The Wizard of Osborne

A driving event and a 10K all in one (long) weekend. Yep, that’s how I roll.

I was originally going to go out of town for Memorial Day weekend, but when those plans fell through I decided to sign up for a driving event at the brand new High Plains Raceway with the Z Car Club of Colorado (ZCCC) and participate in the BolderBoulder. It sounded like the makings for a SWEET weekend, and boy howdy, it sure was.

High Plains Raceway. All I can say is, "WOW." That is an amazing 2.55 miles worth of track. The many and varied elevation changes take what are already challenging corners to a new, mind bending level. Until you have all fifteen memorized, you'd best just take the course slowly, savoring all of the late apexes and blind entries, lest you rocket yourself right off the curb-free track. (I think about five of the fifteen corners are blind. It's just you, the horizon, blue sky, and a whole lotta' hope.) As it stands right now I think my favorite corners are 6 ("Danny's Lesson"), 11 ("Bobsled"), 12 ("Ladder to Heaven"), and 13/14/15 ("Prairie Corkscrew").

1 Friends coming through the first turn of the "Prairie Corkscrew"

 

Fortunately, though you might not think so, the first two sessions of the morning were sopping wet thanks to a steady, un-Colorado like, late spring rain. That forced us all to slow down, which gave a lot of time to focus on learning the line, but made for some filthy cars.

2 A filthy Laguna Seca Blue M3

 

As the rain let up (for all of an hour or two in the afternoon), we finally got to push it a bit more. But then the rain returned…

3 Moments before the sky re-opened

    

Even though it was soaking wet nearly from start to finish – made even more soaking wet by the lack of ANY kind of permanent shelter at the track – it was a great event hosted by the Z Club at Colorado's newest and most exciting track. Wow again. Once I know the M3 and the track a bit better, I think we're all going to have a lot of fun together.

 

So that was Saturday. Then on Memorial Day morning I walked the BolderBoulder 10K with my friend, Susan. We had such a great time and that is such a great, fun- and joy-filled race. How they run an event of that size (with such good cheer throughout) like clockwork is a mystery to me, but one I feel we're awfully fortunate to have right in our own backyard.

4 People as far as the eye could see

 

The weather was beautiful and the 6.2 miles flew by, thanks to good company and a 3.8mph average pace.

5 Coming up the hill (with a gazillion other people) to Folsom Field

 

Crossing the finish line inside Folsom Field, its stands filled with cheering Boulderites, was pretty fantastic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I may just have do this all again next year.

 

(Full photo sets – High Plains Raceway: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losborne/sets/72157618799777644/ and the 2009 BolderBoulder: http://www.flickr.com/photos/losborne/sets/72157618712961095/)

 

 

 

What do car people do during the winter?

When car people can't get out for spirited drives due to snowy mountain roads and are relegated to merely daydreaming about track days, what do we do? Well, I can't speak for all of us, but here are a few things I've done this winter:

1. I attended a winter driving school. I went to Audi's winter car control clinic at Georgetown Lake in early February. Though it was inexplicably freaky to drive around on a frozen lake, particularly later in the day when the ice got warm and started to creak, the exercises were very interesting and fun. My favorite was the spin avoidance exercise, which involved first getting the car up to ~20mph, then cranking the wheel 90°, pulling the hand brake, waiting for the car's rear end to come around, undoing everything you just did, waiting for the car to come around to 180° and start rolling backwards, when you could then brake to a stop. Left to my own devices, I could've done that one all day. (Sadly, I forgot my camera, so I'll have to go again next year in order to take some pics to share with you.)

2. I put stickers on my driving helmet. I'd ordered a set of roundel stickers for the M3 last month and just tonight had the brilliant idea to put a few of the extras on the back of my helmet. (I left the old sticker that matches the S4's on there, out of deference.) Now I can be all matchy-matchy with the M3 on track days. [Insert giddy, girlish hand clapping here.]
   



3. I got together with a bunch of car people and talked about cars. I met a new group of folks who drive amazing cars and like to talk about them as much as I do. Their cars were slightly more expensive than the M3, but that didn't keep us all from checking out each other's cars, discussing what all mods we'd made to them, comparing notes on where we like to drive, and so on and so forth. But next time, I think I need to park a little farther away from the Gallardos, as they make the M3 look like a giant, monstrous, hulking blue tank. (My car was at least a foot taller than that black Gallardo there. She looked HUGE, I tell ya', HUGE!)



