Roy’s Lake Ice Track

 

 

 

THE EVENT

 

Today’s undertaking was just one of more than 2,000 trips that have taken me up, down and around the long and dusty trackchasing trail. If you would like to see where I’ve been and experience those adventures here’s the link:

 

 

Randy’s Complete Track List

 

 

If you’ve got a question, comment or whatever please leave it at the bottom of this report.  It’s very easy to do.  I’ll try my best to respond.  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

ON THE WAY TO THE RACES

 

 

FRIDAY

 

 

El Nino is making its mark.

This is an “El Nino” winter. With that being the case it’s supposed to be wetter in the west and drier and warmer in the east. It hasn’t been all that wet in SoCal so far with this being February 6. However, it has been warmer than normal in the East.

 

 

As a matter of fact I don’t believe any eastern U.S. ice tracks have had an ice racing event yet. During most years the ice racing season is limited to the months of January and February. The eastern-based tracks are running the risk of losing their entire ice racing season to the El Nino winter.

 

 

Most ice tracks need a minimum of 12 inches of ice in order to bring the cars and trucks out onto a frozen lake. For the groups that race with studded tires sometimes 18” of ice is required.

 

 

Everybody else has been shut out.

I have seen ice racing on more tracks (72) and in more locations (16 – states, provinces and countries) than any other trackchaser. This year I’ve already seen ice racing in Wisconsin. Today I plan to see racing on the ice in Alberta, Canada. As far as I can tell no other trackchaser anywhere in the world has seen any ice racing in 2016.

 

 

No guarantees but ice isn’t the issue.

However, my trip is not guaranteed. The weather isn’t a problem. The greater Edmonton, Alberta weather has been cold enough. They have had enough ice on Roy’s Lake to have already raced once this year. Today’s high temperature is expected to be 40 degrees. That’s warm for ice racing. The day comes with a wind forecast of 25-35 MPH with gusts of more than 50 MPH. With 35 MPH winds that brings the wind chill index down to about 28 degrees. That’s still not bad for ice racing.

 

 

How will I get there?

My potential issue is not the weather it is the transportation to the event. Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada is nearly due north of my home in San Clemente, California. The one-way driving distance is 1,783 miles.

 

 

I do this differently than everyone else.

Of course, no one would expect me to drive that distance right? For me to make this trip I would have to fly up to Canada and back. Here’s the kicker. I don’t know of a single U.S. based trackchaser who has EVER flown to an ice race anywhere in the world other than me. That seems like an amazing situation to me. Of the 72 ice racing tracks I have seen how many did I fly too? The answer: All of them! No, I do not trackchase like anyone else does.

 

 

I had a plan. I always have a plan.

My plan was to fly up to Seattle on Friday night. Once in Seattle I would sleep for a few hours in the airport terminal. Then I would hang out in the Alaska Airlines Board Room for a few hours before hopping on a flight to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

 

 

My current “go to” flying strategy is to fly into Seattle late at night. I sleep a few hours in the airport. Then I catch an early morning flight to points east or north. The availability of flights is much better this way.

 

 

But first…the movies.

With this strategy in mind Carol and I headed off to the movies on Friday afternoon. We took two cars. How many long-time married couples take TWO cars to the movies? I told you I don’t “do life” like most others.

 

 

We are avid movies goers. We probably see 2-4 motion pictures in a movie theatre every month. We ended up seeing “” this afternoon. It was an entertaining although funkily filmed drama about the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

 

 

Tonight’s dinner sponsorship.

Following the movie we headed over to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. We had free sandwich coupons given to us at last week’s UCLA basketball game. I’m a big fan of Chick-Fil-A’s food and customer service. However, the location in Aliso Viejo wasn’t up to the standards of most other outlets from this chain. That surprised us.

 

 

Driving in different directions.

Following dinner I headed to LAX and Carol pointed her Lexus RX 350 toward home. In any given year I will travel 150-200 nights. Carol will travel about one hundred. She always gets to pick which trips she wants to attend.

