Lake Algonquin Ice Track

I pay top dollar for good legal advice.

My lawyers make me write this.

Editor’s note:  From time to time my legal staff requires that I issue disclaimers.  No, this is not the “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers” disclaimer about blaming me for blowing all of their retirement funds on trackchasing.  However, it is equally important.

Folks, this is March.  It should be almost the beginning of spring.  In Buffalo I awoke to four inches of fluffy overnight snow.  I know that some people like to see snow.  They are the folks who say, “I just love the four seasons.”  I do too.  I have several of their CDs and saw them in concert in college!

There is no time like the present.  Home prices in California are down from record highs although they are starting to rise again in 2013.  Do not put this off any longer.  Move!!  Get out of your stinking climate and get somewhere that’s warm.

If you had a choice, and you do, would you rather live in an icebox or at room temperature?  I do not mean to offend anyone.  However, if I can reach just one person or one family I will consider this message a success.  Remember, you do not have to do this to yourself or your family.  Get out now.  Move to California and watch the sunsets at the beach in your cargo shorts (golfing trousers).

THE KEYS TO THE TRIP

I just about screwed this up……………more in “The Plan”.

Toothpicks or Five Hour Energy drink?……………..more in “The Trip”.

Those easterners…you gotta love ‘em…………..details in “The Experience”.

THINGS YOU MIGHT HAVE NOTICED HAD YOU BEEN PAYING MORE ATTENTION IN SCHOOL

THE BEST READERS IN RACING TAKE TIME TO CONTRIBUTE

This message is a follow-up from my April Fool’s message.  It comes from South Dakota. 

What’s really sad about this, in all seriousness, was that I fell for thinking you could be capable of such a misdeed. There have been waaay too many of those considered heroes in our society that have fallen from grace—hard—recently, and I suppose I was set up for cynicism by the downfalls of Lance Armstrong, Joe Paterno. Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, etc. etc. etc.

I’m ultimately relieved and happy all is well, and have to congratulate you for a well-played April Fools. This one wasn’t quite as colorful as the live turkey someone leashed to the front door of the newspaper I worked for in Chadron, Neb., or the hockey puck that crashed through the rink glass in front of me on Monday, but I doff my chapeau to you sir.

Oops! I almost headed the wrong way.

I do it differently than just about anybody else. 

Planning these trips is like building a house.  Lots of decisions have to be made.  Not everything that becomes part of the final plan is a good idea.  When you find out your one-time good idea is really a bad idea then you need to act quickly.  There is no need to bemoan your ill fortune.  Simply move on with the new better plan.

This trip has been about driving.  I covered more than 1,800 miles in less than 72 hours.  I did all the driving myself.  I paid for all of the gas.  Do you ever wonder how my trackchasing is different than those mega “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasing” teams?  You’ve just read two of the many differences.

There was essentially zero downtime on this trip.  I was either flying, driving, eating or sleeping.  There was no time for anything else.

Dyslexic?

Today’s track travel itinerary called for me to leave Columbus, Ohio after yesterday’s afternoon race.  It would be a 4-5 hour drive up to Buffalo, New York.  The trip was made more cumbersome by spitting snow showers all the way up to Buffalo.

I didn’t arrive at my Motel 6 property until 10 p.m.  Tomorrow’s racing was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.  Luckily, the track’s location in Holland, New York was less than an hour from my hotel.  That meant I could sleep in until around 8 a.m. Eastern time (5 a.m. San Clemente time).  That would be a fine luxury.

There was just one problem.  It was true that Holland was less than an hour from my hotel.  However, the race I was planning on attending was NOT at Holland but Hammond, New York.  I guess I must have been dyslexic when I read about this event.

After noticing my error it was with some trepidation that I plugged “Hammond, New York” into my Google Maps! program.  I hit the “calculate” button and closed my eyes.  When I opened my eyes I saw the bad news.  Hammond, New York was 252 miles and a three hour and fifty-two minute drive from my Motel 6.  Ouch!

When the old plan is a bad one get a new one!

I discovered this at nearly midnight.  With a 10 a.m. race time there was no way I was sleeping until 8 a.m. Eastern time now.  This new “discovery” also brought another ice racing track into play located in Wells, New York.

The Wells location was 268 miles and a four hour and twenty-seven minute drive from my Motel 6.  However, Wells was much closer (72 miles vs. 201 miles) to Albany, New York.  With any luck after the races I could fly from Albany through Detroit and get back to Los Angeles after today’s racing.  How cool is that?  I could be out on a frozen lake in upstate New York on Sunday afternoon and still be home in the loving arms of “Trackchasing’s First Mother” by bedtime.  Don’t know how cool that is?  It’s cool!