4. I had some maintenance done. I wish I could say that I've taken this winter downtime to do a bunch of sweet mods on the M3, but I just haven't gotten there yet. Quite frankly, it may be a while before I do. (She's pretty good as-is and I kind of want to check her out on the track before I start making any big changes/investments.) But in the interim, I've had a bunch of general maintenance done, which just happens to have included a new set of angel eyes…

Yeah, don't deny it. Those look goooooood.

So there you have it. That's my car-related winter season in a nutshell. If you're a car person, what do you like doing during the winter (I wish I could really be) driving season?

Hello, my name is Leslie and I am a car-o-holic

I must confess. I just bought a 2001 Laguna Seca Blue M3. I love it. And yes, I still have the red 2006 S4. I love it too. I am one person with two ridiculously great cars. It's a pretty decadent situation, to be one person with two great cars, but the giddy happiness I get every time I see them parked together in the garage and the sheer joy I get from driving both of them is well worth the monetary stupidity.

So here she is, "Little Blue," as she's being called for now, parked against a beautiful Colorado day.

I haven't done any mods on her yet – save for the black/laguna seca blue roundel overlays – but a trip this coming week to see my friends at BimmerHaus should remedy that situation. Tires? Brakes? Suspension? Exhaust? Cosmetic upgrades? I'll keep you up to date.

Needless to say, my acquisition of Little Blue means that the S4 will be retired from track duty. While I'm sad to put her out to pasture, I'm excited to continue my learning in the M3. I think she'll be a great teacher.

So, watch out boys – you may have escaped being passed by the big red sedan, but I've got a new, obnoxiously bright car with which to come after you. See ya' in my rear-view mirror. ;-)

Wanna’ race for pink slips?

A couple of months ago (yeah, yeah, I'm a bit belated in my posting) I took my car to Bandimere Speedway for a little good old fashioned drag racing. Drag racing in an Audi sedan, you ask? Really? Yeah! Why the hell not? The only goal I had for 2008 was to make some new memories and I thought this would be an entertaining one to add to the set. It was a total kick of an experience and if you live in the Denver area, it's definitely something you should try for making new memories of your own.

Wednesdays from April through October are "Take it to the Track" test nights hosted by the Colorado State Patrol. Don't worry if you don't have a hot rod or fast car of any sort. It doesn't matter. People show up in a little bit of everything – from '90s Honda Accord sedans to totally tricked out, purpose-built drag racers. Everyone's just out to enjoy the cars, chit chat, and have fun. As long as you don't mind a bit of waiting between runs, you're sure to have a great time.

Here's how it works: You pay $30 to get in and once you're through the entry gates, you immediately go through a very cursory tech inspection. (Note that you don't need to prep your car or yourself in any particular way. You literally just have to show up. You could maybe even have groceries in your trunk holding that night's dinner and I don't think they'd mind.) Once you've passed tech, you get in line to run. There were three pairs of lines the night I was there and unfortunately, they were moving quite slowly. (There were apparently an unusually large number of cars in attendance that night.) They run through all the cars in one pair of lines before they move to the next, then the next, and it just rotates on through like that all night. When you're in line the cool thing to do is to put your hood up (to help your engine cool) and turn your car off. You roll slowly forward (when your line's actually moving) until you're a few cars back from the starting line, then fire up your car and wait to go.

It's amazing how much adrenaline starts pumping as you close in on the start line. Sitting at a light and waiting to drive fast in a straight line for a few seconds seems like it would be a pretty big non-event after having driven on a road track, but I was shaking noticeably as I watched the few remaining cars ahead of me blast down the track. When you're the next car to go, you drive up to the bleach blocks to warm your tires (which I skipped, since it's hard to get my 4-wheel drive car to do a 4-wheel burn out), then proceed up to the starting line. There's a light tree in the middle of the track that indicates via a small set of lights when you've pulled your car up to the proper starting spot. Once you and whatever car's next to you (it's a totally arbitrary match up – you just end up racing against whatever happened to be in the line next to you at that moment) are set, you get three descending yellows and a green. …and then you GO LIKE HELL!