 

 

Am I spoiling Carol?

Did she choose the ice racing in Canada? No, she did not. She signed on for a three-day midweek trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico next week and A week in Maui, Hawaii the week after. Of course, I will have to go along with her on each of the vacations to act as her chaperone.

 

 

Can you keep a secret?

I arrived into Seattle at about 12:30 a.m. early Saturday morning. I have a great spot to sleep in the airport. I’ll share it with you if you promise to keep it to yourself. I don’t want to be getting off these midnight Seattle flights to find my “spot” overrun by “low cost opportunists”.

 

 

There’s a great place right across the hallway from Starbucks near gate C10. This area has multiple seats with no armrests. That’s perfect for laying flat for the night. The overnight announcements are kept to a minimum. There is electricity to re-charge my computer and phone. There’s a restroom nearby and the temperature is just right. I can use my security cable to lock my computer and rolling travel bag to the seats I’m sleeping on. When I awake in the morning I get the fresh smell of Starbucks coffee. Although not a coffee drinker I love the smell of fresh ground coffee.

 

 

Then by 5 a.m. or whenever I wake up after 5 a.m. I can venture over to the Alaska Airlines Board Room, a private lounge. As a member I can hang out there until flight time. They offer complimentary Wi-Fi, food and drink including alcoholic beverages if desired. It’s a quiet atmosphere. I couldn’t ask for a better place to relax within just yards of the busy rush rush atmosphere of a major airport terminal.

 

 

I never do this.

I did a couple of things I almost never do. First, I reserved my hotel room yesterday for tonight’s stay in Alberta. I book most of my hotel rooms via Priceline.com. Why?

 

 

Priceline give me a quality hotel at a steeply discounted price. Tonight (I hoped) I would be staying at the Four Points by Sheraton South hotel in Edmonton.

 

 

This is one of the better places in the entire city to stay. The least expensive rate for a single room directly from the hotel was $102 Canadian plus taxes and fees. I would pay only $50 U.S. plus taxes and fees.

 

 

The American dollar is strong.

Right now the conversion rate for U.S. and Canadian funds is very favorable for people using American dollars. One U.S. dollar will buy $1.38 worth of Canadian goods. Another way of looking at it is to say one Canadian dollar costs only 72 American cents. All of these calculations come from my “Currency” iPhone app.

 

 

It hasn’t always been this way.

Some 10-15 years ago the conversion rates were about what they are today. However, in the interim the conversion reached about a 1:1 ratio. There was even a short time where one Canadian dollar would buy slightly more than one U.S. dollar.

 

 

“Stuff” is expensive in Canada compared to the U.S. Fuel has always been about a dollar more per gallon in Canada compared to the U.S. My experience tells me a hotel that might cost $60 in the U.S. would go for around $100 in Canada.

 

 

I thought getting a Sheraton hotel property for $50 U.S. was great. A day’s worth of a full-sized rental car would cost me just $26 U.S. Although gasoline would be more expensive in Canada I expected to drive fewer than 150 kilometers (100 miles).

 

 

Feeling confident.

I felt so confident that I’ve even pre-booked some Saturday night entertainment following the ice racing. I had found an excellent website detailing all of the entertainment options for the weekend in Edmonton.

 

 

My first choice was an evening of snowshoeing. I’m into doing just about everything at least once. I had never “snow shoed”. However, that event was sold out. I settled for getting a ticket to the Walterdale Playhouse for a performance of the play, “Boeing, Boeing”. I didn’t want to risk showing up and having the performance sold out. That being the case I simply bought a ticket online for pickup at the theatre.

 

 

I might not make it.

When I made all of these advance bookings I was confident I would get on my Saturday morning flight from Seattle to Edmonton. However, as time passed that flight began to get fuller and fuller. I might not make it.

