In today’s Taurus SHO – BMW 535i vintage comparison (Automobile Magazine), this line at the end caught my eye: The new 535i is perhaps only the second car in which we have, with only one driver, comfortably covered 800 miles (1300 km). Which reminded me of my longest and yet reasonably comfortable drive.
I had driven the 1000 miles from Baltimore to Iowa City straight through in my VW Beetles on at least two occasions, but I can’t say it was all that comfortable. The seats in them were sorely lacking in lumbar support. And there was the general lack of creature comforts, but I was young.
In about 2002 or so, I had to pick up my younger son in Sacramento, CA, where he had been taken after a primitive summer camp way up in the Sierras. It’s almost exactly 500 miles from Eugene to where I needed to go a bit outside Sacramento. I left Eugene in the Forester at 5;30 AM, and hit I5 and set my cruise control for 75, 80 in CA (or 10 over the limit). Arrived at 12:30, picked him up, and had lunch. Hit the road at 1:30PM, and got home right at 8:00 PM (I picked up my pace some on the home stretch). My brother and his family were visiting, so I drove directly to the old EMs minor league stadium near our house and joined them for the second half of the ball game. The sun was still well up in the sky, and I felt…great, even sitting on the unpadded seats of the old wood stadium (which burned down this past summer). Of course, I was almost 15 years younger then. Although I wouldn’t be eager to repeat it, the seats in the TSX are excellent, and if I had enough motivation, I’d be willing to do it again. Or so he says….
One thing that really helps on that drive is the scenery, which is good to excellent for most of the trip, except for the last part near Sacramento. So what’s the furthest you’ve driven in a day, comfortably or uncomfortably?
Calabasas, CA to Vancouver, BC. Left at 7:30 AM on a Wednesday. Stopped for gas several times and at a casino off I5 in Central California for a buffet meal (and a bit of blackjack). Arrived home at 5:30 the next morning. If it wasn’t for the three energy drinks I consumed I don’t think I would have made it.
I would probably not do that again.
1,070 miles in 15 hours including stops only for gas and food in my 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T. This was the last leg of a three day cross country move from Harrisburg, PA to Costa Mesa, CA. A little over 2,650 miles over three days – just over 35 hours of total drive time.
What a road trip car! Super comfortable seats, and it cruised very comfortably at 90 mph once I was west of the Mississippi.
Summer of 96 i drove from Chicago to Long Island in my 1971 Chrysler town and country. Great ride was about 850 miles in 14 hours. Great comfortable car got 15 mpg at 75mph. i normally went from Michigan to Long Island a couple of times a year for a few years with that car. Great road car.
I did 650 miles this summer in one day, but my expedition is not as much fun as the old town and country.
I had to think about this one, but I believe my record is Ft. Myers, FL to Nashville, a little over 800 miles in one stretch, in a Civic wagon. But I was in college, so I had plenty of stamina and no extra money for a hotel on the way. (I did have a companion, then-girlfriend, now wife, who’s a good road trip passenger even now.)
Like 67Conti, I’ve driven LA to Vancouver (WA) a couple of times, but not in one stretch…once in a 26-foot moving truck (not comfortable) and once in a Z3 (pretty comfortable once you’re in it). Those mountain passes are nerve-racking in a big slow truck.
One day 20 plus years ago I wanted to drive Route 66, so I set out from home in the SF Bay Area. When I got to Ludlow and onto 66, the pavement was so coarse that the rear view mirror in my ’82 Camaro Z28 was just a blur, and given the relatively “delicate” nature of the running gear in that car, I just turned around and went home. 800 miles round trip. I know I couldn’t stand driving that distance in one shot now, but if I were to try again, I’d want to be back in that Camaro. It was a great travel companion for me.
I returned in 2013 in rented Dodge Avenger, which I really liked (!). It rode just fine on the coarse asphalt of Route 66. But Ludlow was about as far as I could stand to drive one way from home.
