DAYS 1-2 – “COLOMBIA – JUST FOR A LONG WEEKEND” TRACKCHASING TOUR

 

EDITOR’S NOTE

When I started out in trackchasing, I never would have imagined traveling to South America in pursuit of my hobby.  In a three-part series, I’m going to tell you about my personal experiences traveling to Bogota, Colombia.  I will tell you this in advance.  I’ve met a good number of very nice people as I have pursued my trackchasing hobby.  However, I had never met a larger group of nice racing people than the folks I hung out with at the races on Sunday. 

 

This is some of the information I learned during my advance preparation for my trip to Colombia. 

 

COLOMBIA – U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ADVICE

I began using the U.S. government’s state department website when I picked up the pace of my international trackchasing.  The primary piece of information I was looking for was each foreign countries passport and visa requirements.  Obviously, I need a passport to visit every foreign country.  Some countries don’t require a visa from U.S. residents at all.  Others will sell you a visa or issue you one free when you arrive in the country.  A few others require advance lead-time in order to get a visa.  I was planning on trackchasing in one country earlier this year only to find out they needed at least ten days lead-time (and custody of my passport) in order to get a visa.  My lifestyle does not allow me to give up my passport for ten days very often!

 

I always review this site to learn what key information and watch outs are being provided by the U.S. government regarding Americans traveling to, in this case, Colombia.  I want to be mindful of such data.  However, I don’t want to be paranoid about these warnings.  Because if I were I might never travel anywhere.

 

Before Carol and I visited Mexico City, we were told it was “the most dangerous city in the world”.  We were there for just 24 hours, but our stay was most pleasant.  Our hotel was modern and upscale.  We toured during the day in a double-decker bus and saw some beautiful sights.  Our dining choices were unique, delicious and reasonably priced.

 

Do I think Mexico City is the most dangerous city in the world?  No, I do not.  However, my experience is based upon one 24-hour period.  It is only my experience.  I would never want to take any other traveler’s advice exclusively regarding a particular place, either good or bad.  That advice would be from their own experience and normally based upon a small amount of time of just days or weeks. 

 

I live in the greater Los Angeles area.  I have lived here for some 30 years.  Nevertheless, even with that amount of “seat time” in Southern California, I could not be considered an “expert” on the safeness of Los Angeles.  I like to take everyone’s opinions and then add them to my own “value judgment” system and decide what makes sense to do and what does not.  I will tell you this.  There is almost no place I will not visit.  With that as background, take a look at the U.S. Government’s comments about visiting Columbia.

 

“Colombia is a medium-income nation of some 44 million inhabitants.  Its geography is very diverse, ranging from tropical coastal areas and rainforests to rugged mountainous terrain.  Tourist facilities in Colombia vary in quality and safety, according to price and location.  Security is a significant concern for travelers, as described in the Department of State’s Travel Warning for Colombia.

 

All U.S. citizens who are not also Colombian citizens must present a valid U.S. passport to enter and depart Colombia, and to return to the United States.

 

No arrival tax is collected upon entry into Colombia, but travelers leaving by plane must pay an exit tax at the airport, in cash.  The tax varies with the dollar/peso exchange rate, but is usually between $50 and $70.

 

Violence has decreased in many urban destinations, including the city of Bogota.  Small towns and rural areas of Colombia can be extremely dangerous due to the presence of narco-terrorists.  The incidence of kidnapping in Colombia has diminished significantly from its peak at the beginning of this decade.  Nevertheless, terrorist groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and other criminal organizations, continue to kidnap and hold civilians for ransom or as political bargaining chips.  No one is immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors. Although the U.S. government places the highest priority on the safe recovery of kidnapped Americans, it is U.S. policy not to make concessions to kidnappers.  Consequently, the U.S. government’s ability to assist kidnap victims is limited.  U.S. Embassy employees are allowed to travel by air, but inter- and intra-city bus transportation is off limits to them.

 

Although the threat of terrorism has decreased in most of Colombia’s cities, they nevertheless experience much of the same crime that is seen in comparably sized cities throughout the region.  Robbery and other violent crimes, as well as scams against unsuspecting tourists, are common in urban areas.  Generally speaking, if you are the victim of a robbery, you should not resist.

 

Robberies of taxi passengers:  Robbery of taxi passengers is a serious problem in Bogota.  Typically, the driver – who is one of the conspirators – will pick up the passenger and then stop to pick up two or more armed cohorts, who enter the cab, overpower the passenger, and take his/her belongings.  If the passenger has an ATM card, the perpetrators may force the passenger to withdraw money from various ATM locations.  Such ordeals can last for hours.

 

In almost every case of taxi-related crime, the victims have been riding alone and have hailed taxis off the street.  Rather than hailing a taxi, you should use the telephone dispatch service that most taxi companies offer.  Many hotels, restaurants, and stores will call a taxi for you, and the taxi usually arrives within minutes.  When a taxi is dispatched by telephone, the dispatcher creates a record of the call and the responding taxi.

 

The Embassy continues to receive reports of criminals in Colombia using disabling drugs to temporarily incapacitate tourists and others.  U.S. citizens in Colombia routinely fall victim to a scam in which purported undercover police officers approach them on the street and request to examine their money, supposedly to determine if it is counterfeit.  The “officers,” who are in fact criminals, then flee with the money.  In a variation of this scam, the thieves may ask to see jewelry.  Legitimate Colombian police officers do not make such requests.  If you are arrested, the U.S. government cannot request your release.  Colombia and the United States do not have a prisoner transfer agreement, and so any sentence for a crime committed in Colombia is ordinarily served in a Colombian prison.  The hardships resulting from imprisonment do not end even after release from prison:  Colombian law requires that serious offenders remain in the country to serve a lengthy period of parole, during which the offender is given no housing and may lack permission to work.  As a result, family members must often support the offender, sometimes for more than a year, until the parole period expires.  Colombia employs strict screening procedures for detecting narcotics smuggling at its international airports.  Americans and other travelers are occasionally questioned, searched, fingerprinted, and/or asked to submit to an abdominal x-ray upon arrival or departure.  Most airport inspectors do not speak English, and travelers who do not speak Spanish may have difficulty understanding what is asked of them.

 

Emergency rooms in Colombia, even at top-quality facilities, are frequently overcrowded and ambulance service can be slow.  Uninsured travelers without financial resources may be unable to obtain care, or relegated to seeking treatment in public hospitals where care is far below U.S. standards.  The Embassy regularly receives reports of U.S. citizens in Colombia who have died or suffered complications from liposuction and other elective surgeries intended to treat obesity.  Travelers to the capital city of Bogota may need time to adjust to the altitude of 8,600 feet, which can affect blood pressure, digestion, and energy level, and cause mild dyspnea with exercise, headaches, sleeplessness, and other discomfort. 

 

Due to the security environment in Colombia, U.S. government officials and their families are not permitted to travel by road between most major cities.  They also cannot use inter- or intra-city bus transportation, or travel by road outside urban areas at night.  Traffic laws in Colombia, including speed limits, are often ignored and rarely enforced, creating dangerous conditions for drivers and pedestrians in major cities.”

 

It was with this “good news” that I happily boarded an airplane bound for Colombia!

 

 

 

GREETINGS FROM TOCANCIPA, COLOMBIA

 

 

PART 1 of 3, THE PRELUDE

 

What you are about to read is based upon a true story.  Heck, I’m seeing some of this stuff for the first time myself!

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP AND THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

The Objective 

 

Race to 30 International contest

Despite being on a limited budget, I am making a valiant attempt to become the very next trackchaser to see racing in 30 countries.  Recall, I have committed to reducing our “Vacation and Entertainment” budget by 40% in 2009.  Nevertheless, today I expect to tell you that I have visited my 28^th trackchasing country.

  

Colombia will be my sixth new trackchasing country of the year.  I have already been to Andorra, Argentina, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.  One of my stated trackchasing goals for 2009 is to see a minimum of eight new trackchasing countries.  I am well on my way to achieving that plan.

  

Last year, I traveled some 257,000 miles to trackchase.  That was a personal record.  When I complete this trip, I will have traveled just over 90,000 miles during the first part of 2009.  Last year, through the same period I had traveled just over 70,000 miles.  I’m on a pace to break my all-time travel record, but don’t know if I will.

 

 

Jesse James was once asked, “Why do you rob banks?”.  He replied succinctly, “Because that’s where the money is”.  It would be difficult to argue with his logic.  Why do I trackchaser internationally?  “That’s where the tracks are!”. 

 

The Trip

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009

 

DISCLAIMER:  Do not read the following unless you are interested in the most minute of details associated with planning an international trip with multiple moving parts with varying percentages of likelihood.

 

The bottom line was that I needed to get to Bogota on time and in a cost-efficient manner.

 

Give me a moment to explain my departure strategy for this weekend’s races in the greater Bogota, Colombia area.  It’s never simple but it’s always fun.  The race I was going to see would be run on Sunday afternoon.  I would need to arrive no later than Saturday in order to make the race.  There is only one flight each day, provided by my airline sponsors, from Atlanta to Bogota.  It leaves at 5 p.m. and gets in around 9 p.m.

