Milton Fairgrounds

THE KEYS TO THE TRIP

The RLR research staff went crazy on this trip……………more in “The Plan”.

Motel 6 serves a purpose………………more in “The Trip”.

$40 = $31….that didn’t sound good………..details in “The Experience”.

Thank goodness for the RLR research staff.

It takes a good deal of research to find the tracks that I visit.  Once I have a set of race dates the research staff at Randy Lewis Racing goes to work putting together a workable trackchasing plan.  Given my location in California it doesn’t make time or money sense to travel cross-country for just one race.  In the winter my normal minimum is two tracks.  In the summer, I’ll usually require three or more tracks to get me to leave the Golden State.

My research staff went crazy on this trip.

This trip is a good example.  No one in the history of trackchasing has ever attempted a single trip that would begin in Wisconsin, move onto Ontario, Canada and then head to Florida tomorrow.  Folks, that’s not the half of it.  This trip hopes to conclude with a visit to TRACKCHASING COUNTRY #64.

The staff does the work and all I have to do is sit on the airplane.  We’ll do about thirty trips a year and every one of them begins with just a twinkle in someone’s eye.  I like it that way.

So who’s counting?

By the way today I was seeing my 50^th lifetime track in Ontario and my 97^th lifetime Canadian track.  I’ve seen 251 different tracks in foreign countries.  Some 13.8% of my 1,822 tracks have been seen outside the U.S.

Motel 6 – Mississiauga, Ontario, Canada

Yes, I’m cutting back….sort of.

I woke up this morning in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.  I went to bed in Orlando, Florida.  This is what today looked like.

Following yesterday’s afternoon ice race in Wisconsin I had a 250-mile drive back to Minneapolis.  Minneapolis has been one of my most frequent airport stops over the years either coming, going or staying.  From “MSP” I was headed to “YYZ” as in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This season is just nine tracks old but so far I’ve been to six states and two countries.  By the end of the trip those totals will likely be seven states and three countries and it will still be February!  I always say I’m cutting back…and I am….but often it doesn’t feel like it.

Motel 6 serves a purpose.

Overall, I am a big fan of the Motel 6 chain.  They offer consistent basic quality at the lowest price of any national chain.  However, some of their properties are better than others.

Two nights ago, I stayed in their Menomonie, Wisconsin location.  They have one of the best properties in the chain.  The place is new and offers free Wi-Fi.  Their rate was a low $39 per night when the Motel 6 in nearby Wausau, Wisconsin was charging $73/night.

For my trip to Toronto I would stay in the Mississauga, Ontario, Canada location.  Mississauga is a southwestern suburb of Toronto.  The location was fantastic and just 15 miles or so from today’s racing in Milton.  The Mississauga Motel 6 location is also one of the best in the chain.  I’ve stayed here many times.

Getting a new and modern Motel 6 property for a small price is quite a bargain.  Nevertheless, when Carol comes along on the vacation she will rarely stay in a Motel 6.  She doesn’t require upgraded accommodations, she just deserves them.  Wait til you see where she’ll be staying (me too!) on TRACKCHASING COUNTRY #64’s trip.

Timmy Hortons!

Is it time to begin carrying my checklist again?

I used to carry a checklist of more than 75 items that I would need on each one of these trips.  After doing this for so many years I don’t bring the checklist with me anymore.  Maybe I should because I do forget things from time to time.

I’ll be gone for 12 days on this trip.  One of those days (today) would be spent in Canada.  Wouldn’t you know it, I forgot to bring any Canadian currency!  When that happens I just resort to the “figure it out” mode.

It was ‘figure it out’ time.

When I landed at the Toronto airport I walked up to the one and only currency exchange.  The fellow had just closed but agreed to open back up so I could exchange $40 U.S. for some Canadian funds.  I figured I could use a credit card for everything on my short Canadian trip except the racetrack admission and food at the track.

The currency agent told me that if I only needed Canadian money for a taxi I could use U.S. funds.  At nearly midnight I didn’t want to take him through the entire “trackchaser thing” and I certainly didn’t want to burden him with news about those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers”.  I figured he had enough problems just having a job where he traded currencies at midnight.

$40 = $31….that didn’t sound good.

The agent looked at his rates and concluded that after fees and currency rates my forty U.S. bucks would only net me thirty-one Canadian dollars.  Since the Canadian and U.S. dollars are almost identical in value, they were charging me nine dollars (about 25% of the transaction) just to change the money.  I concluded that maybe the racetrack would take my U.S. dollars.  I told the Canadian currency agent to forget about changing money tonight.

Then I came up with a bright idea as I tracked down a Tim Horton’s for a late night donut run.  I would try to pay THEM in U.S. funds and then get change in Canadian money.  In two separate transactions I used $40 in U.S. money to buy about five dollars worth of donuts and hot chocolate.  Accounting for the donuts, Tim Horton’s charged me about THREE dollars to get all of my change back in Canadian money.  Yep, tonight I was able to “figure it out” pretty well.

If you travel internationally you had better have the “tools”.

When it was time to leave Canada I, and everyone else heading to the U.S. was allowed to clear U.S. Customs while still in Canada.  That’s a nice convenience.  This is where a little pre-preparation saved me about thirty minutes.  There had to be about 150 people in the “regular” line.  I try to avoid “regular” lines whenever I can.

I used the U.S. “Global Entry” lane.  There was NOBODY in that lane.  I simply went up to a kiosk, scanned my passport, did a quick fingerprint analysis and was on my way through security in 30 seconds.  I didn’t talk to a single person.  Being a member of Global Entry costs $100 for five years.  I’ve now used the program nearly 50 times.  What a time saver.  It’s worth every penny and much more.

Life is a lot more fun when somebody else or some other thing does the work.

