u/FatahRuark

Almost got side swiped by an oblivious idiot yesterday. It seems like most of you do this wrong, and I admit I did in the past too.

The signage has recently changed to make it easier to understand, but I suspect many of you are just in your routine and just blow right by the new signs (that's cool, I get into auto pilot mode too on my frequent routes).

The best (not to mention LEGAL) way to get on CO128 East (towards 120th) from US36 East is to take the CENTER lane and make a right hand turn on to Wads from that center lane. Don't use the right lane which is a continuous lane (meaning you should continue not stop and wait to cross 2 lanes of traffic). Side note: Crossing that SOLID white line is illegal. It's illegal to cross any solid lines on the road. The right lane in this example would be used to (1) turn right on to CO128, or (2) continue straight on Wadsworth (and then merge into the center lane if you want to continue down Wads).

Image 1 and 2 to show what to do. Image 3 shows the old sign that's been there for years. They've added 2(?) more signs to make it easier to understand (but as noted earlier are easy to miss if you've done this 100's of times and are on autopilot). I know one of the signs says it's illegal to cross the solid line. Image 4 shows the continuous lane sign. This means you SHOULD NOT STOP (so many people stop there). You should continue, and you're welcome to merge on the DASHED LINE, when and if it's clear. Remember crossing the SOLID line is illegal. The reason it's solid is because it's not safe to cross it.

TRY IT!! It's WAY easier to turn right from the center lane and merge into the left turn lanes for CO128 towards 120th. No need to crane your neck to see if anyone's coming since you'll be able to see that easier from that center lane. If the light is green you're in the clear, just merge over. If you're making a right turn on red, then you'll wait until it's safe to make a right turn on red and merge over. Although as I experienced keep an eye out for people merging across all lanes illegally since you'll end up in their blind spot.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Eastern UP becoming less and less of a charging desert. Saw this new charger being installed. It doesn't look like it will be ready any time soon, but maybe by the end of the year. Hopefully working by next summer for sure. It's at the West Bay Diner in Grand Marais (a little off the beaten path there, but still right in town).

If Flo could install another in Newberry that would be great too, and maybe upgrade to more stations in Munising EV's would be pretty well covered.

I know this isn't going to be a super popular spot, but good for us EV owners who travel to such places.

Freaking love this car! Leased in Colorado in December 2024. First real road trip with it. It included the 30 minutes of free charging with Electrify America (for 2 years). I managed to be able to charge up entirely at EA until I got to Green Bay. Charged up to 100% there, but that was the last of the EA charging. Final destination was Seney, MI (least densely populated town in Michigan). In Michigan (UP) I charged up 3 times. Escanaba cost $10.26 (30c/kw), then up to Munising for $7.87 (40c/kw) and finally in Seney for $6.47 (50c/kw). Total distance was 1311 miles, for less than $25. Not too shabby.

Also the first time on a super long trip with the HDA which was fantastic. First car with driver assists and it's a game changer. The combination of the driver assist and added downtime for charging (vs. gas fill ups) made a big difference in how tired I was at the end of the trip.

I was a bit concerned about charging in the UP of Michigan since it's a bit of a charging desert, but it's been fine. I'm staying at my families cabin up here and we don't have electricity and they just opened a charger in Seney (about 15 miles away) and that really makes a difference. Otherwise it would be hard to go anywhere since previously the nearest charger was in Munising (roughly 45 miles away) and it would be a PITA to drive there just to charge up. Also there are only 2 semi-fast chargers there so a good chance of having to wait a while to charge up.

Anyway, I figured I'd share. Easily the best car I've ever owned/leased. 100% will be buying another (used) Ioniq 5 once my lease is up at the end of the year.

My only concern with buying is most of the used Ioniq's near me are AWD and there were a few stretches on this trip where I was down to about 15%, so maybe I need to go with a RWD again, but also I did skip non-EA stations on that stretch since those would cost money. I think I'm probably good even in rural spots like the UP, but I do enjoy traveling to some pretty remote places.

Oh...added up what the total cost saved using EA. $205.89 (+$25 I had to pay). More than my monthly lease cost ($181). Also used Gasbuddy to calculate what it would have cost with my previous ICE car (Kia Sedona), and it would have been $225. So roughly the same cost, but since I go the free charging it was cheaper this trip. Next one will be about the same.