There is a challenge to getting my Smart car, Gopher, to Greensboro. On a warm (above 60F) day, my best range will be about 75 miles, and Greensboro is just over 80 miles away from my home. This is where Plugshare's trip planner comes in handy. Using it, I was able to find charging locations along the way. However, I had a better idea to allow for destination only charging: I'll stay over night with friends in Hillsborough! My spouse, John, was going to drive our BMW i3 to this event and not his Zero SR Motorcycle due to concerns about cold and possibly rainy weather. After a full charge, John and I departed to Durham, NC to have dinner with a our friend who was passing through.
When we got to Tyler's Taproom in downtown Durham, we pulled into the parking deck where they have four car charging stations available. Two of the spaces were in use, by a Volt and the brand-new Hyundai Ioniq electric! I had to take lots of pictures, because this is a car that truly excites me! It will come in three drivetrains: Electric, Plug-in Hybrid, and conventional Hybrid. John was critiquing "why an electric car needs a transmission tunnel" when I mentioned the other two gas-utilizing variants. This car has dethroned the BMW i3 as the top selling electric car in Norway! Electric cars represent 36% of new car purchases in that country, so to take #1 so quickly is a pretty good indicator of how well refined it is.
Well, this encounter inspired me about the remainder of my trip. After a lovely dinner, our buddy ran John home so I could continue towards Greensboro by way of Hillsborough. There wasn't much to it, because my friends home is about the same distance to Tyler's as my house was. I got there and plugged in for the night, and began to indoctrinate my hosts with the AMC TV series HUMANS. It was a great way to end the work week: spending hours at a time with friends. The next morning I woke up and headed into Greensboro via I-40. I left around 6am so that I'd have ample time to recharge before the Odyssey setup started at 10am. It was cool, below 50F, and my battery heater was running. I made it to Havana Phil's a little after 7 with 16% power remaining, and light rain.
I have to really chat up Havana Phil's. First, the owner is a very passionate man who has revived a famous downtown restaurant building into a chic gentleman's lounge. Plus, their charger is open to the public without restriction in a reserved parking space 24 hours a day 7 days a week. John loves cigars, so this was the perfect stop-over before we headed back to Raleigh later in the day. I was truly thankful that they allow their charger to operate at all-hours, because I got around 83% charged before I needed to leave. Their location was a short walk to a Hardee's, though I had to wait for the rain to stop before I ventured out. Havana Phil's has one of only three public chargers in the Greensboro area, compared to Raleigh's 15.
The event was a lot of fun. I met a number of organizations and individuals who were active with or curious about electric vehicles. The new Zero Motorcycle dealer came with a 2017 model Zero SR. Tesla was well represented with two Roadsters, two Model S, and one Model X. A Th!nk City car camped out between me and my BMW i3, there were two conversion vehicles - a Suzuki Samurai and a Chevy Truck. There was an off-grid Solar powered Tiny House, a solar powered race car, and even the new Segway personal transporter was being exhibited. It was a very fun event, and great to meet the Triad Electric Auto Association. This link has all the photos I took over the weekend.
After the event was over, we packed up and headed back to Havana Phil's. This is where we got the chance to meet Phil, who was very intrigued with the electric Smart car. We hung out for about an hour and a half - long enough to top off my car - and then we headed to Historic Hillsborough once again for dinner. This was a strategic stop, knowing I might need a little top off to comfortably make it home. The weather was perfect for a convertible! 70F and a tailwind! I arrived in downtown Hillsborough with about 20% state of charge. I am very thankful that Orange County NC has invested in 4 public chargers in the parking deck next to the Library in the heart of downtown. One of their chargers was broken, and has been for over a year. However I was able to get one of the other three spots to plug in. We had dinner, and then I let my friend Nate (who rode up with John in the BMW i3) drive my little car home. Once again, strategy, he's less than half my weight and we only had 30% state of charge, 34 miles to go, rain and falling temperatures. Falling temperatures means battery heater, which means reduced range. But we made it home without fail, we had about 7% when we got home and plugged it in. Nate now wants to own one, he thinks it's the coolest little car in the world.
Well, this encounter inspired me about the remainder of my trip. After a lovely dinner, our buddy ran John home so I could continue towards Greensboro by way of Hillsborough. There wasn't much to it, because my friends home is about the same distance to Tyler's as my house was. I got there and plugged in for the night, and began to indoctrinate my hosts with the AMC TV series HUMANS. It was a great way to end the work week: spending hours at a time with friends. The next morning I woke up and headed into Greensboro via I-40. I left around 6am so that I'd have ample time to recharge before the Odyssey setup started at 10am. It was cool, below 50F, and my battery heater was running. I made it to Havana Phil's a little after 7 with 16% power remaining, and light rain.
The event was a lot of fun. I met a number of organizations and individuals who were active with or curious about electric vehicles. The new Zero Motorcycle dealer came with a 2017 model Zero SR. Tesla was well represented with two Roadsters, two Model S, and one Model X. A Th!nk City car camped out between me and my BMW i3, there were two conversion vehicles - a Suzuki Samurai and a Chevy Truck. There was an off-grid Solar powered Tiny House, a solar powered race car, and even the new Segway personal transporter was being exhibited. It was a very fun event, and great to meet the Triad Electric Auto Association. This link has all the photos I took over the weekend.
After the event was over, we packed up and headed back to Havana Phil's. This is where we got the chance to meet Phil, who was very intrigued with the electric Smart car. We hung out for about an hour and a half - long enough to top off my car - and then we headed to Historic Hillsborough once again for dinner. This was a strategic stop, knowing I might need a little top off to comfortably make it home. The weather was perfect for a convertible! 70F and a tailwind! I arrived in downtown Hillsborough with about 20% state of charge. I am very thankful that Orange County NC has invested in 4 public chargers in the parking deck next to the Library in the heart of downtown. One of their chargers was broken, and has been for over a year. However I was able to get one of the other three spots to plug in. We had dinner, and then I let my friend Nate (who rode up with John in the BMW i3) drive my little car home. Once again, strategy, he's less than half my weight and we only had 30% state of charge, 34 miles to go, rain and falling temperatures. Falling temperatures means battery heater, which means reduced range. But we made it home without fail, we had about 7% when we got home and plugged it in. Nate now wants to own one, he thinks it's the coolest little car in the world.
