I could not agree more.  Wouldn't even make the top 10 (or 20) for me.  Not
even in the land speed category, where I'd have to list 140mph on a '75 BMW
R90S down hwy 101 in Carlsbad (long time ago) as the easy #1 stupid speed
related move.  My other really stupid actions will usually only be revealed
over a campfire and good beer...

Cheers,

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Mike Miller
Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 7:04 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Billy Bones at 100 - dumbest thing I've ever done

If that's the dumbest thing you ever did you've led an exceptionally smart
life.

On 11/19/06 6:28 PM, "Warren Lail" <vw.bus@MAC.COM> wrote:

> Sooner or later it was bound to happen.  There I was on an open,
> straight section of I-80 in northern Nevada.  Not a car in sight
> coming or going and a wide view of the highway in front of me
> (probably could see clear for 5 to 7 miles as the Interstate crossed
> one of those wide desert valleys).  No wind.  Poor judgment.  Promise
> to never do it again.
>
> But ...
>
> The speed limit was 75.  Billy Bones has a .77 fourth gear, so I was
> cruising along at 80 (4,000 rpm).  Then I see the open road, no
> traffic, flat level ground, no wind, good tires, and before I could
> exercise good judgment, bad judgment took over.
>
> I pressed the pedal down and the Subie 2.2 began to hum.  Soon I was
> at 85.  At 88 I saw comm-trails streaming from my rear view mirrors.
> At 90 both mirrors gave up and flapped in.  At 93 the whole front end
> began to glow a bright orange - eventually becoming white hot.  At 95
> my face became distorted.  At 96 I almost lost consciousness and
> began to hallucinate.  At 97 I cried, but poor judgment caused me to
> press on, and on, and on.  At 99 my eyeglasses cracked.  And then it
> happened - the GPS displayed the magic number.  That one second at
> 100 seemed like an eternity.  Good judgment again took over and I
> backed way off.  Drove the rest of the way home at the speed limit.
>
> Dumbest thing I've ever done.  Poor judgment, to be sure.  Promise to
> never do that again as long as I live.  It frightens me even now just
> thinking about it.
>
> But I thought I would share the experience.  Maybe it will keep
> someone else from making the same mistake.
>
> Warren L.
> 88 Westy "Billy Bones"
>
>