[Clipdat]

Slept like crap last night, so I didn't end up hitting my normal ~8am start time for an early morning drive.

Decided to sleep in and I ended up getting on the road just before 2pm. Took the freeway through the Caldecott tunnel and entered Grizzly Peak. There were a fair number of sight seers and Prius drivers out, so it was easy going in this stretch. Got to check out some good views and get ready for some fun.

Dropped into Pinehurst directly after a Honda Civic, so I decided to wait for as long as possible at the first hairpin. Great way to let the slow drivers get ahead of you and take a moment to mentally prepare for the twisties. When I saw a black SUV coming down the hill I resumed driving.

I was rewarded with a mostly completely clear Pinehurst experience, free of slow traffic and cyclists. Always nice to have this technical section to yourself! I ended up getting stuck behind a few slow drivers on the last few turns, but I wasn't that upset because I knew I would soon be getting onto Redwood.

Redwood was a blast! I got to test out the limits of my new suspension and tires. I have to say, I am not loving these Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires I just had installed. They're completely the opposite of the previous tire I had: Toyo T1 Sport. It's a 340 vs 240 treadwear tire and the sidewalls seem A LOT squishier and soft compared to the Toyos. I think I should've definitely went with a more aggressive 200 treadwear tire like a R1R or RE-71R.

Took a quick break at Castro Valley Peet's and got back on the freeway to get to the Eden Valley / Palomares Rd. exit. Even though it was late in the day, I lucked out because Palomares was clear of traffic and cyclists. Upon dropping in I saw a few chickens near the road, but this was the only wildlife I saw on this road until later.

Palomares felt great since it was later in the day and the road was fully "up to temp" - I went last week and at 9:30am the road was still fully frozen in some parts. Careful out there if you decide to roll out early or while still dark!

Also a quick note about the new bridge they just did: when traveling north to south, it's now an abrupt right hand turn that can sneak up on you if you have some momentum. Nothing about this turn feels natural or normal. It was enough of an abrupt turn to get my TCS light to flash.

Upon reaching the Sunol Super Stop, I was greeted with a mostly empty gas station. I leisurely pumped 7.3 gallons of 94 octane @ 4.99/gal and took another pit stop. (Side note, my ADV Multiplier is now up to .69 - looks like the 91 octane OFT OTS tune is far too aggressive for regular 91 pump gas in the bay area. Anyone want to help me remedy this?) There were a few random cars, an older white ~1995 Corvette and a few Harleys also fueling up. The Corvette owner was checking his oil and looked to be slightly concerned with his powerplant. Upon starting his car back up, he revved it once to redline. How awkward. Nobody is impressed, dude...

Headed back up Palomares and was quickly greeted by two deer meandering around the road in the twisty section. I slowed to a stop and watched one of them make an impressive almost vertical leap up the side of hill to get out of my way.

After that, I had enjoyed enough driving at that point and just took 880N back up to Alameda.

I am ashamed to admit this on a public car forum, but my coilovers set halfway between soft and hard with 6K front 7K rear springs literally give me a neck ache. Even then tiniest of bumps are ridiculously amplified and transmitted directly to my spine. That combined with the ridiculous tire noise of these Firestones means you get quickly fatigued trying to drive any reasonable distance.

Anyway, a pretty enjoyable drive, especially considering the late start time. Nice way to start 2017!