Greetings from Jaffrey, New Hampshire
From the travels and adventures of the
“World’s #1 Trackchaser”
Contoocook Lake Ice Track – Lifetime Track #2,057
I was more than satisfied with my Quebec B&B. 790 miles of driving in 48 hours. Do the math; this gal had a hard time with that. World’s #1 ICE Trackchaser. Jaffrey, New Hampshire by the numbers and notables. My server told me “I just LOVE technology”. I was looking forward to today for one special reason. Let’s meet Alan Darrah. A PA system at an ice track? Good on them. There were two classes racing today. 6,000 = 2. That’s a fair deal? THE EVENT I was more than satisfied with my Quebec B&B. I woke up this morning at the La Chouette B&B in Mansonville, Quebec, Canada. I went to sleep in on the Tempurpedic mattress I have come to enjoy in my rustic seaside cottage in San Clemente, California. This is how the day turned out. 790 miles of driving in 48 hours. I awoke to a wonderful breakfast at my B&B in Mansonville, Quebec, Canada. The Mansonville location was perfectly located logistically for this trip. On Friday night it was just the right amount of driving from Boston up to the bed-and-breakfast location. Then after the race in Valley Junction on Saturday night it was an easy three-hour drive back, although I did need a short powernap along the way. Then my drive the next morning for some Sunday afternoon New Hampshire ice racing was done on clear roads. It would be just three hours driving from Quebec to Jaffrey, New Hampshire. From Jaffrey it was just and hour and a half back to the Logan (Boston) International Airport. All of these “mini” drives amounted to 790 miles in the 48 hours I had the National Rental Car Racing Hyundai Sonata. The funny thing about my choosing this location is that it was the most inexpensive choice of several places I could’ve stayed in the area. I can’t imagine anyone serving a better breakfast than I’ve had for the last two mornings. My room was quiet and had all the creature comforts that were needed for a trip like this. My B&B was convenient to the border crossing. This morning I had a short 10-minute drive to the U.S. border control crossing in North Troy, Vermont. North Troy isn’t very big. They have just 593 residents. At the border I was asked only a few questions by a very friendly U.S. Border Patrol agent. Then I was allowed to pass and head on down to New Hampshire. I didn’t use my iPhone on the AT&T network until I was a good 25 miles down into Vermont. In the past the networks have become “confused” when I had just crossed into the U.S.A. Although I was in the U.S. for “real location purposes” I was still in Canada and subject to their outlandish “roaming” charges for cellphone purposes. Since that experience I have decided to wait on getting back in touch via U.S. based AT&T until I am several miles from the Canadian border. Do the math; this gal had a hard time with that. When I picked up my rental car on Friday night in Boston the gas gauge read just a shade below full. I mentioned this to the attendant. She told me to bring it back “6/8” full. I said “Do you mean three-quarters full?” I can see that she was struggling pretty hard with the mathematical conversion. This experience told me that she was not likely a math major. I had filled my tank in St. Johnsbury, Vermont just before crossing the Canadian border Friday night. I didn’t want to buy any of the pricey Canadian fuel during this trip. At the same time I calculated how far I could drive before the car got down to three quarters of a tank. That equated to about 125 miles. Little did I know growing up in the small industrial town of East Peoria, Illinois that I was going to need these advanced (for East Peoria) math skills. Today I needed to refill the car up to the brim when I was about 125 miles from Logan international Airport in Boston. That location turned out to be Walpole, New Hampshire. Gas prices there were just $2.09 per gallon. I did see some gas prices as low as $1.99 USD a gallon. World’s #1 ICE Trackchaser. I will be seeing racing at my 64th ice-racing track today. That gives me 79 ice racing “points” where a point is given for each track, each ice racing state and each ice racing country. I’ve had Contoocook Lake and its Jaffrey, New Hampshire on my radar screen for sometime. Jaffrey, New Hampshire by the numbers and notables. Jaffrey is a small town of just 2,757 residents. Its downtown area is right out of a Norman Rockwell New England painting. Wikipedia tells me that Jaffrey is located along the Contoocook River. However, the Jaffrey ice-racing group says they race on Contoocook LAKE. So who am I too believe? I had never heard of any of the “notable” people from Jaffrey listed on Wikipedia. That doesn’t mean they were not notable. After the races….. I was lucky with the weather. I’ve been very lucky with the weather this weekend. Just five days ago areas in and around Boston got more than 24 inches of snow. This weekend the Midwest is getting smothered with snow. Boston is expected to get even more of the white stuff within 6 to 12 hours after I leave Boston bound for Los Angeles. Flights from Boston to Los Angeles for tomorrow were already being canceled tonight. I’m hoping to trackchase in the Midwest or back up in Canada next weekend weather permitting. In another seven days the current storm should’ve passed and everyone will have recovered. Of course that’s if these cold weather climates don’t get MORE snow. One of my most uncomfortable flights in a very long time. It was a long flight back from Los Angeles from Boston to Los Angeles. When you fly against the prevailing winds it adds another hour to a flight like this making it six hours in total. I would land at midnight in Los Angeles. Legroom was nearly non-existent even though I was in the upgraded coach part of the plane. By the time I got home it was nearly 2 a.m. That meant it was past 5 a.m. New Hampshire time. Nope trackchasing out of Southern California is not for the less passionate. ONE CANNOT LIVE WELL OR SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL McDonalds – New Hampshire My server told me “I just LOVE technology”. On the way back to the Boston airport I stopped at McDonalds for a chocolate sundae. The server was most impressed with my using “Apple Pay” from my iPhone 6 to pay for my order. He told me I was only the second person he’s seen use Apple Pay even though it’s been out for a couple of months. He gave me what is believed to be the largest chocolate sundae serving ever to show his