New Gallardo - The First Two Weeks

You all are too kind. I really didn’t even expect anyone to read my adventure diary…

I just got back to Boston from Montreal an hour ago (Sunday 7:00 pm). The ride was great but I am exhausted from driving seven hours and partying for five days straight… I’m talking about clubbing until 6-7 a.m. I think in part to relieve a little stress and a very stiff neck from the ride up! I am going to organize a drive to MTL next summer. I know a lot of people as I have been there more than fifty times in the last 5 years and will be able to put together an amazing trip.

I’ll be nice and fresh in the morning and will get pictures and Part II posted… now… off… to… bed!

Ciao,

Billy

 

Ok... finally got my ass back to Boston, got a good night sleep and am still having a blast thinking though the memories of the trip. I told the entire story to my wife over dinner and when I was all done the only thing she asked was "if the snow was pretty"... Jeeezz.

For what it’s worth, the following is a true and 100% non-fictional transcription of what happened when traveling from Burlington VT to Montreal Canada. The only reason I mention that, is because it still hard for me to believe the sh*t I have written as being true. I lead a pretty uneventful life when it comes to major drama, so all the more reason I needed to document it for prosperity sake.

Alrighty then…

After a short break in the rest stop and the near miss on the way out, I pulled onto the empty freeway and actually was starting to feel slightly better about my driving skills. The challenge was being constantly aware of where the road was under the snow and how best to plow though it (go uphill fast, go downhill faster). Before the stop, I had gotten fairly adept at following the taillights in front of me and keeping my tires in the grooves that had been created by previous cars. Now there were no cars. Anywhere.

It was very slow going for the next hour. Average speed was 10-15 mph and I swear it feels like how fast the average person walks… I even think that snow falls faster than 15 miles an hour. But every time I would shift to 3rd or push 20 mph, the rear would start to creep around. I found out later that that main reason for this was that it had rained earlier in the day before it turned to snow… the layer above the asphalt, but under the snow was solid ice. In retrospect, I think that the snow on the road probably helped my case at the time. Again… it’s really slow going, uneventful and my eyes are seeing little shapes from squinting so hard.

As I pass a sign that says “Canadian Border 15 Miles” I’m a little creeped out by the fact that I have not seen another car in almost an hour. Also my cell phone signal is non-existent and the snow is really starting to pick up again… The elevation must be pretty high here… there are good sized snow banks and enormous trees.

I slow down to under 10 mph at the start of a huge incline because knowing where the road edges are is impossible. Even writing about it now it’s easy to forget how dark it was. With the whiteout conditions and the Gallardo’s headlights always under a half an inch of snow, it was impossible to see anything... and that makes the fact that I spotted a set up taillights up ahead all the more unbelievable. I’m ecstatic seeing another vehicle in front of me because it makes navigation much easier and also, I now have someone else to blame for putting my car in the ditch. And I won’t be left alone to be picked though by vultures after I thaw in the spring… there will others now.

I feel a wash of relief as I notice how quickly I am closing in on the taillights. The car looks to be maybe 10 feet away and just as I was thinking of how slow this car must have been actually traveling, it occurs that the angle of the taillights looks wrong… and then BAAAAAMMMMMMM… a millisecond later I slam nose first into a huge snow bank. The sound was sickening and I got knocked forward into my seatbelt that worked a little too well. All of a sudden 15 mph didn’t seem so slow.

It’s all quiet except for the sound of the windshield wipers going and I say out loud “where the hell did the car go”? I leaned all the way forward in my seat and looked out the front windshield and straight up... and there were the taillights I was looking for. The car had driven off the road just minutes before me and was half stuck on the snow bank and half hanging into the ditch. Being the really smart guy that I am, it all made sense as to why the taillights looked off when I saw them from the distance. And again, being the intelligent one, I’m sitting there realizing I almost followed him in.

I get out and climb the bank to see if everyone in the other car is ok. It seemed like the accident had just happened and the engine was running. Sitting in the driver’s seat is a younger guy that doesn’t seem to be too shaken but he doesn’t notice me. You ever had the odd challenge of needing to alert someone that you are present, but need to do so without scaring the sh*t out of them? In this case it didn’t work. He gets out laughing and relieved I was not a black bear and we survey his damage... he’s in pretty deep and it’s a Toyota Camary so he’s not getting out of here with a little push from the front. I kid you not, we both look at our cell phone to see if we have any signal at the exact same time. And then laugh at each other from being so stupid to even assume. After checking my front end for damage (I can’t see a thing as the car is jammed 6" into the bank) I invite him in the car and get to endure another 15 minutes of answering questions that confirm I am not from Vermont.

Just when the conversation starts to wind down we hear a massive roar off in the distance… Really hard to describe on paper but maybe something like a train that was slowly pulling a McDonalds across a parking lot. This earth shaking rumble. We jump out thinking avalanche and around the bend comes a monster snow plow truck. I mean MONSTER. The lights were as big as trash cans and even in the distance, the top of the plow looked to be 6-7 ft high. I looked at Tom and flew up the snowbank. I’m not taking any chances. He stays by the road and succeeds in waving the guy down.

Before I continue I did want to make a point of reiterating…. It’s very important in life to be careful of creating stereotypes and different classes of people. We are all of the same cloth and should be treated equal and as brothers. Unless you are a snow plow driver from Northern Vermont.

To be continued….

Billy

(Here are a few photos.. the first is my parents house that overlooks Lake Champlain, the other two are at the first rest stop).
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