 

 

If I didn’t make the morning flight I would have to hang SEATAC for 12 hours. There was an evening flight leaving at about 9:30 p.m. If I had to take THAT flight I would miss the play. I would also miss Saturday’s ice racing and need to stay over for Sunday’s race. It would also screw up to some degree my rental car plan.

 

 

Of course if I didn’t make the Saturday night flight I could try for the Sunday morning airplane ride. If THAT happened I would miss out on my pre-paid ticket to the play, my pre-paid hotel room (non-refundable), and my great rental car rate. I would also have to sleep overnight in the Seattle airport for the second straight night. No, missing planes would not a be a good idea but it was out of my control. Maybe there is a good reason that not a single trackchaser has ever flown to an ice race!

 

 

 

SATURDAY

 

 

Made it. Heading to Canada.

I’m happy to report that I made my Saturday morning flight to Edmonton, Alberta. I listened to an iTunes movie about the story of Columbia drug king Pablo Escobar on the one and ½-hour flight from Seattle to Edmonton.

 

 

Outside the scenery was snow-covered and beautiful. You won’t want to miss the photos. Hopefully, you are enjoying my new photo sharing capabilities from Phanfare.com. They offer unlimited storage as well as some of the best photo quality I’ve seen.

 

 

Edmonton International Airport.

The Edmonton International Airport is the largest by land size in Canada as well as Canada’s fifth busiest serving more than eight million passengers a year. The airport has departures and arrivals from places like Yellowknife, Kelowna, Saskatoon and Kahului.

 

 

Of course I needed my passport to enter Canada. It wasn’t all that many years ago when a passport was NOT needed to get into the country. Passport control was simple and quick to clear today. I was only asked why I was coming to the country and how long I was staying. The agent didn’t even ask a follow-up question to either of my replies.

 

 

The National Car Rental Racing…….

Next up was to get my rental car. As an “Executive” member of the National Car Rental elite Emerald Club program I could select any car from their inventory I wanted.

 

 

I wouldn’t be driving very far on this trip. I didn’t expect my total mileage during the one day I would have the car to exceed one hundred miles. That meant I didn’t have to worry much about fuel economy.

 

 

I chose a Chrysler 300. It’s a big car. It’s kind of the “Crown Victoria” of rental cars these days. With a cherry red paint job and black rims the car looked “gangsta”. It was do me just fine.

 

 

 

 

THE RACING

 

 

Roy’s Lake Ice Track – Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada

 

 

 

Yes, you have passed the IQ test.

I declined both the “fuel option and rental car GPS offerings”. I had both of those items figured out or so I thought. Of course I would re-fuel the tank myself. I hope none of my readers ever buy the “re-fueling” option. You’ve all been pre-screened for superior intelligence (almost everybody passed) so I know you wouldn’t do that.

 

 

GPS would be a bit different on this trip.

Without a “data packaged” my AT&T fueled Apple iPhone doesn’t work in Canada. The cheapest package costs $30 U.S. Since I was here for just a day and wouldn’t be driving all that far I didn’t buy that package.

 

 

Instead I would be using my backup GPS system, the Garmin that used to direct me all over the world before it was replaced with my iPhone. However, just “in case” I had a backup to my backup GPS plan. At home I had used “Google Maps” to plot where I would be going.

 

 

Four places. How hard could that be?

I was only “going” to or from four places. Of course I needed to know how to get to Roy’s Lake site of today’s ice racing. I had to find the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, the Walterdale Playhouse and then my way back to the airport. Anything else would be figured out visually and on the fly.

 

 

I printed out the maps provided by the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club to the lake. Then I took photos of the Google Maps directions and map. This was a lot of “extra stuff” but then I didn’t have my iPhone and Waze GPS software to use on this short trip.

 

 

A poor carpenter blames his tools.

Of course will all of this stuff finding Roy’s Lake proved difficult. They say a poor carpenter blames his tools. Why do they say that?