Phoenix to Ann Arbor Michigan, non stop except for gas, food and bathroom…in a 1968 MGB. I was young and invulnerable at the time. I was halucinating by the time I arrived. Street signs were waving at me, bushes trying to thumb a ride, etc. It never occured to me (17 years old), that I was probably more of a danger than an alcoholic behind the wheel. Aside from the fact that the MG actually made it that far without a breakdown, I was very lucky. I honestly don’t remember how long it took but it did exceed the one day limit.
From Portland Or. to San Diego, about 1100 miles. In 1971 in a 71 Nova with bucket seats. It was at the end of a vacation that included speed week at Bonneville. Not sure why we didn’t stop, I guess we were broke by then or just stubborn. The worst part was going thru LA traffic late at night after that long on the road.
I had made arrangements to pick up a girlfriend in Newfoundland from Ontario with some sightseeing thrown in. due to some unfortunate circumstances I was delayed getting away but was determined to still hit my spots.
left Havelock, Ontario 7am Monday morning. crossed the border into New York, stopped at Champlain Olympic site(stop 1), took the Lake Champlain ferry to Vermont and ended the first day in New Hampshire.
day 2 was straight up the coast of Maine, with a half day in Bar Harbor(stop 2),.. the Bangor airport (Steven King movie The Langoliers shot there..big fan..stop 3) , across the border into New Brunswick. 18 hours in the car and stopped for the night when I hit a hill with 3 lanes ( 2 up and 1 down) and couldn’t figure out which lane was mine.
day 3 a run to Sydney, Nova Scotia to catch the Newfoundland ferry and across to Newfoundland.
day 4 across Newfoundland in a hellacious storm (I have a picture of a road sign that folded in half on the post and parts of the trip the wipers would not move on the windshield from the force of the wind catching them ) arriving in the small town near
Gander mid-afternoon.
I had a 85 Cadillac brougham that was built for a run like that.
the things we do when we are young, stubborn and in love!
Brisbane to Melbourne, Australia. About 1700 Km, 90 % on two lane blacktop.
In a Holden Gemini panel van. Solo. In 23 hr, less the 2 hrs getting a blown tyre replaced. Back in 1980. I wouldn’t care to do it again.
At the 16 hr mark I’m sure I was nearly in a trance…….made it safely, but never again.
More recently, 1100 KM in a day. Again, two lane ‘highways’ here in Australia.
That was OK, had A/C, cruise & company. I regularly do the 1000 Km trip to Bathust solo in 11 hrs.
I’ve done some 700 mile days in rentals in the USA. Trust me, you have it a lot easier
with the interstates. Easy to average 70 MPH. On Australia’s ‘highways’ where its mostly
2 lane blacktop, you have to work at it average 60 MPH. Slowing down for towns, trucks,
Toyota Camrys, all kill your average.
Agreed Chris. Even on divided highways there are still on-grade intersections with little-used roads (major roads have overpasses) and such that mean higher speed limits are sadly not realistic. On one trip down the Hume to occupy my mind I was assessing visibility around bends and over crests and came to the conclusion there were lots of areas where I don’t believe the “designed for 130/140 km/h” urban legend, leaving aside the intersections. At one of those I saw a B-double (semi truck with 2 trailers) doing a u-turn, taking 2 or 3 bites to get around and blocking the road to traffic while he did it. Then there is the speed enforcement…
Having said that, my longest was a bit over 1000 miles in 20 hours, including picking up and unloading a non-running car, and the only time I have got through two 25 USgal tanks in a day. Still felt ok at the end of it too.
My 03 Caravan does not have Cruise Control or a Tilting Steering Wheel, but thankfully I can use the AC on flat Interstates while still being able to go 75-80. I drove 500 Mi from Missoula, MT to Portland, OR in one go and did it in about 11 hours. Western Montana and most of Idaho are slow going when your Minivan weighs 3,800 Lbs and has a 150 HP engine. Compared to older vehicles and Conestoga Wagons my Caravan is a Cadillac though, but if it becomes a long distance cruiser I am going to have to get Cruise Control.
