Friday, April 22, 2011

Bimmers Vs LandSpeeders, and how to get out of the sand

It wasn't quite yet summer. The temperature the other day topped at 41 degrees. The weather forecast called for 70 percent chance of precipitation, and for once it was accurate. Most of the day was cloudy, rainy, windy and cold. Nonetheless we jumped in the 318is and went to the beach anyway. A spontaneous road trip can add a bit of sun to any dreary day.

The 318is handled perfectly for the trip. All the recent restoration work made the ride smooth and worry free. The only complaint for the 318is is the same complaint that I've had on every car, my coffee mug doesn't fit into the cup holder. On the bimmer there are two holes in the center console. It would be nice if at least one of the two spaces in the center console fit my travel cup, and the other hole was the perfect size to hold a Tim Horton's jelly donut. Now that would be a sweet upgrade. I heard a rumor that BMW sells a trademarked coffee mug that fits in their console holders, so I'll have to add that to my next Christmas list.

Since it was rainy and chilly all day, we divided our time between walking on the sand until we'd start to shiver, then jump in the Bimmer to get warm as we drove to another stretch of beach. We also found a few Geocaches while we were at the beach. Overall it was a very eventful and fun day. In between walks we got a chance to get some great shots of the 318is.

In the middle of the afternoon we drove to the furthest little peninsula that we could find on the map. The Bimmer seemed to be moving across the sand like a Star Wars LandSpeeder. I was quite impressed and made the mistake of an out loud comment about it without first knocking on wood, and gave the accelerator just a bit more gas. Of course not ten seconds later the back tires sank into the soft wet sand and the car stopped moving forward as the wheels kept spinning. We were stuck. It took us a few minutes to get driving again, but that's only because we waited for some other beachcombers to pass by and save our beach cred reputation for the Bimmer. Anyway the pause gave us a chance to get some more great photos, this time of seagulls flying over the waves.

If you ever wind up stuck in a big pile of sand or snow, here's some helpful tips:
-Straighten the front wheels.
-Dig out any of the excess sand or snow from both the front and back of the tires, and try to form a gradual slope from the tire to the level ground. If there are pieces of wood or rocks around, you can put those into the slope to help give you tires some better traction. If you cant find anything that's ok. We couldn't find anything nearby at the beach where we got stuck.
-Get back in the car, and make sure everyone outside is away from the front and rear of the car.
-Start the engine, put the car in drive, and gently give it some gas.
-Then put the car in reverse, and gently give it some gas.
-Repeat these last two steps again and again.
-Be careful to go easily with the gas. The idea is to create a rocking motion that will eventually rock the car right out the sand or snow rut. Just remember: The force is with you.

Didn't leave the beach park until nightfall. Stopped at a diner, ate some yummy food, checked the fluids on the 318is and headed back to the city. Hit some thick patches of fog on the way back, but was able to see fine thanks to finally getting the fog lights to work. But that's for another article. For now I'm just enjoying the photos and smiling at the Bimmer's gas gauge. Been back in the city for two days and still on the same tank of gas that I filled up at the beach.


No comments:

Post a Comment