You motherfucker, you know what you did
Team BAGS
Brian: Weâre approaching Ruby Beach. Should we stop there for a while?
Gary: If we do, weâd get a chance to rest and take in the scenery.
Amy: We can keep up our pace if we just drive onâŚ
Stephanie: âŚbut believe me, continued long-distance driving without rest stops will eventually take its toll on us. So I suggest we stop this time.
Brian: Agreed, weâre going to stop there as soon as we arrive. Weâll need to make up some time thereafter, though, one way or another. And for good measure, during each rest stop, weâll inspect the car to see if anything is amiss.
#Team âSouthend or Bustâ
Original Post - Previous Post
The story so far: Three uni students in a clapped-out orange Merna touring the Pacific North West. Itâs been smooth running so far with Martin at the wheel, but for the first time, theyâve got an issueâŚ
âOh myâŚâ James said with excitement as they turned off the 101 and into the parking area for Ruby Beach. âThatâsâŚit. Thatâs really itâ. Heâd become like a child all of a sudden.
âHey, Iâm the Geography student here, Iâm the one whoâs supposed to get excited by oceansâ replied Seb in a mock-angry tone. âAnyhow, Martin, whatâs up?â
Martin was comparatively annoyed. âLights keep flickering whenever we brake. Itâs only minor at the moment, but it means either the alternator or the battery are about to go bustâ.
âShiteâ replied Seb.
âYeah, not good. Iâm gonna look under the hood, do you mind finding the service manual and seeing when the battery was last changed?â
âNo problems, shall d- Hang on, whereâs James?â
James was already running down the hill to the sea. Martin managed managed to catch a glimpse of him just as he disappeared around some bushes.
âI think heâs gone to see the seaâ said Martin.
âWell that solves that thenâ replied Seb, bringing out the service book and flicking through it.
James, meanwhile, had found the beach, and was quietly sitting by watching the sea. For all his typical laddish hardness, he had a soft spot for certain things, and one of them was beautiful parts of the world. This was no exception; not only had finally managed to see the Pacific properly, but heâd done it on an recluse, other-wordly beach, surrounded by pine trees and covered in dead trunks. A little way out to see, a large cut-off rock stood, surrounded by smaller stacks that had once been part of the mainland. He thought to himself, âif I were a film director, Iâd definitely use this place for somethingâ.
.
Back on the road, Southend Or Bust were no longer quite at the back, having overtaken some of the teams that had also stopped at Ruby Beach. The going was good, though Martin was keen to solve the battery/alternator problem.
âIâm still thinking its the battery, itâs 4 years old and it looks pretty tatty tooâ he said.
âYeah?â replied Seb âAnd we havenât got a spare on us have we?â
Martin chuckled. âNope!â
James was behind the wheel now, still smiling about that beach.
âGod, Jamesâ said Martin, âthat beach really made you happy didnât itâ
âIt did, Martin. It so didâ. Jamesâs thoughts returned to the beach.
âGod you guysâ exclaimed Martin. âFirst Seb meeting his mancrush and now James finding a beach. Itâs made you two so soppy!â
James and Seb looked at one another. âDonât get too jealousâ said Seb.
âOiâ replied Martin. âWell never you mind, I will have my soppy moment tooâ.
Silence in the car. James snickered. Martin did too. âThat sounded so wrongâ he said.
.
At last, they made it to the Columbia River estuary, and the border with Oregon.
âWoop woop!â shouted James as they climbed onto the Astoria-Megler Bridge.
âYeah!â returned Seb. âGood driving guys, I think weâre doing quite well for timeâ
âShit, are you actually checking?â said Martin.
âErâŚno?â said Seb. âEh, who caresâ.
The other two agreed.
As they continued over the bridge, Martin thought of something. âWait, wait, I recognise thisâ
âWhat, have you been here before?â asked James.
âNo, itâs umâŚâ
âWhat?â returned James.
âOooh! Itâs from a film, with Arnold Schwarzenegger in itâ said Martin excitedly, âOne of his funny onesâ
âI didnât know he was in any funny filmsâ said Seb. In fact heâd barely watched any Arnie films at all.
âOh god I know it, this place weâre coming up to is where itâs set, heâs an undercover police man and there are loads of little kidsâ
James looked aghast, slightly shocked. âWhat sort of film is this?â
âKINDEGARTEN COP!â Martin shouted, surprising the other two.
Silence.
