Bring A Book

I’ve just completed my longest trip to date in the Leaf, 195 miles in a single afternoon. It took three fast charges, adding over 1 hour to the trip if you include the time taken for charging events (25, 19 and 19 minutes) and highway detours. I drove at a sluggish 62 mph, but I could have driven a bit faster; I arrived at chargers with 11, 18 and 21 miles, respectively and between 20 and 30 percent SOC according to the screen of the fast charger.

The important thing is that I didn’t have to substitute a gasoline car for this trip, and DC fast charging enabled this. The SF Bay area is a glimpse of the future, with respect to the proliferation of fast chargers. The Petaluma Visitor Center charger was conveniently located near a starbucks and a number of great restaurants. I charged there twice. It’s not so bad to take a break every 1-2 hours and grab a coffee. It’s certainly not life in the slow lane; I had some emails to respond to and a really great book to read.

 I’m reading Lisa Gansky’s “The Mesh” which looks at how mobile technologies and social networks have enabled so many new businesses around sharing and collaborative consumption. Gansky also talks about changing societal attitudes towards the environment and sustainability and how that’s driving growth in those industries. It got me thinking: It was through the Plugshare iphone app that I found FC stations en route. saw that they were available in real-time and read reviews from other plugsharers that the station was in fact operational (and located near shopping). Of course I checked-in and posted a picture of my Leaf charging.