 

If I were buying a ticket, and wanted to minimize my time away from home, I would have simply purchased a ticket to arrive into Colombia on Saturday night.  However, as you know, I operate on a very efficient trackchasing budget.  It was not part of my plan to purchase a ticket to arrive at the last minute.

 

First, my trackchasing budget is minuscule compared to my trackchasing competition.  Yes, I have to get by with less.  Secondly, and most importantly, I wouldn’t want to fly all the way to a place like Colombia and not have some time to see the country.

 

Before I could fly from Atlanta to Bogota, I had to get to Atlanta.  This is spring break time in the United States.  We have college kids who are flying every which way during this time period.  This is my third year of flying standby.  I have concluded that “Spring Break” is the busiest and most extended flying time of the year.  It seems that each school system takes their spring break at a slightly different time.  Spring Break spans about six weeks during March/April.

 

There are four flights each day from my hometown airport in Orange County, California to Atlanta.  However, only the first flight of the day allowed me to make the connection to Bogota on the same day.  If I left on Friday morning, this would mean I would have just one flight from Orange County to Atlanta in order to get to Bogota on Friday.  That would be very risky as Friday and Sunday are the busiest flight days of the week.

 

This meant if I wanted to virtually guarantee getting to Bogota for the race, and I did, then I would have to leave on Thursday.  This would give me four flights to get to Atlanta.  I was 90% certain I could make one of those flights.  Then I would stay overnight in Atlanta on Thursday night and take the wide open flight in Bogota on Friday night.  This plan would allow me to first, get to Atlanta and secondly, have two days minimum in Colombia for sightseeing.

 

However, if I could make the first flight of the day on Thursday, I would have three options.  I could still stay overnight in Atlanta……or I could fly onto Philadelphia and see the UCLA Bruins play their opening game at the Wachovia Center on Thursday night and then fly back to Atlanta on Friday morning before going to Bogota on Friday night…….or I could fly to Bogota, a day early on Thursday night.  Got that?

 

I woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Thursday.  By 5:30 a.m. I was at the Orange County, California airport.  The first flight of the day that would make the above paragraph work departed at 6:45 a.m.  That flight was overbooked by 10 seats.  I was the last standby passenger on the list.  How did I do?  I got the very last seat on the airplane from Orange County to Atlanta!  That put all three of my Thursday early arrival Atlanta options into play.

 

There was no reason to stay overnight in Atlanta when I could fly to Philly or Bogota.  That eliminated option #1.  I decided against going to Philadelphia.  That trip would be fun but would add too much risk to my getting to Bogota.  Getting to Bogota was the PRIMARY purpose of this trip.  I chose option #3 and flew to Bogota on Thursday evening.  My advance planning was rewarded with a comfortable business class seat on the way to Bogota.

 

I used my Apple iPhone to add another day to my hotel reservation.  I would now be staying in Bogota for four nights.  That would give me plenty of time to get a feel for the city.  The hotel would send a car to the airport to pick me up.  My plan was coming together.

 

I made it to Bogota!

My flight from Atlanta landed in Bogota at just past 8 p.m.  There were no jet ways to take us from the plane to the interior of the airport.  Each passenger boarded a shuttle bus that took us around the tarmac to the international entrance to the terminal building.

 

At this point, I entered a short queue of people waiting to clear Colombian passport control.  My wait was about five minutes.  While in line to clear customs, I was able to check my email via my iPhone!  Most of the customs agents were beautiful young Colombian black-haired women.  They were dressed in white or blue t-shirts, slacks and military combat boots. 

 

At the first desk, the agent scanned my passport.  She looked at all of the pages in it and scanned it again.  A series of lights seemed to signal her next action.  Another young customs agent motioned me to a second desk.  At this point, my passport was scanned again.  I was beginning to have some concern about why this might be happening.  Just at that point, the agent looked up and smiled.  I would be allowed to pass.

 

I was now in a foyer area of the airport.  Just beyond the large glass windows, I could see people waiting for their friends and loved ones.  I was expecting to be met by a representative of the Hotel Centro Internacional.  I had made arrangements for a private car to pick me up rather than taking a taxi.

 

However, before I could begin looking for my ride, I needed some cash.  I’m talking local cash as in Colombian Pesos.  My Essex currency converter on my iPhone told me that one U.S. dollar would buy $2,508 pesos.  However, the currency exchange at the airport only offered $2,200 pesos per dollar.  My research at www.tripadvisor.com suggested that an ATM would be the best place, rate-wise, to get Pesos.  However, there were no ATMs available in this part of the airport, only 3-4 currency exchange operations. 

 

I decided to exchange just $20 U.S.  That would get me by for short-term tipping and other small purchases until I could find an ATM.  I was surprised that in order to complete my small currency transaction I was fingerprinted.  When in Rome, do what the Romans do!

 

At this point, I walked outside.  My search at www.weather.com indicated that high temperatures during my four-day stay would be in the mid-60s.  There would be a 30-40% chance of rain each day.  I was here to watch a sports cars race on an asphalt road course.  I would not have to worry about this type of racing being rained out.  They race in the rain.  Tonight the temperature was about 65 degrees and actually very comfortable.

 

As I ventured out in the masses, I was surprised by one thing.  I was not mobbed by people wanting to be my driver.  In many countries, you can hardly walk anywhere without being hassled for business.  It didn’t take long and I found Alejandro who would be my driver.  He didn’t speak much English and I didn’t speak much Spanish.  Nevertheless, we were able to communicate well enough to get our points across.

 

I sat in the front seat of his small new Chevrolet.  This seemed to surprise Alejandro.  It would have seemed a bit pompous to ride in the back seat of a “hotel car” of this type.  I could see better from the front seat too.  Finally, I had read that only a car’s front seats are required to have seatbelts!

 

Our drive to the hotel took at most 15 minutes.  It was a quiet evening in Bogota.  There was some traffic and road construction, but nothing too tough.  Alejandro told me that petrol is sold in gallons, but distances are measured in kilometers and temperatures are Celsius.  Petrol was selling for $7,500 pesos or about $3-3.50 U.S. per gallon.  That would make fuel more expensive in Colombia than it is in the U.S.

 

Soon we reached the Hotel Centro Internacional.  I had already paid for my room over the internet.  It was not exactly like buying a room at the Marriott or some U.S. based hotel on the internet.  This hotel had been recommended at www.tripadvisor.com. by a traveler who seemed to think like me.  When I went to the hotel’s website, there was no option of buying directly from the site.  First, I had to email them asking about availability and rates.  When I received their feedback, I then sent them an email with my credit card info.  That didn’t seem like a very secure way to do things, but that was what was required.  By the way, we have our credit card number “stolen” about once a year.  When that happens, the credit card calls us to verify charges.  When we tell them the purchases are not ours, they issue us a new card with a new number.  We are never liable for the unauthorized charges. I don’t worry much about stuff like that.

 

The hotel had 52 rooms.  It was located across the street from a local university.  Traveler feedback told me it would be in a quiet and safe location.  My room, was somewhat small but modern and clean.  It had a hardwood floor and a newly renovated marble countertop bathroom.  For my short stay, it would be just fine.  The TV offered about 50 channels.  Several were in English with Spanish subtitles. 

 

I started out in San Clemente, California 15 hours from the time I made it to my hotel room’s front door.  It had been a long but fairly easy travel day.  I was lucky to get the very last seat on the first plane to Atlanta of the day.  Had I not, I would not be in Bogota, Colombia tonight.  I enjoy the lifestyle of a person who doesn’t have a fixed idea of what country they will sleep in until it’s time to go to sleep!

 

By the way, Carol and I had been in Colombia for just one short afternoon on a Panama Canal cruise several years ago.  We didn’t see much of the country then.  I am very much looking forward to my visit.

 

FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009

 

Breakfast at the hotel.

Many international hotels offer breakfast in their basic room rate.  My hotel, the Hotel Centro Internacional did as well.  The staff at the hotel didn’t speak much English, although they were most friendly and helpful.  It was somewhat challenging to communicate with the restaurant staff.

 

The main breakfast entrée was a huge corn tamale enclosed in a series of banana plant leaves.  There must have been 8-10 ounces of corn tamale mix along with some chicken on the inside.  This was served with orange and guava juice, French bread and coffee/hot chocolate.

 

My personal safety in Bogota.

I must admit that I was a little concerned with my personal safety in Colombia.  The U.S. state report was not very encouraging.  I decided to “dip my toe in the water” by taking a short walk around the hotel after breakfast.  It was raining lightly with a temperature of about 65 degrees.

 

I was taking pictures of the local surroundings when a bespeckled man who was the spitting image of Penn State’s Joe Paterno came up to me.  He said, in Colombian accented English, “Watch out for the snatchers.  We had have people who will come around and try to snatch the camera of an unsuspecting tourist.  You need to hide your camera underneath your sweater or hold onto it tightly”.  I must admit that made me feel even more uncertain about what I might be in store for during this trip.

