I made a pledge to myself to not "let myself go" too much this winter. Last winter I gained some weight, saw my driving skill atrophy a little, and generally had a hill to climb to get back into the spirit of things in the Spring. The older I get, the harder it seems to be to put in the effort to do this remedial work. So I thought I'd try to nip it in the bud this year before it got out of hand.
Are you ready for the new season?!? This one looks to be quite full of amazing events. Dig out your calendar and start filling it with fun!
Happy holidays, merry Christmas, happy Hannukah, joyeux Noël, happy Festivus and whatever other things you celebrate to you all! I hope Santa filled your garages with everything you wanted this year!
I'm happy to report it was a year of safety upgrades for me. A Simpson Hybrid is on the way to keep my neck in one happy, healthy piece along with a new helmet with the attachment posts to match. It will be far more comforting to know that I'll have about 20 times more protection in the case of any unplanned incidents in the coming year. I might have to dig around for a metal-to-metal fire extinguisher mount soon, just to quell the perennial inspection-day shenanigans where my inspection shop reiterates that my factory-supplied plastic mount does not meet the specifications of the Porsche Club. It's all rather ridiculous, but most of life is, isn't it?
It's the middle of November and track season here in New England is just about officially shut down. There is one last ADSI autocross event on 11/29, but I'm going to miss it to uphold my ACF pledge of not neglecting my family (too much) for racing. I'm sure the groans I here are all commiseration, right? So what are we planning for the next few months and beyond you ask?
What is your definition of the most fun you can have in a car? As a kid, I dreamed of the chance to drive a Lamborghini Countach. To hear the noise of twelve angry Italian cylinders shouting at Ferraris each time they fired up. Only to then want a Ferrari F40, which I still consider to be the pinnacle of automotive achievement. Or perhaps to slide behind the wheel of a Porsche 959 to get the feeling that when you add classic design and the latest (for the early 90's anyway) engineering, you come away with something so technically marvelous that it defies belief. Over 200mph? In 1986? Wow, wow, wow. I chased the supercar dream right up until about last year. Then I saw the light.
Over the course of a driving season, I find that my emotional love of the sport changes dynamics severely. A dialog is constantly playing in my head: "Am I just going in circles? Do I need to improve my car? Do I need to improve myself? Do I still enjoy this?" And it is quite surprising, even to myself. I constantly assess what makes me enjoy this sport so much. Why do I do this? Why do I spend time and money driving in circles?
It's been almost one full year since I decided to put a helmet on my seven year old son and put him into a gas-powered racing vehicle for wheel-to-wheel racing. As he climbed into a kart at On Track Karting in Wallingford, CT yesterday, I couldn't help being struck by how much has changed and how much we've both grown in a year.
As the ice melts, the tarmac is starting to warm up and the inaugural 2015 ADSI driving school and autocross event is this weekend on Sunday 4/26 8am-5pm. To say that I'm ready to get back into my car is a gross understatement. It was such a long winter that I feel like I'll be spending the first month just re-learning things I knew last year. But if that's the worst problem I face, I'm still a rather lucky bastard. 2015 is looking bright...