|
The last major drive I completed was Lafayette, Indiana to Denver, for a distance of about 1,100 miles. I started at 10:45pm. Around 5:30am or so I pulled over at a rest stop just east of Des Moines. I used the usual tricks to keep going that long: sugary/caffeinated pop, high-carb food like pizza/tacos/candy/etc, loud music on the radio (when there was any), opened windows, occasional minor adjustments to posture. Got about 3 hours of sleep the way they said: crack the windows, lock the doors, and pass out. Then I finished the journey the next day at around 6:30pm. I tell you, I-80 between Lincoln and Oglalla and then Oglalla and Denver is a 450-mile neverending sea of nothing but farms. Took a lot of mental concentration to make it through that. I did it all solo too. Total time, not including the nap, was 19 hours, 45 minutes.
Basically, don't kill yourself trying to stay awake. Stay awake as long as you can, then push yourself a bit further with a booster of caffeine and sugar etc., but once you burn that out, it's time to pull over. You have to rest at some point, you may as well do it then. Hotels are a waste of money for trips like this.
__________________
"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb
|