September 2017 Driving update: Pearl

I set myself a challenge at the end of Driving update: two years of Pearl as Tesla begins deliveries of Model 3 today.

As for the next update, to roll over 36,000 miles on Pearl on September 21st, a year to the day after the car passed 29,000 miles, might be a challenge, as I'm working three more weeks during August than I worked last year.  I'd have to walk more and run my errands on the way home from work more to keep my driving down enough to make that happen.  Here's to hoping I succeed.

I should be careful what I wish for, as I might get it.  Pearl turned over 36,000 miles yesterday, September 26th, exactly five days later than the anniversary of her passing 29,000 miles.  How did I manage that?  I was in the hospital for five days.  Without that experience, I would likely have driven exactly 7,000 miles a year as I have been doing all year long.  I didn't need to wish for anything to decrease my driving to meet my goal, but I got it anyway.

My illness dropped my annual mileage from exactly 7,000 miles per year to 6905.4 miles per year.  Hey, I didn't drive 95 miles because I was sick!  Actually, that's about right.  7,000 miles divided by 52 weeks equals 134.6 miles per week.  Divided by seven days per week gives 19.2 miles per day.  Multiplied by five days yields 96.2 miles.  Both my health and the planet's improved by my being hospitalized -- that is, if I don't count whatever carbon footprint resulted from my being in the hospital instead of home.  Some other time.

As for my monthly mileage, it took 61 days from July 27 to September 26 to drive 1,000 miles, which is an average of 16.39 miles per day and exactly 500 miles per standard month.  That's six days longer than the 55 days it took to drive 1,000 miles, or 18.18 miles per day and 554.55 miles per standard month during June and July this year.  I drove 1.79 miles per day and 54.55 miles per month less than I did during the first half of the summer.

Last year between July and September, I drove 17.54 miles per day and 535.1 (535.09) miles per standard month, which means I drove 1.15 miles per day and 35.1 miles per month less this year than during the comparable period last year.  Yeah, I'm still driving less by whatever measure I'm taking, but not because of anything I did voluntarily.

As for the next driving anniversary, that would be November 9th.  I'm fairly confident that Pearl will pass 37,000 miles weeks later than that, as I drove a lot last October and November for the election.  There is no election this year, so no driving around dropping off lawn signs.  That means I should be driving closer to 6.500 miles per year than 7,000 miles per year at the next driving update and it won't be because I was sick -- I hope.