(Sadly, I have no pictures of me going like hell, but here's one of the guys in our group getting ready to go in a car that had a bit more GO…)

Fortunately, one of the folks who was there with our group that night is a big drag racing guy and gave some great tips for how to run. Per his instructions, I revved the car to 4000 rpm after I'd gotten set at the line, gracefully (as possible) let out the clutch on the green, then redlined it in every gear until I reached the end of the track. I got all excited and missed a shift on my first run, resulting in a high 16s quarter mile. On the second run I hit my rev limiter in 1^st, but turned a 16.22 time. Neither time was anything to write home about (other folks in our group were running high 13s and low 14s), but it was a lot of fun and I'm glad to have given it a try. The neat thing is as you exit the track, they give you a little receipt that shows reaction, split, and finish times for you and the car (or for my second run, the motorcycle) that ran next to you. So not only do you get the memory of the experience, you also get a little paper token to take home with you too.

If you find yourself free one of the next few Wednesdays, take the family truckster out for a totally legal, fast as you can do it, quarter mile romp. You won't regret it.

My trusty winter steed

We've had a decent bit of snow in the Denver/Boulder metro area this year.  One night a few weeks ago when the conditions driving home from work were particularly lousy, I had time (crawling along at 5mph, clutch leg developing shin splints) to wax poetic about how lucky I've been with cars when it comes to winter driving. 

My current car, the '06 S4, has yet to be tested by any really nasty weather conditions, though she did ferry me home safely when the roads were coated with ice that night.  Nary a misplaced tire the entire way, while others were slipping sideways, failing to stop, or failing to go.  Her predecessor, though, a '01 S4, was LEGEN..wait for it...DARY.  And so begins our trusty winter steed tale.

In March of '02 I drove out to visit my parents in Kansas City, pissed the entire way there and back because the new Blizzaks the car was wearing got all wobbly and weave-y over 85mph, speed limiting my prairie crossing blast.  On the drive home, around two-thirds the way across Kansas, I noticed that the cars coming towards me were covered in snow.  (I had time to notice this since I was driving so slow.)  Seemed odd, since the roads were completely dry and the fluffy gray clouds above were lazily floating along, minding their own business. Then it started to mist.  Then the temperature dropped below 32 degrees F and the mist started to build up a thick layer of ice on the backs of my mirrors.  Hmmmm...not good.  I'd driven in an ice storm before and promised myself then and there that were I ever to find myself driving in similar circumstances, I'd pull off.  Get a hotel room.  Be safe.  Unfortunately, my "we don't need to see the road to drive" (<-- a phrase actually uttered by my Dad long ago while driving during a wicked winter storm in Indiana) genetics kicked in, reinforced by a strangely strong desire to ...just...make...it...home, so like a big ole' idiot, I continued on.

Shortly thereafter I made a quick gas stop in Goodland, Kansas, and though I was pretty sure I'd heard I-70 was closed on the station's radio, I decided to press on.  And press on I did, cutting the trail at 10mph in a white-out blizzard using the roadside markers as guides in the late, gray afternoon for myself and the five cars behind me until we got forced off the road in Burlington, Colorado.  With the last hotel room taken by the occupants of one of the cars I'd intrepidly lead (BASTARDS!) I ended up sleeping on the floor of a church along with some 100 other weary, stranded travelers.

Hanging out around the altar area, I was lucky enough to befriend a family with a portable DVD player, which proved exceptionally handy for passing the time until I-70 reopened.  (Those poor folks, they'd flown down to Dallas to pick up the college junior-age daughter's new car -- a BMW 3-series convertible -- and got caught in this crap driving it home.  They'd already run the pretty little Bimmer into a light pole in Burlington.  Ouch.)  We watched a couple movies, then settled down for some unsettled sleep under a few donated blankets.  (Thanks to the folks of Burlington for those, by the way.)

The highway reopened around 3am, but our group decided to wait for sunrise to restart our trip West.  I offered to follow them out of town, which was a lucky deal, as one of the BMW's rear tires separated itself from its rim not 15 minutes outside of Burlington.  They left the car by the side of the road and called BMW roadside assistance to come rescue it as I ferried us all back home.  Them to Fort Collins, me to Denver.  The '01 S4 never missed a beat the entire way.  When I look back someday over all the cars I've owned, she'll surely win the award for trustiest winter steed ever.

So what does this mean for you?  What are your "take aways" from this blog post?  Here are a few:

1. A '01 S4 shod with Blizzaks can go anywhere, anytime.
2. Don't live in Burlington, CO.  They get some of the worst weather in Colorado, summer and winter.
3. If you didn't grow up driving in snow during Midwest winters, you don't know JACK about winter driving.
4. If the roads are bad, don't drive past your limits.  Be safe.
5. I love S4s.