 

Exchanging money.

Last night I exchanged money at the airport.  I got 2,200 Colombian pesos for the twenty-dollar bill that I exchanged.  Today at the hotel I exchanged another twenty-dollar bill from Carol’s collection and received 2,400 pesos for each U.S. dollar.  It seemed as if the hotel was a little more generous than the money store at the airport.  I didn’t expect to spend much cash.  I figured I would just keep exchanging $20 bills so I could avoid ATM service fees.

 

I wanted to take a tour.

Today was Friday.  I had arrived a day early just in case I ran into any travel issues along the way.  There was no racing or any racing activities planned for today.  I asked the hotel desk about arranging a tour.  I was interested in the tour pictured in the hotel guide that would take me out into the countryside around Bogota.

 

The hotel desk clerk looked up the price.  It would be $160,000 pesos. In my mind, paying 160,000 of ANYTHING for a tour seemed expensive.  However, this was only about $75 U.S. and this would be a six-hour tour.  I asked if the tour would be conducted in English.  No, it would not.

 

However, for 30,000 more pesos (about $14), I could get an English guide.  I really didn’t have a choice.  If I wanted to take a tour, I needed to understand what I was seeing.  I paid the 190,000 pesos and waited for the tour company to come by the hotel and pick me up.

 

A few minutes past the scheduled meeting time Alejandro, my driver from the night before, came striding through the door.  He motioned for me to get in his car.  I suspected he would be driving me to where the tour would begin.  Unbeknownst to me, Alejandro was not driving me to meet anyone else.  He WAS the tour guide. Oh my.

 

There were pluses and minuses to this arrangement.  First, I would be the only tourist on the tour!  I liked the idea of having my own private driver for the next six hours.  However, as mentioned above Alejandro did not speak English very well.  That was doubly painful considering I had paid an extra 30,000 pesos to get an English-speaking guide.  Nevertheless, we did O.K.  He stopped when I wanted to stop and did his best to explain what we were seeing as we went along.

 

The restaurant stops were the highlights of the day.

We stopped at two restaurants that I likely never would have visited had I not been with a local.  The first was located along the highway.  They looked busy.  I was attracted by their “arepas” a corn made pancake of sorts.  It was delicious. I also was able to take a tour of the restaurant’s kitchen.  Everyone there was super nice and friendly.

 

By the time we were ready to have lunch we were in a small Colombian town.  We happened across a restaurant serving pollo (chicken) on a giant spit.  This was a modern chicken roaster than even Kenny Rogers would have been proud of.  I treated Alejandro to a lunch of broasted chicken, roasted red potatoes and another corn-based arepas.  We downed our feast with a local Colombian orange soda.  It was fun to have lunch with a local in a local restaurant.  I learned a lot about Alejandro and Colombia from his point of view at lunch and during the day.

 

Does Colombia have more than its share of crime?

It’s difficult to answer that question.  I suppose if you visit Colombia for one afternoon and get mugged, you will likely answer “Yes” to that question.  However, if you spend several days here and never have a problem, you might choose a resounding “No” in answer to the question.

 

I will say this.  Alejandro and I must have stopped along our tour at least ten times to get out of the car and look around.  Each time he took the faceplate from his in-car stereo system and placed it in his pocket to prevent theft of the stereo.  Often he used an attachment similar to “The Club” to prevent potential thieves from stealing the car.  On one occasion, in a church parking he even made me go back and get my camera bag from the car’s interior for safety purposes.

 

How big is the illegal drug business in Colombia?

Alejandro objected to the implication of this statement.  He reminded me that Colombia had both beautiful scenery and beautiful people.  Of course, I would find this to be true.  I think Colombia and Bogota have changed a good deal over the past 10-15 years.  Yes, there was a very strong police and military presence nearly everywhere I went.  It seems to me that presence has been working to dramatically decrease criminal activity of all sorts.

 

I would soon see something that reminded me of why I was here.

On the way back into Bogota following my daylong tour, we came across two racecars being hauled down the road on open-wheel trailers.  I would later see these cars at the car exhibition promoting the race at a local shopping mall.

 

Maybe it was the altitude or the time change or just the anticipation of this trip.

Whatever it was, I was tired after my first full day in Colombia.  I found a local supermarket (in New York it would be called a “bodega”) and grabbed a few things for dinner.  Then I watched the NCAA basketball tournament on my laptop back in my room.  I have a program that allows me to watch any NCAA tournament bball game live time or on a recorded basis.  Internet access was free at the hotel.  At this point I felt at home and was anxiously looking forward to the remainder of my Colombian vacation.

 

The People

I am in constant contact with people at the tracks I plan to visit.  However, I was luckier than normal with my advance contacts for the Autodromo de Tocancipa.  I happened across a fellow by the name of Ricardo Soler.  I’ll tell you more about Ricardo in my next two reports.  For now, I will simply share with you his note back to me welcoming me to his track.

 

Hello Randy!

 

WOW!  You are the king of the road!!!!!!!!

 

Congratulations and welcome to Colombia.  Let me help you about transportation.  We are very happy to receive you in our country.

 

I am the manager of the Stop And Go Magazine and of course I would like to take an interview with you.  In other hand we can speak with other journalists.

 

You won’t take a taxi to the speed track.  We can offer you transportation and hospitality in Tocancipa Speed Track.  Some member of our staff can speak English (if you don’t speak Spanish).

 

You are welcome.

 

Ricardo Soler

 

From this point I knew that Ricardo would be a major factor in the enjoyment of my Colombian trip.

  

Thanks for reading Part 1 of my three-part series covering every aspect of my trackchasing trip to Colombia.

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Do you know where you’ll be when you get where you’re going?

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

 

AIRPLANE 

Orange County, CA – Atlanta, GA – 1,919 miles

Atlanta, GA – Bogota, Colombia – 2,100 miles

 

RENTAL CAR 

No rental cars, I took taxis and the hotel’s private car everywhere I went in Colombia

 

 

 

Part 2…meeting my new Colombian friends.

Today, Saturday, I had all day to explore Bogota and meet my new Colombian racing friends. This is what transpired during day three of this planned five-day trip.

 

During this trip I have a friend from the Midwest ask, Do you think Colombia it is any scarier than, say, NYC?  I’m just curious.”

 

In answer to this question, I’m not sure I can give a data based answer.  In my opinion I suspect Bogota is just like any other big city.  If you go into a bad area late at night, you might have a problem.  Overall, I felt very safe in and around Bogota.  It was somewhat disconcerting to see so many armed police, several with dogs, around.  However, that police presence appears to have dramatically decreased the crime they used to have.  More than 20% of Bogotanos live below the poverty line, but a large middle class makes up the bulk of the population.  According to the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of 2006, the most prevalent threat to all travelers is street crime.  The bus system poses a threat to visitors as well.  I didn’t ride any buses!

 

What you are about to read is based upon a true story.  How do I know that? I was there and saw and did it all.

 

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP AND THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

The Objective 

 

What’s on the other side of the mountain?

Many of my “civilian” friends cast a wary eye when they learn about my trackchasing hobby.  They think I spend all of my time at a racetrack watching cars go in circles.  I always try to correct this impression with them.  For anyone who has that feeling, it could not be further from the truth.

 

I enjoy auto racing very much, no doubt.  Actually, the auto racing I like the most occurs on my 50” plasma TV screen.  I’m talking about the NASCAR Sprint Cup races that come on some 36 weekends every year.  What I like about NASCAR is the off-season is so short.  They finish in November and start up again in February.  I like that.

 

However, I enjoy watching races on a live time basis very much as well.  It’s not as convenient to watch racing in person as it is on TV.  In order to watch racing live, I have to get on an airplane, rent a car, drive a good distance and/or hope the weatherman cooperates. 

 

I watch 98% of the TV programs I see on a recorded basis.  I’ve had TIVO for years and now have switched over to Direct TVs digital video recorder.  This allows me to watch NASCAR racing when I want too.  I often watch a NASCAR TV production is 3-4 sittings.  I watch the very first minute of the show until the very last driver has been interviewed and the credits begin to roll.  Of course, I skip through the commercials.  Since I don’t do any of our household shopping and don’t see any TV commercials, I am sometimes unaware of new product opportunities. 

 

“But, Randy if sitting at a racetrack watching cars go around in circles is not your primary motivation, why do you trackchase?”, the curious reader might ask.  I trackchase to see “what is on the other side of the mountain”.  What does that mean?  I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction of doing and seeing things for the first time.  That’s what trackchasing is for me.

 

Many things that I do and see one time, do not warrant repeating the experience a second time.  On the other hand, if I like something I’ve done or seen once, I then know that I will want to do it again and maybe again. 

 

Therefore, the real objective of these trips is seeing “what’s on the other side of the mountain”.  In my life, there are a lot of mountains to cross.  I try to cross one or two nearly every weekend.  That’s just how I do it.

