Here We Are Tour Diary: Range Anxiety
Enter my first road trip charging experience.
Only familiar with Tesla’s charging infrastructure (I know…boo, elon), I didn’t realize how spoiled I was. Opening the PlugShare app, I find an Electrify America station right off the highway en route to Chicago. Perfect.
According to my calculations, I should be able to get more than enough juice with 30 minutes to spare before I interview Thomas Jones at Nature Fynd’s Chicago HQ. I back up The Beast (not as easy as anticipated), plug in, boom! We’re in business.
Pulling out my laptop, I connect to Starlink to knock out some work in the cargo area, now bedroom, of the vehicle. Half an hour later, I pop my head out to check on the mileage. F*ck! The charge is nowhere close to where it should be by now!
My heart rate quickens and a wave of anxiety flows through my body. I jump out of The Beast to inspect the charger. What the heck?!? The electrons are only flowing at ~40kWh, a third of the advertised rate! I would soon discover this was only the beginning of my challenging interaction with the US’s incredibly disappointing EV charging infrastructure. I locate a nearby Walmart with available chargers. Here goes nothing…
I race to the Walmart. No way I’m going to make it in time. *pro tip: Walmarts have the most reliable chargers in the US* I start 3-point reversing The Beast into its new hopefully ~120kWh resting place.
Crunch. What was that?? I hop out and take a look. Double f*ck. I didn’t see the inconveniently placed concrete poles between parking spots…completely unnecessary…the pole dug into the side of he RV, damaging a bit of the vehicle art, as well. Sam’s going to kill me…
I close my eyes. Another deep breath. Focus. What’s done is done. Charge and get to Nature’s Fynd as soon as possible. I plug in, this time ensuring the vehicle is charging at the right rate. 120kWh. Phew. I’m doing the best I can.
I knock out some emails while nervously monitoring The Beast’s mileage and the time. I fill up so I’ve got 20 miles of cushion after reaching my destination, just in case, and hit the road. I’m going to be 30 minutes late…oh well, it is what it is…lesson learned.
Blasting Chance the Rapper, I get excited as Chicago signs appear.
Mentally preparing for when I arrive, “I’m going to be calm, cool, and collected,” I tell myself. As I drive, I notice The Beast’s mile per kilowatt is also nowhere near advertised…I have no chance but to slow down. Watching the needle tick precipitously towards zero wasn’t helping my artificial zen.
Tardy, rushed, and unprepared, I lean into the confidence of my interviewing skills. Once I hit play it’ll come naturally. I’ve got this. I zip into Nature’s Fynd’s parking lot with only 2 miles to spare. I grab my gear, stumble out of The Beast, and stretch. “All’s good, nothing to see here,” I tell myself.
The Nature’s Fynd team meets me at the entrance. They’re kind and understanding as I apologize profusely. “RV trouble,” I explain. To say the least…
Walking through the building, I’m elated to see a massive manufacturing line in motion pumping out dairy-free yogurt behind floor to ceiling windows. Badass. Nothing gets my blood rushing more than witnessing climate hard tech. The future is now.
I learn the building I’m standing in was a meat packing facility before Nature’s Fynd took over the lease. They even had to remove massive meat hooks during renovation. How prophetic.
Graciously handing me a container of yogurt, I’m informed that Thomas Jones needs to leave in about 45 minutes for a meeting downtown. “No problem. We’ll make the most of the time we have,” I respond cheerfully as I efficiently set up my recording equipment.
Thomas and I shoot the sh*t while I calmly fiddle with Garage Band. Ugh…I find only one mic track is getting signal. I try every trick. No dice. Inhale. So much deep breathing today.
“Bad news. One of the mics isn’t working. We’ll need to share a mic, if that’s ok with you. I’m so sorry,” I tell Thomas. I think he can see the struggle in my eyes. After all, Thomas is a founder of a startup pulling off herculean feats.
“As they say, what can go wrong, will go wrong,” I mantra-quote to Thomas. He nods in agreement, “Totally. I get it. You’re speaking my language,” Thomas responds. Thank goodness.
Thomas pulls his chair next to mine. This is hilarious. Agenda? Out the plexiglass window. Welcome to the tour life. Wing it. I smile and hit record. Our session flies by.
Exhausted, I head to the nearest charging station to scream somatically and reset. Out of the way and charing slowly again, I’ve got no option but to wait and inform the founder I was supposed to interview over dinner before our event that I won’t make it. I fill The Beast’s batteries with more than enough juice to get me to tonight’s campsite without inducing range anxiety, and roll over to Fulton Market.
Pulling up to Celadyne’s office with half an hour to spare before our event begins, Gary Ong meets me and reads my body language. It reads defeat. Gary, another founder, gets it. “Hey man, there’s a shower with your name on it upstairs. I’ll order some food. You’ll feel better,” Gary directs me. He’s not wrong.
Slurping pad thai while chumming it up with Gary about Hydrogen in Celadyne’s lab, color returns to my face. Cheer up! I made it. I’m in Chicago. I love this city. Totally underrated, if you ask me. It took years of cajoling to finally make a Chicago event happen, and here I am.