Bob Hadden In March a small group of EV1 Club members started making plans to organize a road trip where the California EV1 owners could meet the Arizona EV1 owners. A trip to Blythe, California was suggested, because it is a town about half way between Phoenix and Los Angeles, on the AZ/CA border. Plans started to materialize, and a date was set for the weekend of April 10 and 11. Primarily because the desert starts to get very hot in May, and everyone wanted to do the trip while the weather was still cool during the day. Unfortunately, the Arizona folks couldn't get together in time to make the trip by that date. Not to be discouraged, six EV1 owners, the real 'wing-nuts' of the bunch, in the California group decided to make a 'test run', just to figure out all the logistics of how to make it happen. One of the six EV1 drivers, Bob Hadden recounts his story: Driving into the sunrise on a cool, California morning in a fully loaded EV1 was how I started my weekend adventure. The trunk was loaded with a tent, blankets, lawn chair, other camping gear, and a portable Magna- charger. Not having a passenger with me, I was able to utilize that space for more camping gear and an ice-chest full of refreshments. It was a refreshing feeling, driving east on such a clean-air morning. The rainstorm from the previous day had blown away all the LA smog, and while humming down the highway in my EV1, I knew that my car was going to keep it that way. I stopped at the Cerritos Saturn dealer first for a quick charge, a breakfast snack, and a 20-min. morning walk for a little exercise on such a beautiful day. With a full charge in both the car, and me, I set out for the next stop in Corona, keeping my speed at a steady 55mph. Such a beautiful day needed to be savored slowly so why rush? The charger in Corona was easy to find at the Wal-Mart shopping center. I knew that I would have to wait about two hours for a charge, so I spent the time catching up on some necessary reading. The car's comfortable seats and the stereo in accessory mode made this an enjoyable, relaxing way to pass the time. Because the Wall-Mart charger operated at 240 volts, I could charge to a higher level slightly faster than I could at my next stop, so I waited a little longer before heading on my way to Moreno Valley. The trip to Moreno Valley was a little quicker, only 20 miles, but I was behind schedule now. Finding the chargers was easy, since I had spent a lot of time in preparation to locate all my stops on the map, including landmarks. Also, I had spoken to Greg Hanssen, the leader of our rally, and he wanted me to get going a much sooner without reaching at least a 90% charge. His analysis was that I could spend less time charging since I would gain back much of my range after the town of Banning, because it was a long 20 mile, down-hill stretch to Palm Desert. Still, I had my reservations, and I was reluctant to take the risk. I felt that my car's performance wasn't doing as well as I had expected, and I was worried I would not make the climb up the steep hills to Banning. I decided they would just have to wait a little longer in Palm Desert for me. It was important not to get stuck halfway, and so I waited until I reached at least 92%. Besides, the Moreno Valley Mall was a nice place to visit, and lots of people were visiting me, asking me questions about my EV1. I hated to give up an opportunity to plug electric transportation. The moment of truth finally came for me to leave Moreno Valley for Palm Desert. I would be saying good-by to the Los Angeles area, the land of opportunity charging and public Magna-Chargers. My excitement overcame my trepidation, and I headed up the highway, up the steep hills to Banning and beyond those imaginary boundaries I had thought would certainly consume all my battery power, and would break my EV. Such thoughts were squashed by my positive spirit, and as I reached the crests of highway in Banning with 3 bars to spare on my range-meter, and the downhill slope approaching, I knew that this electric car could make it to Palm Desert. Flying downhill past the wind-turbines spinning on the hillsides of the San Gregonio pass, I felt proud that some of the electrons in my battery pack had come from those renewable sources. At that point I smiled and knew that nothing could stop the movement toward electric powered transportation, because the renewable source of power for my car was right in front of me. Turning off the highway into Palm Desert, after coasting downhill for such a long time, my car felt like it was just floating along on the flat, smooth desert roads. When the light turned red at the traffic light, I really hated to stop because the car had so much momentum. I followed the signs to the Desert Center, and arrived at 1:20 PM in the afternoon at a very well equipped EV charging station. I was a little late, but still very welcome. Walt LeFrancini had prepared an event for the arrival of all the EV1 drivers, so it was an impressive picture to see all six of our EV1 cars parked together, lined up in the shade. Everyone was discussing the details of their trip, comparing watt-hours, range displays, number of bars, amp-hours, charging sites, and all the other EV related topics that most EV techno-nerds get jazzed about. Food, restrooms, good company, and shade helped me fall into that relaxing, warm