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Posted by Bill in CO. [67.135.131.131] on Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 20:59:45 :
Found a set of wheels and tires on CL up in Ft. Collins. We arranged to meet around noon today. I really wanted to drive the TW, since it has not been anywhere but locally since the conversion. Took off around 8:00 AM in some light snow, but nothing bad. The drive is about 185 miles with some of it through switchbacks and over passes. The drive was fairly uneventful until we were coming down through Conifer towards Morrison. The DOT was plowing the 4+" of slush and everyone was being safe. The traffic was about a mile long behind the snowplow. The plow got through the last section of switchbacks and was able to pick-up speed. The traffic did likewise. We were somewhere in the middle of the line. Accelerating from 25 to 30, the rear end broke loose and the next thing we were fishtailing across both lanes. At one point we were sliding sideways. I was trying to keep cool and keep from slaming the brakes. Just about back under control, and we were on the unplowed shoulder still going about 10 mph. A 2" sign pole struck the rear of the passengers fender and managed to pretty much destroy the door. I was somewhere between mad and filling my pants on seeing the damage. Then I realized that had the pole not been there, we would have taken a spill down a 20-25 foot drop. Afterwards we drove into Arvada and called the young man with the tires. I was ready to call it a day and drive home. He offered to meet me in Lakewood where his mom lives and not only bring the tires, but install them. My old tires were pretty bald, just something to get the conversion on the road. Drove home without any major issues. The alt. decided to quit charging, but we made it anyway. The good news is on this tank of fuel, I got 27.8 mpg. That and my colon is pretty well cleaned out.
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