Hello
everyone! This past month and a half has been busy for us and I probably
should have written something up weeks ago mitigate this update’s
length. Oh well! Here’s a TL;DR. We took a
drive in the mountains, re-wooded our racing trailer, went to a wedding, raced
dirt drags, attended a house-living party, worked on the rally car, raced in
three rallycross events (two local, one national), did Time Attack for the
first time, camped a total of four nights, drove 4,800 miles back and forth
across the country, had so much fun visiting family in New York, played new
games, went to the best mall ever, finished making six gallons of wine, and had
our rally car filmed by quadcopters while we raced.
On the last Sunday of
June Susan and I took a top-down drive in the mountains. We went by
the old house and saw how tall the trees have grown. Driving down
highway 74 through the s-curves and past the now-old (but new to us!) library
brought back many memories. We finally ended up at Illegal Burgers
which is just off the El Rancho exit off I-70. The only reason for
the trip was an empty calendar which was reason enough for us.
In early July we
decided to finally re-wood our racing trailer. After measuring the
trailer we went to Home Depot and purchased wood and paint. This was
eventful only because we had to tie the larger pieces of wood to the top of our
Subaru. Fortunately everything made it home. The wet
summer we’ve been experiencing slowed our efforts somewhat but after a week or
so we were done. Susan de-rusted and painted the old hardware which
we reused and wired up new LED taillights. We also upgraded the
trailer by relocating the spare tire and adding shelf mounts on the front and
sides to hold wire shelves. These mounts have already come in handy
and we’re happy with the results.
The July 4th weekend
was busy. Friday morning had us getting our rally car’s airbag
replaced under recall (we feel much safer now). In the afternoon we
attended our racing friend Ryan Sealey’s wedding at Evergreen Memorial Park
which is across from Marshdale Elementary. The weather was perfect
for their outside ceremony. The music was a mix of traditional and
sci-fi with an acoustic guitar Star Wars medley thrown in. It was
fun and well put-together. Instead of having a traditional guest
book Susan was asked to bring her camera equipment for attendees to use to take
pictures of themselves holding slate boards with chalked personalized
messages. Susan set up a tripod in the basement by the refreshments
but we found that few people were using the setup. Thus Susan took
the camera and I grabbed the message boards and we hounded the guests into
participating. In the end I believe we got pictures of most of
them.
On the 4th of
July we went to the Wellington Dirt Drags in (you guessed it) Wellington,
Colorado (though the town is so far north it might as well be in
Wyoming). The event was put on by the same folks that organize the
ice racing up in Georgetown. The racing was held on an open field in
town where two 80-yard paths were dug out. The starter used a green
flag and two volunteers at the finish displayed hand gestures to indicate who
won. It was simple double-elimination brackets so we were guaranteed
at least two runs per racing group. Unfortunately for us there were
a lot of different groups and most of our time was spent waiting to
go. When we finally did go we predictably did just alright, winning
a few and losing a few races. Neither of us have fantastic reaction
times and our car was comparatively under-powered. After the long hot
day hanging out in a field and the long drive home we just had the energy to
watch the illegal fireworks going off above the surrounding houses from our
driveway before hunkering down for the night. I’m glad we went to
the dirt drags for the simple experience of doing it but I don’t think we’ll be
going next year.
The next day had us
with our racing friends Neil and Carol Rickli celebrating them living in the
same house for 30 years. It was nice to visit and we got a tour of
their home. They’ve been autocrossing for a long time and raised
their daughter in the sport. Neil showed off their many mementos,
trophies, and newspaper articles. They made sliders with five
specialized topping stations representing five countries. While I
can’t remember them all (I know Italy was in there) I do remember they made for
a tasty mix and ate too many of them. We had a really nice
time.
