I got up at 5am to make it to a very popular Chicago radio show.  I can’t remember ever being this cold.  The “wind-chill factor” is 25 degrees BELOW ZERO.  The ice sheet on the water around the Navy Pier extends out about a mile.  PERFECT!

Many people have asked me why I didn’t wait until spring to do this test.  My response is simple.  It wouldn’t be a test if we didn’t encounter extreme conditions – it would be a road trip.  We wanted extreme condition, and as tough as that is at times, we wouldn’t know how cellulosic ethanol performed in sub-zero temperatures, unless we drove in them.  Which brings me to the Navy Pier in Chicago during the coldest, snowiest winter on record…  Perfect conditions!

The radio show went well.  The callers and hosts asked great questions and I was happy to educate a big portion of the Midwest about cellulosic ethanol. 

In fact, the interview went so well, NPR is going to rebroadcast it and Fox-TV has asked me to do a “live” broadcast in their studios on Thursday. 

So, I get to test EcoTrek’s vehicle and cellulosic ethanol for a few more days in these “perfect conditions.”