The city of angels might have a million stories, but so does the great American run.
As a fan of the surreal, I hit the pinnacle last night. Decked out in a tux for the final night party, you know you hit the peak of surrealism when you walk in and Kato Kailin of OJ Simpson trial fame says "hey, Jay!"
Kato was our the official GAR hanger-on and on camera talent for interviews, etc. And while his career path is a little odd, he's actually a hell of a nice guy.
Pretty sure my life is complete now.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
moral victories suck.
No first place prize for gold 101, but hell, we made it and probably finished up in the top.
We haven't gotten total results yet but rumor has it that there were 20 cars within 2 seconds. Yeah, you read that right, 3300 miles and 20 cars hit the number with 2 seconds.
To give you some perspective, the second place finisher had an average speed of 61.004 mph. Now that's close.
My heart goes out to Liam tho, this cat went for one prize and one prize only, the true cannonballer. He raced the course, got 4 tickets and arrived at each checkpoint hours before it even opened and did not take the prize.
Surprisingly, that went to Molly saleen and her Molly pop. Total fix, but in the true spirit of the race, controversy surrounded everything from the way it was handled to the winner, but it doesn't matter because it was impossible to not have the time of your life.
We haven't gotten total results yet but rumor has it that there were 20 cars within 2 seconds. Yeah, you read that right, 3300 miles and 20 cars hit the number with 2 seconds.
To give you some perspective, the second place finisher had an average speed of 61.004 mph. Now that's close.
My heart goes out to Liam tho, this cat went for one prize and one prize only, the true cannonballer. He raced the course, got 4 tickets and arrived at each checkpoint hours before it even opened and did not take the prize.
Surprisingly, that went to Molly saleen and her Molly pop. Total fix, but in the true spirit of the race, controversy surrounded everything from the way it was handled to the winner, but it doesn't matter because it was impossible to not have the time of your life.
Friday, August 3, 2007
FINISHED! and guess what?
We pulled into the checkpoint right on time and I really think we've got a shot at this!
As we pulled in, I hopped out of the car and watched him yet to back into a parking stall, when out of nowhere, coolant came streaming forth out of the car and gold 101 sat idle in front of yet another checkpoint.
Again, you have no choice but to proceed. We let it cool, added some water and antifreeze and watched the big boys in their super cars race around willow springs race track without restrictions.
Rally done baby! Now its on to LA, with a quick stop in GLENDALE to pick up the tuxes and off to the party at the Biltmore.
As we pulled in, I hopped out of the car and watched him yet to back into a parking stall, when out of nowhere, coolant came streaming forth out of the car and gold 101 sat idle in front of yet another checkpoint.
Again, you have no choice but to proceed. We let it cool, added some water and antifreeze and watched the big boys in their super cars race around willow springs race track without restrictions.
Rally done baby! Now its on to LA, with a quick stop in GLENDALE to pick up the tuxes and off to the party at the Biltmore.
the leaders are in trouble!
Paul and Sara, a really nice couple from the
UK had been the de facto leaders.
So far we saw them popped by the cops in Nevada and now again just 10 miles short of the finish line.
Two tickets, running late and the road is a 45 mph so they have to speed in order to make it on time because hell, we're close to running out and they left before us.
Trouble for the Brits may mean gold for 101.
UK had been the de facto leaders.
So far we saw them popped by the cops in Nevada and now again just 10 miles short of the finish line.
Two tickets, running late and the road is a 45 mph so they have to speed in order to make it on time because hell, we're close to running out and they left before us.
Trouble for the Brits may mean gold for 101.
the leaders are in trouble!
Paul and Sara, a really nice couple from the
UK had been the de facto leaders.
So far we saw them popped by the cops in Nevada and now again just 10 miles short of the finish line.
Two tickets, running late and the road is a 45 mph so they have to speed in order to make it on time because hell, we're close to running out and they left before us.
Trouble for the Brits may mean gold for 101.
UK had been the de facto leaders.
So far we saw them popped by the cops in Nevada and now again just 10 miles short of the finish line.
Two tickets, running late and the road is a 45 mph so they have to speed in order to make it on time because hell, we're close to running out and they left before us.
Trouble for the Brits may mean gold for 101.
ahhh... air conditioning!
When you're crossing the desert and its over 110 outside, it truly pays off to be able to take the inside of your car down to about 75 degrees.
As I look at the other cars on the road, i'm guessing that's what they're thinking because they probably have air conditioners that work!