 

 

The Trip

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2009

 

Language barriers can be a problem for some.

My first activity of the day was to have breakfast in the hotel.  On my first day, there was a buffet of sorts featuring corn tamales.  You don’t need to talk much when you eat at a self-service buffet.  However, today there was no buffet.  I had to place my order with the restaurant’s service staff.

 

There is very little English spoken at the Hotel Centro Internacional.  They don’t speak much English and I don’t speak much Spanish.  “But Randy, didn’t you tell us you took two years of high school Spanish in high school?” a persistent reader might ask.  Yes, I did tell you that.  However, my performance in Spanish class left something to be desired.  I recall two of my semester grades being 70 and 71.  I was able to achieve these passing marks simply because I was on the basketball team.  A score of 70 was the minimum required to pass the class.  I only took a foreign language because it was required to gain admission to college.

 

I grew up in a small Midwestern town in Illinois.  I didn’t know anyone who spoke Spanish, I had never met anyone who spoke Spanish (except my Spanish teacher Senora Korngiebel) and didn’t expect to ever speak Spanish again once my two years of high school Spanish were finished.  Yes, that is how a teen-ager might feel when growing up in a lower middle class town out in the middle of our nation’s cornfields.

 

It was a minor struggle to order two eggs sunny side up with orange juice and hot chocolate.  However, the mission was accomplished without too much pain for either party.  It might have been a different story had I fallen overboard and needed a lifeline.

 

I was about to learn a bit more about downtown Bogota.

My hotel was located just a block off the main drag in downtown Bogota.  It was 9 a.m., the weather was perfect for a walking tour (about 65 degrees, cloudy with some minor misting rain).  I had about three hours before the UCLA NCAA tournament basketball game came on at noon.  That would give me plenty of time to get some walking exercise and see the sights.  

  

I get a kick out of seeing how foreign cultures operate.  Something as simple as seeing a drug store with foreign language signs is fun for me to see.  On this Saturday morning, I passed by drug stores, supermarkets and all different kinds of architecture.  One man was getting a shoeshine, vendors were setting up fresh fruit and produce stands and military police were walking down sidewalks with M-16 rifles.  I didn’t feel any danger in any way, however with the warnings I had received, a couple of which from local residents, I maintained a wary eye.

 

I like to get out of my own comfort zone whenever I can.

I don’t come all the way from my home in California to a place like Colombia, or anywhere else for that matter, to do the things I do at home.  I want to see new things.  I want to eat in places that aren’t offered at home.  I want to do things I don’t do every day.

 

Am I successful in this regard?  Partially.  When I compare my experiences to other people my age, I find I’m far surpassing my peers.  However, when I compare my experiences to our children, as an example, I often find I’m barely scratching the surface.  As long as I challenge myself, I feel like I’m having fun trying to expand my own comfort zone.

 

What challenges did I encounter today?

During my morning walk, I probably covered a couple of miles in one direction before I began my return to the hotel.  I went past some very upscale shopping areas, the Bogota business district and then encountered a lesser neighborhood.  In one of the more shady neighborhoods, I encountered a pool hall.  Actually, it was a “billiards parlor”.  There is a difference.  I entered the building just to see what it would be like.  The proprietor was friendly and allowed me to take pictures, although I’m not sure how a couple of the billiards players felt about being photographed!

 

Soon I found myself in front of “Museum Nacional”.  I was hoping this museum might be featuring a “banos”.  Of course, “banos” are famous prehistoric dinosaurs from, apparently, before history was recorded.  Yes, the Museum Nacional had “banos”.  I decided to pay 3,000 Colombian pesos to enter the museum.  Before I go any further, I must confess that “banos” are not prehistoric dinosaurs.  “Banos” are bathrooms!  Yes, that’s about what it will take to get me to go into most museums.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed my one-hour tour of this three-story display of Colombian history.

 

Next up was lunch.  I saw very few American food franchises in the greater Bogota area.  I wouldn’t have eaten in them anyway, but I always enjoy studying a foreign (to me) cliental enjoying American food outlets.  I was attracted by a small café called the Fogon Colombia.  A large sign in the window advertised several specialties including tamales.  I ventured in.  There were a few local people inside enjoying the food.  There were no Americans.  In fact, I did not encounter another American from the time I left the Bogota airport on Thursday night until I returned to the airport on Monday morning.  When I’m on vacation in a foreign country that’s how I like it.

 

My tamale was served just as it had been in the hotel yesterday morning.  The corn tamale was wrapped in a series of banana leaves.  It was the size of a volleyball!  Along with my tamale I was served a croissant of sorts and a Coke Zero.  The entire bill came to about $1.50 U.S.  Yes, eating in local restaurants is both fun and cheap.  Of course, the food is very good.

 

It pays to bargain and it’s fun.

When Carol and I travel, we are always on the lookout for gifts for the folks back home.  They don’t have to be big or expensive, just something small to let the folks at home know we were thinking about them on our trip.  This is especially fun now that we have two grandchildren.

 

I came across an area of kiosk shops that were selling local goods.  One vendor had some very attractive kid’s t-shirts.  I always go for shirts with the local countries logo or name on them.  I asked the vendor how much two shirts would cost me.  He replied in Spanish and I didn’t understand.  I motioned for him to write the amount on a piece of paper.  He wrote “24,000”.  Heck this seemed to be more expensive that buying two shirts on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood.  Then I remembered we were talking about Colombian Pesos!  Twenty-four thousand pesos was about ten bucks U.S.  That was more than reasonable for two kids t-shirts. 

 

However, I am trained to negotiate.  Yes, I have taken just about every negotiating course offered and read most of the books on the subject.  I would feel bad if I didn’t make a “counter-offer”.  I suspect the shopkeeper might have felt the same way.  I grabbed his pen and wrote “20,000” just below where the seller had written his amount.  The vendor looked at me, nodded in the affirmative, and began to wrap my purchases.  Folks, that’s how it’s done.  It’s simple, it’s part of the process and on many occasions, it can save you money.  By the way, what was my saving in U.S. dollars?  Less than two bucks!  However, making a counter-offer was more principle than anything else.

 

A little further down the street, I encountered a storefront selling ladies purses.  I saw one that I thought Carol might like.  I tried the same bargaining process I had with the kid’s shirts.  The store clerk wrote down an amount and I countered.  She said no and I walked. When the seller allows you to leave that tells you that you have reached the seller’s bottom-line offer.  Carol has enough purses anyway!

 

I was really looking forward to my afternoon activity.

With the distance I had walked and the time I had taken for lunch, I arrived back to my hotel after the UCLA game had already begun.  No problem.  The NCAA tournament basketball program I have runs on my laptop.  It allows me to watch any game in the tournament when it is being played live or on video after the game had been played.  I would simply watch the game later tonight.

 

Mr. Ricardo Soler was my “angel” for this trip.  He had given me all of the details about the coming race I would attend tomorrow.  He also explained the “TC2000” group would be having a car show at a major shopping mall in Bogota on Saturday.  I wanted to see this show.

 

For the first time during the trip, I had the hotel order a local taxi for me.  Just as the online tour research had said, taxis don’t have seat belts in the back.  Nevertheless, I arrived at my destination, the “Gran Estacion Shopping Center” in good shape.  Imagine the very best shopping mall in your hometown.  The Gran Estacion was probably better!  Their food court had 35 different eateries, none of which was American owned, and a like number of restaurants and food shops scattered throughout the mall.  It was “posh”.

 

The car show was fun and well attended.

The mall had a huge paved area, about a square block in size reserved for the TC2000 car show.  When I arrived there were about ten racecars on display.  By the late afternoon, there were about thirty being shown to the public.

 

In addition to the racecars, a local car club featuring vintage automobiles was also part of the show.  These cars were going to have a vintage race at the Autodromo de Tocancipa track tomorrow.  That would be fun.

 

A stout P.A. sound system had been setup and music was entertaining the fans as they wandered about the car show taking photos.  The first thing I wanted to do was meet Mr. Ricardo Soler.

 

Mr. Ricardo Soler in person.

I saw what looked like a check-in/information booth.  One driver was just finishing up and then it was my turn.  I opened with my standard line in Spanish speaking countries.  “Yo no habla Espanol” which I hope means “I don’t speak Spanish” and does not mean “Can I date your daughter?”  The young woman at the check-in desk immediately replied in perfect English, “not a problem, what can I do for you”?

 

All right, this was going to be easy.  I told her I wanted to find Ricardo Soler.  She looked up and pointed at the man in the driver’s suit who had just been ahead of me in line.  “That’s Ricardo,” she said.  This was going to be easy.

 

I have had some very good local foreign contacts in my trackchasing career.  However, none would be any better than Ricardo Soler.  I  introduced myself and Ricardo showed me the personality that makes him so well liked amongst his staff and so well known to everyone.  Ricardo could not have been more excited to see me.  No, he was not like those dreaded East coast trackchasers.  He had been anticipating his meeting with the “World’s #1 Ranked Trackchaser”.

