You know how sometimes the simplest things turn out to be way more complicated and difficult than they have any right to be? Such was the case in getting from pit #4 to pit #5, a mere 35 course miles and maybe 50 miles on road (this was one of the cases where the course was a more or less straight line, but we had to go back to the highway and then south).
Read the rest of Baja 1000, Part Three: The off-road wait »
We got started bright and early Tuesday morning, with all of the usual pre-race confusion and mayhem. We had a few helmets that needed last minute tech inspection, the chase cars needed to grab water and snacks, that sort of thing. The truck was lined up in its starting place, the GPS course map was loaded (finally!), and we were ready to go… and waiting. But, as so often happens in racing, after lots of waiting it was suddenly time to start.
Read the rest of Baja 1000, Part Two: The race begins »
Wow. Just wow. Now that was an experience. It’s going to take a while to digest and write about, so in the interest of keeping family sane in the face of inevitable media reports of the deaths and serious injuries that occured, let me first say that I survived, in one piece, with nothing more than normal wear and tear: a few cuts and bruises, and not nearly enough sleep. So now I’m going to try to tell the story of the trip, or at least those bits that were not lost in a haze of exhaustion.
Read the rest of Baja 1000, Part One: Contingency day »
We’re just heading down to the race start. Apparently, there’s some way to track our progress online; we are Trophy Truck #34. I’ll be driving from about 11pm tonight until about 7am tomorrow. Next update from Cabo… hopefully!
Woohoo! This week I will be part of a team driving the Baja 1000. It’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do, but never thought would be possible. It should be a pretty amazing week, though I’m definitely having a few of the “what the hell did I get myself into” jitters. But those are good for you, right?
Read the rest of Next adventure: the Baja 1000 »
Just in case you’re looking to make a networked, computer-controlled, internet-capable nightstand lamp, I’ve put together these easy instructions for how to do it with a maximum of pain and expense. This should have been an easy and fun project, based on DMX-enabled LED fixtures and some fairly simply homebrew software. However, a $5 part turned this into one of those projects from hell that makes one question whether reality is playing by the rules.
Read the rest of Nightstand lamps. The hard way. »
After getting into Lethbridge around 2am last night, I was up around 7am this morning, and knowing that I was (probably) going to end up in my own bed, I pretty much just dragged myself out of bed and got on the road. The whole unplanned stopover in Dauphin / Winnipeg sort of killed my enthusiasm for wandering around and taking slower but more scenic routes. With the truck fixed, I found myself just wanting to be home. Still, even the most direct routes made for beautiful driving.
Read the rest of Buffalo to Seattle: Day Nine »
10:00am - Left Winnipeg
12:00pm - Drove through Riding Mountain National Park, again
1:00pm - Got to Dauphin
2:00pm - Truck repairs complete, truck (mostly) cleaned of oil residue
2:30pm - Left Dauphin
3:00pm - Drove through Riding Mountain National Park. Again.
2:00am - Got to Lethbridge, Alberta. I sleep now.
There’s not a whole lot to report today, and not a whole lot of pictures, either. Winnipeg is a perfectly decent city, but it’s urban and generic and not very picturesque. Compare to: Tacoma, San Jose, Riverside. But hey, it was still a good day, with some good work, good news, and good fun. And my first minor league hockey game!
Read the rest of Buffalo to Seattle: Day Seven »
Hmmf. It’s a little weird waking up a twelve hundred miles from home, part way through a road trip, and knowing that today is not going to bring progress. Ah well. I spoke to the service folks first thing and got confirmation that the problem is indeed the oil cooler. Unfortunately, it’s not simply cracked (which could be welded) or holed (which could be rebuilt). It’s outright corroded, so a replacement part is called for. All in all, it’s just as well that it happened now rather than in some future off road adventure. So today was a time to get out exploring south central Manitoba in my exciting loaner car (a Chevy Malibu, for those keeping track).
Read the rest of Buffalo to Seattle: Day Six »