 

 

My Garmin GPS unit’s power cord or the power adapter in the car didn’t work well. I think it’s a Garmin problem. The Garmin keeps powering off about every 30 seconds. That can’t be good just as I approach an intersection or turn that needs to be made.

 

 

In hindsight I should have just paid the $10-15 Canadian needed to buy a day’s worth of the rental car GPS. That would have been an example of buying “good stuff”. Instead I went with my old Garmin that appears to be on its last legs (that’s “bad stuff”). I found the lake but it wasn’t easy. I didn’t get there until about 2:40 p.m. some 40 minutes after I had planned to arrive.

 

 

Did I really want to subject my rental car to this?

For the last couple of miles I was using the race group’s map. From a small country ice-covered road the lake was supposed to be on the right. There was no sign directing me to the lake from the country road. All I could see was a well-worn muddy, very muddy, road leading over a farm pasture out into the distance. Did I want to take my “gangsta” rental car ride over that mess. No, I didn’t but I did it anyway.

 

 

When was the last time you drove your car onto a frozen lake?

In a half-mile or so I found the ice track. I could drive my rental car out onto the lake. That was the only way to see today’s racing. The NASCC uses Roy’s Lake for 4-5 events each winter. Their season-ending special is conducted at Lac La Biche. Carol and I visited that ice racing location back in 2008.

 

 

“Warm” and windy.

Today the temperature was relatively warm for ice racing. The car’s outside thermometer ranged from 3-5 degrees Centigrade or about 35-40 degrees. However, it was the wind that created the problems. It is always the wind.

 

 

Yes, I saw this!

How windy was it? When I arrived I saw a man blown over and onto the ground. He SLID some thirty feet along the glare ice until a snow bank stopped him. THEN I looked up to see a port-a-potty sliding along the lake for well over 75 feet. I hope no one was in that thing! Don’t believe it? You can see the “flying porta-potty in my YouTube video!

 

 

Finally when I exited my car I lost one of my gloves. I was fiddling with my jacket’s zipper at the time. I looked everywhere to no avail for the glove. Fortunately, I brought an extra pair of heavier gloves to the party. I would have to use those today.

 

 

The race course.

Today’s ice racing would happen on a road course configuration. Of course, because water seeks its own level, the course was flat. I’m guessing the distance of the track at about 2 kilometers or a bit more than a mile.

 

 

At ice racing venues the spectator amenities are limited. As mentioned there was a couple of port-a-potties. However, there was no concession stand, announcer or P.A. system.

 

 

My ice racing apparel assortment.

As a spectator you had best come to an ice race prepared for cold weather. I saw my first ice race all the way back in 2001. Ever since I started regularly attending these types of races I’ve been adding to my ice racing apparel arsenal.

 

 

Remember I live in a warm weather climate. I wear shorts virtually every day of the year. It is not “natural” for me to wear or even own cold weather gear.

 

 

Nevertheless, I’ve got boots (good for standing on a block of ice for hours), long underwear, blue jeans, heavy wool socks, ski jackets, more thin space age long underwear, stocking cap, gloves, neck gator, leg gators, hand warmers, toe warmers and goggles. I’m sure I have left out a few things that allow me to make the ice racing adventure just a bit more comfortable.

 

 

Thank you Wendy!

However, it was my good friend Wendy from the Buffalo Lake ice racing group in Montello, Wisconsin that gave me my latest “ice racing apparel” idea. Wendy was the recent recipient of a “Wal-Mart $6 gift card” from Randy Lewis Racing. She told me she was going to buy some “ice cleats”.

 

 

I had never heard of such a thing. I don’t see a lot of ice cleats on the beaches of San Clemente. However, when I went to Amazon.com I discovered a wide array of ice cleats and their brothers and sisters.

 

 

Soon I was having Carol order a pair of “Snow Ice Traction Shoe Walking Running Cleats Rubber Anti No Slip Grip Spikes”. I had researched about twenty solutions to this slippage problem that all ice racing spectators face. I had read all the reviews. Carol placed my order (she has “Amazon Prime” I don’t). The cleats would arrive in time for my trip to Alberta and other ice racing escapades later this season.