âOkayâŚâ said James shortly after, slightly bemused.
team 1'); drop table participants; --
Introduction |  PreviouslyFriday, 6pm-8pm
Sitting in city traffic, driving through Port Angeles
Da Wei : Iâm glad they provided a GPS for us. Well a map too for the older folks if they prefer it. But we can see where the other participants are with this GPS. Which isâŚâŚ 30 miles+ ahead of us. how much ground have we gained up again?
Frank: The only thing I know is weâve lost about 45 minutes. We shouldnât have trusted in that damn battery from the start.
Da Wei : well. it is an old car. it might be that the alternator is on itâs limit and is going out soon. which, i hope doesnât happen on the road. iâll check it again when weâre at the next stop.
Frank: I wouldnât worry about that, we got a new alternator prior to the roadtrip. That should do. When do we finally get out of that town?
Da Wei : itâs a small-ish city. so weâll be stuck here for 30 mins at worse. maybe? so. among the few snacks that we brought, what did we brought?
Frank: Uh, bought some apples at where we started, and I brought some cookies. Leibniz, De Beukelaer, ⌠itâs in the box behind the driverâs seat.
Da Wei : iâll fetch the apple then. while itâs still fresh, you want some too?
Frank: Yea, give me one too. Helps against tiredness.
Da Wei reclined his seat trying to expand his armâs reach. fetching the bags of snacks, and taking out 2 vacuum sealed apples and then opening both of them before handing one to Frank.
Da Wei : here you go.
Frank: thanks. takes a bite of the apple as traffic starts rolling again
On a straight stretch of road somewhere past Lake Crescent. Frank is pulling past a pickup truck, the speedometer approaching 80 mph.
Da Wei : hey. i know weâre trying to catch up here. but doing 80 in this road is reckless. slow down. besides, the time we lose by slowing down, we make up for less time refuelling. plus iâm gonna take a nap now, so i can drive the next stint. so be reasonable. okay?
Frank: lifts off throttle, puts on a sarcastic undertone Right, forgot weâre in âmurica. The land of the V8 and the land of travelling at crawling speed. Guess weâre never gonna catch up. sigh
Da Wei : bitch all you want. catching up slowly is still better to me than never catching up at all because our car breaks down. now. iâm going to sleep
Frank: Okay, Iâll let you sleep for some hours. But some time in the evening we should do a driver change. Iâm getting tired as well. Plus, weâll need to refuel. Only got about one third a tank left.
Morale: +2 (+1 total)
Fatigue: +3 (+5 total)
Friday 4-6PM
Mr Hankey Rolls into the parking area at Ruby Beach.
Bill: This is really nice, Aunt Toni!
Toni: Itâs nice, sure, but Iâll take the Gold Coast anyday.
Bill: Really? Ooh, there! Thatâll make the best photo. Hold on.
Toni: We should probably grab a bite here somewhere. Then maybe a driver change.
Bill*: Agreed. And Iâll take the wheel. You jump in the back and have a rest. Fred can stay on the maps.
Toni: Fred?
Bill: (Gestures at Wookiee)
Toni: Why donât you two get along?
Bill: Donât have to. Besides, he messes with other people. Someone will eventually snap. Then, Iâll be forced to back him up, not an idea that I relish.
Beach wander and burgers down, they return to the patiently waiting V8 powered giant borrie.
Wookiee: My drive!
Bill: Fail! Iâm up.
Wookiee: Iâm still navigating then? Fine. Tomorrow, that wheels mine.
Bill: Weâll See.
And Iâd do it again! MUHAHAHAHAHA.
###On another note,
I think I failed to clarify something with regards to upcoming POI and next waypoint. These are informational, and not happening during the current data posting. a couple of you in this last round have posted that you are at or beyond Ruby Beach. Not a single car has gotten there yet (but very close for many). I put the POIs out so you can PM me if your team wants to stop/rest/gawk in the next round of data (because it affects many things like mileage, morale, and fatigue). The Waypoints I throw out for RP flavor, but you do not actually reach or interact with the waypoint until I state in your teamâs notes that youâve made it to there. With the teams starting to stagger significantly in mileage, this will become more apparent. Iâll PM the people Iâve spotted who are a little ahead in their RP.
While weâre on topics of upcoming stuff
Overnight rest. You can Google and specify a place youâd like your team to stay overnight (campground, hotel, etc.) if you wish and I will make sure to run your teamâs stats accordingly. If you donât PM me to specify something, I will assume the first night you camp at Fort Stevens State Park in northern Oregon.
