buckle-up

  When I began developing short post for HPDE drivers that would appear in issues of the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) magazine, Speed News, I was under no illusion about my own skills. As someone entering the sport much later in life than most other participants, there was no easy way for me to play catch up. The focus had to remain on the basics as over time so many bad habits made themselves apparent each time I entered the track. Not to worry, I always said, I will figure it out. However, before any confidence could develop the most basic question had to be addressed. Could you see out of your car so that you knew exactly where you were headed? Physics play a big role in getting any car to perform on track. To this end nothing maters quite as much as getting the center of gravity as low as possible; being top heavy is no way to approach any corner. On the other hand, sitting so low that you cannot see the front corners of your car isn’t going to add to your weekend’...

What I look at day-in, day-out; memory from driving tail of the dragon It is time to pause for a moment and step back from my daily routine. For more than a decade I have been writing posts, articles and commentaries for some really good clients. As I prepare to write I am always looking out for something to anchor a story line as it is important to grab a reader’s attention quickly. This time, the impetus for this story line came from an unexpected source and it was a reminder of just how readily life’s little adventures can be broken down to fit into a finite set of categories. Call it the unfair advantage if you like as having an ear for something different and perhaps a little off-track has been a part of my daily routine for all of this past decade. Watching a popular television series, it was in preparation for a wedding where once again we were reminded of the old adage – something old, something new; something borrowed something blue. While it is about the inclusion of item...

  The morning day before departure; Highland Meadows golf course, Windsor CO After experiencing about as much altered normalcy as we could take it was time to hit the road. Right now, we are enjoying all the springtime has to offer and being on a golf course, there is plenty to see but it’s time to take in a much bigger vista. For the longest time we have been living with the global pandemic, but here in northern Colorado there was never a real lockdown. Throughout the past year, we could always drive out for gas, food, coffee and a hamburger. Restrictions were in place for some businesses but essentially we were spared the discomfort that many living in big cities experienced. But yes, time to fill the gas tank, grab the maps (yes we still like to have paper maps on hand), load the bags and lock up the house. A business opportunity opened up that would see us making the trek all the way down to the south east as our destination was Florida. Both sides of Florida, that is, as we...

When Margo and I decided that it might be fun to take our Corvette to the track and to try our hand at laying down laps on road courses in California and Colorado, we elected to do so as a team. If it was to be my hobby then it was to be something we shared. Perhaps hobby is not the right word as all too quickly it began consuming our weekends to where time away from track was time wasted. However, electing to pursue a shared program meant that it would take us twice as long to develop the necessary skills to be truly comfortable on track. It also meant that on more than one occasion, my turn on track (usually the Saturday) meant that when it came time for Margo to go on track, our beloved Corvette was pretty beat up. Imagine the reaction from Margo when she leaped from the car and chased me around the pit area letting me know in no uncertain terms that I had given her a car with no brakes. Not at your average track mind you, but at Laguna Seca where brakes stopped working as she a...

  Expanding on the November 12, 2020, post, June to November; Colorful Colorado shines, I have elected to showcase the city of Windsor across a twelve month span. Not the city per se, but the view from our main floor deck. Not from exactly the same spot either, but close enough to give you the idea. I am going to document changes in the reverse order, starting with May 2021 and wrapping up with June 2020. You will also see that there are not twelve photos but fourteen as on two occasions the change across 24 hours was dramatic and worth a second look. But first, what does it look like outside our home right now? Take a look at the photo above and then again, at the very end of this post. As Margo was editing this post she observed that never ever would she expect me to write a blog on watching the grass grow, but here I am! May 10, 2021 morning and then afternoon of same day ... Spring may begin in late March at least according to the calendar, but in northern Colorado it does ...