Yep, sweating bullets across the arid southern California desert in a car that spits out enough heat from the transmission alone to warm even the coldest of bavarian nights.
Must be a buck-thirty in gold 101, which is coincidentally the coolest we've been able to get this car to since the catskills.
ssssss...
As I look at the other cars on the road, i'm guessing that's what they're thinking because they probably have air conditioners that work!
Yep, sweating bullets across the arid southern California desert in a car that spits out enough heat from the transmission alone to warm even the coldest of bavarian nights.
Must be a buck-thirty in gold 101, which is coincidentally the coolest we've been able to get this car to since the catskills.
ssssss...
California!
Oh man its good to be back.
We're blowing off track day and lunch and heading straight to the Biltmore after we check in.
Doesn't sound like it, but this is a true endurance test. The driving is one thing, but its activity after activity when we check in and virtually no down time.
We're blowing off track day and lunch and heading straight to the Biltmore after we check in.
Doesn't sound like it, but this is a true endurance test. The driving is one thing, but its activity after activity when we check in and virtually no down time.
warped perspective...
This leg of our trip is 238 miles, and now only 40 miles into it both my dad and I have the feeling that we're almost done. After averaging over 800 miles a day, 238 seems like a trip to the corner store.
My ass still hurts tho.
My ass still hurts tho.
on to willowsprings
The international raceway to be exact where the big boys are gonna strut their stuff.
We had mistakenly thought yesterday was our final checkpoint, with a caravan to LA, but we just met up with the Miami group for the final of five legs.
We made up all our time and we feel like we're in good shape so if we can just hit the 61 mph average today, I should be driving home in a new saleen tomorrow.
Still no Molly pop sighting, but we did get full blown helicopter TV coverage this morning. This event even makes waves in a town famous for ignoring tsunamis.
We had mistakenly thought yesterday was our final checkpoint, with a caravan to LA, but we just met up with the Miami group for the final of five legs.
We made up all our time and we feel like we're in good shape so if we can just hit the 61 mph average today, I should be driving home in a new saleen tomorrow.
Still no Molly pop sighting, but we did get full blown helicopter TV coverage this morning. This event even makes waves in a town famous for ignoring tsunamis.
i love this town...
Its 830 and about 95 degrees right now.
I hit the cigar shop last night, knocked back a few mojitos, played a little poker, got married to second pair and realized I was too tired to play good cards.
Our run today is out to the track and rumored to be only 200 miles. From there we run the track at open speeds (very nice treat and the thing the southern boys are looking forward to most) and then a caravan out to LA.
One more leg. We'll get our variance time from leg 3 I suppose, which will help me double check if I had my math right for the first there legs. If its different, we just need to make up that gap.
I hit the cigar shop last night, knocked back a few mojitos, played a little poker, got married to second pair and realized I was too tired to play good cards.
Our run today is out to the track and rumored to be only 200 miles. From there we run the track at open speeds (very nice treat and the thing the southern boys are looking forward to most) and then a caravan out to LA.
One more leg. We'll get our variance time from leg 3 I suppose, which will help me double check if I had my math right for the first there legs. If its different, we just need to make up that gap.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
lying in wait...
Made it! We're hiding next door waiting for our time which is 19 minutes away.
We nailed it and i've prematurely lit my victory cigar, the last bolivar royal corona from the trip!
It'll get announced tomorrow, but we've got as good a chance as anyone to take home first.
We nailed it and i've prematurely lit my victory cigar, the last bolivar royal corona from the trip!
It'll get announced tomorrow, but we've got as good a chance as anyone to take home first.
forty six and two
Could there be a finer song playing on the mp3 player as we rip through the desert on the homestretch?
No.
No.
Vegas, 75 miles...
It's HOT!
We came through the desert at the perfect time, a nice gentle rainstorm (heavy sarcasm) but now its clear and hot.
Vegas is almost in sight. We just passed through the 30 mile stretch ps Arizona that I-15 cuts through.
Gold 101 has just about made it but we ain't counting no chickens yet.
We're on time and have about a 30 minute cushion, traffic notwithstanding.
Our target driving time today is 11:34.30. Yep, calc'd it to the second and the stopwatch is going.
We came through the desert at the perfect time, a nice gentle rainstorm (heavy sarcasm) but now its clear and hot.
Vegas is almost in sight. We just passed through the 30 mile stretch ps Arizona that I-15 cuts through.
Gold 101 has just about made it but we ain't counting no chickens yet.
We're on time and have about a 30 minute cushion, traffic notwithstanding.
