# recommend me things to do on a long car ride! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619 "2004-05-29T02:04:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/1 "2004-05-29T02:04:20Z")
I’m leaving for Colorado in the morning to work on a dude ranch for the summer. i have about a 24 ride ahead of me. what do you usually do to keep busy and awake on a car ride? I was thinking books on tape… what else… also anyone know any good radio stations between chicago and the denver area? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/2 "2004-05-29T02:14:43Z")
Presuming you’re driving… All the obvious - sleep, regular stop, caffiene, etc… But the best way I’ve found to avoid being bored is to settle on a speed _slightly_ faster than the lorries in the slow lane, but enough to get you past them, but not enoguh to keep you up with the middle lane speeds. You’ll never have a moment’s peace 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/3 "2004-05-29T02:17:38Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Presuming you’re driving… > > 😃 Yes, sorry… I am driving. BY MYSELF :mad: ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/4 "2004-05-29T02:33:22Z")
I used to drink beer on a long trip but in 1987 I rear-ended a car loaded with people and saw the error of my ways. Don’t drink and drive, if you fuck up, it will follow you forever. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/5 "2004-05-29T03:37:05Z")
Don’t drive 24 hours straight through by yourself. It isn’t safe. Books on tape are wonderful. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is great on tape - and takes forever. I also like books I like to reread on tape. Music is good. ---
**Author:** ![peculiar\_hailstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/46a35a/32.png) [@peculiar\_hailstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peculiar_hailstone)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/6 "2004-05-29T20:48:48Z")
if you have a discplayer, download a whole bunch of Old Time Radio programs. Gangbusters, Dragnet, et al. Plus you can find tons of storyteller stuff online or thru peer-to-peer filesharing. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/7 "2004-05-29T21:13:44Z")
Hitchhikers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/8 "2004-05-29T21:14:54Z")
I’ve driven from CO to estern PA and back a number of times. Books on tape work the best. 24 hours is not enough time to listen to one decent sized, unabridged tape. Just be sure it is merely reading it. Some dramatizations are hard to follow. Following a book keeps you much more alert than listening to music. No matter how rowdy the music, you leave it in the background of your mind. I also recommend Mountain Dew and lots of simple sugar foods. (Not as a permanent diet) I don’t have a weight issue, which granted could be a concern. Basically, a sugar high boosted with caffeine will keep you cruising nicely. I highly recommend stopping somewhere and sleeping, though. Even spelling another driver is pretty demanding. There is a reason truckers are only allowed to drive so many hours in a day. You are allowed to camp at the Kansas rest stops, although many do not have running water. If you pack food, you can save as much money avoiding fast food as the cost of a cheap hotel. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-things-to-do-on-a-long-car-ride/247619/9 "2004-05-29T21:18:01Z")
As far as radio is concerned, you can just about pick up Denver stations by the time you lose the Chicago ones. Not quite, but it is closer than you think. Kansas City and St. Louis chip in also. I have listened to baseball when doing this drive; AM seems to travel forever. (I once listened to a Kansas City AM broadcast of the all-star game all the way to my house.) Of course, I’ve abandoned steroid ball, I mean baseball, but you’ve got Hockey and Basketball play-offs to catch. Let us know if you survive.