S.A.S.C.
Solo => Other Events => Topic started by: MurrayPeterson on July 18, 2016, 06:39:43 PM
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Our first leg of our trip was at this past weekend's Montana Challenge weekend in Helena. Saturday went fine (6th place for me, which is OK giiven that I was off-cam for almost the entire course). Sunday, I let Jo run first, and then I lined up and launched -- "bang! thump, thump, thump..." I know that sound from experience; a broken half-shaft :(
So, we are taking some vacation time in Helena while Honda gets the part couriered in overnight. Sadly, the OEM part is $1000 U.S., while aftermarket axles are $200. Even more sad is our experience with the aftermarket units -- they break on the first run. So, it's either spend the money or source a used OEM axle and delay our vacation by that much longer. Since we need to be in Montreal for the Canadian nationals, our choice is clear -- just fork over the dough.
Helena has been fun today, with some nice wine and beer places, along with good Mexican food and margaritas. So, it's all good!
Having a good time (even if because racecar), and still feeling chipper about our trip.
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:(
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Have you registered with HPD? You get a discount then ....
R
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Enjoy your trip :)
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Sounds like fun Murray! I bet the Montreal nationals are going to be a blast!
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Got the axle replaced in Helena and headed onwards last Wednesday. We drove through a big heatwave on the way, and and made it to Toronto Saturday evening. We made it in time to attend the second day of a regional autox in Barrie on Sunday. I held up the Alberta side reasonably well -- 4th overall in PAX out of 86 drivers.
Doing touristy things in Toronto this week (and carefully avoiding the 401 freeway :o ). We will be driving to Blainville on Thursday for the Canadian Nationals.
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Well, good luck to the two of you at the Cdn. Nats! And, please, keep us updated on your trip! :)
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Murray and Jo are there, of course ... looks like 160 entries ... pretty good!
http://www.cac2016.ca/index.php/en/
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Good Luck Murray and Jo, the course design looks quite fun (last few pages of the Sup Regs)
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Mae it to Blainville -- they lost track of our hotel reservation. A very nice manager squeezed us into a suite for the next 4 days so that was a big relief.
Tech ad test&tune tomorrow. Mostly, I hope we dont die of heat prostration in this humidity; it makes 20 degrees feel like 30, and 30 degres is not to be described by polite people.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-brgkkjnHc
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Mae it to Blainville -- they lost track of our hotel reservation. A very nice manager squeezed us into a suite for the next 4 days so that was a big relief.
Tech ad test&tune tomorrow. Mostly, I hope we dont die of heat prostration in this humidity; it makes 20 degrees feel like 30, and 30 degres is not to be described by polite people.
The worst heat I have experienced in my life was in Mississauga many years ago at my brother's wedding. It was 32-33 C (I have experienced much hotter in Alberta and LA etc.) but the humidity is what killed me. I did not know if I was sweating or the water was coming from the atmosphere. It was absolutely horrible!
Good luck in Montreal!
Reijo
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Our weekend at the CAC event was fun, and not as hot as we feared. Still hot and sweaty, but with the humidity out here, that's as good as it gets :)
The venue is amazing -- I have never seen a piece of asphalt this flat and smooth. Lincoln has more surface undulations than this place. The surface is smooth and I found it strangely slippery. Our car wanted to oversteer at the slightest provocation -- I (and many others) fought all weekend to not loop the car. Things got much better on day 2 when the surface got rubbered in nicely.
The event was well organized, and the courses were well designed, so everyone had a good time. As expected, we brought an AP1 to an AP2 gunfight, so there was no hope of being close to the top. There were three of us fighting hard for the last trophy spots, and we all ended up within a few hundredths of each other. Good battle, although I came out on the losing side.
Video of the overall winner, day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT2RsRk8pEY
We are in Montreal now and enjoying old town's sights and food.
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Nice course
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Just finished an evening event in Moncton at their coliseum parking lot. Huge venue, and about 20 competitors. Managed to win 1st in PAX and (I think) 2nd RAW.
Off to Halifax tomorrow, and Newfoundland the week after. Looks like we can catch a weekend event while in Newfoundland, out on a runway on Bell Island. That will leave Nova Scotia as the only province in Canada in which we have not raced.
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^^ Sounds like a blast!
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That will leave Nova Scotia as the only province in Canada in which we have not raced.
3 territories too ;D Yukon is beautiful in the summer. I don't think it's technically possible to drive to Iqaluit though.
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Apparently there is a solo club in Yellowknife. :)
Reijo
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There are clubs that run autox in Yellowknife, NWT (NWT Motorsport Club) and in Whitehorse, YT (Klondike Kruisers). :)
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LOL! C'mon guys, how many of you can even say you have made it to all the provinces, let alone the territories?
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LOL! C'mon guys, how many of you can even say you have made it to all the provinces, let alone the territories?
I'm closer to all of the states than I am all of the provinces :-[
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I hear ya. We are 6700 km into our trip, and haven't even reached the halfway point yet :o
We are starting to worry about tire wear now, wondering if those RE71R's are going to get us all te way out and back.
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LOL! C'mon guys, how many of you can even say you have made it to all the provinces, let alone the territories?
I made it as far as Alberta when I left BC... I think drumheller is as far East as I've ever made it
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LOL! C'mon guys, how many of you can even say you have made it to all the provinces, let alone the territories?
I made it as far as Alberta when I left BC... I think drumheller is as far East as I've ever made it
I'm just missing the Atlantic provinces and Nunavut - at 31yrs old! not bad
Nick, there's not a lot of anything but big sky between here and Winnipeg, Northern Ontario is a bit more interesting but full of bored police and low speed limits.