Our target driving time today is 11:34.30. Yep, calc'd it to the second and the stopwatch is going.
more storms
We're about to drive into a black wall that gets lit up with lighting every few seconds.
This thing is nasty.
This thing is nasty.
rain and accidents.
The rain is unrelenting as we hit the summit of this range of mountains in southern utah.
Visibility really decreased and we've come across two nasty accidents.
Each accident was solo, and each one rolled their cars. And both happened just moments before we approached them. In fact, the ford explorer probably happened less than a minute before we got there.
This has been by far the most dangerous atetch of road we've seen in the 2800 miles we've gone.
But our car is clean!
(everyone in each accident appeared to be okay)
Visibility really decreased and we've come across two nasty accidents.
Each accident was solo, and each one rolled their cars. And both happened just moments before we approached them. In fact, the ford explorer probably happened less than a minute before we got there.
This has been by far the most dangerous atetch of road we've seen in the 2800 miles we've gone.
But our car is clean!
(everyone in each accident appeared to be okay)
the descent...
If this were an airplane ride, we'd be descending at the moment.
We just picked up interstate 15 south towards Vegas and this gets us to the four hour mark and we need to maintain 63 mph.
We have a legit shot at taking this thing down.
We just picked up interstate 15 south towards Vegas and this gets us to the four hour mark and we need to maintain 63 mph.
We have a legit shot at taking this thing down.
this is why you double check...
Made a math error. More to the point, I read the calculator wrong and saw a .06 instead of a .66.
That gives us anothe .6 hours, which makes a huge difference. Now all of a sudden instead of having to finish at 7:11, we have to roll into Vegas 36 minutes later. HUGE impact.
We can actually win this thing! I'll triple check when we fill up. .
That gives us anothe .6 hours, which makes a huge difference. Now all of a sudden instead of having to finish at 7:11, we have to roll into Vegas 36 minutes later. HUGE impact.
We can actually win this thing! I'll triple check when we fill up. .
eagle county sheriff cars
Are unmarked jet black chargers with a shadow logo that you can barely see.
How do we know? He was doing 70 in the slow lane when we passed him going 80.
Good thing the limit is 75. Cheeky bugger! (a shout out to all the Brits in this race)
Rest assured that hit will nail a few cannonballers.
How do we know? He was doing 70 in the slow lane when we passed him going 80.
Good thing the limit is 75. Cheeky bugger! (a shout out to all the Brits in this race)
Rest assured that hit will nail a few cannonballers.
out of the rockies.
We're on our way to the desert. We only averaged 59 mph through the mountains and need to average 71.8 mph to hit our number for the next 9 hours.
Considering the tourist traffic, the road construction and the po-lice, 59 was pretty damned good from the starting checkpoint.
We'll be checking our progress every hour to see where we stand.
Stay tuned! And we definately still have a chance to win although we're talking an 80 yard drive with 30 seconds to go if I may mix a metaphor.
If only bill Walsh were still around to call plays.
Considering the tourist traffic, the road construction and the po-lice, 59 was pretty damned good from the starting checkpoint.
We'll be checking our progress every hour to see where we stand.
Stay tuned! And we definately still have a chance to win although we're talking an 80 yard drive with 30 seconds to go if I may mix a metaphor.
If only bill Walsh were still around to call plays.
cops are everywhere!
Colorado has pulled out the welcome wagon just like new York did. In the last two miles, we've passed five of our hits pulled over.
When the cops get wind of us, the descend like the plague!
Just caught a glimpse of a couple ralliers on the other side of the road hanging out.
We need to get to utah before we can open it up, too risky here.
When the cops get wind of us, the descend like the plague!
Just caught a glimpse of a couple ralliers on the other side of the road hanging out.
We need to get to utah before we can open it up, too risky here.
false alarm?
We blew a ton of smoke out (for certain oil), and made an unplanned stop in vail.
Checked the oil and everything looks okay! So, we filled up, and if our math is correct, we can use that as one our planned there stops on the day. So for the next 700 miles we can only stop twice to have a chance to roll into Vegas at 7:11 denver time. That's the target.
Gold 101 is still moving... For now.
Checked the oil and everything looks okay! So, we filled up, and if our math is correct, we can use that as one our planned there stops on the day. So for the next 700 miles we can only stop twice to have a chance to roll into Vegas at 7:11 denver time. That's the target.
Gold 101 is still moving... For now.
we're out.
Just blew a ring. We're blowing blue smoke like its going out of style.