Portland to Salt Lake City about 800 miles in 12 hours in my 2010 Prius. Running 65-75 it got 48 mpg. Comfortable seating – it’s a long-legged road car.
When I drove across the country eight years ago, I drove from Easton, PA to Chicago, and another 800 miles or so to Oglalla, NE the next day in a rented U-Haul truck.
More recently, the most I’ve actually driven in one day was in a ’56 Studebaker from Lebanon, TN, through the Natchez Trace to Tupelo, across Mississippi to Clarksville, down the river to Greenville and then crossing the whole of southern Arkansas in pitch darkness, before finding a place off the road near Texarkana, TX in the early hours of the morning. Suffice to say, the ride to Fort Worth the next morning felt like a cakewalk.
Not the longest trip ever — but the most painful — was driving across New Jersey on US 78 with a raging toothache en route to an emergency dentist appointment on New Years Day, in a Plymouth Belvedere with a busted heater module.
I’ve made the trip between Staunton, Illinois and the northern suburbs of Houston (850 miles, 13.5-14 hours) straight through solo on three occasions.
The first two were in 1991 and 1993 in my ’88 Thunderbird. Say what you want about the Essex 3.8 (much of it deserved and being rehashed here for Taurus Week), but fuel economy was definitely NOT one of its flaws. Both times I made it to Arkadelphia, Arkansas (a little over 500 miles) on one tank. I only stopped for quick bathroom breaks, which for me in those days always meant McDonald’s. They were the gold standard in consistently clean restrooms – another area in which McDs has lost its way in recent years. Both times I also spent the night in Little Rock on the return trip.
The last solo nonstop was in 2004. A few years after the T-Bird trips I moved back to Houston. When my grandmother passed away in ’04, I had the opportunity to buy her 2002 Dodge Dakota 4×4 (with 7400 miles on it) from her estate. My aunt served as executor and sold me the Dakota for substantially less than book value. That Labor Day weekend I flew to STL from Houston to spend time with my family and do all of the formalities in purchasing the truck. On Labor Day itself I drove the truck back to Houston, albeit with a couple of additional gas stops. I’m still driving the Dakota today.
This was not done in one day, but it was done without sleeping…
Omaha to Cheyenne WY 500mi
Cheyenne to Fort Collins 50mi
Fort Collins to Cheyenne 50mi
Cheyenne to Omaha NE 500mi
total 1100 miles
plus a scenic drive around the mountains which I do not know how many more miles that adds.
Longest continuous drive without a break in one day is Lincoln NE to Lyndhurst OH 875mi, in 10hours. A lot of it done at triple digit speeds.
Answering the question in the plainest and simplist way possible: Squishy Brougham seats, BAD; el strippo bench seats, GOOD. My base model ’71 Electra 225, my ’73 Delta 88, and my ’87 F150 pickup all have the harder “el strippo” bench seats, and I can drive long distances in them without that unfolding-myself-as-I-exit-the-vehicle ritual that is necessary when I’m driving a product of the Great Brougham Epoch. I think the F150 is particularly good because I’m 6’1″ and ingress and egress is just that much more natural.
Did the Cascade Loop in an ’89 base Ranger. Not as bad as I thought.
New Orleans to Tampa, about 12 hours no matter how fast you drive because of the bottle necks along the way (Mobile AL tunnel)!! On one occasion, traffic on I-75 in FL came to a complete halt for 20 minutes during the 4th of July holiday.
After the third driving trip, I bought an non stop airline ticket and arrived in 3 1/2 hours from the moment I left my house to the moment I stood on the beach in Florida…
I used to be able to drive Charlotte NC – Portland ME without stopping, about 1000 miles even. My record is 13:50, which I will never attempt to break. Longest trip ever was Winter Park FL – Charlotte NC – Portland ME which is about 1500 miles, but I took two one-hour naps along the way. I was young…if I tried that now, I would end up a fireball in a ditch somewhere.