The new plan was not a great plan but it was the plan I was going with.

My “new” plan now called for a 5 a.m. Eastern Time wake-up call.  That would be 2 a.m. San Clemente time.  How early was that?  Well, when I arrived home at 10 p.m. I have been up for twenty hours.

Sometimes the main plan just won’t work for any number of reasons.  When that happens it’s time to implement the backup plan.  I think of myself as having a pretty flexible mindset.  I would guess most people think of that for themselves.  The fact is it’s only true for a small percentage of people.

My first ever 5-hour Energy attempt.

I didn’t have any toothpicks. 

I woke up this morning in Buffalo, New York.  I went to bed in San Clemente, California.  This is what today looked like.

When I woke up this morning I did something I had never ever done in 64 years of fun-filled living.  I downed a berry flavored serving of “Five Hour Energy Drink”.  I figured if it’s good enough for Clint Boyer then it’s good enough for me.  Additionally, I was running low on toothpicks to keep my eyes open.

Today was a rare day.

When I did awake at 5 a.m. Eastern time I was working on just four hours of bed sleep.  I didn’t get ANY bed sleep the night before.  Despite just three hours of bed sleep I had a serious case of “bed hair”.  I am a “morning shower person”.  Carol is an evening “shower person”.  It will be a rare day when I don’t take a shower as soon as I get up or exercise.

Ya, I was ‘gangsta’.

Today was a rare day.  I did not shower.  I drank down a berry-flavored Five Hour Energy Drink.  Then I did ANOTHER thing I can’t recall every doing.  I put on my stocking cap and wore it from the time I left my Motel 6 room until I walked into our boudoir some twenty hours later.  Ya, I felt “gangster”.  It’s the way I roll……today.

Yesterday, Carol told me it was 79 degrees in San Clemente.  We are not noted for hot weather just consistent weather.  When I awoke this morning, in the dark, I looked out my window.  There was my rental car….under about four inches of snow!

Instant energy.

This trip had been trying especially after being home for less than 48 hours after traveling for 12 consecutive days (mostly to Russia) and more than 18,000 miles.  However, this is what I do.  Long-time reader and good buddy Bud Heineman, who is now in his 80s, always tells me he wishes “he had half my energy”.  Bud, with a Five Hour Energy Drink I now have TWICE my energy!

What was my reaction to my first ever jug of Five Hour?  It wasn’t bad.  The berry flavor tasted good.  With a strong case of the sniffles what I really needed was a large dose of Nyquil.  However, I don’t think that would have worked given my sleeping pattern on this trip as well as the driving requirements.

I didn’t feel all that unusual during the first five hours of my Five Hour Energy Drink period.  Remember I have been a heavy Diet Coke with caffeine drinker.  I certainly didn’t feel drowsy although given my lack of sleep I should have.  I’m thinking FHE is a good product when used responsibly.

AFTER THE RACES….

It was time to ‘beat feet’.

When the racing was wrapped up it was time to “beat feet” (a Marine Corps term) for the Albany International Airport.  Boy, does that place look like a federal prison from the outside.  It’s got more exterior brick than just about any building I had ever seen.

Flying during the winter, on a standby basis, with the aid of my sponsors is very easy for the most part.  In another month or so, we’ll begin to hit “spring break”.  This is a 4-6 week period when college kids are spending this parent’s retirement money just messing around.  Many of those college kids are sons and daughters of airline employees.  Many of the rest probably carry 2.0 GPAs and this part of their life is the best it will ever be for them.  From spring break we move into summer.  Starting in late March all the way through the end of September it won’t be easy for me to fly.  It will take every creative resource I have just to get from point A to point B.  I won’t give up.  I’ve had some success with my sponsorship program in the past.

In almost no time (O.K. quite a bit of time) I was back home.

Soon I was on a plane from Albany to Detroit.  Detroit.  The Delta Airlines terminal is one of my most favorite in the country.  Once in Detroit I hopped a nearly five-hour flight back to Los Angeles.  Then with a one-mile walk and a 65-mile drive I was in the driveway of our little seaside bungalow that overlooks the blue Pacific Ocean.  Another great adventure had come to a close.

Don’t stop here.

Do YOU have an “eastern” people story?

I will tell you this.  I sometimes have trouble tolerating “Easterners”.  Mind you I have some very good friends who came from the east and/or still live there.  I love those people.  However, it’s a “statistically proportional” thing with me.

When I make a statement like the above regarding “easterners” I get those wry smiles and nods.  People want to tell me their own “Eastern people” stories.  When easterners read the above their reaction is “Who the $#%^$ do you think you are?  You’re an #%^#%.”  I don’t think they should be so sensitive.  What do you think?

Gender bias?