Out of competition its just a matter of finishing.
Out of competition its just a matter of finishing.
we have a chance!
Albeit a small one. Finally found out our variance and it was nothing as expected, but it makes perfect sense.
For the first two legs, we had a mph variance of 1.891 mph. Doesn't sound bad, but that was over 1557 miles and counting yesterday's variance, we have to average 69 mph on today's run to make up the difference.
Not impossible, but difficult. We have to get from denver to Vegas in about 11 hours flat to do it.
This has been tricky, considering the checkpoints are only open at a certain time most people are mathmatically out of it. If you had a variance over 2 mph, you have no chance. Even at our level its tough because if we stop for 30 minutes, we have to average 73. And we will stop for that time because we have to get gas at least 3 times.
For the first two legs, we had a mph variance of 1.891 mph. Doesn't sound bad, but that was over 1557 miles and counting yesterday's variance, we have to average 69 mph on today's run to make up the difference.
Not impossible, but difficult. We have to get from denver to Vegas in about 11 hours flat to do it.
This has been tricky, considering the checkpoints are only open at a certain time most people are mathmatically out of it. If you had a variance over 2 mph, you have no chance. Even at our level its tough because if we stop for 30 minutes, we have to average 73. And we will stop for that time because we have to get gas at least 3 times.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Arkansas Boys...
took first place for the second leg for the second night in a row... just got done talking with them and they feel like they nailed the third leg too - the prize is essentially wrapped up in my opinion. not sure what we're doing wrong, but damn - we've hit our numbers dead on with only the first leg up in the air!
according to my calcs, we hit 61.16, 61.04 and 61.03 - that's over the course of 942, 633 and 713 miles... if my math is correct, that means we're at an average mph of 61. 10 for 2285 miles... to bring us down to 60.00 even, we have to come in at 59.8 mph for the final 750 miles.
we're gonna go with that, try to show up a bit late tomorrow and see where we fall - the organization has been a little lax to say the least, especially on the first day - hell, we don't even have these numbers CONFIRMED yet, which pisses me off more than a little.
we didn't even hit the top three for yesterday, which surprised me and today we missed by only 17 seconds!!
onward ho.. pics coming...
according to my calcs, we hit 61.16, 61.04 and 61.03 - that's over the course of 942, 633 and 713 miles... if my math is correct, that means we're at an average mph of 61. 10 for 2285 miles... to bring us down to 60.00 even, we have to come in at 59.8 mph for the final 750 miles.
we're gonna go with that, try to show up a bit late tomorrow and see where we fall - the organization has been a little lax to say the least, especially on the first day - hell, we don't even have these numbers CONFIRMED yet, which pisses me off more than a little.
we didn't even hit the top three for yesterday, which surprised me and today we missed by only 17 seconds!!
onward ho.. pics coming...
denver in sight.
Holy crap I didn't think we'd make it! We're not in yet, but we've got 26 miles to go and 30 minutes to do it in.
After all we've been through today in wichita, i'm surprised we got here on time.
To give you some perspective and an idea of how bad off we were, at the halfway mark we had to average 76 mph for the rest of the trip.
Yes, we sped, yes, it was fun, and yes, dad finally decided to take gold 101 above the triple digit mark.
On to denver!
After all we've been through today in wichita, i'm surprised we got here on time.
To give you some perspective and an idea of how bad off we were, at the halfway mark we had to average 76 mph for the rest of the trip.
Yes, we sped, yes, it was fun, and yes, dad finally decided to take gold 101 above the triple digit mark.
On to denver!
pictures coming tonight
I'm gonna upload my entire album tonight from denver. It'll be link format with a redirect to another site.
battery strategy
Here's the idea we came up with;
Run 100 to 150 miles with the battery plugged into the VR, stop, unplug it, and run 100-150 miles with it unplugged.
If it blows up or dies, toss the fresh backup in and refigure our mileage.
Run 100 to 150 miles with the battery plugged into the VR, stop, unplug it, and run 100-150 miles with it unplugged.
If it blows up or dies, toss the fresh backup in and refigure our mileage.
battery issues still!
But nothing we weren't prepared for. The one we had in began to leak only a couple hours after leaving wichita.
The original one that died this morning is back in and connected to the VR. In a couple of hundred miles, we,ll disconnect it and draw off that alone for power for a while.
The original one that died this morning is back in and connected to the VR. In a couple of hundred miles, we,ll disconnect it and draw off that alone for power for a while.
fly over states...