 

Although Ricardo was being tugged and pulled by everyone at the car show to do one thing or another, he took time out to welcome me and explain what he had in mind for me this weekend.  Ricardo wears many hats for Colombian auto racing.  First, he is the Executive Director of the Stop & Go motor racing magazine.  This is a slick looking publication focusing on Colombian motorsports.  Ricardo is also the producer for Colombian TV’s Speed Channel.  He would be coordinating that broadcast at tomorrow’s race.  Ricardo was also the track announcer at the Autodromo de Tocancipa.  It seemed like everyone and his brother or sister knew Ricardo.  Ricardo got to hug and kiss all the girls who came up to say hi and interview all the drivers who would be racing tomorrow.

 

If you know what Juan Pablo Montoya (Formula 1 winner and current NASCAR Sprint Cup driver) looks like, then you know what Ricardo looks like except Ricardo looks younger!  Mr. Soler was wearing a snappy looking dark blue driver’s uniform.  I would later learn that his entire staff of some 32 people wears the same uniform at the track.  Ricardo smiles and laughs a lot.  Maybe that’s why he has so much energy and looks so young.

 

Ricardo had plans for me.

As a visiting trackchasing international dignitary (my words), Ricardo had plans for me.  He wanted me to be involved in the Speed Channel broadcast as well as do an interview for Stop & Go magazine.  Since it’s part of my trackchasing charter to make myself available to promote the hobby of trackchasing I was more than happy to oblige.

 

It wasn’t long before Ricardo had me standing in the middle of the car show with a microphone in my hand.  He wanted me to handle the “intro” for the Speed Channel broadcast that would air later in the month.  I can only imagine what the local people thought to have an American shouting in English (ala Suuuuunday!!!!!) about the upcoming race at Tocancipa.  I was happy to do it and it only took me three takes to get what Ricardo wanted to be shouted.

 

Editor’s note:  We have some sixty people or so who are “official” trackchasers.  Each has seen more than two hundred tracks.  Seven of those people have seen more than 1,000 tracks.  Most of the trackchasers are small-town hard-working folks who go about their business in a low-key manner.  There is certainly nothing wrong with that approach.  However, I have chosen a different path.  I don’t mind celebrating the trackchasing hobby with folks who have never been exposed to what trackchasers do.  I know from experience that the “light turns on” for many people who have never heard of this hobby.  When they think for a moment, and then smile, I know I have made a convert to the understanding of the trackchasing hobby.  Often times people say it, or at least I can tell they are thinking that this must be pretty cool to travel all over the world chasing tracks and seeing all manner of interesting items.  It is!

 

We finished up this portion of the day with some more on camera “Q&A”.  They pretty much let me talk about the hobby from any point of view that I thought would interest the listener.  I hope to get a DVD of the TV production.  If I do, I will find a way to share it with my readers.

 

The People

 

The TC2000 folks I met were great.

One of Ricardo’s top assistants was Juan Alvarez.  Juan and I spent several minutes together talking about Colombian racing and the sport in general.  He was most incredulous about my hobby.  Juan helped me complete my on-air interview with the Speed Channel TV crew.  I was also able to meet Juan’s wife, Clarita. 

  

Ricardo helped arrange my transportation plans from my hotel to the racetrack on Sunday morning.  Juan and his wife would pick me up at the hotel.  With that in mind, I invited them to join me for breakfast.  I was thrilled when they accepted my invitation.

 

For the rest of the day I spent a few hours interacting with and observing local Colombians on a casual Saturday afternoon and evening at the mall.

 

As mentioned the Gran Estacion shopping mall was an upscale collection of stores and eateries.  After the car show, I found myself scouting out the mall.  I found several things that were interesting to me.

 

First, the mall was very upscale and packed with shoppers on a late Saturday afternoon/early evening.  There were more sports oriented (running shoes, etc) stores than I expected.  They were also selling cars in the mall, including Chevies!  I don’t see malls selling cars in the U.S.A.

 

I was surprised to walk past one small ice cream shop and see two security guards manning their posts.  Seeing security guards was not in itself unusual.  I saw security guards everywhere in Colombia just as I had in South Africa.  However, one of the security guards in the ice cream store was holding a double-barreled shotgun at the opening of the store.  I suspected that some V.I.P.s were in the store.  When I came back ten minutes later the guards were gone!  From what I have read about Colombia, after a recent political regime laid down the law and started putting police everywhere, crime has gone down.  If that’s what it takes to work, that seems O.K. to me.

  

One of the applications from my Apple iPhone that I find particularly useful in “Truphone”.

I have long felt somewhat frustrated with the communication options when I travel abroad.  It isn’t easy to simply “call home” when I travel out of the country.  The time change is always a challenge.  A trip to Europe creates a nine-hour time difference.  This always narrows my “window of opportunity” to make a call.

 

The second challenge is having the hardware to get in touch.  In the past I have rented phones while abroad or purchased “sim” cards that work in the country I am visiting.  Once while in England having a phone saved me late at night when I was in need of a room and couldn’t find one.

 

With my Truphone “app”, whenever there is an internet connection available, I can call just about anywhere in the world for six cents per minute.  While I was enjoying a delicious shrimp dinner at a restaurant in the mall I “called home”.  I got answering machines with Carol, Kristy and J.J.  However, I made contact with son Jim in Honolulu and my stepfather in Florida.  The connections went through quickly and the voice quality was as clear as a bell.

  

 

Thanks for reading Part 2 of my three-part trackchasing to Colombia.

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Walking is easy, when the road is flat.

 

 

 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE

When I started out in trackchasing, I never would have imagined traveling to South America in pursuit of my hobby.  This is the final saga of my three Colombian Trackchaser Reports.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my personal experiences traveling to Bogota, Columbia.  I will tell you this.  I have met a good number of very nice people as I have pursued my trackchasing hobby.  However, I had never met a larger group of nicer racing people than the folks I hung out with at the races on Sunday. 

 

Today was Sunday….race day. The race is what brought me all the way to South America and Colombia. I will return home tomorrow to conclude this five-day trip.

 

 

THE COUNTRY LIST

 

#28

 

Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries

 

# 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway (Mt. Hawley, oval) – Track #1, Peoria, Illinois – circa 1954 (age 5)

  

# 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario, Canada – July 31, 1988 (Dick Trickle winner)

  

# 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales, Australia – November 17, 1989 (accompanied by Carol)

  

# 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton – June 26, 1999 (accompanied by Carol, Kristy, Jim)

 

# 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum – May 5, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde – 2^nd new country in one day!)

 

# 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg – May 13, 2005 (accompanied by Carol, Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs – December 26, 2006 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco – October 14, 2007 (accompanied by Carol, J.J., Roger Ward)

 

# 11 – BARBADOS – Bushy Park Racing Circuit (road course) – Track #1,296, Bushy Park – December 9, 2007

 

# 12 – THAILAND – Bira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,300, Pattaya – January 19, 2008

 

# 13 – SOUTH AFRICA – Durban Grand Prix (road course) – Track #1,315, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – February 24, 2008 (accompanied by J.J. and Will Van Horne)

  

# 14 – JAMAICA – Dover Raceway (road course) – Track #1,322, Brown’s Town St. Ann – March 24, 2008

 

# 15 – SWEDEN – Sturup Raceway (road course) – Track #1,335, Malmo – May 10, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 16 – DENMARK – Ring Djursland (road course) – Track #1,336, Tirstrup – May 11, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 17 – CZECH REPUBLIC – Automotodrome BRNO (road course) – Track #1,381, Brno – September 13, 2008

 

# 18 – AUSTRIA – Lambrechten Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,382, Lambrechten – September 14, 2008

 

# 19 – IRELAND – Tipperary International Raceway (oval) – Track #1,388, Rosegreen – October 26, 2008 (Carol and I visited this track earlier in the year)

 

# 20 – GUYANA – South Dakota Circuit (road course) – Track #1,390, Timehri – November 2, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 21 – CHINA – The Guia Circuit (road course) – Track #1,392, Macau – November 16, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 22 – COSTA RICA – Autodromo La Guacima (road course) – Track #1,398, La Guacima – November 30, 2008

 

# 23 – ANDORRA – Grandvalira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,404, Port d’Envalira, Andorra – January 17, 2009

 

# 24 – ARGENTINA – Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval) – Track #1,406, Buenos Aires, Argentina – January 31, 2009

 

# 25 – QATAR – Losail International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,408, Doha, Qatar – February 13, 2009

 

# 26 – BAHRAIN – Bahrain International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,410, Sakhir, Bahrain – February 27, 2009

 

# 27 – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dubai Autodrome (road course) – Track #1,411, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – February 28, 2009

 

# 28 – COLOMBIA – Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course) – Track #1,417, Tocancipa, Colombia – March 22, 2009

 

 

What you are about to read is based upon a true story.  True stories are the best, right?