Our journey to figure
out the clunking sound from the front driver’s side of the rally car is still
ongoing. In July I pulled apart and re-greased the strut and then
replaced the ball joint. The ball joint was more painful than the
last one I’d done. I ended up bending the large C-clamp I rented to
install the new ball joint and it took me two evenings to complete what was a
30 minute job on our old rally car (the red WRX). Now I know what to
expect when I inevitably have to replace the passenger side ball
joint. For those keeping score I’ve now replaced the strut mount,
replaced the sway bar end links, re-greased the strut, and replaced the ball
joint. After all this the clunking sound remains. I’ll
probably replace the sway bar bushings next before my head finally
explodes.
The July
11-12 weekend had us down at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) for a
RallyCross and Time Attack. The mixed surface (pavement/dirt)
rallycross course was very long and brutal on our tires (we actually rotated
them front-to-back mid-race to mitigate the damage). Out of the 15
drivers in our class I was happy to come in second and Susan came in a close seventh. Along
with our racing friends Dan and Alicia we then set up a campsite under the
grandstands and then watched drivers attempt to drift their cars on the PPIR
race track. There were some successes but nothing to write home
about (most of the entertainment came from those who were
terrible). Once it got dark we sat around a lantern (no fires
allowed), enjoyed some adult beverages, and then Susan and I went to
bed. Dan and Alicia ended up partying with the drifters and other
folks on the in-field until 3:00AM (they were very tired the next
morning). We all raced on the in-field and track the next day in
what is called a Time Attack. Basically a Time Attack consists of a
large autocross course (lots of cones) which utilizes part of the track and has
the drivers going much faster. Hilariously it started with a U-turn
which was so tight that our car could barely make it without
hitting a cone (which in this context would mean our times would be thrown
out). This slowed us down quite a bit but, as we were just there to
have fun, didn’t matter too much. We ended up getting many laps and
putting down some respectable times before packing up and heading
home. If our schedule allows we’re going to try to attend more Time
Attacks in the future.
On July 20th we
finally completed a journey that began two months before when we bottled our
wine. The bottling process was simple and we sampled the final
product as we worked. I would say the vast majority of the hands-on
time spent making wine is dedicated to cleaning and sanitizing. Our
wine tastes pretty good and we’re thinking of making something different next
time.
The next weekend was
the beginning of two crazy weeks which had us driving to New York and back and
then to Iowa for rallycross nationals. It started with another local
rallycross at our favorite venue CORE on July 25. As per usual we
had a blast. For the first time ever I was able to get first place
over Peter Zlamany who wins at practically every event. The course
designer tried to make the course more open with larger turns and higher speeds
to get us ready for the nationals in two weeks. He failed in his
endeavor instead making a course with extremely tight sections
throughout. There were more cones massacred than I’ve ever seen and
Susan was the lone driver out of 57 to not hit any which helped her come in
fourth place in our large class of 18 drivers.
The following day we
loaded up the Subaru and, along with pugs Bella and Sophie, started off to New
York. Bella was incorrigible and ended up sitting in Susan’s lap for
the majority of the trip with Sophie having most of the back seat to
herself. Since the drive was so long we stopped more times than was
strictly necessary and stayed the night in Peru, Illinois. We pulled
into Ryan and Em’s Syracuse, New York driveway the following evening where
everyone made quick hellos before heading to bed.
The next day started
with a tasty breakfast and a tour of Em and Ryan’s big and interesting
home. Mark mentioned this and I agree that I’ve never been in a
house with so many doors. We adults consulted on what the day’s plan
would be as the kids chased Bella around and watched Ninjago (a Lego-based show
where the characters are all of extremely small minds). Lee was as
cute as he could be and smiled and laughed at the pugs. We settled
on a visit to Destiny Mall to experience WonderWorks. WonderWorks
has a mix of attractions including museum-like interactive exhibits, a 4D
theater, laser-tag, and a ropes course high over the interior of the mall
(three stories up in parts). We did just about everything we could
do including battling it out to see who could make their minds more empty of
thought (predictably I won every match). Since we were there in the
early afternoon on a Tuesday it wasn’t busy and we hardly had to wait at all to
experience all four of the films in the 4D theater (though Mark sat out the
last three). The hours I’ve spent playing video games paid off in
the laser-tag room when I crushed everyone else’s scores with my
own. We ended our time at WonderWorks on the ropes course where we
shuffled across various obstacles high above the mall patrons. I do
believe everyone found something they really enjoyed. Dinner was
tasty delivered pizza (advertized as “New York style” though not in
reality).