 

 

The largest size the cleats come in is “XL”. Would this size work with my size 14 REI acquired slip on boots? They did! Check out the picture of this product. Much of today’s walking around was done on 100% slick glare ice. The 30-40 MPH wind made standing all the more difficult. The ice cleats worked as advertised. I recommend them.

 

 

So what did I learn from this?

What did I learn from all of this? A few things. First “When you give you get more in return”. Yes, I had awarded Wendy her Wal-Mart gift card. Then she gave me the idea of getting ice cleats. To me the ice cleats were worth more than the gift card. Secondly, I am always reminded that no matter how much preparation you have, how organized you think you might be there is always something else that comes along to make the plan better. Ice cleats make ice race spectating better.

 

 

Plenty of time to see ice racing.

Despite arriving late I was still able to see about two hours of ice racing. As is my practice I recommend you see my YouTube video and Phanfare photo album. Racing activity like this is been viewed and not read about.

 

 

Most of my photoing had to be done from one general position and somewhat facing the sun. Those are not the best conditions for sharing with you what I saw but they were the conditions I faced.

 

 

 

My iPhone told me, “I ain’t doing this”.

At one point my iPhone turned itself off. It wasn’t from the cold but it was likely from the wind chill temperatures. I retreated to my car, warmed up my phone and was soon back in business. I am amazed at the quality of video and photos my iPhone produces. It has replaced my highly rated Panasonic point and shoot camera many moons ago. However, I do have to be careful that the cold weather doesn’t make the iPhone camera inoperable.

 

 

It pays to know people.

I met a few people on the ice today. That included a fellow named Todd Maliteare, who is the group’s ice racing coordinator. Todd also drive’s the red #34 racing Chevette.

 

 

Today’s racing classes.

By the way there were three different classes of racers on the ice today. The Chevette group brought the largest number of racers – 11. Here’s what the group’s website had to say about their ice racing classes:

 

Please note Bolted tires and Race Stud Class will not run in the 2016 Ice Race Season.

 

• Chevette (Rubber to Ice) CH – this spec class is for stock Chevettes equipped with HANKOOK I-pike snow tires-
• Miata’s on Ice (Rubber to Ice) MI – this spec class is for 1989-2005 Miata’s equipped with HANKOOK I-pike snow tires –
• No Stud (Rubber to Ice) NS – for DOT approved snow tires available at local tire stores
• Limited Stud (Street Stud) LS – this class is for cars equipped with Studded Rally Tires (Black Rocket tires recommended)
• Neon (Street Stud) NE – this spec class is for stock neon’s equipped with 14 inch Black Rocket Studded Rally Tires
• All Wheel Drive class AW – this class is for 4 wheel drive cars equipped with Studded Rally Tires (Black Rocket tires recommended)

 

 

Today the Chevette, Neon and No Stud NS classes were in competition. The racing was good. I stayed until the last checkered flag of the day flew. I saw 5-6 races. I would estimate there were about twenty ice racers on Roy’s Lake today.

 

 

Ice racing requires special tires.

I enjoyed my conversation with Todd. He told me that ice racing tires cost about $300 Canadian each. They are purchased from Finland. I have seen ice racing in Finland.

 

 

I thought the price of ice racing tires seemed expensive. Todd told me they used to take regular tires and “screw in” sharpened bolts for traction. However those tires cost one hundred dollars each. The cost of the metal screws was another sixty bucks and it took TWENTY HOURS to put the screws in the tires!

 

 

One more ice track is in the books.

Roy’s Lake was my 73^rd ice-racing venue. I’ve seen that group of tracks in 16 “states, provinces and countries”.

 

 

I can only do this thanks to the kindness of my sponsors.

