Pleasure Drive

Yesterday I went for a drive…. just because!

I can’t remember the last time I jumped into a car and went for a drive for no other reason than for fun. Actually that’s a lie, I do remember, it was a sunny day in February 2010. I had just moved to San Francisco and I had the M3, it was a beautiful 70 degree winters day (if you ever visit San Francisco, avoid cold foggy August and come in February –  it’s lovely) and I decided to explore. I headed out across the Golden Gate bridge and up around the Marin Headlands into the spectacularly twisty, scenic roads where the smell of eucalyptus transported me back to my visit to Australia. Anyway, back to yesterday ….

I have been thinking a lot recently about buying an SUV or at least something bigger and smoother for my daily drive to work. I was starting to doubt my love of driving and starting to feel that I was ready for a smooth effortless cruiser. I spend nearly two hours every day on the (incredibly beautiful) wide, sweeping, traffic-less 280 between San Francisco and San Jose, which I enjoy, but it doesn’t exactly get the pulse moving.

Yesterday I reignited my passion; yesterday, for reasons I won’t go into here, I jumped into my Golf and hit the 280 south. Just like my commute…. then I took the exit for the 92 towards Half Moon Bay…. until I reached the 35. The 35 or “Skyline Boulevard” is an incredible series of tight turns sweeping up and over tall hills. It’s non-stop adrenaline rush (or a selection of great photo opportunities if that is your want) and definitely worth a drive if you are ever in the area.

Almost immediately I was passed by a couple of motorbikes and then a hard charging BMW M3 came toward me with a Honda S2000 chomping at it’s heels. Two corners later a pair of M3s enjoying the challenge of the hills followed by an M6. This is a great drivers road! I enjoyed threading the Golf around the twists, reveling in the flexibility and the torque of the engine and the missing moaning of the often travel sick Wife…. but it did make me long for that old M3 of mine….

As I turned and headed for home, I felt more confused than ever. I really enjoyed the drive. I still really enjoy driving and I still really miss my M3…. but how much time do I spend driving hard? Less and less these days… although maybe I should. It certainly helped clear my head.