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Made it to St. Johns today after a 16 hour ferry ride.
We aso lucked out and got reservations at Raymond's restaurant this evening (best restaurant in Canada, top 50 in the world). Expensive, but oh goodness, it was incredible! Worth every penny.
More touristy things tomorrow and then off to Bell Island for some more autox. It's *good* being retired :)
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A 16 hour ferry ride! Holy smokes!
Is that normal, or was there an issue?
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A 16 hour ferry ride! Holy smokes!
Is that normal, or was there an issue?
It's normal (and expensive). North Sydney to Argentia; we left at 5:30 PM and arrived at 10 AM. We paid for a cabin, but the boat motions kept me awake most of the night. Even a boat that big got moved by the ocean swell, so it felt like trying to sleep in a car driving through a twisty road, complete with a bumpy paving job.
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That's very exciting Murray! Congratulations for making it all the way to St. Johns. It must feel very fulfilling.
I don't blame you for having a hard time sleeping under those conditions. I would have a hard time sleeping in a boat under any conditions... because I would be on a boat! :-X
Also ont thought that crossed my mind... Where do you sleep if you don't get a cabin?? Your car!? :-X
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That's very exciting Murray! Congratulations for making it all the way to St. Johns. It must feel very fulfilling.
It is kinda cool. This is also the longest vacation I have ever taken in my life; it makes me feel like I should be going back to work :)
I don't blame you for having a hard time sleeping under those conditions. I would have a hard time sleeping in a boat under any conditions... because I would be on a boat! :-X
I hate boats and things boat-related. No cruises for me when I get old :)
Also ont thought that crossed my mind... Where do you sleep if you don't get a cabin?? Your car!? :-X
No idea. You are not allowed onto the car decks when the ship is sailing, so sleeping in the car is impossible.
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recliners on deck 6, I think
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We finished driving around Newfoundland, and are now heading west again after being on the easternmost point of the continent (Cape Spear). Gros Morne park is beautiful; it was nice to see mountains again.
We got into Quebec city today. Today we also passed 10,000 KM of driving on our vacation. The RE-71R tires in the rear are now down to the wear bars, and definitely won't get us home. I am planning on buying some cheap all-seasons to get us home.
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Sounds like you spent a bit of time on the "rock". I have never been ... but curious.
Also interesting that you have managed 10,000 km on the RE71's .... didn't think they would go that far ...
Hmmmm....isn't Talon Tire in Montreal? http://www.talontire.com/
Next event here is in Fort Macleod Sept 17/18 .... noticed you two weren't there last weekend!
Have a good trip back!
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Actually I have to correct myself ... I did land in Gander in a plane a long time ago ... So I guess PEI is the only province or territory I have not been on .... want to drive that bridge some day ... :)
Did you catch a different ferry back to the mainland? I noticed that there are a couple of other ferrys including one that goes to Quebec (only about 10 + miles) from the NW side of Newfoundland ...
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We took the ferry from Port aux Basques to North Sydney -- that one is a shorter ride of about 6 hours.
Driving the PEI bridge in a small car is boring, since you are too low down to see over the concrete sides.
Talon Tire may be in Monteal, but I have no desire to do any more driving in that city. Nasty roads and nasty traffic. But old town Montreal is fun; more restaurants and pubs than I believed possible.
I don't know if we will make the Sept 17/18 events. We might be home by then, but it's going to be a close thing.
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We just got into Thunder Bay today, with over 12,000 KM driven so far.
For those wanting to go to Ottawa -- hold off for a year or two. The downtown is a constuction mess (LRT going in and many new buildings). Driving is insane and not recommended.
As expected, Quebec city was gorgeous. We have to visit that city more in the future.
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We just got into Thunder Bay today, with over 12,000 KM driven so far.
For those wanting to go to Ottawa -- hold off for a year or two. The downtown is a constuction mess (LRT going in and many new buildings). Driving is insane and not recommended.
As expected, Quebec city was gorgeous. We have to visit that city more in the future.
My parents and two sisters live in Thunder Bay. Did you go via the northern route (Hwy 11) or the Lake Superior route (Hwy 17)? 2100 km. to Calgary from Thunder Bay ... have driven it a few times over the years.
R
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We took highway 17; lovely scenery, but many constructon delays. Mind you, construction delays have been pretty much the norm througout our trip.
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Yes, the trip along Superior is beautiful. There are two seasons there: winter and construction. You would have gone through Terrace Bay about 1/2 way across from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay. Terrace Bay is where Kimberley Clark (think Kleenex products) used to have a paper mill. The logs my dad used to cut about 70 miles north of there went there as well as to the local sawmill, Weldwood OSB and plywood plant. KC (and Weldwood for that matter) is long gone now and the towns in the area are a shadow of what they used to be. Thanks to the US tariffs on wood products etc. that really killed the industry back in the early to mid '90's. My dad was lucky he retired just before all that happened so he had his pension, sold his house etc. before everything died. It was tragic really. Notley/Trudeau are now trying to do the same to the Alberta oil industry it seems. That is the bad thing about a "one horse town" ... Geez ... maybe it is getting to time to leave Alberta? I hope not.
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So, we made it home. 58 days on the road, 14,180 KM of driving. It was a great trip, with beautiful scenery and cities. And we even got some autocross in along the way :)
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Welcome back! Next SASC events are this weekend at Fort Macleod (which I cannot make unfortunately) and then Sept. 25 at the new venue at YYC ... and a Sept. 24/Sat. event at Red Deer by the CSCC. Actually we have quite a few events to wrap up the year ...
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I have doubts about this coming event; the car needs an oil change, new tires, and I need to get some grease on the clutch fork.