desert atmosphere that can only be found in this area of California. No one seemed to notice the time passing while our electric cars gulped down that precious electric fuel needed for the next major leg of the trip. It was soon time for the first wave of EV drivers to leave, their cars charged over 92%. One other late-arriving driver, Bill Mason, and myself stayed behind to continue charging our batteries for another hour. Our host, Bill, and I had a good opportunity to discuss many EV related topics, so the time passed quickly. I had made it to this beautiful oasis in the desert and I was tempted to just be satisfied with my current progress, and stay behind. As the desert sunlight passed through the lattice roof over the parking spaces, narrow striped shadows were cast over the curvaceous shapes of the EV1s. This effect made the electric cars appear to be sleeping fish, resting in the shade under the rippling surface of some desert oasis pond. The sun had already passed its zenith, and the "Empty/Full" meter on my EV1 dashboard had reached it's climax. The leader of our first-wave team was calling us on his cell phone, urging us to get started right away. It was time to go. Bill Mason and I packed up our chargers and other gear, then bid farewell to our Palm Desert hosts. One thing to note about roads in the desert - they are usually very straight, and very smooth. Gliding along these roads in an electric car is as close to silent soaring through the air without actually leaving the ground. As I lead and Bill followed, we talked to each other on our portable phones. Both of us were having serious doubts that this was a rational thing to do, but we were doing it anyway just for the adventure of it. Heading out of the urban areas of Indio and the Cochella valley, we could see the Interstate highway sloping up into the barren, desert hills. Our next major goal was to reach Chiraco Summit, the highest elevation of the whole trip, a good 40+ miles and 1000 ft up. The bleached, dry hills encroaching from the east would not offer any measure of forgiveness if my EV failed to reach their summit. The risk was formidable, but I couldn't give up, it was not in my nature to do so. There was still another 96 miles to go, and one more charging stop to make before reaching Blythe. Our leader, Greg, was calling us frequently on his cell phone letting us know that they had made it to the top with a little juice to spare. They were continuing on for another nine miles to the RV Park where we had reserved two sites for charging. He encouraged us that we would be OK, and not to worry. Realistically, no one else had problems, there was no reason that we could not make it. In the back of my mind I could think of lots of reasons that it couldn't be done, but I didn't listen to them, and I kept going. It wasn't long before we were heading up the steep incline towards Chirocco summit. We needed to go as slow as we could to conserve energy, while still keeping up with traffic. Fortunately, I was able to slink in behind a slow moving truck, laboring up the hill. I could follow it and not feel so bad while all the other recreational traffic passed us at 70+mph. Soon the steep hills relaxed to more gradual hills, and my range meter didn't drop quite so fast. Still, it had dropped significantly, and I knew there were 19 miles to go before reaching the summit. My range meter displayed 21 miles and I was still climbing. My doubts began to dissolve my positive spirit. Through the wonders of cell-phone communication, I was able to contact the lead drivers ahead of me, and get encouragement and motivation to keep going, and not to worry. The other drivers had already reached the RV Park and their cars were all just fine. I kept my speed at 46 mph in order to conserve my little remaining battery power, knowing full well that I had to drive farther to Desert Center than the numbers displayed on my range gage. This was going to be a real trick of faith to resist stopping, and hope that the car did not switch into "Reduced Performance" mode. That would mean sure disaster for my batteries, and I was in the middle of the desert, surrounded by no human technology for support. It was definitely faith that would get me there. Never have 18 miles seemed to take such a long time to pass. As I approached the Chirocco summit rest stop, my range meter displayed 2 miles of range, and the "Empty/Full" gage displayed 1 lonely bar of remaining battery power. Much to my chagrin, a highway sign indicated that the turn-off for our charging site was 9 miles away. I knew that I would be beyond zero state of charge when I arrived, and I was becoming more skeptical that I would even arrive at all. More cell phone communication to the group ahead of me, and my companion in his EV1 behind me, gave a boost to my spirits. At that point the desert highway seemed to be pretty flat, but the 'as-promised' downhill grades didn't materialize like I had expected. I tried to maintain a steady speed of 46 mph despite the faster traffic encroaching on my tail, and passing me in defiance of the roads resistance. With the sun sinking slowly in the west, on this lonely, flat stretch of desert highway, there were no stops. There were no turn-offs. There was no turning around. I focused all my thoughts on reaching the RV Park with the rest of our group, and