My longest was Indianapolis to Dallas, about 900 miles and 14 hours in an 85 Crown Victoria. The seats were pretty supportive, and it was not bad.
Also several 600-700 mile stretches in several cars. The 94 Club Wagon and the 85 GTI were very comfortable. The bench seat in the 66 Fury III was woefully lacking in lumbar support.
Longest: roughly 750 miles from Chicago to Pottsville PA in a Mark VII LSC. The LSC buckets should have won some kind of award back in the day (don’t think they did though). Especially the ’86-89 bucket design (Ford slightly altered the buckets for the final 3 years of the LSC in ’90-92 and for the worse, IMO). Anyway so those seats, in addition to being very aggressively bolstered, sitting on a 6-way power rack, and having a power recline with an incredible range (not all power reclines are equal, just compare a recent Town Car and a ’15 Malibu and you’ll see what I mean), so in addition to all that the Mark VII LSC buckets had a power lumbar, power thigh bolsters, and a manual pullout cushion for the lower thigh support. Now that manual cushion once pulled out could actually be SLANTED slightly sideways in either direction, so as for example to give your right leg more room as it operates the gas pedal.
Anyway, so the best seats ever, and in a vintage car no less. Their only drawback was those buckets would not be comfortable for anyone with a large frame. But that would be true of most sporty bucket seats I suppose.
In addition to that the Mark I had for the trip had an insane factory optional JBL sound system with refurbished and improved (but still factory) speakers, a refurbished factory Sony CD player, an excellent climate control unit, and a retuned sporty suspension with loads of aftermarket upgrades to toss the car once in the mountains. That trip was a few years ago and that car is still around, too.
PS: I try to stick to 600 on a day if I can though. No matter what the car, I find that north of 650 and especially at and after 700 concentration just ain’t what it should be (and by then it is probably night time, too). So while it’s nice and fun to look back on, I don’t recommend it or look forward to doing again. I drive 600 on a day fairly often though and that’s very doable, especially on a good night’s sleep.
Pottsville, PA? Were you some kind of reverse Smokey and the Bandit, preparing to smuggle a truckload of Yuengling out west?
Lincoln consistently did great seats in the Mark series. My ’96 Mark VIII had the most comfortable seats of any car I’ve ever owned, and among the most comfortable I’ve ever experienced, period.
As I had a summer job working as a transporter for Hertz during summers when I was in college, I got wary of driving long distances in one shot (especially alone) early on. Though I lived in New England at the time where distances are relatively short, there were two problems unique to the job…one was that you had multiple cities you might have to go to on the same trip that weren’t remotely even in the same general direction, since we often drove as a group of several drivers in one car, and dropped off drivers at their destination as we got to them, and the driver of the “shuttle” car and the last destination car had the longest drive back home. The second was that you never knew when you would get the call to make such a trip, you might be up all day (working another job, or whatever) and have to go on some sort of convoluted route. Also, the destinations weren’t easy to find, many of them were something like “Harold’s Gulf station in Montpellier” (which actually was the closest normal trip, about an hour away from our home location in Burlington)…I was at Harold’s many a time those two summers, but other locations only once. Of course the normal problems were staying awake, but several times people hit deer, especially going up I89 in New Hampshire. Sometimes the cars you picked up were suspect, we had to pick up several cars in Massachusetts that were originally “Florida” cars that were picked up mid way in their rental life for use in New England…and some in dubious state…I once picked up a rental that had been stolen (and abused) to take back…so my driving habits were definitely colored by my early experience driving for Hertz. Back then the cars were pretty large still, and all had Automatic and A/C, so they were pretty comfortable (as long as they were in good shape) so it was more my endurance and being able to safely deal with driving (fortunately not winter driving, only had to do that with my home car).
