BHPian DatsHyun recently shared this with other enthusiasts: I follow these before commencing my ride (2w/4w Short/Long distance OR City/Highways). Below mentioned are mostly longdistance highway rituals for me. –Say to myself “I am in good mood and will not let anyone disturb it. Even if it means getting delayed to reach destination by 15min. I am okay with it. I love my family and they are excited of my return” –Stay away in vehicular distance as well as arguments from Drivers in Gold chains and vehicles with tinted glass, surname stickering etc. –Vehicular check: Fastag Balance, Dashcam, Refuel check, Clean windscreen and rearscreen, check Coolant level, Wipe headlight glass, Tyre pressure, check all 4 blinkers, seat position (as my wife and myself have different seating positions), Brakes and steering movements –Mentally: Recap steps in case there is a brake failure, Ensure I follow speed limits (usually 75KMPH) –Take 10min breaks every 100-150kms (basis time spent in traffic etc) – Mandatory.– Seek/pray for positive energy during the trip. All above takes hardly 10minutes before trip start.What are your pre-driving rituals? Here’s whatGTO replied:My rituals: – Choose the right car. Bad parking or area = Thar. Good parking or area = Luxury car. No parking or messed up area = Uber Black. – Admire the styling & stance when I’m walking up to the car. – Always a short prayer before firing up the engine. – Smile & chuckle at the poor road sense and traffic manners. Road manners have gone for a toss in Mumbai and even in a 10-minute drive, you will see 15 traffic violations of all types. You can either get annoyed & get your blood boiling, or smile at those idiots and stay calm. Meditation has changed my outlook toward such things. As a wise man once said, if you cannot change the world around you, change yourself. – Keep the revs low until the engine has warmed up. – Enjoy the music, drive & car, no matter whether it is a slow or high speed one, no matter whether it is a Swift or a 7-Series, no matter whether it is 3-cylinders or 8. I love any kind of drive & car, period (except rush-hour bumper-to-bumper traffic).Here’s what BHPian m2maddy replied:Following is done for every medium to long trip – Clean windshield glass, rear glass and mirrors. – Ensure windshield cleaner liquid is topped up, fuel topped up. – Check tyre pressure – Keep waterless washer, washing cloth in trunk. – Pray and start End of trip, give a good thanks to the car for taking us on the journey.Here’s what BHPian 100Kmphormore replied:1. Make sure the car /bike is fueled up, air pressures checked and decently clean on the interior as well, especially the windshield. Check documents, toolkit (pollution and insurance, especially the car as I do not involve in the affairs of/or drive it that regularly. Yesterday was my first time in nearly 5 months). 2. Place water bottles/lube in the pocket holders and if a long run, protein bars/chikki in the glovebox. If on bike, the hydration starts the day before. Get sufficient sleep the night before (atleast 4 hours). Anything that moves or rattles is promptly removed if not needed. 3. Revert to my religious playlist and start the drive (comes from the habit of family drives from 2006 + my own early starts to tuition with BMTC buses, FM 91.1 at 5 am). Let the engine and tyres warm up in the initial kilometers until exiting the city. Have a cup of tea at the first or second toll. Switch back to regular music. Enjoy the drive/ride from then!Here’s what BHPian Jeroen replied:It all depends. With six cars to choose from that is always a first. In practice, on anything below an hour and a half I would drive my Mini. If we are picking up or have one of the grand children staying with us, it’s the Ford Fiesta as it has the kiddy seats installed. If there is lots of stuff to be hauled, big shopping, Ikea run, a trip to the council tip, or more adults to be hauled, its the Jeep Cherokee. All three cars are parked in our yard, ready to roll. I would not give it any other consideration, apart from the tom tom, see below. My three classic cars come out for different type of tours. Because they might have not been used for a few weeks, sometimes a few months, it usually takes a few minutes. Disconnect battery charger, check tyre pressures, quick look under the hood. That’s all. On longer drives with my Alfa Romeo Spider I would be sorting through some of my spare parts and decide what to take along over and beyond the standard set it always carries All my cars have their own set of tools and some basic spare parts, if anything light bulbs, fuses and usually a few specific parts. E.g. On the Jeep I carry a spare CPS always. The Mercedes has a spare electronic ignition unit etc. Depending on what car we take we might also have to shuffle one of our to to tom GPS units. We have three, which are usually installed in the Mini, Fiesta and Jeep. More or less default. Irrespective where we are going or in what car, I usually enter the destination on the my drive app on my phone when still in our home. Just to get a feel for the traffic out there and see what alternatives TomTom suggests. I then sync the destination with my to tom TomTom account. Whichever TomTom I power up will automatically download that destination and start navigating to it. All my cars have maps in them, but if the trip would take us abroad I might have to shuffle some of those between various cars. Also, when we go abroad, we need to take our passports with us. So something to remember before setting off. I can be in Belgium in under half an hour, Germany in under an hour and France in under two hours. I do enjoy getting one of my cars ready for a long trip. I usually clean it inside and outside. Check all the usual stuff, rummage through the tools, parts, maps and so on. It is just a very enjoyable fiddling ritual. I must admit, I always enjoy getting behind the wheel of any of our cars. I am fortunate to have so much choice and I enjoy different aspects of each car tremendously. JeroenCheck out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
