Wikipedia defines hypermiling as the act of driving using techniques that maximize fuel economy. Hypermilers hold rallies where the winner is the one who gets the best mileage, based on the number of miles travelled divided by the US Environmental Protection Agency's fuel-economy rating for the vehicle they are driving. So it’s a level playing field, whether someone is driving a gas-guzzling old banger or a state of the art hybrid car.

The king of hypermilers is said to be Wayne Gerdes, who holds the record for getting 164.5 miles per gallon (about 70 km per liter) out of a Honda Insight.

Personally I like to drive fast. Hypermilers drive slowly, accelerating and braking as little as possible to save on fuel. But some of their practices are very interesting in terms of the energetic awareness they build.

For example, I hear that many hypermilers like to drive barefoot so that they can feel what's happening with the car more intimately. This creates a much more etheric relationship with it than driving with shoes on. I know, because I always drive barefoot myself for this reason.

They also have a practice known as ridge riding. Do you realize that gleefully driving your car at high speed through a big puddle of water uses up extra fuel? Hypermilers try to find all the small ridges on a road and avoid the troughs worn by other drivers’ tyres, especially the valleys filled with puddles. It takes a certain level of etheric sensitivity to find ridges like this. I bet some of them are borderline if not full-on obsessive compulsives, but if done in moderation, it’s a great way to build awareness.

I was struck by the words of one hypermiler, Jack Martin, talking about what happens when being overtaken on the road. He said, “When a vehicle goes by, you feel it initially suck on you a little bit and then push you. If you're sensitive to that, you can work it, like a porpoise riding the waves created by a boat. You start looking at it as energy around you.”

In our fast moving world it’s so easy to be swept along. I dare say that if I got stuck behind a hypermiler I’d be as frustrated with their slow pace as the next person, but on the other hand, I bet they suffer far less stress in their lives and live longer as a result.  

Copyright © Karen Kingston, 2009

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