 

 

THE OBJECTIVE, THE TRIP AND THE PEOPLE…AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

 

 

The Objective 

 

I’m closing in!

This afternoon I saw racing in my 28^th different country.  I’m just two short of cashing in on the “Race to 30” International Challenge.  I am also closing in on one of my 2009 trackchasing goals.  This was my stated goal regarding international tracks for this year:

  

“Add, at a minimum, eight new countries to my trackchasing list.  This will bring my lifetime “trackchasing countries” total to thirty.  Do my best to hold off trackchaser commissioner, Will White, in our “race to 30” international trackchasing competition.”

 

Colombia joins Andorra, Argentina, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as the six new trackchasing countries I have visited this year.  That’s quite an eclectic list of locations.

 

The Trip

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2009

 

Today was race day!

It is very important to me to see as much of the trackchasing country I visit as I can.  Of course, see a race in the country is what brought me here in the first place.  However, having the opportunity to “look around” is a requirement of most trips.  I had two full days to tour in and around Bogota and felt comfortable saying I had at least seen a little of the local culture.

 

I had elected not to rent a car.  In hindsight, that was a good choice for me.  Without having GPS, Colombia would have been a difficult place to navigate around.  Without understanding Spanish, I might not have known what I was seeing.   

 

Pre-planning can be the difference in these international trips.

I have more success in some countries than others with my trackchasing pre-planning.  Believe it or not, my original Colombian trackchasing plan had been to come here LAST week.  That was the case for two reasons.  First, the track’s website showed a countable race LAST week.  I had also received a response from one of my inquires from a fellow named Ricardo Soler.  He was most positive about my trackchasing efforts and wanted to help in any way he could.  I was all set to come here LAST week.

 

Then……I discovered that although the track was going to have a race LAST week, Ricardo was from a different group and was talking about my seeing a race THIS week.  I had a choice.  I could have come to Colombia LAST week when the flights were wide open to see my race.  On the other hand,…..I could come to Colombia this week when the flights might not be as open (spring break) but where I had the full support of the local racing group.  As you can tell, I chose THIS week….and was happy I did.

 

The TC2000 race group would take care of all of my race day transportation needs.

I will likely remember the warmness of the Colombia people long after the memory of today’s race fades in my mind.  The hotel staff, the woman at the Museum Nacional, the man (Joe Paterno) I met on my first morning here, the woman at the sandwich shop on my last night.  They were all great.  They didn’t speak my language and I didn’t speak theirs.  Nevertheless, they were great people.

 

However, the staff from the racing body, TC2000, was friendly, kind and they spoke English.  That certainly helped me.  Ricardo Soler had arranged for one of his top assistants, and long-time friend Juan Alvarez to pick me up this morning.  Juan and I had met yesterday at the car show.  We spent several minutes talking and I felt as if I knew him very well.  I had invited Juan and his lovely wife Clarita to breakfast this morning and they had accepted.

 

I ate nearly half my meals with Colombians during the trip.

Ricardo told me I could ride to the track with him this morning.  The Autodromo de Tocancipa was about 25 miles from my hotel.  As much as I wanted to make the trip with Ricardo, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  He was leaving at 5 a.m.!  The race wasn’t scheduled to begin until 2 p.m.  I figured I could just take a taxi to the track.  Ricardo wouldn’t hear  it and that is how Juan and Clarita came into my breakfast picture.

 

Juan and Clarita showed up promptly at 7:30 a.m.  They were both wearing the TC2000 racing uniform.  That uniform was a snappy one-piece race driving uniform.  The uniform was dark blue and adorned in white with their names and the sponsor logos of the groups that help the racers of TC2000.

 

I must say that having breakfast with the Alvarez’s made ordering my food a bit easier.  On my first day at the hotel, breakfast had been served buffet style and the main entrée was tamales.  Today was my third breakfast at the hotel.  There didn’t seem to be a menu.  I guess on non-buffet days, guests could get juice, bread, coffee or chocolate (hot chocolate) and eggs any style. 

 

Juan, Clarita and I had has a pleasant breakfast and enjoyed each other’s conversation. As Colombians (like most folks), they enjoyed coffee with breakfast.  I have never been a coffee drinker.  I went with the hot chocolate.

 

During breakfast, I learned that Juan worked with a group that taught computer skills to young Colombian children.  Clarita worked at the leading radio station in Colombia.  They had been married less than two years.  Juan and Clarita had met at Ricardo Soler’s 40^th birthday party about two years ago.  As we left the breakfast room, Juan asked if I had used any sun block.  No, I had not.  That didn’t seem necessary.  The temperature was only going to be in the high 60s. The forecast was for clouds and maybe even some light rain.   

 

Soon, I would get my second tour of Bogota.

The first part of our drive to the track covered the same road that my “Bogota tour” had on Friday.  However, this time I was with a fluent English speaker.  Now, what I was seeing was much better understood. 

 

Juan and Clarita were just like most couples I had met in my lifetime.  When we got in the car, Clarita took the backseat and they offered that I sit in the front.  Of course, I volunteered to sit in the back but they wouldn’t hear of it.  Clarita also known as “Clara” was not as comfortable speaking English.  When Juan made a statement to me in English or was searching for a thought, Clara would often correct or finish that thought for Juan in Spanish.  Yes, that’s just how my wife does it!

 

As we drove along we along we listened to the radio and Juan told me what we were seeing.  It wasn’t long before Clara said something to Juan in Spanish.  Then Juan told me what they were talking about.  We had been listening to the radio station where Clara was employed.  Clara wanted to know if I would be willing to do a live radio interview with her station as we drove to the track.

 

All of Bogota and the surrounding area was about to get their first exposure to the hobby of trackchasing.

If you’ve ever checked the “media coverage” tab at www.randylewis.org you will see that local newspapers as well as radio and TV stastions frequently cover my trackchasing exploits.  Media outlets all over the United States, Middle East, Australia and now South America have shown an interest in the hobby.  I’ve done several radio interviews in the United States and Canada, but never on a “foreign language” radio station.  This would be a first for the trackchasing hobby.

 

Soon Clarita had completed the “pre-interview” preparation in Spanish with the people at the radio station.  She explained to me that the station’s host would ask me his questions in English and then translate both his question and my answer for the audience.  Another woman on the station seemed to be translating my words into yet a third language.  Maybe Juan or Clarita can tell me more about that.

 

Juan was kind enough to forward me a copy of the radio interview in an MP3 file.  If you go to the home page of my website at www.randylewis.org and click the tab “Live Interviews” you’ll be in the right place. Or…you can just click on this tab and hear my Colombian interview right now Colombian trackchasing interview. www.ranlayracing.com Keep your computer’s speakers turned up. I won’t spoil things by telling you what we talked about.  You can hear it for yourself.

 

Soon I was touring the track in the pace car!

I really don’t know how I came up with such an outgoing personality.  According to the Myers-Briggs personality test, I’m an introvert.  Nevertheless, I spent nearly my entire business career in sales.  In trackchasing, I’ve seen so much more than I would have if I didn’t take the extra step to meet key people in the trackchasing business.

 

Today, I would be the guest of the track and TC2000.  That meant I would be admitted to the track for free and lunch was on the house.  I also received some other V.I.P. perks.  My new friend Juan would be the pace car (truck/SUV) driver today.  I would get to ride shotgun with Juan.  That was special!

 

 

As I learned from my trip around the track, the Autodromo de Tocancipa facility has four countable tracks.  The TC2000 group also plans to race at a couple of other locations in Colombia this year.  The Tocancipa competitors would race on their 2,700 meter asphalt road course today.  They also have an asphalt oval that is part of the road course, where they conduct at least one event each season.  Separate from all of that is a four by four dirt off-road course, that Juan tells me features countable trackchasing racing.  Finally, there is a kart track.  The track is named after Colombia’s favorite racing son, Juan Pablo Montoya (above).

 

I talked to several people today about Juan Pablo Montoya.  Montoya has seen major success in the World Formula 1 series and in Indy cars.  He had won seven F1 races and the Indy 500.  That’s pretty good!  However, in the NASCAR series where Juan currently races, he has not had nearly as much success.  I got the sense from the people I spoke with today that they believe NASCAR racing is very difficult and that driving skills from open-wheeled series don’t translate to NASCAR very well.  They seemed to wish that JPM might never have gone in this driving direction.

 

At road courses, I get to roam around.

One of the things I really like about road course racing isn’t so much the racing but the ability to roam all over the facility.  Normally, fans can enter the paddock area without charge or the need of a pit pass.  At most places that means I can walk to every portion of the track.  That was the case today.

 

First, Juan gave me a walking tour to the property.  This included an explanation of which cars and drivers were the favorites.  I was able to meet one driver, Ricardo Kimura, who had lived in Cleveland, Ohio for three years.  Ricardo spoke English very well.  He has been racing in Colombia for several years.  His fifteen year old son was in the paddock area and hopes to begin his race driving career soon. 

 

The race day began with practice and qualifying.