ignored the car's range meter when the last bar vanished. The triple-diamond display lit up the dash, indicating empty. The EV1, being the fantastic car that it is, alarmed me that battery failure was immanent, that charging was necessary, that I should check my messages. I had to ignore it all, and keep gliding along that desert road at a steady 44-mph, focusing only on the goal of reaching my destination. Minutes passed, the turn-off road finally appeared, and I coasted off the highway, trying to spare what precious voltage that I had remaining. The long gradual slope down to the RV Park allowed me to coast the whole way, and I finally arrived at the charging site among cheers, and applause from our lead group. What a sight to see all these exotic, shinny, curved EV1's corralled together in the desert like space craft from an unknown universe that had come to rest in this hostile earth environment. Relaxation, laughter, food, beverages, and good stories ensued for more than an hour while our vehicles charged their batteries. They sucked up their precious amps from chargers strewn about in the grass; their electrical umbilical cords attached to vacant RV power posts. The sun gleamed above the edges of the desert brush, casting long shadows that tickled the gleaming panels of our vehicles. The first group of drivers was anxious to get to Blythe before sunset. We made arrangements to meet in town and coordinated our destination schedules, then the first group packed up to leave this quiet park for the final stretch of the trip. Bill and I needed more time to charge, so we decided to wait a while longer in this peaceful desert atmosphere. It wasn't long before our portable phones were ringing with calls from the lead group. They had arrived in Blythe, and we were encouraged to get started again. With strong promises that the final stretch of road was flat, and an almost full charge on our meters, Bill and I agreed that it was time to drive. We said goodbye to this quiet, deserted rest stop, leaving not even a sound behind. The added power to the batteries seemed to boost the car forward onto the flat desert highway. I couldn't keep the speed below 60 mph, as the car sliced through the still desert air into the darkness encroaching from the East. The lights of Blythe twinkled before me just 40 miles in the distance. Bill and I rolled into Blythe with a whisper, and were immediately surrounded by the beaming lights of billboards and gas-station signs. Motel-6 was one of them, and the destination of our lead group of EV drivers. Slipping into the parking lot in 'stealth-mode', we had to wait for a crowd of locals gawking around a straight line of electric vehicles parked under the lights. They appeared quite amazed and curious when they realized that there were even more electric vehicles to contend with. Certainly more than they had ever seen in one place before. Charging spots were setup at the motel, and some other cars drove up the road to charge at an another RV park. Knowing that all our vehicles were safe, and feeding on electronic power, the rest of us could relax in the local tavern to dispense with the day's worth of stories and observations. The day's excursion was a complete success, with no complications or complaints. It felt both strange and euphoric to have driven so far from home, and to have not stopped at a gas station. The thrill of success had completely overwhelmed any doubts that I may have had earlier in the day. THE TRIP HOME When dawn arrived the next day, all of the vehicles were completely charged and ready to go again. When all the drivers were sitting around the breakfast table at the nearby restaurant, we agreed to drive home in small groups. This strategy would allow us to charge at different sites in the Palm Desert area without conflicting with each other. The parts that made the return trip so memorable were the rest stops along the way. Waiting to charge the cars at the desert RV Park was quite peaceful, and relaxing in the morning sun. The Marriott resort in Palm Desert was an exquisite oasis of luxury. At the Palm Springs Hilton, the hotel staff was very friendly, and there was much to do in the center of town. Heading out of Palm Springs, all six electric vehicles managed to meet up on the highway and formed a caravan all the way to Banning. Eventually, the highway split and we had to follow our separate directions. When I finally made it back to the Wall-Mart parking lot charger in Corona, there was an excellent restaurant nearby. I was able to have a pleasant, delicious dinner in a relaxing atmosphere where I had no problem lounging for two hours waiting for a charge. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm had settled over the Los Angeles and Orange counties, making the remaining part of the trip somewhat treacherous at night. But there were no disasters, and all of my fellow travelers were able to finish the complete trip, driving their electric cars safely home. This road rally was a phenomenal event for all of us. The significance being that we proved that electric cars could be driven for long-range trips. Each driver traveled over 500 miles in two days, for a total of more than 3000 miles for all EV participants. The trip went so well that I expect that all of us will be planning many more long-range trips with our EVs in the future.