I was getting a bit confused with everyone talking about getting to Ruby Beach and even crossing into Oregon already. I thought I was a lot further behind in my RP than I really am. I also hope to get some RP up soon as well, been busy and this has been progressing a bit faster than I expected overall.
Would hotels reduce fatigue more than if we overnighted in tents or our car?
Hotels: Biggest decrease in fatigue. Modest increase in Morale.
Campgrounds: Biggest increase in Morale. Modest decrease in fatigue.
Dispersed camping or sleeping in car: Lowest decrease in fatigue, no morale effect, shorter duration than other rests.
Hotels and Campgrounds are considered to have approximately the same duration (slower pace for breakfast but quicker checkout at hotel, quick breakfast but have to take time to break down camp for camping)
For teams that are resting overnight, I will make sure to mark any time periods when your team is asleep/resting and note your progress as 0 during those timeframes.
And for those wondering, high Fatigue levels will lead to Morale decreases as well as increase your chance of an accident.
Then my question is : At wich Fatigue Level someone is considered âSleepyâ
Fatigue related problems start at 10 points of fatigue (your teams all started with an undisclosed but identical amount of fatigue due to having been up for a few hours before the start)
I will be warning teams in notes when they start to feel fatigued.
Fatigue-based problems start to accelerate at 15 points.
Please bear with me; tonightâs data will be done a little later. I had something unexpected come up tonight.
Legend of Terms:
TBDC: Time Block Distance Covered. This is the amount of mileage covered during the current 2 hour period.
ODC: Overall Distance Covered. This is the total distance that the team has covered since Noon on Friday
MRL: Morale modifier
FTG: Fatigue Level
Notes: Any notes I have for your team during this time block. Including POI results, car issues, etc.
Friday, 6PM - 8PM
Weather Conditions: 61 degrees, mostly cloudy
All vehicles are on US101 South.
Upcoming POI (optional, let me know if you want to stop at them for rest/sightseeing): None.
Next Waypoint: Fort Stevens State Park, OR
VicVictory:
TBDC: 98 mi OD: 341 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA (near end of time block) Team is starting to feel tired.
@yurimacs
TBDC: 89 mi OD: 330 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +5 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA (near the end of time block) Team is feeling tired.
@Fayeding_Spray
TBDC: 92 mi OD: 341 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA (near the end of time block) Team is starting to feel tired.
@Madrias
TBDC: 60 mi OD: 306 mi MRL: +2 FTG: +0 Notes: Team has taken a 1 hour break at Ruby Beach to repair their intake system and rest. Repair: successful.
@BobLoblaw
TBDC: 101 mi OD: 336 mi MRL: +2 FTG: +2 Notes: Team has taken a 15 minute rest break at Ruby Beach
@CriticalSet9849
TBDC: 99 mi OD: 323 mi MRL: +0 FTG: +5 Notes: Stopped to refuel in Hoquiam, WA. Damn this car is uncomfortable.
@BailsMackenzie
TBDC: 101 mi OD: 230 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +3 Notes: None.
@Mikonp7
TBDC: 92 mi OD: 333 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Team is starting to feel tired.
@TheBobWiley
TBDC: 96 mi OD: 340 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@DeusExMackia
TBDC: 95 mi OD: 336 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@HighOctaneLove
TBDC: 94 mi OD: 339 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Fueled up in Hoquiam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@strop
TBDC: 102 mi OD: 350 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Stopped to refuel in Raymond, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@stm316
TBDC: 0 mi OD: 244 mi MRL: +2 FTG: +0 Notes: Team has elected to stop and car-camp for the night at Ruby Beach.
@JohnWaldock / @Sillyducky
TBDC: 93 mi OD: 336 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +5 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is feeling tired.
@abg7
TBDC: 92 mi OD: 240 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@rileybanks
TBDC: 100 mi OD: 345 mi MRL: +0 FTG: +6 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is feeling tired.
@koolkei / @FrankNSTein
TBDC: 102 mi OD: 313 mi MRL: +2 FTG: +3 Notes: Team stopped for fuel in Queets, WA.
@Rk38
TBDC: 99 mi OD: 340 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
@Nomade0013 / @ramthecowy
TBDC: 77 mi OD: 320 mi MRL: +2 FTG: +1 Notes: Team has spent a half hour resting and refueling at Amanda Park, WA. Team
@SkylineFTW97
TBDC: 88 mi OD: 327 mi MRL: +1 FTG: +4 Notes: Refueled in Hoquiam, WA. Team is starting to feel tired.