Today up in Wells, New York I stopped at a little convenience store/gas station named Zacks.  It was definitely a backwoods operation.  The store had wooden floors if that helps your mental picture.

I was on the lookout for breakfast.  I had long since given up on a fast food breakfast.  In this part of upstate New York I don’t think they have ever heard of fast food.  I didn’t, and rarely do have time for a sit-down breakfast in a more traditional restaurant on these restaurants.

The elderly (maybe about MY age) woman (I’ll call her Mildred) working the store was about as helpful as a “bump on a log” a saying my mother sometimes used or as helpless as “tits on a boar” a favorite saying of my grandfather.  Even back then there was sort of a gender bias wasn’t there?

Breakfast of champions.

Just give me calories.

What did they have to eat at Zack’s?  Not a hell of a lot.  Carol had told me to drink orange juice for my cold.  However, all they had was a half-gallon sized O.J.  I correctly predicted there would be no food concessions being sold at the ice track.  I needed something from Zack’s.  Health was out the window now.  I needed calories.  What did I buy?

I bought a six-pack of chocolate-iced glazed donuts (there were no single servings) and a bottled Diet Mountain Dew.  I am somewhat ashamed to tell you that I ate FOUR of those donuts.  I rationalized that two were for breakfast and two were for lunch.

And the OTHER two?

You’re probably wondering, “Randy what happened to the OTHER two donuts.  I tossed them out the window.  That’s right.  My “good Randy” rationalized I was helping the birds.  My “bad Randy” was pissed off that he couldn’t eat all six donuts!

Racing action on the lake.

This was a perishable item. 

I drove a long way and jumped through several hoops to get to today’s track.  However, an “ice track” in the trackchasing hobby is a perishable item.  You see virtually all ice racing takes place in January and February.  This was the last ice-racing weekend of the year and it was happening in early March.

Three weeks ago I had been to another A.M.E.C. sanctioned event in Caroga Lake, New York.  I enjoyed that one which made returning today a good idea.  I like the A.M.E.C. races.  They bring a good field of cars even including sprint cars.  They start on time, keep the program moving and have fast cars.

The last one this year.

Today I was seeing my sixth ice track of 2013.  As a matter of fact, New York (not my first ice visit here) was part of SEVENTEEN states, provinces and countries where I have seen ice racing.  In addition to ice racing in the U.S. and Canada I’ve also seen cars racing on ice in the countries of Andorra and Finland.

Many ice-racing dates are very “tentative”.  If there is not enough cold weather then the ice won’t be thick enough to support the weight of the cars as they race.  In the past few years ice-racing groups have probably cancelled more races than they have run.  Is it global warming?

A.M.E.C. runs on “road courses” at the frozen lakes where they compete.  That simply means the track will require the competitors to turn right AND left.  Today’s track (as described at the driver’s meeting) was ALMOST an oval.  The cars raced clockwise around the circuit and made the slightest of left turns at one point only.  I wish they had classified the racetrack as an oval.  Then I could have come back to Lake Algonquin some day to see the road course.

Small sports cars and sprint cars were on the racing agenda today.  Don’t miss my photos and videos to see how they looked.  It was good to see my last ice track of the year.  We’ll see how my sponsorship goes for next year’s ice racing.

STATE COMPARISONS

New York

The Empire State

This afternoon I saw my 63rd lifetime track in the Empire state, yes the Empire state.  Lake Algonquin was my third NY ice track.  I still have nearly 50 tracks to see here but not a single one is a traditional weekly oval track.  I don’t like the looks of that!

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

Randy’s sayings: Don’t wait for the storm to pass, learn how to dance in the rain.

Lake Algonquin Ice Track racing action…and beautiful New York scenery!

Welcome to Buffalo, New York!

TRAVEL DETAILS

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – 1,535 miles

RENTAL CAR #1

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – trip begins

Rapid City, SD

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – 1,165 miles

AIRPLANE

Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – Columbus, OH (CMH) – 519 miles

RENTAL CAR #2

Port Columbus International Airport – trip begins

Columbus, OH

Wells, NY

Albany International Airport – 680 miles

AIRPLANE

Albany, NY (ALB) – Detroit, MI (DTW) – 493 miles

Detroit, MI (DTW) – Los Angeles, CA – 1,962 miles

Total air miles – 4,509 (4 flights)

Total rental car miles – 1,845 (2 cars)

Total miles traveled on this trip – 6,354 miles 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Rushmore Civic Center – $28 (includes $6 pit pass)

O’Neil Building – $15 (includes pit pass)

Lake Algonquin Ice Track – No charge

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $43

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 300 tracks of my lifetime total.  Don’t blame me.

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,827

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 64

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 5.08

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