Even the homeliest of homebodies need to get out of the house sometimes, and that moment for me was this past weekend. I have the utmost respect for our medical first responders fighting the good fight against the coronavirus, so I’ve been strictly adhering to the shelter-at-home order - it’s been weeks since I’ve put on a proper pair of pants. That said, some essential errands you simply have to leave the house to do, and one such thing for me is to take the Porsche 911 out of a drive.
Mind you it’s not because I desperately need to take the car out for a spin; I’m perfectly okay with letting the 911 sit for the entire duration of however long this lockdown ends up taking. However, for the good of the car, I cannot let it stay stationary for too long, because the battery will die. Where I have it parked, there are no provisions to plug in a tickle charger, so these periodic drives to keep the battery and mechanics in top shape have to done.
The maximum I’ve gone between moving the car is three weeks.
I won’t lie and say it wasn’t nice to be on the road and driving again. In fact, it was absolutely sublime; I’d forgotten what fresh air smelled like. Due to the quarantine conditions, there was far less traffic on my usual mountain routes too, though I kept it at a far slower pace than usual. Last thing I want to do is to bin it off a sharp corner because I was going to fast, and then requiring emergency personnel to mend me - personnel who have way more important things to tend to at the moment.
It was eerie to see the usual parking lots and recreation areas all cordoned off, with signs of no parking and health warnings plastered everywhere. On a good and normal day, the parks in the mountain would be teeming with hikers and outdoorsy people. I guess it’s a testament to how well overall the Bay Area has done to keeping it locked down and at home, patiently waiting out this coronavirus peak.
If the shelter-in-place order is still in effect in three weeks’ time, it’ll be the next opportunity the 911 gets its required exercise.
Properly protected, of course.