The following cars are within visual range or in a pack:
341 mi - Ardent, Bushell
340 mi - Bil, Maesima
336 mi - Erin, LPV
Team Greasy Lightning
(No RP from us this session, too tiredâŚ)
##Team Artiseros
It was probably in 7:30 PM that Ernie started to feel dozy that he felt the need to stop in the side of the road
Ernie (in his mind): Dammit i feel freaking tired, i probably should pull over to the side of the road.
And so Ernie did,after closing the convertible roof and pulled over to side and killed the engine
Ernie:Ahhhhh,Sweet Release
Ernie dozed off as he fall to sleep,with the others still sleeping
Stats:
Overall Fatigue: 10 points (its time to stop and prob sleep i guess)
Overall Morale : 6 points (nothing bad happening since it is silent)
Note: I will probably ask if the trio can sleep in the side of the road in the car if possible or allowed
In my last RP I stated that my team would stop at Ruby Beach but this was not reflected at all. So must I PM you to make my team stop at a point of interest?
Team Bamford
Phil had calmed down considerably now that they were at least 50 miles clear of his exâs town and he told the team of the adventure that was his girlfriend who tried to achieve eternal life by drinking his blood, which led to his miraculous escape from a hotel room in London and the subsequent foot chase with the police as he ran naked through the city.
The howls of laughter from the other 3 could have been heard for miles.
Once theyâd all calmed down and the sun had set, the frenzied chuffing of the inline 3 and road noise was all that could be heard.
Jason broke the silence âWe should come back this way, I want to see the sights around here when weâre not racing against timeâ
âWhat makes you say that?â asked Simon
âLook at the map, Long Beach and Centralia are within driving distance of each otherâ
Ken frowned âItâs the wrong Long Beachâ
âWhat?â
âYeah, thereâs two Long Beaches, I once flew out here with a Lola Formula 5000 car back in 1975 and found out that Iâd gone to the wrong place and missed being part of the first ever Long Beach GPâ
âAnd that isnât the Centralia with the mine fireâ added Simon
Jason sighed âWell, we saw a nice fort anyway, guess we donât have to come back hereâ
âTell you what Jasonâ said Ken after a few moments of silence âWe should come back here, weâll bring a real car though, something from my collectionâ
âWe brought a real carâ muttered Phil
âNo, I mean a real car, something with a big V8 and IRSâ
âWell Iâll bring this car back anywayâ he replied.
The conversation once again died and the team spent the remainder of the leg staring out of the windows at the passing lights.
#Team âSouthend or Bustâ
Original Post - Previous Post
The story so far: After managing to somehow travel into the future, our boys have snapped back to reality and are now where they actually are meant to be.
This is otherwise known as âIâm naive and thought were way further ahead in the journey than we actually wereâ
With the sun setting, the little Merna continued to saunter down the western edge of Washington state. James had wacked on the âEvening Drivingâ playlist and had set the mood perfectly.
âDammit James, this song is so perfect for this!â said Martin, still driving.
âHence why I chose itâ James replied, proudly. âHow tired are you feeling Seb?â
âYeah, Iâm starting to yawnâ he said, sitting in the back with the faint orange light catching the details in his face. âIâm assuming we want to stop fairly soon?â
âI certainly do, ha!â said Martin, âand the car will too, fuel gauge is almost in the redâ
.
With the Olympic mountains now behind them, the boys pulled into Hoquiam, a quite town with two bridges and a mini airport. Martin filled up the tank while Seb and James got dinner out of the boots.
âCheck these out! Pre-made pasta pots!â said James as though he were advertising them.
Seb paused. âWow James, those are greatâ he said sarcastically.
âWell excuse me, if youâre not in the mood for my great cooking, you can go buy your pack of e-numbers from the shopâ he returned.
âEh, trueâ
âMartin, do you want green pesto and cheese or spicy bolognese for dinner?â James called.
âErâ Martin said, placing the pump back in its place, âthe pesto pleaseâ
âGood choiceâ James said to himself.
.
The boys sat in the car and ate, reflecting on the day. âIâd say weâve done very well so farâ said Seb, âeven if we have no idea about pacing and what notâ
âDoes that really matter though?â said Martin âItâs the taking part, rememberâ
Seb chuckled. âAnd Iâm driving tomorrow I guess?â
âYoouuu bet you are!â said Martin.