The next day Susan and
I drove to Niagara Falls where we met Mark, Jessie, and their
kids. Once we figured out what exactly we were going to do we bought
our tickets and headed to Maid of the Mist. We got to the falls
early in the day and the crowds were minimal and so we didn’t have to wait long
to board the boat. The rain ponchos were thin but effective in
keeping most of our body heat concentrated around us (I was so
hot). It was a fun experience although I will bring goggles with me
next time (the spray was penetrating). When we got off the boat we
split up with Mark and company heading to the Cave of the Winds and Susan and
me going to our car to drive to Canada. The line to get into Canada
was long and slow. I always get an odd feeling when dealing with
customs, like I could say the wrong thing and get sent to another country for
enhanced-interrogation. Fortunately my baby-cheek smile saw us
through and into the land of not-a-whole-lot-different-than-America. I
parked in a lot around a half-mile from the falls and we walked along the river
to the visitor center. There were a lot more people on the Canada
side of the falls and thick crowds were everywhere which somewhat marred the
experience. We ate lunch from Tim Hortons (Canada’s version of
Starbucks) and got overpriced Dipping Dots (though I suppose they all are,
overpriced that is). We made our way back to the car and then back
to America. This time there was a drug dog which made sure we didn’t
bring back any of the black-tar Canadian heroin which is in such high demand in
New York. We made a stop in Buffalo, New York to eat Buffalo wings
at the Anchor Bar (they claim to be the inventors of the
delicacy). The wings were yummy and Susan figured out that it also
happened to be National Chicken Wing Day (no joke, look it up). No
trip to New York would be complete for Susan unless we visited a Goo Goo Dolls
landmark so we went to the defunct Superstar Carwash so she could take a
picture from the car (its image was used on one of their early album covers
appropriately named “Superstar Carwash”). This done we headed back
to Syracuse where we stopped at a winery before arriving at Em and Ryan’s
home. Upon taking care of the pugs Em, Ryan, Susan, and me headed
back to Destiny Mall for some go-carting (yes, the mall also has an indoor
go-cart track). After showing the locals what’s what (I was 9th fastest
of the week *blows on knuckles before buffing them on the front of my shirt*)
we went home to snack and play games. The game of the evening was
Sheriff of Nottingham in which lying well will win you the
game. Perhaps tellingly I won the first game and Em the
second. Go Lawson spawn!
The third day in New
York had us back at the Destiny Mall for more go-carting and normal mall-stuff
(like shopping). Barbara watched Jonah and Stewart play at Billy
Bees (a kid playhouse). Mark joined Susan, Ryan, and myself for a
race and Julia and Evan had a go racing with some other youths (Evan raced
twice). All that racing had us hungry! Our intent was to
then eat at the Cheesecake Factory but a 1.5 hour wait had us walking to P.F.
Chang’s instead. We collectively ate too much good food before going
splitting up and walking around the mall. I made a bee-line to the
guitar store where I annoyed the employees for an hour or so making their new
guitars used. Susan wandered around during this time getting
thoroughly lost before we met up. On our way back to see everyone
else we stopped at a booth and tasted apple wine thus solidifying Destiny Mall
as the best mall ever. It was good enough that we bought a few
bottles before heading back for another go-cart race (Susan and I did five
races in two days because racecar).