Prior to gaining my airline sponsorships I could never have considered such a strong commitment to ice racing. Why? Ice racing is cold weather dependent. Stop me if I’m going to fast. Often times an ice race can be cancelled the day before if weather conditions, both good and bad, change.

 

 

By the way what is “good and bad” in ice racing is exactly the opposite of “good and bad” for your vacation at the beach. Too much warm weather is bad for ice racing. However, I have seen ice races cancelled when the weather as too cold. However, it’s got to get, and it does from time to time, pretty cold to have ice racers cancel.

 

 

 

AFTER THE RACES

 

 

Time to head to other interesting Edmonton opportunities.

I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to driving the National Rental Car Racing Chrysler 300 through a muddy farm pasture again to get back to the main road. However, the mud had firmed up due to the cold and wind by 5 p.m.  I actually followed the ambulance out of the track!

 

 

This was not easy.

Now I needed to find my hotel for the evening. That would be easier said that done. With my iPhone GPS Waze program finding things is never a problem. However, my iPhone would not be working in Canada on this trip. My Garmin wasn’t working well either. The NASCC map was limited and would not help me inside Edmonton.

 

 

I would have to resort to a photo I had taken of Google Maps before I left for this trip. That would get me in the general area of the Four Points by Sheraton but that was about it. The Garmin kept turning off and on at the most inopportune times.

 

 

To make a long story a bit shorter I finally found the hotel. Remember I didn’t have the capability of using my phone as a phone either. With no phone and no working GPS I felt like it was 1985!

 

 

Not using Priceline.com? Why?

You all know I use Pricline.com for most of my traveling hotel rentals. Why? Because I am a retired pensioner living on a fixed income or whatever. I’ve been traveling 150-200 nights a year for my past 14 years of retirement. That’s a lot of hotel expense (2,500 nights?) for a fellow who has had no paycheck for such a long time. However, I’m still doing this so the bill collectors haven’t got up with Carol yet.

 

 

The best rate at the Sheraton hotel where I was staying was $102 Canadian plus taxes. I paid $50 U.S. You might expect that since I was paying such a low price I would be treated like a second-class citizen. Nope.

 

 

No! Not “in training”.

When I checked in I noticed the young female desk clerk was “in training”. I cringed. That was a bad sign for me. Trainees often don’t want to take any chances. They don’t want to think “out of the box”. I think out of the box and need others to do the same so “the box” does not confine us!

 

 

Forlorn, helpless but at the same time appreciative.

However, this young women was willing to work with me. I subtly mentioned, “I know I bought my room via Priceline but I am a GOLD member of the Sheraton “Preferred Guest Program”. I thought that might get me a better room”. Then I tried to look forlorn, helpless but at the same time appreciative.

 

 

This all worked believe it or not. Soon I was being upgraded to a “Queen Suite”. I would get complimentary Wi-Fi and complimentary bottled water in my suite. Finally, I had my choice of a complimentary drink or more points in the frequent stay program. When I learned the drink was a “Bloody Mary” type offering (I hate tomatoes) I went with the points.

 

 

Slipping in my old age?

I should have asked if there was a free breakfast as well. I didn’t. I’m getting soft in my old age. If you know what you’re doing with Priceline.com you’re going to get good stuff cheaply.

 

 

Last night I slept, for just three hours, in the Seattle airport. Tonight I was staying in a Sheraton hotel suite. I was dragging a bit. There was just enough time for a 25-minute nap before tonight’s Trackchasing Tourist Attraction. You all know I don’t just make these trips to see racing. I want to see as much as I possibly can until it’s time to pull into the driveway of our modest seaside cottage back in San Clemente, California.

 

 

Always on the look out for fun.

Prior to coming to Canada I found a website that told me about all of the things that were happening in Edmonton this week. The Edmonton Oilers, my first choice, were on the road this weekend.

 

 

My second choice was a nighttime snowshoeing event. However, it was already sold out when I discovered it. Not a problem. There was lots of other stuff to do.

 

 

Boeing, Boeing.

