The school bus squeak

I’m less than three weeks away from my CPKC Holiday Train 2024 chase, and I have to make sure everything goes according to plans.

And that includes maintenance on my 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier (“Lightning’s Girl”).

Which meant I spent yesterday morning at the tire shop.

I will explain.

Lately I’ve heard what sounds like a high-pitched squeak when I pull up to an intersection. You know, the same kind of squeak you hear when the school bus pulls up to your stop.

To me, that means there’s a problem with my brakes. Which is surprising, since I had my brakes checked last April so that Lightning’s Girl could pass her New York State inspection.

Thankfully, there’s a Mavis Tire location only a couple of miles away from my home, and Mavis is open on the weekends. And in addition to handling tires, they also work on brakes.

Okay, let’s head over.

And sure enough, Mavis checked the brakes, and found … everything was normal.

Apparently the brake pads on Lightning’s Girl are semi-metallic or something of that nature, and because electric cars are heavier than regular gas-guzzling cars, the brakes tend to squeak a bit. Mavis said this was a normal thing with electric and hybrid vehicles, and that if I really wanted to make sure to get rid of the squeak, I should invest in ceramic brake pads. But the thing with ceramic brake pads, the technician told me, was that they wear out more quickly than the pads I currently use. So I shouldn’t worry about a squeak.

Okay … if you say so … I guess …

Then again … while I was at the tire shop anyway, I had the car aligned, and – sure enough – one of the tires was a little bit towed out. I probably hit a pothole somewhere in Troy and never realized it. One alignment later, Lightning’s Girl was back home.

And you think to yourself, “Am I being over-cautious? Am I looking for dangers that aren’t there?” Or am I just worried about this upcoming train chase? Am I worried that I’ll be somewhere in the hinterlands of Quebec, or on the backroads of the Adirondacks, and one of Lightning’s Girl’s wheels will pop off and roll down the road by itself?

I know, I know. Better to be cautious than to be cavalier.

That doesn’t mean I can’t be both … I mean, this train chase is a big deal for me.

I’d kinda like to not worry about something – shall we say – derailing it.