support. Take a look at the picture. Agree? He told me “I just LOVE technology!” He’s a man after my own heart. THE RACE Contoocook Lake – Jaffrey, New Hampshire I was looking forward to today for one special reason. It was going to be a special treat with today’s ice racing. I would be watching Alan Darrah race. I first saw Alan racing on the ice at the Northeast pond in Milton, New Hampshire. That was 8 years ago in 2007. At that time Alan told me he had been racing for 42 years in the very same 1932ish Ford. Congratulations Alan. Today, eight years later, Alan was racing for his 50th consecutive year. His car had this sign painted on the side; Racing 50 YEARS with the #20 1965-2015 Where were they racing? It was not easy finding the ice racing location in Jaffrey. I stopped to ask a couple of snowmobilers about the car-racing venue. They had no idea what I was talking about. Then I found a local gassing up his pickup truck. He provided some believable directions. Even with his help I didn’t find it on the first try. When I finally did locate the track I parked in the spectator parking area. Let’s meet Alan Darrah. Then I walked into the pits like I owned the place to talk to Alan Darrah. I wasn’t sure if I needed a pit pass but there was nobody there to ask. It’s always better to ask for forgiveness than approval. Alan was a very friendly fellow as he was the last time I met him. I’m guessing that Alan is aged about 70. Alan races mainly on ice. He did mention that he raced at both Stafford Springs Speedway (CT) and Monadnock Speedway (NH) back in the 70s. Today he races in the modified division. There were four cars in that group. One looked like a late model with a racing wing, another was a sprint car type racer. The final entry was a limited late-model type car. I’m sure Alan’s 289 Ford engine was overpowered and outmatched by all of the current racing technology he was competing against. It reminded me of the technical disadvantages that have plagued the Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers for years. Nevertheless Alan could still get his car around the oval in very good shape. I think if he were racing against cars of similar quality and power Alan would win. As it was when two competitors dropped out of the feature event he finished in the runner-up spot. Cool and windy. Today’s temperature was 21°. That was quite a bit warmer than yesterday’s 5° up in Canada. However today’s wind was stronger which made the conditions feel about the same as yesterday. It’s the windy baby. A PA system at an ice track? Good on them. The Jaffrey ice-racing group had a PA system for the fan’s enjoyment. The woman announcer told the fans she was standing in for the track’s regular announcer. She tried hard to keep the crowd informed but rarely mentioned a driver’s name. Nevertheless, most ice racing promotions do not have an announcer of any kind. The PA was a nice amenity to find at the track. I tried to get the best photographs and video that I could. This was made more difficult with a setting sun that faced the spectators and the pit area. The cars raced two heats each followed by a feature event. There were two classes racing today. As mentioned the modified division had four cars. The “stock” class had six competitors. One of those was an old European model. I should’ve asked the driver what brand it was. Maybe my European followers can identify it. I’m guessing a Saab? The group did something today that adds to the competitive nature of their events. If a car had a mechanical or tire problem they stopped the race so that the repair could be made if possible. Given the small car counts that’s probably a good idea. Most fans watched from inside their cars. 6,000 = 2. That’s a fair deal? I was able to see to two ice tracks on this trip. I guess that made the idea of flying and driving nearly 6,000 miles round-trip a good one. Remember beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I’ve got three more weekends of ice racing scheduled before Carol and I head out on a weeklong cruise to Mexico. I guess the cruise will warm me up after being on the ice that much. New Hampshire The Granite state This afternoon I was seeing my 20th lifetime track in the Granite state, yes the Granite state. This was my 11th separate trip to New Hampshire in pursuit of trackchasing immortality. My first visit came in 1985 and my last up until today was in 2010. Thanks for reading about my trackchasing, Randy Lewis World’s #1 Trackchaser Peoria Old Timers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Hall of Fame Member Only in New Hampshire: (described by a local) Fluffernutter: This sandwich was a staple for me growing up. It was made of two slices of white bread, peanut butter and Fluff. Wait a minute! I forgot again. Marshmallow “Fluff” is something that is only sold in New England. Other kids throughout the country probably have not even heard of this sweet white gooey sandwich filler let alone tried it. We also used a scoop of Fluff in hot chocolate and this ingredient is in the recipe for a great regional version of peanut butter fudge. QUICK FACTS AIRPLANE Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Boston, MA (BOS) – 2,611 miles RENTAL CAR #1 Logan (Boston) International Airport – trip begins Vallee-Jonction, Quebec, Canada Logan (Boston) International Airport – trip ends – 790 miles AIRPLANE Boston, MA (BOS) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 2,611 miles Total air miles – 5,222 (2 flights) Total rental car miles – 790 (1 car) Total miles traveled on this trip – 6,012 miles TRACK ADMISSION PRICES: Vallee-Jonction Ice Track – $5 Canadian Contoocook Lake Ice Track – No admission charge for me Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $5 Canadian LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are: Total lifetime tracks seen Total “trackchasing countries” seen Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results Total Lifetime Tracks There are no trackchasers currently within 450 tracks of my lifetime total. Don’t blame me. Total Trackchasing Countries There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total. Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results That’s all folks! Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report
Click on the link below to see more than 100 photos of the beautiful winter scenery in New Hampshire as well as the ice racing setup provided by the Jaffrey Ice Racing Association: A fun day of New Hampshire ice racing and touring to boot 
