The Desire for a Road Trip

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Almost every time I get into the car I wish I was going on a road trip. I wish I was driving from point A to point B and that the drive would take hours, rather than minutes. As much as I hate “commuting” between point A and point B on a daily basis I love travelling from A to B as a journey. I love sitting for many hours in a car, thinking, looking at the landscape, remembering things, thinking of the future and more.

## Not the Usual

It’s interesting, because I use the car twice a week, on normal weeks. To go shopping, and no other reason. I used to drive an hour or two to go for walks. Now I never do. I should, because the roads into and out of my village are very dangerous for pedestrians. The paradox is that if I get into the car to drive ten minutes to go for a walk, I become part of the problem, rather than the solution.

## The Absurd commute

Most people drive to and from work, every single day, rather than taking the train, cycling, or other. I used to drive to work too, when I had a parking space. As soon as parking cost 30-40 CHF per day I got a half fare and took the train. The train journey saw me walking twenty minutes at full speed, rather than catching the bus, and then walking from the train station on the other end to the office. I hate waiting for buses, and being in crowded spaces. The walk is more pleasant.

If we made parkings cost 30-40 CHF per day for everyone, most people would leave their cars at homes and motorway traffic would be a fifth or less of what it is now. They want to expand the motorway from 2030 onwards, but that’s absurd. Reduce commuting by car and you don’t need bigger motorways.

## The Road Trip

The drive is thirteen hours long. I set off at 0300 and hope to be at my destination by about 1600. For the first three or four hours I drive in the dark. I head towards Grenoble, and eventually I go towards Porte De Valence. That’s when the sun starts to ride. I then drive west towards the Franco-Spanish border. I cross it and refuel. My first stop in over 800 kilometres. I then drive towards Barcelona, hit that traffic, and then towards Valencia, and beyond, before arriving at my destination.

During the last three or four hours I find myself needing the toilet more often. I think it’s fatigue.

I snack along the way, especially when I feel that I am losing focus. It usually brings my focus back. I also found that when I’m in France I find it comfortable to drive at 120 kilometres per hour, rather than 130. I’m used to this speed. It is the speed limit in Switzerland and Spain, so it makes sense to drive at a speed that causes less fatigue.

That’s also why I set off at 3am. It’s early, but I find that it’s easier to drive towards Spain during daylight. I find that as soon as the sun sets I begin to feel more tired.

Paradoxically on the way back I often drive through the night, from Grenoble towards Geneva. When I’m heading home it matters less.

## A Mental Break

In a normal year I might do this drive two to three times. I flee southwards to avoid Christmas fuss, but I might also drive again in April or so, to get “spring” or summer sooner.

## Podcasts and Books

During the drive I listen to hours of podcasts and books. To some extent the drive is an opportunity to listen to books and podcasts while watching the landscape change. I listened to Harry Potter books, Louis L’amour books and more. It’s nice to have an opportunity to listen to books for hours in a row, without worrying about doing something more productive with one’s time.

It’s like my daily walks, but for longer, and sitting down. I managed to finish entire books in a single sitting.

## And Finally

The most I’ve driven in Four days is 3600 kilometres. I drove to Tarbes and then Barcelona, and from Barcelona back to Tarbes and then to Geneva. By the end of the trip I was exhausted. This is much smaller, it’s 2600 kilometres with a few weeks in the middle to recover.

I could fly but a big part of the experience is the drive. There was a time when I was flying between England and Switzerland and it became boring. It felt like commuting, rather than fun. It’s more tiring to drive but the experience is more pleasant.

Almost every time I get into the car I wish I was going for a road trip. I finally have the opportunity to go for that road trip next week. It will give me new things to write about, and it will recharge me before coming back.

According to TomTom Go if I set off now the trip should take just 11 hours. In practice, because I drive at 120 in France it will take about twelve to thirteen hours. Part of me is impatient to set off but another part of me wants to finish what I’m working on. Within the next day or two I will have PhotoPrism and Audiobookshelf running off of a 4 TB hard drive, rather than an SD card and a 2TB drive and that setup will be a serious iteration, rather than experimental.