I’ve turned into a pretty slow driver, maybe 10 years ago I stopped driving aggressively, and am the guy every one passes (usualy several times)…more relaxed driving when you don’t need to think of keeping your position in the convoy kinda like some kind of vendetta or something. I think I’ve got the weirdest accumulation of mileage on my current car, it has been to both coasts (I live in midwest now, it has been to East coast several times, only once to southern California though), yet in 15 years of owning this car, it only has 113k miles on it…and it is my only car. I think most years I average fewer than 5k miles of local driving, but when I do take a longer car trip, it is of the 1800 mile one way variety, but I take my time. I like to start early, but also end early, get to bed, and repeat…I figure if you drive to “see the country” you should “see the country”…so I alot lots of time for trips…I’m not big on flying unless it is overseas
My “recent” (if you exclude my Hertz days) mileage record is 825 miles from Austin, Tx to Sante Fe NM…very little of it on interstate, mostly state roads…I also tend to do a fair amount of non-interstate driving, so that slows you down some when you go through towns…it is kind of like the driving I remember my Father making when I was little, when many of the interstates weren’t there or weren’t yet completed…so you may be driving lots of time, but the miles don’t often accumulate very quickly. I miss seeing the smudge pots they used to use to mark construction sites (seemed like lots of them back then) as my father used to be driving, often at night, but otherwise the trips seem similar, only I’m the one driving instead of him.
Great post!
Longest solo drive: 1000 miles from GA to MI 12 yrs ago in a ’95 C1500, cruise control but not much else. Took about 16 hours, with icy roads once I crossed the state line into MI about 2am with 3 hrs to go.
Longest overall drive: 2,200 miles from AZ to MI this March, but split over 3 days and 2 drivers in a ’14 CTS. Much more comfortable, though a bit unnerving when a bag of popcorn exploded going over Vail Pass when the pressure differential got to be too much. Fortunately, it took less time to figure out what happened than it did to clean it up!
Longest solo drive without cruise control: 450 miles from MI to PA 7 yrs ago. 8 hrs In a rented PT Cruiser for work, did not think to ask for cruise control when renting a car because I assumed they would all have it by that point. Foot was pretty sore by the time I arrived.
My wife and I commonly go on trips that are 600-700 miles in one shot every year or two now, but we split the driving so it’s nothing doing for either of us. 8 hours of driving is about the point when I’ll consider flying, anything less than that I’ll just drive, and many times even if it’s over that, as anything over 4 hours in a full narrow body jet is pretty miserable.
Same here, except that I’ll drive within the 700 mile range on a day, 1200 if I can afford 2 days, and will consider flying only if it’s over 700 and I have to be there that night. Words don’t do justice how much I despise being crammed into an aluminum tube, in some uncomfortable cramped seat, with some dude eating nasty airplane chicken to my right, another climbing over me to get to the bathroom, and all of that just to sit on tarmac for a full hour after landing because of some stupid holiday jam, miss my connecting flight, and have to book a hotel room. No thank you I’ll drive.
Hollywood CA to Roseburg OR on my way to Newport. 99 Cavalier and 05 ION. 13 hours.
Not all in a car, but I think this counts for something. In April of this year, I boarded an early morning (7) flight from Halifax to Calgary. I got into Calgary at 10 local time, met a friend, and started driving. We drove for 11 hours, to Brandon, MB (around 1,200 km). This in a Honda Fit with no cruise control. Put into a single time zone, I was up for nearly 24 hours. We made Toronto a day and a half later.
The most I’ve done in a single run is Halifax to Montreal — about 1300 km.
I’ve done San Francisco Bay Area to Portland many times, maybe 600+ miles depending on starting point and destination. Alfetta, Rabbit Diesel, Prius, Forester and Vega all come to mind as the cars. But the most miles in 24 hours, albeit with one 3 hour nap, was a “Saddlesore” ride I did in the late eighties: 1000 miles, 18 hours start to finish, on my 1985 BMW K100RS motorcycle. I was in my early 30’s then. My longest recent rides have been 400-500 mile days, albeit on less comfortable bikes than the K bike. The most memorable was Santa Cruz to Ely, Nevada, just over 500 miles, on my Ducati Monster. The last few miles were painful – and cold.