Feel free to add others to this list as they come to you.

The XF Cotillion (and associated experiences of an armchair car gal)

It’s a truly rare event for most of us in this world to see a new car introduced to society before it’s available to the masses. Sure, you read about them in car magazines and see spy shots on blogs, but nothing compares to making a hand-on-leather-and-metal, in-person acquaintance. This past week, I got to do just that. Jaguar held a preview party for its brand spanking new XF in the lobby of the peculiarly angular Hamilton building at the Denver Art Museum…and I had a ticket.

Since I’ve never been to the Hamilton building, nor have I ever been to the 4-wheeled version of a cotillion, I had no idea what to expect. So, with open eyes, a curious mind, and wearing a helmet to protect my head from the building’s pointy corners (no, not really…or did I?), I pushed my way through the Hamilton's revolving front door into automotive preview unknown. Once inside, I took a breath and paused to take it all in. To my right, a white (yes, white) Jag XF surrounded by an odd mix of 40+ men and a smattering of, um, arm-candyish women. (None of whom had abided by the “urban-chic” dress code mentioned on the event ticket, by the way. Everyone was more “suburban tacky” tempered by a skosh of “somewhat moneyed”, than urban chic.) To my left, a DJ was rockin’ some very, very loud rap music, which complemented the car and attendees perfectly, as you can certainly imagine. Straight ahead of me was the bar. I straightened the French cuffs on my urban chic shirt, tucked my urban chic handbag firmly under my arm, and made a bee-line for THE BAR.

With my urban chic shoes only a couple strides away from a glass of chardonnay, my progress was arrested by a 5’ 5”, 50+, teddy bear of a lady killer. He was a long time, loyal Jag owner, as were most of the people at the event, and was more interested in how I could’ve possibly arrived unattended than discussing the fine details of the XF. (Note that this would be a common theme for the rest of the evening.) Regardless, he broke the ice for my preview experience and sweetly ushered me into the unfamiliar (and ever so strangely uncomfortable) realm of Jag owners…who attend these sorts of things for the people, even more so than the car, according to my snuggly, diminutive, charming friend.

Before we proceed further with this story, I’d like to take some time out for a service announcement to Jaguar: Please identify your employees in some way at these events, such as to make it obvious to whom I should direct my questions when I’d like to learn more about the car at hand. It took me an unnecessarily long time to figure that out and would’ve allowed me to avoid chatting up those swingers that nice couple. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

Once I found myself a Jag rep, convinced him that I was actually interested in the car and was not just milling around waiting for my husband/boyfriend/sugar daddy to order one for me, I did get some decent info. (I’ll write a separate post for all of that. And did I mention that the car was white?) After my cup had runneth over with XF factoids and I had grown weary of telling people that yes, I was there by myself, no, I did not currently drive a Jag, and yes, I actually was there because I was interested in the car, I quietly slipped away from the XF and out of the pointy Hamilton building back into the Denver night. Away from the throbbing music, away from the Jag lovers (who were mourning the lack of a leaping chrome cat on the hood of the XF), and away from my first automotive preview party. What a memorable ride.

I think both the XF and I made our society debuts that night. For the XF, it was a chance for Denver-area Jag aficionados to lay their eyes and hands on one of three revolutionary (for Jag) cars currently touring the country. For me, it was a chance for an armchair car gal to test her automotive mettle and see if she could swim upstream through a river of testosterone to extract the desired details about this (white, did I tell you it was white?) XF. And she did.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to your right, you’ll not only see a new Jaguar XF, but an equally unique Greater North American High Desert Car Gal. She’s a rare species, though fortunately for her kind, quite hearty.  We’re not sure how many of her particular type exist, but consider yourselves lucky to have seen her in exceptional urban chic plumage (albeit in this man-made, unusually loud, and sharp-edged habitat). In the wild, you’d be lucky to even catch a glimpse, though a sighting is typically marked by rapidly departing taillights.

My Sweet #3

This past weekend I attended my second driving school with the BMW club in Pueblo, CO.  Words just cannot describe how much fun those events are.  I love hanging out with the guys and talkin' smack, I love seeing all of the fantastically beautiful and cool cars people bring, and I love flinging the big red bomb around the track.  ...and because of that, and because of how well she takes care of me when I screw up, I dedicate this post to her, my sweet #3.