The first race of the day would not begin until 2 p.m.  The morning was filled with practice and qualifying.  Today there were two classes of cars racing.  The body styles of each class were the same.  The top class was limited to 2,000 cc (cubic centimeter) engines.  The “Junior” TC2000 class ran smaller engines.  The Junior class was not for younger drivers, just drivers with smaller budgets.

 

It was during this time that I spent by myself walking all over the track.  I took several (O.K. more than “several”) pictures so you can see how they do it in Colombia.  

 

Soon it was time for a most unusual lunch.

Recently I went trackchasing in Argentina.  That track had some 2,000-3,000 fans on the evening I attended.  For a crowd of that size they had one and only one food kiosk (about 50 square feet in size) serving hamburgers and Coke and that was it!

 

I have never seen more food choices at a foreign track, and maybe any track, that what the Autodromo de Tocancipa offered.  These Colombians enjoy their track food.

 

There were two roasted corn stands.  I watched these folks set up and couldn’t wait to sample their fare.  However, by the time I finished my regular lunch there was no room for corn.

 

On the spectator side there was a catering truck that featured hamburqesas.  There was also a separate stand where the staff had breakfast.  This served local food including soups.  Inside the track were several food stands where the workers slaved over the preparation of fresh vegetables and sandwiches.  I purchased some pre-packaged dried fruit from a stand that was the best I ever had. 

 

At yet another location they were serving pizza.  Many tracks I visit serve pizza, if you can call it that.  Today, the pizza was being made from scratch.  Trackchasers, how many times have you seen that at a racetrack?  Still, I didn’t have any room for pizza made from scratch after I ate my lunch either.  “But Randy”, the puzzled Trackchaser Report reader might ask.  “What did you have for lunch that prevented you from gorging on all of these other fine food offerings?”

 

I had the most unusual lunch in my trackchasing career that now spans 1,415 tracks!

That’s a pretty far-reaching statement but it’s true.  The entire TC2000 race staff is a real team.  They dress alike, they eat together and they have fun together.  Ricardo told me there are 32 staff members and six of those work full-time for TC2000 and the Stop & Go racing magazine.

 

When it came time to have lunch everyone needed a “lunch ticket”.  This group was so well organized that each lunch ticket had the recipient’s name printed on the ticket.  Ricardo ended up giving me his lunch ticket saying that he would have no time for lunch.  Will all of his at the track responsibilities I believed him.

 

This is when Ms. (she really is a Mrs.) Cristina Valenzuela came into the picture.  Cristina was a TC2000 staff member and also a vintage car race driver!  Yes, the vintage cars, from yesterday’s car show, would be having a race today.

 

Lunch was being served on the spectator side of the track.  Cristina escorted me along with several other TC2000 staffers to where we would be eating.  I had watched the set-up for the BBQ earlier this morning.  A large wood burning fire sat just below a triangle of steel wire.  Huge slabs of meat were filleted and spread over the wire some 3-4 feet above the fire.  This looked like big slabs of ribs or beef.  I couldn’t wait to sample some.

 

Cristina saw to it that I was served first.  I was given a plate with a giant serving of the BBQ meat.  Along with that were two red potatoes (very similar to the Northeast’s salt potatoes) as well as arepas (the corn made pancake) and salsa.  Then I sat down with the staff on the grass covered terraced spectator seating area.  Everyone was eating and having a good time in the early spring sunshine.

 

 

It was at this point I asked what type of beef we were eating.  Cristina’s husband was quick to point out that we weren’t eating beef.  We were eating Capybara.  He went on to say that the Capybara is the biggest RODENT in the world.  Suddenly my Tony Roma BBQ ribs taste in my stomach did a back flip.  To my knowledge, I had never lunched on a RODENT before.  No one else seemed to mind.  However, the few remaining bites of Capybara did taste much different now that I learned I was eating a RODENT!  

  

It was also at this lunch that I had my first taste of Colombiana la nuestra soda.  This was a Colombian produced soda drink that tasted just like cream soda.  Juan made a special trip to get me a bottle and it tasted great. 

 

We were sneaking up on race time.

Today there would be a good deal of “pomp and circumstances” before the start of the race.  Ricardo had invited, as the track’s guests, a large contingent of young school children to the race today.  I was told these were mainly kids from disadvantaged homes where some abuse had taken place.  A special presentation was given to recognize the “Woman of the Year”.  This was the woman who ran the school for these children.  The kids seemed to be having the time of their lives.  Good job Ricardo and TC2000.

 

Next up was a drill team of some twenty or more Colombian soldiers.  They performed some high-stepping drills to some very lively pop music.  I spent a lot of time on the drill field during my Marine Corps basis training.  There is a great feeling of teamwork when the entire platoon can drill well.

 

Following the drill team performance a 20-piece color band came onto the track and played several tunes for us.  They finished off with the Colombian national anthem.  The anthem was sung live by a fellow with a very robust voice and a passion for his native Colombia.  He finished off the song with a loud shout of “Viva, Colombia!”.  We were almost ready to go racing.

  

Following the most unusual lunch of my trackchasing career I was about to receive the most unusual gift of my trackchasing career.

As a visiting trackchasing dignitary, I am frequently given special privileges and gifts.  I often get to watch the races from the press box or V.I.P. tower.  I have waved the green flag to start the race, I have given the command to “start your engines”.  I have ridden in the pace car as I did today. 

 

I have also had tracks present me with gifts for attending their event.  At one United Kingdom track, I was given a huge bottle of Champaign.  That bottle sits on my office bookshelf to this day.  I have also been given metals, track programs and the like.  However Ricardo had a special surprise waiting for me today.

 

He had asked me to be near the starting line at 2 p.m.  Therefore I hung nearby as the presentation for “Women of the Year” was completed as well as the military marching and singing of the Colombian national anthem.  I was thinking Ricardo might ask me to say the four “most important words in racing” (no, not “Put your helmets on”) but “Gentleman, start your engines”.  Nope!

 

Ricardo, among many other things, is the track announcer.  He is one of the most ENTHUSIASTIC announcers I have ever heard.  As one might expect all of his announcing is done in Spanish.  Soon I was hearing some explanation in Spanish that included “Randy Lewis” and “Trackchasing”.  I’m not sure what the Spanish word for trackchasing is.

 

I approached the start/finish line where Ricardo had summoned me.  There was a huge crowd of people standing around.  Ricardo explained, in Spanish, what I was doing here today.  He mentioned this was my 1,415^th lifetime track and that they wanted to recognize my achievement.

 

With that one of Ricardo’s young staffers stepped out of the crowd and presented me with a huge Colombian national flag.  As you may know the Colombian flag consists of three large horizontal bars with yellow on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom.  This is the most special trackchasing gift I have ever received.  Thank you Ricardo!  Thank you TC2000 staff!  Thank you Autodromo de Tocancipa!  Thank you Colombia!  Viva Colombia!!

 

Carol and I are working on getting my Colombian flag framed.  When that is completed, we will hang it proudly in the RANLAY Event Center in San Clemente, California.  The flag was a great and unexpected gift.

 

It was race time!

It was now time to see racing at my 1,415 lifetime track in my 28^th trackchasing country.  The premier TC2000 racing class would race two feature events each about 25 minutes in length.  The Junior class would have one race.

 

The fields were good-sized.  The main class started nearly 30 cars in their races.  For their first race, they ran in a counter-clockwise direction.  The second of their races inverted the top ten from the first race and ran in a clockwise direction.

 

I watched two of the races from inside the track and the final race from the spectator side.  There were a couple of two-story buildings inside the track layout.  From atop these buildings I could see about 90% of the track.  That’s a change from most road course racing, where I can sometimes NOT see 90% of the track.  Even from the spectator side, which was also elevated, almost all of the track could be seen from one vantage point.

 

The racing was close and competitive.  When a car spun off the track, normally a “corner yellow flag” was used rather than putting the entire course under the caution flag.  During the Junior race, I road in the pace car with Juan.  A couple of times during this race when a car spun or wrecked the pace car was called onto the track to pass the field.  That was fun riding with Juan to restart the race.

 

The vintage car race was fantastic.

Today the track was featuring a special vintage car race.  There was a field of some twenty cars that ranged from 1920s vintage to 1970.  This was quite a collection of cars.  There were several American makes including some mid-50s Fords and a 1950 era Buick.  There were even a couple of open wheeled racecars from the 1920s.

 

I was rooting for Cristina Valenzuela.  This was the young woman who had made sure I got my lunch in good order.  Cristina was driving her very own vintage racer.  Sorry, Christina I forget the make and model of your car!  This was her first every racing exhibition.  She did well.

 

I was surprised to see the vintage group have a “Lemans” type start.  For the uninitiated, this is a start where the green flag falls and everyone runs and jumps into their car and then drives away as quickly as possible.  It might have been explained to the crowd, but since everything was in Spanish I didn’t hear it.

 

The weather played a part in today’s racing.

