USA Road Trip R66 etc

[djc206]

There’s another thread running for sims.

Airalo esim is the answer. I can use data free of charge in the US with my U.K. sim but by god do they throttle the speed, I paid about a tenner on my recent road trip for 30 days/10GB through Airalo and got excellent 5G the whole way across the US.

[mattyn1]

Another Q that’s probably right in the weeds but one that will bother me as I don’t know.

We have planned a bit of a route that includes some but few toll roads….. how do we handle those in a car from Hertz? Is it simply a case of stopping at the booth and chucking a few dollars into the bucket or a cc swipe?

[mattyn1]

A minor yet very significant update - my entry to get on the Pike's Peak road has been booked. Two hour time window for entry, three in the car, $30.

Now I am really excited!!

[RDMcG]

mattyn1 said:

A minor yet very significant update - my entry to get on the Pike's Peak road has been booked. Two hour time window for entry, three in the car, $30.

Now I am really excited!!

Just remember it is strictly speed limited and they do have checks there...beautiful drive. Also, if you have a beer at the peak it is going to affect you more. since its 14,000 ft.,

[mattyn1]

RDMcG said:

mattyn1 said:

A minor yet very significant update - my entry to get on the Pike's Peak road has been booked. Two hour time window for entry, three in the car, $30.

Now I am really excited!!

Just remember it is strictly speed limited and they do have checks there...beautiful drive. Also, if you have a beer at the peak it is going to affect you more. since its 14,000 ft.,

[gotoPzero]

RDMcG said:

mattyn1 said:

A minor yet very significant update - my entry to get on the Pike's Peak road has been booked. Two hour time window for entry, three in the car, $30.

Now I am really excited!!

Just remember it is strictly speed limited and they do have checks there...beautiful drive. Also, if you have a beer at the peak it is going to affect you more. since its 14,000 ft.,

Yeah dont under estimate altitude once you are over 10,000ft it can actually make you feel pretty crappy pretty quickly.

If you feel anyway unwell turn round and go lower.

[mattyn1]

8 weeks to go! So excited!!

[K50 DEL]

RDMcG said:

mattyn1 said:

A minor yet very significant update - my entry to get on the Pike's Peak road has been booked. Two hour time window for entry, three in the car, $30.

Now I am really excited!!

Just remember it is strictly speed limited and they do have checks there...beautiful drive. Also, if you have a beer at the peak it is going to affect you more. since its 14,000 ft.,

I had no issues with the speed checks but completely failed the brake temperature checks on the way down!
Had to park for 20 minutes (not all bad though as JLR were doing some new RR model testing there, they weren't too impressed when I clocked them and grabbed some pics!

[Voodoo Blue]

Sorry, I forgot about this thread.

We've just come back from doing R66 and posted some observations here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Happy to answer any questions you might have either here or there.

[irc]

Truckosaurus said:

On the subject of hotels, does anyone still 'make it up as you go along' and just book a hotel on the day?

On the first couple of trips to the USA I made in the early '00s we would pick up a booklet from a gas station that listed all the hotels and motels in the region and had money off coupons etc. You'd just turn up a buy the rooms from reception rather than have everything pre-booked.

I assume the internet has killed off such things.

IME just walking in can result in significantly higher prices than via Booking com an hour earlier.

[mattyn1]

irc said:

IME just walking in can result in significantly higher prices than via Booking com an hour earlier.

Mine are all booked through Booking/Expedia or direct with the hotel. Most are cancellable if we shift the plans, but we felt we needed a number of fixed to keep us on track for the flight home!!

[irc]

Another wee niggle. Last year I found a few motels were wanting deposits. Around $100. You can pay them by card but they are not always back on the card immediately. I found some places take the deposit as cash. So you get it back on checkout. Easier than keeping track of several deposits to make sure they get returned to your card.

I don't understand the point of taking a cash deposit then just handing it back the next morning before the room is checked but it happens.

Thread on deposits here .....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[mattyn1]

I read that thread back when it was posted. As most of my bookings are with Booking.com or Expedia, Am hoping that the deposits are as advertised on the listing!

Can you have the hold out on another card to the one you pay for the room with?

[irc]

Don't see why not. In one place I paid by card for the room and cash for the deposit.

[mattyn1]

Only a couple of days to go! With luck the airports will be back to normal in a day or so and we will be able to jet off without too much hassle!

Wondering if fast track security is worthwhile …

Will update here when I can, but a blog here if anyone interested!

https://free-5271836.webadorsite.com/

[Essarell]

mattyn1 said:

Only a couple of days to go! With luck the airports will be back to normal in a day or so and we will be able to jet off without too much hassle!

Wondering if fast track security is worthwhile …

Will update here when I can, but a blog here if anyone interested!

https://free-5271836.webadorsite.com/

Have a great trip we head off to Alaska soon to get that 50th state ticked off the list…..and immerse ourselves in culture etc

[RDMcG]

Have fun!!! I do a lot of road trips myself-unforgettable experience

[Voodoo Blue]

mattyn1 said:

Only a couple of days to go! With luck the airports will be back to normal in a day or so and we will be able to jet off without too much hassle!

Wondering if fast track security is worthwhile …

Will update here when I can, but a blog here if anyone interested!

https://free-5271836.webadorsite.com/

Have a great trip. One more thing I forgot to mention is the Gemini Giant in Wilmington is no longer there as it's been taken away for refurbishment so don't waste time looking for it. When it returns it will likely be in a different location on the other side of town.

[mattyn1]

Essarell said:

Have a great trip we head off to Alaska soon to get that 50th state ticked off the list…..and immerse ourselves in culture etc

Thank you. This seems to have taken ages to get here! If this goes well, on my bucket list will be do drive the full West Coast (especially as it is likely we will miss part of the PCH this time due to the mudslide) either N-S or S-N. A pal of mine did some of the the Canadian west coast last year and loved it.

RDMcG said:

Have fun!!! I do a lot of road trips myself-unforgettable experience

Thank you. I know you do - I have read through them many times!!

Voodoo Blue said:

Have a great trip. One more thing I forgot to mention is the Gemini Giant in Wilmington is no longer there as it's been taken away for refurbishment so don't waste time looking for it. When it returns it will likely be in a different location on the other side of town.

Noted thank you. I will forget this though, and curse a bit when I realise you told me

[DodgyGeezer]

mattyn1 said:

Will update here when I can, but a blog here if anyone interested!

https://free-5271836.webadorsite.com/

Excellent!!