Driving update for January 2020: Pearl passes 50,000 miles

I told my readers to "stay tuned for a driving update" at the end of Meyers and Noah take closer looks at Bolton book and Parnas tape, the plot twists of Episode 4, Season 4 of 'The Worst Wing'.  That's because Pearl passed 50,000 miles on Monday, January 27, 2020.  That means it's been exactly 13 weeks or a full quarter of a year (91 days) since Pearl passed 49,000 miles on Monday, October 28.  That translates to averages of 10.99 miles per day, 335.16 miles per standard month, and 4010.99 miles per year.  That's a lot less than the averages of 18.52 miles per day, 564.81 miles per standard month, and 6759.26 miles per year I drove Pearl between September 16 and October 28, 2019.  In fact, it's the least I've driven my car since January 2015, right after my wife and I moved into our house.  Five years ago, I drove my previous vehicle Ruby an average of 9.90 miles/day, 301.95 miles/month, and 3613.5 miles per year between September 2014 and January 2015.

I never thought I'd drive so few miles again in my new, car-dependent neighborhood, but here I am.  I'm crediting it to having my car out of commission for two weeks because of a dead battery, which might show up when I next report on Snow Bear this summer, and then having a four week break between semesters were two reasons that won't likely repeat while I'm driving Pearl.  Otherwise, I might have driven her closer to 13.33 miles per day, 406.67 miles per standard month, and 4866.7 miles per year, like I did during the comparable period last year.  That's still low.

As for my real annual average mileage, I have to go back to December 21, 2018, when Pearl passed 44,000 miles, for the best comparison.  That was 403 days before her odometer rolled over 50,000 miles, which converts to averages of 14.89 miles per day, 454.09 miles per standard month, and 5434.24 miles per year.  That's less than the averages of 16.22 miles per day, 494.59 miles per month, and 5918.92 miles per year I had driven her between October 2018 and October 2019.  I did surprisingly well at keeping my driving down, well below my original goal of 6,500 miles per year I set two years ago.  I'm sure I'll drive more between now and early April, when I expect to post my next driving update, although I will probably still be driving less than 6,000 miles per year.  I would be pleased if that ends up being the case.

Enough of this driving update that is only a driving update, something I haven't done in years.  I'm sure I'll return to "The Worst Wing" tomorrow, unless an even shinier object catches my eye first.  Yeah, right.