Today’s weather alternated between clouds and sun.  The temperature was in the high 60s most of the day.  When the sun was out, I was warm and when the sun went behind the clouds I was cold.  I had not heeded Juan’s warning to wear sun block.  I normally only use it when I play golf.

 

However, I don’t hang out at 8,600 foot elevations very often!  I guess being closer to the sun by nearly two miles makes a difference.  By mid-day I could feel myself getting both sun and wind burned.  Juan was gracious enough to retrieve my broad-brimmed hat from his car.  However, it was too late.  The damage had been done.  As I write this a week after the Colombian race, my skin still feels the sunburn…..and I’ve starting to peel!

 

The races continued until almost 5 p.m.  By this point the sun was fading fast and rainy weather was coming our way.  Just as the last checkered flag of the day came down, so did the rain.  As the driver’s celebrated in victory lane, it continued to rain.  Although the race would have continued in the rain, we were lucky it held off.

 

Just because the races were finished didn’t mean that my day with the TC2000 group was finished.

Following the races, Ricardo summoned his group, as he always does, to one of the track buildings for a post-race party.  At the party, he took the time to recognize everyone who had had a birthday since the last time the group got together.  He had a huge birthday cake to celebrate with.  In my honor we all sang Happy Birthday in English and then in Spanish.  It was fun.

 

Ricardo, just like any good sales manager, then addressed the group and thanked them for doing such a great job today.  They really had been on top of their game with line-ups, hospitality and much much more.  Ricardo is the team leader and a very enthusiastic one at that.  Everyone seems to really enjoy each other and, most importantly, they have fun.

 

For the next couple of hours, we all sat around and talked.  I most appreciated everyone willing to converse with me in English.  I had a long conversation with “Leonard”.  He was a young man working on a racing video game development project.  I really enjoyed my conversation with him.

 

It was now getting later in the evening.  The main portion of the group was going to go to a Karaoke bar.  They invited me to come along.  I declined the invitation for several reasons.  First, I am a terrible Karaoke singer in English; I can only imagine how I might do in Spanish.  Secondly, I was bushed.  I had been out in the sun and wind from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. having the time of my life.  Tomorrow I was looking at 4,000 miles of flying.  No, there would be no Karaoke singing for me tonight.

 

I wrapped up the evening riding home with Ricardo and his friends.

Juan and Clarita were going with the Karaoke group.  This meant that I would ride back to my hotel in the TC2000 Mercedes SUV with Ricardo at the wheel along with his girlfriend and two other friends.  I appreciate the folks in the back indulging Ricardo and me as we spoke English all the way back.

  

It was dark and raining during our drive.  When we were just outside the track, we noticed car #23.  The driver was DRIVING his racecar home from after the race just as they used to do it back at the Peoria Speedway when I was a boy!

 

I really enjoyed my conversation with Ricardo.  He is a real supporter of Colombia.  He sees the entertainment of visitors like me as a good way to promote his country.  Of course, he is right on.  Ricardo is 42 years old and makes his living in the racing promotion and media business.  He directs and produces the Speed Channel TV production in Columbia, He is the managing director of Stop & Go magazine as well as the announcer at the Autodromo de Tocancipa and a million other things.  I saw him meet, greet and hug more than 100 people at the track.  He knows everyone and now I know him.  I am privileged.

 

Ricardo was very interested in knowing more about me and my family.  We talked about that and many other things until we pulled up to my hotel at nearly 10 p.m.  I will forever remember my day at the Autodromo de Tocancipa.  The racing was very good.  However, it will be my new Colombian friends that will create a lifetime memory of this trackchasing trip.

 

 

MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2009

 

The long trip home.

To make a long story a few paragraphs shorter, I made it home in good order.  During the first 12 weeks of the year, I’ve made five overseas trips.  I’ll make one more next weekend.

 

The People

 

 

Yep!  The people were great.

I’m sorry, I didn’t get everyone’s name that I met.  However to Ricardo and Juan and Clarita and Cristina and everyone else, you made the “people” part of this trip fantastic.  Colombia is a beautiful country and I encourage everyone reading this to get down there to see it and meet its fine people.

 

By the way, Juan Alvarez has a business trip scheduled to Albuquerque, New Mexico planned soon.  I’m working hard to get a track in the area for him to visit.  Of course, I hope to be the “United States” contact for any of the TC2000 group should they venture to our shores.

 

  

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

 

Randy Lewis

Alberta’s #1 Trackchaser

Be wary of not knowing where you are headed. You might end up there.

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

 

AIRPLANE

Orange County, CA – Atlanta, GA – 1,919 miles

Atlanta, GA – Bogota, Colombia – 2,100 miles

 

RENTAL CAR

No rental cars, I took taxis and the hotel’s private car everywhere I went in Colombia

 

AIRPLANE

Bogota, Colombia – Atlanta, GA –2,100 miles

Atlanta, GA – Orange County, CA –1,919 miles

 

Total Air miles – 8,038 (4 flights)

 

Total auto and air miles traveled on this trip – 8,038 miles

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

 

Autodromo de Tocancipa – No charge

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – Nada

 

 

 

RACETRACKS VISITED IN 2009

1,401. Death Valley Raceway (oval), Armargosa Valley, Nevada – January 3

  

1,402. Lake Weyauwega Ice Track (oval), Weyauwega, Wisconsin – January 11

  

1,403. Marion Pond Ice Track (oval), Marion, Wisconsin – January 11

 

1,404. Grandvalira Circuit (road course), Port d’Envalira, Andorra – January 17

 

1,405. Kuna International Raceway (oval), Kuna, Idaho – January 25

  

1,406. Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval), Buenos Aires, Argentina – January 31

 

Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (oval), Springfield, Missouri – February 6 (new track for Carol only)

  

Lake Speed Ice Track (oval), Tilleda, Wisconsin – February 7 (new track for Carol only)

 

1,407. DeltaPlex (oval), Grand Rapids, Michigan – February 8

 

1,408. Losail International Circuit (road course), Doha, Qatar – February 13

  

1,409. Lake Washington Ice Track (road course), Mankato, Minnesota – February 15

 

1,410. Bahrain International Circuit (road course), Sakhir, Bahrain – February 27

 

1,411. Dubai Autodrome (road course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates – February 28

 

1,412. Dunkin Donuts Center (oval), Providence, Rhode Island – March 6

  

1,413. Fur Rondy Grand Prix (road course), Anchorage, Alaska – March 8

 

1,414. Perris Auto Speedway (road course), Perris, California – March 14

 

1,415. Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course), Tocancipa, Colombia – March 22

 

Good day from Colombia and other points involved in the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT COLOMBIA – TRACKCHASING COUNTRY #28?

 

 

Colombia – FAST FACTS*

 

 

Provided by my friends at Wikipedia and others.

 

COLOMBIA – FAST FACTS

 

Full country name:  Colombia

  

Capital:  Bogota

  

Geography:  Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the north by the Caribbean Sea, to the northwest by Panama and to the west by the Pacific Ocean.

  

Size:  Colombia is the 26^th largest country in the world and the fourth largest in South America. 

  

Climate:  December through May is the driest time of the year in Bogota and April, May, September, October and November are the wettest.  Remarkably, the average high temperature for any month is within the narrow range of 64-67 degrees Fahrenheit!  The average low temperature ranges from 41-46 degrees.  Bogota averages 37 inches of rain each year.

  

Crime:  Bogota has gone to great lengths to change its crime rate and its image with increasing success after being considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world in the mid-90s.  In 1993 alone, it had 4,352 intentional homicides and a murder rate of 80 per 100,000 people.  With a major increase in security Bogota’s murder rate has dropped to 20 per 100,000 people.  By comparison, Detroit has a murder rate of 46 per 100,000 people!!  The rate in Los Angeles is 10, Philadelphia – 27 and Honolulu – 2.

   

Language:  Spanish.  Colombia has the third largest Spanish speaking population in the world behind Mexico and Spain.

  

Population:  Colombia has an estimated 44.6 million residents.  It is the third most populous country in Latin America.  Life expectancy at birth in 2005 was 72.3.  Colombia is now one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America.  Bogota has grown from 300,000 people in 1938 to approximately 8 million today.  The country has 30 cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

  

Religion:  More than 95% of Colombians practice Christianity.  Between 80-90% of those people are Catholic.

  

Altitude:  With an elevation of more than 8,500 feet Bogota, is the third-highest major city in the world behind La Paz, Bolivia and Quito, Ecuador.

  

Weights & Measures:  Metric, petrol is sold by the gallon.

  

Currency:  Colombian Peso.  Currently one U.S. dollar will buy about 2,300 Colombian Pesos in 2009. Editor’s note: In 2022 one U.S. dollar will buy about 4,510 Colombian Pesos! 

  

Tourism:  For many years serious internal armed conflicts kept tourists from coming to Colombia.  However, President Alvaro Uribe’s “democratic security” strategy, which has included significant increases in military strength and police presence throughout the country, has pushed rebels further away from the cities, highways and tourist sites.

 

 

That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report