âGood stuff. Nice pasta by the way Jamesâ
âThanksâ James said, stuffing in another mouthful. âAnd what about tonight? Iâd like to find a hotel or even motel if we canâ
âMmmmâ Martin thought, âI say we keep going for a bit and see if we can spot what any other teams doing. I know the Maesima and that Ardent arenât too far ahead of us, or werenât too far ahead of usâ
âGood shoutâ said James. âSo, hotel if we can find one, camping if we canâtâ
âYeahâ Martin said uneasily. He hated camping.
Iâll RP to catch up in a bit. Things do happen. There will be an incident when the car stops to refuel, because getting Kai to stop driving when heâs in endurance driving mode will probably be like prying the wheel out of his cold dead hands, but no way Strop is sleeping in the same car that Kai has been driving for 6 hours straight.
My apologies, yes⌠please PM when you want to make a POI stop or if you want to specify an overnight place that is not the default. I probably read it but forgot to mark it down.
@yurimacs - sleeping on the side of the highway isnât allowed (state patrol would make you move), but the default overnight point for the night (Fort Stevens State Park) has a campground, and you could sleep in-car there. Youâre easily close enough to get there in the next time segment.
team 1'); drop table participants; --
Introduction |  PreviouslyFriday, 6pm-8pm
Arriving at Queets Trading Post, WA. Da Wei is still dozing.
Frank: Wake up, man. Weâll take a short break, then youâre driving for the rest of the day.
Da Wei : oh damn weâre at the fuel station already? i meant to wake up before we got into the town
Frank: Weâre in Queets. Youâve slept for a bit over an hour. looks around This place couldnât fit better into the scenery.
Da Wei: right. you get gas. and iâll get some photos. hahaha. just kidding. iâll fetch us some snack and drink. and i may take a bit since iâm also gonna take a few photos. so if youâre done refueling just take a rest in the car. i still need to check the electrical systems too anyway.
Frank: Alright. I also need to stretch my legs for a bit. Concerning the electrics, didnât have problems so far but you can never be sure.
Da Wei went to some high places to takes some nightly pictures for a while and then went inside the trading post. meanwhile frank could be seen doing some warm up moves to stretch his body under the gas station lights. about 5 minutes later Da Wei comes back to the car to find that Frank is playing some games on his phone sitting down in front of the gas station store
Da Wei : Here you go. i had mine first to i can take a look at the car
After putting the food to the side of Frank, Da Wei walked back to the car and opened the hood to inspect the alternator and other electronics. He can bee seen walking a few times between the front of the car and getting something from the trunk, and Frank lazily eating his food due to being tired.
Da Wei : hey frank. you ready yet?
Frank: We can go if youâre ready. Iâll finish eating that sandwich in the car.
A few miles south
Frank: Have you thought of where weâre going to sleep yet? Iâve heard most of the teams will stay at Fort Stevens Camping Ground.
Da Wei : hmm. if we also go there, at what time do you think we would get there?
Frank: Types some stuff into his already opened laptop About 3 hours from now. So 10pm-ish, if we donât need to stop somewhere for long.
Da Wei : yeah weâll sleep there, and get up at say, 5am or 6am?
Frank: 5am sounds good to me. So we can have some breakfast, take down our tents and get on the move again. I finally want to pass some of the other teams.
Da Wei : okay then. you just relax for now.
Morale: +2 (+3 total)
Fatigue: +3 (+8 total)
Team DMV Speed Stars
After setting out following the driverâs meeting, the team figured they would try to cannonball as much as they could. However, after many miles of hard driving and clunky gearshifts, Felix grows ever lethargic and fed up of his friends mocking his shifting. He gets up to 5th gear as quickly as possible to put this out of mind and blasts rock music to distract Dennis. Ethan is alternating between monitoring their route and playing flash games to pass the time over his laptop.
Ethan: Just keep on this road and weâll be good.
Felix: yawns K. turns music up
Ethan: Too bad we couldnât bring a coffee maker.
Dennis is drifting in and out of sleep in the front passenger seat.
Dennis: wakes up Whenâs the next stop?
Ethan: The nearest stop is just a few miles ahead. We can crash there. Then someone else can take the wheel if need be.
Felix: Yeah, Iâll hit the next rest area we pass. Iâve had to pee for the past 30 miles anyway.
Ethan: So we rest up today and get back on the road after a quick inspection.
Dennis: Iâll take over the next shift if Felix isnât up for it.
Felix: I should also call home and say how weâre doing. My sisters bursted out laughing when they saw it first pull up.
Dennis: Maybe if you didnât keep grinding gearsâŚ
Felix: Hey, you messed up in front of them too.