Most miles I’ve driven in one shot would be Raleigh, NC to Clearwater, FL back in 2002. 676 miles door to door in a ’91 Accord LX. I drove the whole way but did have passengers to keep me occupied.
Most miles I’ve driven solo would be Raleigh to DeBary, FL in 2005. 577 miles, ’96 Lincoln Mark VIII.
Both were very comfortable road cars, but the Lincoln wins handily for the fantastic seats, less road/wind noise, and that wonderful air suspension ride.
January of ’14 I drove solo from Cleveland, Ohio to Santa Rosa, California in a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham diesel coupe that I’d bought on-line and sight unseen from an elderly farmer. Gave myself three days to make the 2400 mile return trip, but…
First day I hit an ice storm in Iowa and ended up cowering under a cheap hotel blanket after an extravagant series of 360º spins past a line of jack-knifed semis; that slowed me up. The next day I accidentally locked myself out of the car in North Platte, Nebraska and spent a few hours getting back in. Sixty miles later I blew a tire in Oglala and got a tow to a town with a hotel and a tire shop – Julesburg, Colorado, where I spent the night in a hotel. All four tires were pretty old and a bit dry-rotted and I still had a winter crossing of the Rockies, so I replaced them and hit the road.
I was way behind schedule now, so I filled up and drove straight through from Julesburg, Colorado to Santa Rosa, California – about 1325 miles. It was remarkably comfortable and I averaged about 23 mpg.
You should write more about your ’79 Olds diesel. It’s been 2 years since you got it, so I’m sure you’d have some stories to tell by now.
Three weeks ago I drove 630 miles from Pittsburgh area, across US22, I-70, I-74, I-39 and a few miles on I-80 to Princeton, Ill, and back again the next day over 550 miles across I-80/90 and US11, in the 2002 Tahoe I bought a year ago.
No fatigue, no back pain…and I’m 58 years old and overweight.
Only a handful of cars in my 43-years of driving offered that level of comfort. I remember a ’68 Chrysler I’d had back when I was 19. Also – believe it or not – my ’57 Chevy’s bench seat was good for the 500-mile trips I’d take every now and then. Better than the two Caprices I’d own years later. The Caprices obviously RODE better but for long-trip comfort, the Tri-Five won.
I think when I replace my Tahoe…it’ll be with another one.
When I had a Tahoe as a rental, the comfortable seat was my favourite part. That and radio controls on the steering wheel.
This past summer my family went on a road trip to the east coast. I wanted to make it to Moncton, NB for the last day of the Atlantic Nationals car show. We took my (new to me) 2007 RAM2500 Megacab. I did all the driving. It is a very comfortable highway cruiser for sure, with acres of room in the back seat for the kids too.
Left on a Friday evening after work, driving 540mi. to Cornwall, Ontario. The next day we continued east through Quebec and New Brunswick to Moncton, another 685mi. There was more hard driving during the week we were down east. We came back home through the US, covering another 875mi. in 2 days.
39 hours from Cincinatti, OH to an hour past Spokane, WA. Did this in the spring of 95 in my 85 Towncar. Started hallucinating at around the 24 hour mark and it only got better. Very comfortable car! It was a bit over 3,000 miles without a lick of sleep. Well, not any intentional sleep but I did nod off a few times.
Just google’d it. Just over 2,100 miles, not 3k.
For me, 480+ Miles, or about 8 hours with a couple of breaks for food and sight seeing. A couple of times from Northeastern Baltimore County to Ogunquit, Maine (485 miles) and just about the same distance in the opposite direction once to Rock Hill, SC (482 miles). That distance was long, but comfortable.
