wayne, i feel your pain, at least as far as the high wind goes. we had 40MPH winds almost all day on wednesday. they were at my right rear quarter panel all the way to work, and that was great. all day long i watched out the window, and they did not let up. i was not going to catch a break on the way home. it was like driving a cork.

i don't think i could do your commute to work for anything. the traffic sounds insane. i was born in the chicago area, and have been there several times in the past 10 years or so on an overnight during a vacation, but i took amtrak and didn't have to deal with the crazy freeways.

i am very lucky in that my 40 miles to work means a 40 minute drive, unless it's snowing heavily. i have my 2 miles of dirt to get to the 4 lane, there are 2 stoplights, one in each small town i go through, and then i work at the edge of town when i get there. hop off the highway, turn the corner and i am there. today, since it's a holiday, there was hardly any traffic.

the best part is that all summer was spent resurfacing about 30 miles of the drive, nice SMOOTH asphalt, great for the FE. and this is not like driving a city 4 lane, with bumper to bumper. as a matter of fact, i frequently see the same vehicles on a daily basis since the traffic is light enough until right before town.

the worst part is friday night during hunting season. i take the backroads.

Best fill 66.7 MPG, best tank 801.5 miles


laurie, central minnesota