I selected a community theatre production of the play “Boeing Boeing”. It was being performed at the Walterdale Playhouse in Edmonton. I bought my ticket on line and picked it up at the playhouse itself. The play was only a ten-minute drive from the hotel.

 

 

Carol and I love live theatre. As a matter of fact the last time Carol and I were in Edmonton we went to a play in their brand new downtown theatre complex. That was fun.

 

 

Cozy.

Tonight’s play was performed in a 145-seat theatre. The building has been around for more than 100 years and used to be a firehouse back in the day.

 

 

The storyline of tonight’s production centered around a playboy who used airline timetables to manage his time with THREE female flight attendants. When two were flying the other lives with him in his apartment. You can imagine what goes wrong when a flight is delayed! It was a fun diversion. I was back in my hotel by 11 p.m.

 

 

SUNDAY

 

 

Super Bowl weekend.  

This weekend is Super Bowl weekend. Super Bowl weekend is the very best weekend of the year to fly standby. Since I don’t follow the NFL at all (even though I had nine season tickets to the original Los Angeles Rams games for years) it’s a great weekend for me to hop on an airplane and go trackchasing. Nobody, relatively speaking, flies on Super Bowl weekend.

 

 

Today I had three choices of departure times. I could leave at 6 a.m., 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. The only difference was the time I would get home. After sleeping in the airport on Friday night the early morning departure did not appeal.

 

 

If I chose the 6 p.m. departure I could probably go back out to Roy’s Lake for more ice racing. However, I had been there and done that. Trackchasers rarely return to the “scene of the crime”. I would take the 1 p.m. flight into Seattle and possibly land as soon as 7 p.m. into LAX.

 

 

This meant I could sleep in for as long as I wanted this morning. You won’t read those words from me very often.

 

 

As it was I only slept until about 7:30 a.m. Mountain time. It was nice being able to relax this morning. I went down to the hotel’s fitness center and used the elliptical trainer. I’ll combine that with my walk back to the parking garage for my 45 minutes of aerobic exercise. I’ll also walk 20-30 minutes around airports that I won’t count at all. By the way a Premier League soccer match was on the fitness room TV. Sorry, I still don’t get soccer and never will.

 

 

Now it was time to buy that expensive Canadian fuel.

I would need to fill up the National Car Rental Racing Chrysler 300. I was in for a shock. They were charging only 62.9 Canadian cents for a liter of regular gas from a Petro Canada station.

 

 

Smiling.

That’s only about $0.45 U.S. per liter. As you know there are 3.78 liters per gallon. My fill-up took 19.80 liters at a total charge of $12.46 Canadian. That meant I had used only 5.2 U.S. gallons at a price of $8.97 U.S. That’s just $1.72 U.S. per gallon, which is fairly near the lowest prices being offered in the U.S. right now.

 

 

My rental car receipt tells me I drove 192 kilometers. That’s about 120 miles. Sometimes the beginning or ending mileage readings are not accurate from the rental car company. I didn’t bother to keep track myself. I didn’t think I drove 120 miles but I guess I could have. If so, then I got about 23 MPG, which sounds about right. I did let the car idle several times while keeping warm at the ice track.

 

 

Later I did some checking on Canadian fuel prices by province. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Alberta has the least expensive gas prices in Canada at an average of 69.2/liter Canadian. Quebec’s average in 95.5. The Northwest Territories, not a province, averages 1.22 per liter.

 

 

Taking my time.

It was nice not having to rush back to the airport. When I arrived international check-in went smoothly. Then I headed for my first Tim Horton’s visit of the trip.

 

 

I’m O.K. with that.

I don’t think anyone should go to Canada without eating at Tim Horton’s. However people sometimes don’t do what I think they should. I’m OK with that.