Dennis: Yeah, but youâre the only one of us who drives stick on a daily basis. Way more embarrassing from you.
Felix: The clutch is kinda bad, remember?
Dennis: Oh yeah. Still thinking of how Iâm gonna spend the $50.
Felix: Your SUV will go through it in one fill up.
Dennis: So will your âspeed machineâ.
Ethan: Dennis, your Highlander averages 19.83 MPG. Felix, your CC averages 23.7. Face it, the only one of our cars with good fuel economy is my Prius.
Dennis: Yeah, but the downside is youâre driving a Prius. Easily one of the least cool cars ever made. How do you expect to draw positive attention in that thing?
Ethan: Iâd like to point out that Iâm the only one of us who has a girlfriend. Who by the way, said my car is cute.
Felix: Thatâs cause itâs tiny.
Ethan: And cheap to run. And remind us Felix, how much did your new throttle body alone cost?
Felix: Youâre a dick.
Ethan: Doesnât change that Iâm right.
Dennis: If your loverâs quarrel is about done, the exitâs coming up.
Felix: Well shit.
He merges onto the entrance for the stop.
Team Twin-Snail
Luke cruised along at slightly-above highway speed, the headlights of the Minerva glowing brightly in the approaching dusk, the engine purring along as they cannon-balled toward Ruby Beach, running fine as they werenât asking it to accelerate too much. The radio was playing some classical music (Lukeâs choice) as they headed down the highway.
Eventually, Luke signaled their retreat from the highway and over to Ruby Beach, where they parked up and set about doing what needed to be done. Which, for Linda, Amy, and Scott, was to go walk off seven-stinking-hours in the car before getting around to lounging on the beach. It was a bit on the cool side to swim, so they settled for basic relaxation.
Which left Luke with his form of relaxation, which was to be busy doing something, and in this case, that was repairing the air problem the car had. He unlocked the trunk, left it open, and grabbed the box of gaskets, the spray can of electronics cleaner, and a few clean shop rags as he moved toward the front of the car. He set his supplies on the roof, pulled the hood release for the car, then walked to the front of the old Minerva.
âWhoever designed this hood should be shot.â Luke grumbled, lifting it up three inches, sliding it toward him, then leveraging it upward in a style similar to an old SAAB. âOverly complicated, and it doesnât make working on this backwards engine any easier.â Luke walked back to the trunk, grabbed his wrench kit and more shop rags, then got to work removing the throttle bodies from the left and right intake manifolds, followed by dismounting the MAF sensors for cleaning. It took Luke the better part of 30 minutes to clean everything, replace the gaskets, and swap the air filters, but eventually, he had it done. He closed the hood, put his supplies back in the car, then took a good look at the scenery.
âViews like this one are definitely worth the extra time. We can make up for this, Iâm sure of that. And I think, definitely, that weâll camp at Fort Stevens State Park once we get there.â Luke said.
âCamping sounds like fun.â Scott said. âAnd weâve got tents.â
âAnd I brought my grill, and some charcoal.â Amy said.
âYeah, but we donât have any matches.â Linda replied.
âTrue, but this time, I brought a little something extra. Iâve got an oxy-propane torch, a soldering iron, a small-ish portable laser, and a couple of those cheap gas-station stick lighters.â Luke said.
âWait a frickinâ minute, Luke. You brought a laser?â Amy asked.
âWell, I can use it to make parts fit that otherwise wouldnât. Or weld things together, because I brought some filler rods.â Luke replied.
Amy rolled her eyes. âOf course, we all pack light and Luke brings a frickinâ laser along.â
âWell, it was either that, or one oxygen cylinder, one acetylene cylinder, and all the other assorted crap that goes along with setting up an oxy-acetylene welding/cutting torch.â
âFair enough, if thatâs your reasoning for doing that.â
They got back in the car, feeling⌠maybe not the most rested, but feeling better for not having been in the car for another hour.
âSo, whatâs the plan, Luke?â Linda asked.
âShakedown. Make sure our repairâs solved this problem. And before we head out, we should probably close that trunk lid.â Luke said, before getting out and closing it. âAfter all, weâre in for misery if the tents blow away.â
With their total 60 minutes of rest depleted, they headed back to the highway for the last half hour of that stage.
Aftermath:
Car: Throttle bodies cleaned, MAF sensors cleaned, throttle body gaskets replaced, new air filters fitted.
Team: Feeling bold. Time for a shakedown run.
MRL: +7 overall (+2)
FTG: +5 overall (No Change)
Mileage: 60 trip, 306 overall