October 6, 2009

Who would drive a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Honda Civic to a sustainability fair in Menomonie, Wisconsin in the morning, continue to Ladysmith to present at the Northwestern Wisconsin Sustainability Fair, and then return to La Crosse—driving over 320 miles on less than eight gallons of gas equivalent (gge)? The Hybrid Guru recently took the challenge!

Getting over forty miles per gallon is not what everyone gets in their 2006 Honda Civic; and to make the challenge even greater, there is no public commercial natural gas refueling anywhere in the region that I drove on Saturday, July 25th. But it is this kind of “stunt” driving that gives me hope that other drivers will realize that if they simply install a home refueling appliance like PHILL, they will be able to drive the vast majority of their annual miles using compressed natural gas. This kind of “stunt” driving is also an attempt to encourage individual and commercial consumers to request public commercial natural gas refueling in their area.

Stop 1: Menomonie, Sustainability Fair
My drive to Menomonie started at 7 a.m. with a beautiful drive up Hwy. 61 to Winona, MN. I crossed the Mississippi River and continued my sunny journey along the Great River Road of Hwy 35 through scenic river towns to Nelson. I headed north on Hwy. 25 past the Caddie Woodlawn Historic Park. The beauty and rich history of this region is often lost on the traveler that is focusing on passing the next vehicle or concerned that the local law enforcement officer will disagree with speeding. I thoroughly enjoyed my drive to Wilson Park in Downtown Menomonie —and it was only the first 99 miles of my day!

The presentation was complicated by my desire to show the video, “Journey to the ZONE.” “ZONE,” in this case, stands for Zero Oil, No Emissions. It took me ten minutes to get completely set up and since the video is fourteen minutes, I was left with only six minutes for a question and answer period. The questions were excellent but it was clear that I did not leave enough time for Q&A, so I decided to tear down the display and have lunch at the fair, which would allow time for Q&A near the car afterwards. The second Q&A session was smaller, but more intense. I like the attitude of the people that make the commitment to attend and enjoy their Sustainability Fair. (Thank you to all the interested parties from Menomonie!)

Stop 2: Ladysmith, Northwestern Wisconsin Sustainability Fair
Next my drive took me East on Hwy. 12, under I-94. While I was enjoying the Classic Rock station in Menomonie I had the privilege of hearing our marketing efforts on their station twice on the way to Ladysmith and twice on my way to La Crosse. I have travelled all over Wisconsin with my alternative fuel vehicle message but have never had the opportunity to drive Hwy. 40—and it was worth the trip. As I took the short jaunt east along Hwy. 8, I reached 180 miles on the trip odometer with one bar less than half a tank. But, I knew that I would have no problem taking a direct route home.

Arriving in Ladysmith two hours before my presentation allowed me to get into the flow of the vendors and workshops before I took the stage. Because of the rain, the group started small, but slowly grew into a larger one. The Q&A session was a thirty minute slug-fest with challenging and informed participants. Afterwards, I got a chance to meet more vendors and develop additional guests for the Thinking Green News Moment tapings in Eau Claire.

Stop 3: La Crosse, Home!
I took a moment to stretch out from my dual drives and presentations before climbing back into the car that houses the cleanest internal combustion engine tested by the EPA. The trip home included more scenic driving at or slightly under the maximum speed limit and it was a wonderful finish to the day’s accomplishments. The low fuel light did come on ten miles from home but I have driven the car fifty miles with it on so I wasn’t concerned—I just celebrated another challenge met.

I finished the day watching the rerun of the Tour de France with Lance Armstrong securing a podium finish on Mont Ventoux. As I look back on the day, I must confess that I feel a sense of accomplishment that has been difficult to secure since gas prices have fallen to a point where too many consumers are forgetting our medium- and long-range challenges. So, I celebrated with a good beer and a good night’s sleep.

-Chris Schneider, Hybrid Guru