 

 

At “Timmy’s” I went with the pulled pork sandwich “meal”. Of course the meal includes the sandwich a bread roll and a drink. Folks can, and I did, substitute a donut for the bread roll. The entire thing, a tasty pulled port sandwich, a “chocolate dip” donut and bottle of Diet Pepsi went for about $5.60 U.S…..in an airport no less. Yes, Canada is a good deal right now.

 

 

How do “regular” people do it?

My TSA Pre-Check capabilities don’t transfer when leaving a Canadian airport. That meant I had to take my computer out of its bag, take my shoes off, take my jacket off and pull everything out of my pockets. Oh, my. I don’t know how “regular” people get through life.

 

 

I was able to use my “Global Entry” capabilities to re-admit myself back into the United States of America. I like that advantage. I simply put my passport into a machine, have the machine read my fingerprints and proceed to the U.S. border agent. There are no probing questions, but only the comment, “Welcome back to America”…even though I was still in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

 

 

The Edmonton International Airport is a modern and attractive place. They have free Wi-Fi for their patrons. Overall, their airport is a most pleasant experience.

 

 

Back home…and ready to go again at the drop of the hat.

In seemingly no time, actually about eight hours, I was pulling into the driveway of our modest seaside cottage. It had been a good trip.  The next weekend, Valentine’s Day weekend was reserved for that special sweetheart.  I could never go trackchasing on Valentine’s Day could I?

 

 

I have now seen 2,194 tracks in 70 different countries. I can honestly tell you I have never ever had a trip to any of these places where I didn’t have fun. I do this for fun. Therefore I have a 100% success rate with my hobby of trackchasing. I could never have said that about golf!

 

 

 

 

Province

 

 

The Wild Rose Country province

This afternoon I saw my 10th lifetime track in the Wild Rose Country province, yes the Wild Rose Country province. There are ten provinces in Canada. I have seen ten or more tracks in four of those provinces and 131 Canadian tracks in total.

 

 

 

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

Alberta sayings: Edmonton specific!

 

 

The Ave = Whyte Ave

J-Ave = Jasper Ave (I made this one up myself)

The Head = Yellowhead

The Road To Nowhere, or Highway To Hell = Calgary Trail

SEC = South Edmonton Common

The Lert = LRT

U of Eh = U of A

The Fort = Fort Saskatchewan

Sherwood Forest = Sherwood Park

The Grove = Spruce Grove

Stony = Stony Plain

Old Strath = Old Strathcona

The Dome = Legislature

The Stroll = 118 Ave

The Ex = Capital Ex, Klondike Days

QE2, Albertabahn = Highway 2 to Calgary

AHD = Anthony Henday Drive

The Pyramid = City Hall

the mountains = Jasper National Park

the lake = Any lake with campgrounds, provincial parks and cottages within hours of the city

Devon bypass = Highways 60 and 19

The Mac, or Hotel Mac = Hotel MacDonald

Little India = 34 Ave and 93 St

St. Joe’s = St. Joseph’s Basilica

Vic Comp = Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts

 

 

 

 

QUICK FACTS

 

 

AIRPLANE

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 958 miles

Seattle, WA (SEA) – Edmonton, Alberta – 558 miles

 

RENTAL CAR #1

Edmonton International Airport – trip begins

Spruce Grove, Alberta

Edmonton International Airport – trip ends – 120 miles

 

AIRPLANE

Edmonton, Alberta – Seattle, WA (SEA) – 558 miles

Seattle, WA (SEA) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 958 miles

 

 

Total air miles – 3,032 (4 flights)

Total rental car miles – 120 (1 car)

 

Total miles traveled on this trip – 3,152 miles 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Roy’s Lake Ice Track – No charge

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – Zero!

 

 

 

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 2,194

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

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

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 70

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 4.47

 

 

 

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

 

 

Click on the link below to see the “Video Plus” production from the racing action today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the link below for a photo album from today’s trackchasing day.  You can view the album slide by slide or click on the “slide show” icon for a self-guided tour of today’s trackchasing adventure.

 

Getting to and from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with some ice racing along the way