The morning on day
four in New York had Ryan, Barbara, Susan, and me going to a theater to see
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. The movie was fun and we went back
home to play games with the kids. We played a game called The Game
of 49 where the players would bid on cards by dropping their “coins” in
containers while one person counted down from 10. It was fun but a
little difficult to manage with all our hands going in and out (possibly this
is part of the allure). I believe it was at this point that Em got
out Lightning Reaction Reloaded. This reaction game allows up to
four players to pit their reaction times against each other. The
concept is simple: those who react slowest once the music stops get shocked
(literally). Em, Mark, Susan and me played each other many
times. Em proved herself to have the quickest reaction times while
Susan and I took the brunt of the shocks. Stewart got in on the
action and would say “hold this for me” while handing us the
controllers. As soon as you would take it from him he would push the
button to start the countdown (he did this several
times). Eventually we turned up the voltage which led to numb hands
and lots of laughter. We weren’t done with Destiny Mall yet and
headed back there to go to 5 Wits. At 5 Wits you pay to go on
different interactive adventures. They had four to choose from and
we (Ryan, Em, Mark, Julia, Evan, Susan, and me) did them all. We had
fun figuring out each mostly with success. Jessie was cooking up a
delicious meal of plantains and salad which was ready just as we got home. Susan
and I have never had plantains before and liked them very
much. Julia, Evan, and Jonah were well-acquainted with them and had
to be warned off repeatedly from eating more than their fair
share. After the table was cleared we played Sheriff of Nottingham
again, this time with Mark, Julia, and Evan. They picked it up
quickly and we laughed a lot. After the kids went to bed me, Susan,
Em, and Ryan sat down for a game of Cabo. It was a battle to the end
but, with more than a little luck, I somehow won.
We started back toward
Colorado the next morning after a wonderful breakfast and an impromptu family
photo shoot. The drive was mostly uneventful and we made it home in
good time the following Sunday evening after staying the night in a skuzzy
Extended Stay America and taking a quick jaunt up to Michigan to say we’ve been
there together. Susan and I had an amazing time visiting everyone
and Em and Ryan were fantastic hosts.
It was the following
Thursday that had us driving out to Indianola, Iowa for the 2015 RallyCross
National Championships. We had left the still-packed-up trailer in
the grage before going to New York which made last minute preparations
easier. All the pugs were left at home as the site didn’t allow pets
and it was too hot besides. We made good time despite me driving
slower due to pulling the trailer. Once we got to the site we set up
camp where we thought we were supposed to be (queue ominous
music). We were the first to arrive and only campers that night and
watched comedy specials on my phone while eating croissant burgers.
The next morning I
made omelets and after we were told we were in the wrong place and had to move
our campsite. About 20 minutes later and while we were in the midst
of packing up we were told that it was actually ok that we were
there. Susan was happy to voice her agitation about the situation
and the deliverer of the news graciously bore it (he was one of the event
organizers). Crisis averted we got ready for the event to
start. Day one of any national event consists of registration, tech
inspection, practice runs, and class inspection. I had swapped out
the street tires for rally tires the night before so we just had to get the
right stickers on the car for tech inspection. Once tech inspection
was done and we finally got registered (it was a long and slow line) we went to
race a few practice runs. The practice course was around a half-mile
down a dirt road and out of sight from the paddock area where we were just
at. It was a short but fun and illuminating course. We
each took three goes at it and I was happy to note that no one else in any
other class was able to match or even get close to my times. It was
during one of our friend Angel’s runs that disaster struck. On one of
the turns the steering knuckle snapped in two on her and husband Mike’s 1992
Mitsubishi. After finally getting the car dragged off the course and
onto a flatbed trailer (this was very difficult to manage since the suspension
was basically collapsed) they set out to find replacement parts. Unfortunately
for them their car wouldn’t come together until after the official racing
started the next day and they were forced to withdraw from the
competition. Once our friends were on their way we drove to class
inspection. There is often drama at national-level class inspections
but, luckily for us, our class didn’t have any. We got to talk with
our fellow competitors and found them to be mostly nice and fun
people. We then headed to a course worker meeting and BBQ which was
provided by the event organizers. Our friends Ken and Randy had
arrived during the day and set up their camp right next to
ours. Once the day’s activities were done we played Exploding
Kittens for the first time and chased around the three lightning bugs we saw in
the distance.