I already knew it haven driven coast to coast on three separate occasions, but my god kansas is boring.
Our route is a 500 mile drive across high plains. No scenary to speak of.
I'm counting oil wells.
Gold 101 is still holding up and we've recalculated our arrival time. We only had to add 10 minutes and 16 seconds to make up for our diversion in wichita.
I need a shower.
Our route is a 500 mile drive across high plains. No scenary to speak of.
I'm counting oil wells.
Gold 101 is still holding up and we've recalculated our arrival time. We only had to add 10 minutes and 16 seconds to make up for our diversion in wichita.
I need a shower.
we're back baby!!
Fuuuuuuck...
This rally business is brutal. Might not be relaxing (not at all) but its theraputic as you learn a lot about yourself and people. Which reminds me, the guys at Joe self BMW in wichita kick ass!
Somewhere north of tulsa gold 101 started to lunge so we pulled into a gas station. Bam! Dead battery, but if you remember, we had a fully charged spare in the trunk.
Tossed it in and realized the guys at rated x customs in indy left the new, wrong, voltage regulator in. Which means we had been pulling down the battery life instead of overcharging it.
So the plan was to find a dealer in wichita, have them put back the old VR, charge up the dead battery, and hook up our relay that "overcharged" the battery.
We're running a live 13 volts back whick is still bad, but at least it ain't 16.5, right?
So now we're heading north with a fully connected VR, a fully charged (and maybe overcharging) battery under the hood and a half charged one in the trunk which should give us enough cranking power to turn the car over if this one blows.
The car itself is running great short of our electrical issues and we ordered a new, correct, VR to be picked up in Vegas during track day.
Wish us luck.
No real photos to upload of tulsa, but I think i'll be posting some links of the online directory in Denver so ya'll can check 'em out.
This rally business is brutal. Might not be relaxing (not at all) but its theraputic as you learn a lot about yourself and people. Which reminds me, the guys at Joe self BMW in wichita kick ass!
Somewhere north of tulsa gold 101 started to lunge so we pulled into a gas station. Bam! Dead battery, but if you remember, we had a fully charged spare in the trunk.
Tossed it in and realized the guys at rated x customs in indy left the new, wrong, voltage regulator in. Which means we had been pulling down the battery life instead of overcharging it.
So the plan was to find a dealer in wichita, have them put back the old VR, charge up the dead battery, and hook up our relay that "overcharged" the battery.
We're running a live 13 volts back whick is still bad, but at least it ain't 16.5, right?
So now we're heading north with a fully connected VR, a fully charged (and maybe overcharging) battery under the hood and a half charged one in the trunk which should give us enough cranking power to turn the car over if this one blows.
The car itself is running great short of our electrical issues and we ordered a new, correct, VR to be picked up in Vegas during track day.
Wish us luck.
No real photos to upload of tulsa, but I think i'll be posting some links of the online directory in Denver so ya'll can check 'em out.
tulsa
Made it to tulsa and we NAILED our target time beautifully.
We averaged 61.04 mph which is hard to beat.
However, there is one major complaint that the teams are all beginning to echo, and that was our nyc start and the fact that they didn't check the clock and odometer on all the cars.
It is rather significant because we don't need to average our miles, but our mph and we need to adjust to any past variances we had on previous legs.
From what I can gather, we hit our target in indy pretty damned well, if anything our average speed mugy have been a bit high. I had our first day at 61.16 but we have no idea if that is correct and the organizers have strayed from the rules to start pissing people off.
We're supposed to find out our times the following day and Tim porter, the organizer, even said, we're not gonna find out until the end.
The arkansas boys in the lead are experienced Tsd ralliers but there is already grimbling about a 'fix'.
I said it before the race started, don't be surprised when team saleen wins a saleen.
We averaged 61.04 mph which is hard to beat.
However, there is one major complaint that the teams are all beginning to echo, and that was our nyc start and the fact that they didn't check the clock and odometer on all the cars.
It is rather significant because we don't need to average our miles, but our mph and we need to adjust to any past variances we had on previous legs.
From what I can gather, we hit our target in indy pretty damned well, if anything our average speed mugy have been a bit high. I had our first day at 61.16 but we have no idea if that is correct and the organizers have strayed from the rules to start pissing people off.
We're supposed to find out our times the following day and Tim porter, the organizer, even said, we're not gonna find out until the end.
The arkansas boys in the lead are experienced Tsd ralliers but there is already grimbling about a 'fix'.
I said it before the race started, don't be surprised when team saleen wins a saleen.
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