RTBRD
Sep 6, 2002, 02:25 PM
Well we just got back from our trip out west and all I can say about the Bird is that it does what it was designed to do, carry people on the road in style and comfort.
As you can see by the subject line, we covered a lot of ground in a fairly short time. Had the car not been as comfortable as it was I think the wife and I would both be headless right now.
In the first two days we covered 1600 miles and at the end of the day neither of us were exhausted or sick of sitting in a car.
We were going to try and do the Thunder trip but because of some personal matters we were not able to leave as planned so we rerouted the trip dropping the Thunder route. As it turns out, we actually met up with them in Albuquerque. We arrived at the hotel at 6PM and the group was getting ready to go to dinner at 6:30, so we did not have much time to mingle. Didn't get back to the hotel until about 11PM, so we were both ready to hit the sack and did not again have time to mingle. I did get to meet Lon, FDCaptain and Tony Poole. Was hoping to meet Dot and George but they left the group the previous day.
We toured Carlsbad, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Rocky Mountain National Parks. There were several times that people stopped and took pictures of the Bird and on one occasion two gentlemen from England touring on Harleys pulled the bikes up next to the car and had us take a picture of them. Don't have many new Birds in merry old England.
We saw a total of 10 Birds during the trip (not counting the Thunder group). Unfortunately we did not get to speak with any of the owners as most were going the opposite direction as us. However we did see a blue Bird in the parking lot at Crazy Horse and waited around for a while but the owners did not show. Was that any of you out there? On the way out of South Dakota we saw two Birds headed to what must have been a show and shine in Pringle, SD, population 59. Imagine, two Birds in such a sparsely populated area. Actually, SD is where we saw the most Birds in any one state.
Packing took some ingenuity but thanks to the wife we were able to get every thing that was needed in the car. And thanks for the soft boot. I was able to fold it flat and lay it on top of the clothes. Most times I had to really push the trunk lid to get it to close but it worked. We packed enough clothes in soft sided luggage for a week and did laundry twice on the trip. There is a surprizing amount of room in the cockpit. There is room behind the seats, on the floor, for small items and quite a bit of room on the floor in front of and below the seats. The door handles on the inside were good for holding film and a small disposable camera. Rubber Maid makes a small cooler that fits nicely between the seats on the rear shelf leaving room on either side for things like cameras, binoculars, a back pack and sweat shirts (which were needed in the northern mountains with the top down).
Even though I will probably be scolded, when on the highway doing between 75 and 85 we found it was better to drive with the windows up. Normally I would never think of doing this but after 6 to 8 hours of being buffetted by the wind, it makes a big difference.
So if you all are thinking about taking a long trip in the Bird do not hesitate, you will find it comfortable and quite enjoyable and at the end you will have an even better impression and higher respect for the design of this vehicle.
As you can see by the subject line, we covered a lot of ground in a fairly short time. Had the car not been as comfortable as it was I think the wife and I would both be headless right now.
In the first two days we covered 1600 miles and at the end of the day neither of us were exhausted or sick of sitting in a car.
We were going to try and do the Thunder trip but because of some personal matters we were not able to leave as planned so we rerouted the trip dropping the Thunder route. As it turns out, we actually met up with them in Albuquerque. We arrived at the hotel at 6PM and the group was getting ready to go to dinner at 6:30, so we did not have much time to mingle. Didn't get back to the hotel until about 11PM, so we were both ready to hit the sack and did not again have time to mingle. I did get to meet Lon, FDCaptain and Tony Poole. Was hoping to meet Dot and George but they left the group the previous day.
We toured Carlsbad, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Rocky Mountain National Parks. There were several times that people stopped and took pictures of the Bird and on one occasion two gentlemen from England touring on Harleys pulled the bikes up next to the car and had us take a picture of them. Don't have many new Birds in merry old England.
We saw a total of 10 Birds during the trip (not counting the Thunder group). Unfortunately we did not get to speak with any of the owners as most were going the opposite direction as us. However we did see a blue Bird in the parking lot at Crazy Horse and waited around for a while but the owners did not show. Was that any of you out there? On the way out of South Dakota we saw two Birds headed to what must have been a show and shine in Pringle, SD, population 59. Imagine, two Birds in such a sparsely populated area. Actually, SD is where we saw the most Birds in any one state.
Packing took some ingenuity but thanks to the wife we were able to get every thing that was needed in the car. And thanks for the soft boot. I was able to fold it flat and lay it on top of the clothes. Most times I had to really push the trunk lid to get it to close but it worked. We packed enough clothes in soft sided luggage for a week and did laundry twice on the trip. There is a surprizing amount of room in the cockpit. There is room behind the seats, on the floor, for small items and quite a bit of room on the floor in front of and below the seats. The door handles on the inside were good for holding film and a small disposable camera. Rubber Maid makes a small cooler that fits nicely between the seats on the rear shelf leaving room on either side for things like cameras, binoculars, a back pack and sweat shirts (which were needed in the northern mountains with the top down).
Even though I will probably be scolded, when on the highway doing between 75 and 85 we found it was better to drive with the windows up. Normally I would never think of doing this but after 6 to 8 hours of being buffetted by the wind, it makes a big difference.
So if you all are thinking about taking a long trip in the Bird do not hesitate, you will find it comfortable and quite enjoyable and at the end you will have an even better impression and higher respect for the design of this vehicle.