Cruise control rules

Yikes, it's been over two weeks since my last post. I'm still getting a hang of this blogging thing, but I'll try to be better about updating on a regular basis from now on.

Today I'm writing about something I never cared about before except in the general sense of knowing I drive a car with good gas mileage: fuel efficiency. I've started to do several things to get better gas mileage, and it's actually worked.

First let me say that driving on I-15 in the Inland Empire is not the best place to test the benefits of driving 60 mph. I had my cruise control on and my speed set to 62 on Sunday driving out to Temecula to visit my sister. Granted, the speed limit is 70 so I was definitely at grandma speed, but I stayed in the far right lane and very happily didn't have to touch my brakes or accelerator the whole way from the 91 interchange to her exit, which is about 35 miles. I was amused by all the SUVs and trucks approaching me in waves and then speeding past, but the best moment was when a BMW passed me on the right, in the shoulder area that isn't even a lane. How big of a rush could you be in on a Sunday evening? (Wow, that was a "grandma moment") When I first started using cruise control a few weeks ago to maintain a consistent 60-65 mph on the freeway I was constantly looking out my rear view mirror because the cars coming up on me made me nervous. But now that I've realized that this does really save gas, as long as I'm in the slow lane, I figure whatever, let them zoom past me and waste their gas.

By the way, I finally had to fill up today (gasp, SIX days after my last fillup. That is AMAZING for me, since I usually have to fill up every four days) and the cheapest gas I found was $3.86 at an Arco. But instead of being angry at these weekly increases, I feel like I've found a way to beat the system: public transportation and cruise control! (Oh, and walking. I walked to the grocery store today. Although yes, I did later get in my car and drive to Huntington Beach, but it was for a bike maintenance class at REI, since I want to use my bike more. This is still SoCal after all, and cars still rule).