work. I’m in western MA and would love to do this. Nice job!

El-Verde > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:55

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I love your WRX...I had a SWP 2011 Sedan and I miss it everyday :(

SlowerTrafficKeepRight > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 15:56

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This sounds like a good time, great write up.

LemonsEngineer > Hooneriphic 10/15/2015 at 15:58

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Google nav definitely does, especially since google bought waze. Old Garmin GPS units did too. Makes a lot of sense. Why constantly predict an ETA later than the user arrives at? Both google maps and waze admit to tracking your speed and using it to report traffic, it’s easy to track your driving habits and adjust your directions to match.

Hooneriphic > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:03

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I’m sure there are people who would be outraged to know this. I think it’s awesome.

Thanks!

NickW > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:04

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Sounds awesome!

While I didn’t race anything but a clock and myself, I drove from Tampa FL to Dayton OH in 8hrs 1min door to door.(Google says 14hr 17min). This may or may not have included some speeding through Atlanta at 2am.

About 14 years ago, my buddy and I drove from L.A. to Ohio. We took a week, stopping in Vegas, Hoover Dam, and the Corvette Museum along the way. I love road trips.

Squad41 > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:06

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Somebody already beat me to it... The easternmost point in North America is Cape Spear, Newfoundland (Near St. John’s). Newfoundland, by the way, is epic. I’ve done it on motorcycle, and it is absolutely worth the trouble of traveling there.

klurejr > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:13

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I did not clarify, I was thinking a cross country challenge.

TheBlightOfGrey > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:16

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Then drive to Anchor Point Alaska and watch the sunset. That’s as far west as you can drive on the road system in North America. Nice beach too. Watch the sunrise at Saint John’s Newfoundland. There’s a 6 AM flight to Montreal (YUL) on Air Canada. Change flights to Vancouver (YVR) connecting to Anchorage (ANC) and arrive in ANC 15.5 hours later right about 4 PM local time. In June the sun doesn’t set until after 11 PM so now you’ve got 7 hours to get to Anchor Point. You can drive there in less than 5 from ANC. To be safe though, because the traffic is hideously slow due to gawking RVs on the Seward and Sterling highways, take ERA Air ANC to Homer (HOM) which is a 1 hour flight, rent a car then cruise north the 26 miles or whatever it is to Anchor Point. Total one way flight cost under $800. Yes, I think it could be easily done.

rirozip > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:25

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Start working at home with Google! It’s by-far the best job I’ve had. Last Wednesday I got a brand new BMW since getting a check for $6474 this - 4 weeks past. I began this 8-months ago and immediately was bringing home at least $77 per hour. I work through this link, go to tech tab for work detail.

+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+ http://www.buzznews99.com

RllyDrvrIX > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:26

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Grew up in New England. You chose a fantastic route.... Living in Oregon now and find myself wanting to race the sunset....

tgent > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:39

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Lovely car! ‘12, ‘13, or ‘14? I have the same hatch in WRB and couldn’t be happier!

GrindhouseJho > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 16:43

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One of the reason I got a Miata (other than “TRACK DAY BRO!”) was so you can grab a car with simple mechanics and just make sojourns like this. Yes you can speed but that’s only part of it (nor am I condoning it). But with the top dropped and the air rushing through the car, you wired to the wheel, pedals and shifter, it’s a sensory overload that you can’t describe. Kudos to you sir I hope that I can take my Miata on journeys like this sooner or later.

LemonsEngineer > tgent 10/15/2015 at 16:52

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‘12. Bought it December 2011 with 9 miles on it. Now have over 95k. Couldn’t be happier with it.

Qiviut > Squad41 10/15/2015 at 17:25

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Agree with you 100%. I took a trip to NFLD last Thanksgiving and seeing eh sun come up at the easternmost part of North America is awesome. Even better if its cold and snowy (as it was).

Newfoundland is great but don’t underestimate the distances in Atlantic Canada. I’ve done a few trips up there and I always end doing 1/2 to 1/3 of what I had planned due to the distances involved. Driving across central Newfoundland in the fall / winter is about as close to driving in the subarctic as you will come. Saint Johns is great, too.

HolmerS > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 17:48

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It’s too easy to do here in Florida. I can get up and drive to the sunrise over the Atlantic, then drive back home for the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and have time to play golf in between.

Or another option is to get up and ride my bike to Fort Desoto where I can watch the sun rise over Tampa Bay and the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico and never leave my resting spot unless I want another margarita.

FiveMikeBravo > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 19:30

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Great article, I love reading stories like this. Taking my STi up the California coast, out to the desert, or into the mountains always makes me wonder why more people don’t go drive just to drive.

stone > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 19:53

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Well done. I’ve done it riding my KTM and camping nearby, the lighthouse is a cool spot and by a bizarre coincidence I am hiking Greylock this weekend where it will be cold and windy as hell. Pretty cool to combine the two.

majorbloodnok > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 19:58

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I’ve always wanted to do it the opposite way and go from the easternmost to the westernmost point in England from sunrise to sunset on the longest day. You could do it in a relay of cars, picking each up from where it is manufactured - Lotus, Caterham, Rolls-Royce, Ariel Atom...

Sith Lord Sexy Pants > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 20:03

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MA = Massachusetts

ME = Maine

William Robinson > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 10/15/2015 at 20:43

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Eastern most point in the United states. There that’s better I fixed it for the rest of North America.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LemonsEngineer 10/15/2015 at 22:02

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I need to start driving long distances in the middle of the night since this looks fun, if only I could stay awake lol. Definitely would be nice with how little traffic there would be. I feel like the going all the way home part though would suck.

LemonsEngineer > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 10/16/2015 at 08:54

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Honestly, the most effective thing for keeping me awake is audio books. They trick your brain into thinking you’re having a conversation, which is the most effective way to stay awake. We listened to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy the whole way home and never once did I feel tired.

Chris Kasinskas > LemonsEngineer 10/16/2015 at 10:28

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I remember Jeremy Clarkson doing something similar

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > LemonsEngineer 10/16/2015 at 12:55

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Hmm good idea, I generally always roll with music so I will try out a book some time. I also find that avoiding the interstate and taking back roads (requiring shifting) will certainly keep me awake. Just rambling along in cruise control on an interstate does not do much to keep me awake.

MrFancyPants > LemonsEngineer 10/16/2015 at 12:55

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Really enjoyable! Well done on a great trip.

Jdrentarol > LemonsEngineer 10/16/2015 at 14:44

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This has been done on Top Gear. Either Top Gear ripped you off, or you copied Top Gear.

LemonsEngineer > Jdrentarol 10/17/2015 at 11:35

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Yea, no one could ever come up with a similar to someone else, not ever.

I already addressed this. Halfway through planning the trip we realized it was very similar to a top gear episode. We said cool and kept running with it. Who cares if top gear did it first.

ocbrad1 used to be iamhoff but is now just wandering around > LemonsEngineer 10/17/2015 at 18:26

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Very cool article. Totally agree on the Top Gear comparison. Bravo and best of luck on the next journey.

Jim Babcock > LemonsEngineer 10/19/2015 at 06:37

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We did the Rte 1 through Maine, St John’s, to Peggy’s Cove trip when I was a teenager. I highly recommend it, it was one of my favorite of our family trips. Besure to do the Moosehead brewery tour and see the continent’s most extreme tides at the Bay of Fundy. IFAIR, Peggy’s Cove 8s the eastern most point of North America.

Great Story!

tgent > LemonsEngineer 10/19/2015 at 11:25

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Dang! You are driving that thing, like it’s meant to be! I thought I had a lot of miles for a ‘12 at 60k. Nice work, great car.