I soon made my flight out of Toronto to Chicago.  I would change planes there as I headed to Florida for the evening.  I was hungry for dinner and remembered there’s a good Mexican restaurant in the Chicago airport.  However, I couldn’t remember the name of the place.  I believe I remember less because I don’t HAVE to remember things.  Why don’t I have to remember things?  Because just about everything I need to “remember” is stored in my phone or on the internet.

I simply consulted my iPhone app “Travelnerd” to find out everything I needed to know about “things” at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.  In ten seconds I found what I was looking for.  The restaurant’s name was the Tortas Fontera Grill.  It’s near gate B10 very near where I was currently stationed.  I’ll tell you more about it in the “food” section.  More than 90% of my iPhone usage is NOT to make phone calls.  I have never met a more practical, useful and friendly piece of machinery in my life.

Do some people need a bit more challenge in their life?

I am amazed at the people who will spend the entire plane ride simply playing solitaire on their laptop or phone.  I certainly wouldn’t lug a laptop all over the country just to play solitaire.  I’m wondering if these people need a job or maybe a hobby?

This is how they do it in Canadian fast food drive-thrus.

ONE CANNOT LIVE WELL OR SLEEP WELL IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL

Tortas Fontera Grill – Chicago O’Hare Airport (nr gate B10), Chicago, Illinois

It’s hard to find good restaurants in airports.  There are a few but not many.  This place serves “tortas” essentially a Mexican toasted sandwich.  They also have an extensive breakfast menu.

Tonight’s I selected their Taqueria shrimp salad.  It came with several large shrimp and was covered in a lime flavored dressing.  This is about as close to gourmet dining as you’re going to get in an airport.  They also serve a very tasty and tart “limeade” drink.  Seating is limited.  It’s best to grab an empty seat nearby to eat.  During busy times (like tonight) they’ll give you an electronic pager to let you know when your food is ready.  A bit pricey but not all that bad considering I was eating in an airport.

When I travel I usually don’t have much time to spare.  I often eat fast food, although I try to stick to the lower calorie items.  In Canada they handle credit card payments a little differently.  As you can see from the above photo you “never lose sight” of your card!  It’s done this way in Europe too.

Rubbin’ is racin’.

MILTON FAIRGROUNDS – MILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA

These folks always do a nice job.

The Thrill Show Productions group, home to “Canada’s #1 Demolition Derby”, sanctioned today’s racing.  TSP always provides a solid effort.  Today I said brief hellos to Chris Skinner, TSP race director and Russ who always does a great job with the announcing chores.

I was in town for the “Milton Fair’s Annual Family Day Winter Fest” program.  This was a “Bank Holiday” (three day weekend) in Canada.  I had never been to a winter program run by Thrill Show Productions.  Until I was summoned into a RLR post-production meeting a few weeks ago I didn’t even KNOW that TSP had any wintertime events.

This was an odd sight.

It was odd to see all of the county fair food trailers, slides and rides amidst a snow-covered carnival area.  I can’t recall EVER seeing such a sight.  Normally, the county fair is held in the heat and humidity of the summer months.  Some parents had their small children on a sled and simply pulled them along everywhere they went.

Today’s temperature was about 27 degrees but it felt colder with a strong north wind.  It’s not the cold but the wind that makes the cold colder.  I arrived a few minutes before the scheduled 1 p.m. start time.  They were running a little behind today.  The driver’s meeting didn’t begin until about 1:15 p.m. but from that point on they ran the program quickly and efficiently.

Lots of cars and drivers wanting a little wintertime action.

There were about 65 cars in the pit area.  Some fifteen of those were here for the figure 8 racing.  The rest would be demo derby contestants.  Thrill Show Productions is really a demolition derby promoter.  Figure 8 racing is sort of an afterthought.  However, in trackchasing we don’t count demo derbies but we do count figure 8 racing.  As we used to say back on the block “you get what you measure”.

This is my form of solitaire.

The countable portion of today’s event would consist entirely of two figure 8 heats.  That’s right.  I came all the way to Canada, rented a car and a hotel room, paid more than five dollars U.S. for a gallon of gas just to see two 15-lap figure 8 heat races.  Don’t worry it’s my form of “solitaire”.

The event was initially well attended.  The grandstand had to seat 600-800 people and was full for this special Monday afternoon race.  Both the demo derby and figure 8 racing was entertaining.  Remember I don’t spend a lot of time telling you about the race program itself.  You can see for yourself with my YouTube videos.  I always recommend you check my photos and YouTube videos to get that “being there” feeling.

PROVINCE COMPARISONS

Ontario

The Heartland Province

This afternoon I saw my 50th lifetime track in the Heartland province, yes the Heartland province.  I still have more than 60 tracks to see up here.  I like visiting Ontario very much.  I’ll be back here as much as I can in the future.

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

Ontario sayings:  Don’t forget to say your prayers tonight; God didn’t forget to wake you up this morning.

Click on the link below to see the winter figure 8 racing way up in the far north:

                    Milton Fairgrounds – Figure 8 racing      

TRAVEL DETAILS

AIRPLANE

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

RENTAL CAR #1

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota International Airport – trip begins

Gresham, WI

Caroline, WI

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota International Airport – 606 miles

AIRPLANE

Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 678 miles

RENTAL CAR #2

Lester B. Pierson (Toronto) International Airport – trip begins

Milton, Ontario

Lester B. Pierson (Toronto) International Airport – 94 kilometers or about 60 miles

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Upper Red Lake Ice Track – No charge

Caroline Pond Ice Track – $5 (included admission to pit area)

Milton Fairgrounds – $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 300 tracks of my lifetime total.  Don’t blame me.

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,822

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 63

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