When I was a kid though, I was a passenger in my Dad’s car when we drove from Rosedale, Maryland all the way to Gary Indiana in one day… that Googles out to about 690 miles, so Dad has me beat there. Then we got up the next day and drove to just Northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul on the way to see some relatives in Frazee, MN, which we made on the third day. This was in 1973 or 74, right after they dropped the speed limit to 55… That was a VERY VERY LONG DRIVE…..
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/vintage-reviews/vintage-road-track-report-the-55-mph-myth/
Needless to say the next time we went up to Minnesota, we FLEW. That trip was in 1977. I still remember the rental car… a cream colored Dodge Aspen or Plymouth Volare with the venerable slant six….
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classics-1976-plymouth-volare-and-dodge-aspen-from-an-a-to-an-f-chryslers-deadly-sin-1/
That was a really fun car to throw around on the dirt roads of rural Minnesota. Fun times for a 17 year old kid with a new drivers license! ;o)
My longest drive solo was from Dallas to Canon City, CO in my 95 Explorer, 800 miles of Panhandle plains and mountains. One of the reasons why I kept it so long was it was super comfy in the saddle in the front seats. Back seat was flat as a park bench though.
Next longest was 400 miles in my 77 Chevelle, coming back from Charlotte, NC. That cars bench seats are not the best in the world for big miles.
423 miles this past spring in the 1975 Oldsmobile 98 as its shakedown cruise from Manhattan to Charlotte, NC. And then from Charlotte to Wilmington, NC, and back up through the NC, VA, MD eastern shores to the city.
The speakers had not been fixed at the time which was pretty rough, did a lot of music from the phone and singing to pass the time. But those poofy velour couches sure are comfortable, and I never felt tired or cramped from driving. Today, with the speakers replaced, and a Redi-Rad device installed the hours would go by faster.
For me, the most comfortable vehicle I’ve rode in, I’ve also driven, was my parents’ 06 Subaru Outback.
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-Nate
Long time listener, first time caller. This post was too fun to resist commenting on.
936 Miles
Car: 1994 Ford Thunderbird LX 4.6L
Drive: Acworth, GA to Boyne Mountain, MI
Comments: Started snowing once we got to about Flint, snowed all the way to Boyne Mountain. T-Bird spun out on I75 into the median twice, got stuck trying to go uphill to Charlevoix, gave up and re-routed to Boyne Mountain. Great road car, perfect for long trips (as long as it is not snowing)!
726 Miles
Motorcycle: 1993 Yamaha TDM850
Ride: Key West, FL to Perry, GA
Comments: Long day! Stopped in Miami Beach to visit a friend.
As others have said, youth, energy, stupidity.
Nowadays, with the kids in the car, just under 700 miles is about the most any of us can handle.
My longest trip was in college – me and a buddy drove from Snyder County in PA (north of Harrisburg to San Antonio for spring break; 27 1/2 hours in a 95 Ford Thunderbird. it was a long trip.
1098 miles, Houston, TX to Bristol, VA in my 1979 Mark V, on the way to an LCOC meet in PA, back in June 2007. Left at 4:00 A.M., arrived at 11:00 P.M., with a one hour change to EDT…61 MPH door to door. Won the “Longest Distance Driven” award!
I did Cincinnati to Miami, FL in my ’82 308 GTSi and it was an amazingly comfortable ride the 17 hours there and 17 hours back. Would have never believed it until I did it.
Presently, I have to say I’m impressed with how good my ’06 Lotus Elise is on a long drive. Save for being a bit noisy (although it’s not as bad as some would have you believe), the Probax seats in the ’06 and forward Elise are pretty damn good. We’ve done 5-6 hour stints in the car and it’s not bad at all…even my wife will agree, which in and of itself is a miracle 😉
NYC to St. Louis in 22 hours in 1971. I’ll skip the back story. In hindsight it was a really bad idea. I was lucky not to doze off and crash. Near the end of the trip I picked up a hitchhiker and he took a turn at the wheel, but still.