The first day of
racing was a wet one. It rained during the early morning hours and
into the first few runs which made the course almost unbearably
slick. While Susan worked in the timing trailer I walked around
taking notes on the modified classes (my job was to write an article about
them). We felt lucky that our class did not go first but a 15 minute
burst of rain as we were about to race put the course back to being a sloppy
mess. Driving in such conditions really isn’t enjoyable per se; you’re
just trying to not make any big mistakes and somehow get decent
times. I did make good enough times to get in the lead and stay
there but going off course at the end of my last run in the morning had my life
flashing before my eyes. Susan was in 10th place
after the morning was through. The weather had cleared and the site
dried out greatly by the time we did our afternoon driving on a different
course. This was a fast and grippy course and we had a blast racing
it. By the end of the day I had extended my lead in first and Susan
had dropped down to 12th. The trailer had been making
unsettling noises when we got into town and we finally got around to checking
on it. A quick spin test determined that the right bearing would not
easily go forward. With the direction of Ken and Randy I
disassembled, cleaned, and repacked the bearings which had the wheel mostly
spinning freely. Dinner was BBQ provided again by the event
organizers. Some thought it wasn’t very good but Susan and I liked
it just fine. That night our fellow racing buddies Dan and Alicia
and then later Mike and Angel joined us for games including Lightning Reaction
Reloaded (we ordered it the night we played with the family) which was
predictably hilarious. Being about as dirty as I’ve ever been I
showered off in a solar shower attached to Ken and Randy’s truck (we may have
to acquire one ourselves). We went to bed with lightning flashing
all around and the beginnings of heavy rain starting to fall.
I was groggy the next
morning from waking up many times from the crazy storm in the early
hours. We skipped breakfast and instead opted to drive to the race
site to walk the wet course. The rain had completely ceased at this
point and wasn’t due to start again until the afternoon. Thus the
course started out slippery and then became tacky as the runs
accumulated. By the time we drove there was enough traction that it
was a fun set of runs and I extended my final lead to close to 23 seconds over
second place. Susan hung onto 12th place by
remaining quick and staying clean the entire event. Once we were
done driving we began packing up our campsite before the last class of
competitors had their final runs. Trophies were then presented and
pictures taken. Blessedly the event was well-ahead of schedule and
everything was finished before 1:00PM. This allowed all those
from Colorado to make it home Sunday night if they chose to (we
did). The drive home was a caravan of sorts with much electronic
communication going on. I failed to mount the trailer correctly and
we had a scary moment when a large bump had us dragging it by the safety
chains. Luckily nothing was much damaged and we were on our way soon
afterward. The rest of the drive was uneventful and we got home
at 1:00AM Monday morning. Both Susan and I took that
Monday off from work which was the right thing to do as we were
exhausted.
Several months ago I
reached out to our local community of quadcopter/drone pilots to see if they
were interested in filming rallycrossers driving on the dirt. I
received positive feedback and was able to schedule an event at CORE for this
last Saturday. Around a dozen drivers and three pilots came
out. We borrowed some cones from Colorado RallyCross and set up a
short course as there was standing water and mud from the prior day’s
rain. We all had a good time although I neglected to put on
sunscreen and my exposed skin was rosy by the end of the day. On the
way home we stopped at a block party by Ken and Randy’s home for some BBQ and
to hang out. We were very tired and soon went home to be with the
pugs and wash the day’s mud off the rally car.
Tidbits
The pugs are still
cute as ever. Sophie has aged more which is sad but
expected. Tweetie has again taken to staring at me until I get a
blanket for her to go under and between my knees. Satchel is still
limping around and snorting in my face every morning. Bella
continues to be bonkers and has decided that my lap isn’t such a bad place to
hang out after all. Barbara showed Susan how to knit while we were
in New York and she has practiced several times since then. It’s
neat to see the things she’s been able to crochet and now knit. I
still play my guitar but not as much as I should. I “upgraded” to Windows
10 and have only had to perform a couple of hard resets since. Not
too bad I suppose although my USB ports are still acting wonky. I
got a Fitbit and confirmed that I don’t sleep as well or as long as I probably
should. I also found out that racing a car while wearing a Fitbit produces
crazy numbers.
As always we hope this
finds you happy and healthy!
Max and Susan
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