We’re not going to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge but I did get to see it on a beautiful sunny day here in San Francisco.
This is a view from Lincoln Park where we’ll be meeting with our U. S. Secretary of Tansportation, Norman Mineta, tomorrow morning.
I don’t think it’s always this clear so we had a great photo op today.
Here’s some of the drivers of the convoy vehicles at the Lincoln Park staging area for tomorrow morning’s kickoff event. We got a lesson and view of our course for tomorrow through San Francisco.
We stopped here for a few minutes to take a break since we got caught in an unexpected traffic jam.
That won’t happen tomorrow as all construction will be halted on our path and we’ll have police and CHP personnel clearing things out ahead of us.
Here’s what I think we’ll be seeing most of tomorrow, at least the lead vehicle in our Interstate Celebration convoy will.
The California Highway Patrol took us on a little tour of our route to the Lincoln Park staging area for tomorrow morning’s kickoff.
Then we proceeded across the Bay Bridge and back. It gave us an opportunity to sight see a little.
The California Highway Patrol was a big part of our day. The main man was Lt. Avery Brown who’s helping coordinate everything and they have a lot of assets involved in tomorrow’s kickoff. He says that about 75 CHP personnel will be involved and that doesn’t count San Francisco police.
Lt. Brown took the drivers along the route we’ll travel tomorrow so we can see it and learn how we need to handle things like major intersection turns and our lineup at the Lincoln Park kickoff ceremony. It also gave us an opportunity for a little sight seeing and picture taking.
I interviewed Avery and I think you’ll hear why he’s the organizer: 
Lt. Avery Brown Interview (3 min MP3)
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius will be the keynote speaker at the 19th annual American Coalition for Ethanol Conference & Trade Show, August 8-10 in Kansas City, Missouri at the Crown Center. Governor Sebelius, who currently serves as chair of the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition, will address the conference on Wednesday afternoon. Topics of interest to be discussed at the conference include: grassroots efforts for ethanol at the state level, petroleum marketing basics, cellulosic ethanol, distillers grain, and many more. Also, an Ethanol 101 session “From Ground Breaking to Profit Making” will be featured again this year in a longer, more interactive format. Registration information and agenda for the conference are available on the ACE website.
Indy Car drivers seem pretty pumped about ethanol, according to this Dallas Business Journal article, which quotes Bombardier Learjet 500 winner and two-time Indianapolis 500 winnner Helio Castroneves and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion Tony Kanaan – both Brazilians. The article says the IRL switch to ten percent ethanol this year has been “problem-free” and Dan Layton, spokesman for Honda Performance Development, makers of the sole engine used in the IRL, says that improved fuel mileage may require the fuel tanks in Indy cars to be reduced next year in order to keep drivers from out-running their tire-life.
Here’s an interview Chuck did at the Indy 500 with Ethanol Promotion and Information Council executive director Tom Slunecka, who is also quoted in the article. Tom discusses a number of the points in the article, including Brazilian support of ethanol, the fuel’s environmental benefits and performance aspects, and the expectations for next year when IRL goes to a full 100 percent ethanol. Tom Slunecka Interview (7 min MP3)
We have a lot of participants in this AASHTO Interstate Convoy and I’ll be featuring them as I have time during the trip. One of them that we learned about this morning is Albert Renteria, founder and president of Operation Interdependence.
Albert says that a lot of the stuff sent to our deployed military doesn’t get where it’s supposed to be and a lot of money is wasted in the attempt. His organization has been formed to create a system that makes it easier to send items and easier for the soldiers on the receiving end to manage the materials. Additionally, his system saves money by being more efficient in how it packages and schedules regular monthly shipments.
I’ll let him explain what Operation Interdependence does in his own words: Albert Renteria Interview (5 min MP3)
In 1919 Lt. Col Eisenhower (later to become President of the USA) made a cross country trip with primarily military participants. It showed the need for a good system of roads in this country which became the interstate system. Our commemorative journey in the reverse direction wouldn’t be complete without today’s military, represented by these Army soldiers. They are from left to right, Sgt. Alicia Sexton, SSG Eric Miller, SSG Adron Hayes and Sgt. Eggleston Jeter. All are with the Movement Control Team. They’ll be leading our convoy.
I talked briefly with Sgt. Sexton who says they’re just trying to figure out their role and duties since they just arrived. You can hear our interview here: Sgt. Alicia Sexton Interview (2 min MP3)
Part of our training session here in San Francisco prior to departing on our cross country trip to celebrate the interstate involved becoming certified in the Highway Watch program administered by the American Trucking Association in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security. Our trainer was Jeff Beatty, founder and president of TotalSecurity.US.
We learned about what to keep our eyes out for when travelling the highway and who to report suspicious activity to.
Highway Watch is the roadway sector’s national safety and security program that utilizes the skills, experiences, and “road smarts” of America’s transportation workers to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure and the transportation of goods, services, and people
I’m not the only one writing about ethanol on the road. So is Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. Rick’s posting some road commentary on E85 which you can find on this page. It’s not quite blogging but it’s close. Here’s an excerpt from his last post:
Yesterday, I reported on the state of E85 pricing and availability as my wife, Linda, and me set out on our road trip to St. Paul, Minn. I went so far as to characterize the pricing and availability as “ugly.” I am optimistic as we travel onward that pricing and availability will improve. There is only one E85 station in the greater St. Louis area (although the NEVC Web site www.e85fuel.com lists 59 stations in all of Missouri). Illinois has nearly twice the number of stations—122—so I am hopeful the E85 infrastructure is improving.
I think it’s great stuff that NCGA members will appreciate reading. You can also hear a report from Rick on the post too. Here’s a link to the latest audio report.