An Ode to My Audi S4: How do I love thee, my sweet #3?

For barreling down the straightaway and braking hard and straight.

For accepting lousy downshifts, even when done too late.

For keeping all four on the track, once all the traction's gone.

In the game of brake-lift-turn-pause-gas, you're sadly just a pawn.

But I know you're having fun out there, showing the boys what you can do.

Passing in a blur of red, bidding slower cars adieu.

Running errands or on the track, being all that you can be.

Who could ask for a better car than my very sweet number 3.

      

Sniff...

THE AWARD

I've spent a lot of time lately reflecting upon the "Most Improved Driver" award recently bestowed upon me at BMW's driving school in Pueblo, CO.   Having received it continues to make me completely giddy, much to my family's, friends', and colleagues' dismay, but I don't care.  How many times in your adult life do you get awards?  Awards you can hold and sit on your desk?  Awards that look so pointy-sharp that you worry about accidentally cutting yourself on them?  Not too many, I'd say.  So when you do win an award, the event should be celebrated appropriately.

After considerable thought, I have decided the appropriate way to celebrate this particular event is with haiku...

Prismatic Lucite
Monument to my talent
Light the perfect line

And oh yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm probably going to suck so badly at the next school that the instructors and corner workers are going to storm up to Louisville, bust into Lijit's offices, and rip this glorious plasticine statue away from me.  But at least for the time period between now and October, I'm going to be the "Most Improved Driver", and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it!!!

Cogito Ergo Zoom

Cogito Ergo Zoom -- "I think, therefore I go fast."  Automobile magazine used to use that tag line; I thought it a very appropriate title for this post.  I would generally consider myself a sentient being (though admittedly more so on some days than others).  As a sentient being, who also happens to drive a car capable doing fantastically wonderful things at high speeds, I frequently choose to drive fast.  Nothing too crazy, mind you, but being able to zip from point A to point B is far more entertaining than scooting, sauntering, moseying, or doing something otherwise slower than zipping between those two points.  But even though I've always considered myself a good driver, I've never really felt that I handled my car well at high speeds (i.e. with the appropriate control and finesse).  Then along came my savior, BMW's driving school in Pueblo, Colorado...

Fortunately, the BMW driving school in Pueblo is open to all makes and models, so I registered on the first day, then waited the agonizing three months until June 16th finally arrived. ...and oh, was June 16th in car # 16 a good day.  I can honestly say that I've never had more fun in my life.

            

In this driving school you spend the day alternating between classroom sessions, where they teach you cornering concepts and such, and track sessions, where you put everything you've learned into practice.  For me, the first track session was awful.  I didn't understand what to do and only made it around the course by the grace of God.  The second session was a little better, because what I'd learned in class and what I was feeling on the track finally started to click.  But the third session...ahhh, that third session...was really where it all came together.  I swapped to a new instructor (an instructor was in the car with you at all times on the track), whose teaching style better suited my learning style, and everything else from there on out is history.  Let's just say you're reading the blog of the person who won the "Most Improved Driver" award that day.  Oh yeah, baby, that was me.  I rocked it.

And as if that wasn't cool enough, I had the good fortune to spend June 16th with an absolutely awesome group of people, most of whom I'd never met before.  Many are driving school veterans and were more than willing to give thoughtful and valuable advice such as, "Keep the gas pedal ON THE FLOOR down the straightaway.  If it's not on the floor, PUSH IT TO THE FLOOR."  How can you go wrong with advice like that?

  

I think, therefore I go fast.  I think I would like to go to Pueblo again and go fast with all of my wonderful new friends.  See you guys in October.

(Photos courtesy Todd Vernon, Tom Higley, and Frank Amoroso.)

My car knows it's raining

I continue to be amazed by my 2006 Audi S4.  Tonight I realized that it's smarter than me, which is sad, though not surprising.

Since I bought this car used and somewhat on a whim, I hadn't done my typical gnat's-ass detailed research about all of its features, specs, etc.  So while I still knew far more than the salesman did about it, I didn't know the (typically embarrassing for my spouse) level of information I usually would pre-purchase.  As a result, some of the car's features have come as a bit of a -- fortunately pleasant -- surprise.

Take this evening, for example.  I was on my way home and it started to rain.  Magically, as if they knew it was raining, my windshield wipers began to sweep.  I thought, "Did I turn those on?" I was pretty sure I hadn't.  Once I reached my destination, determined to figure out whether or not I'd just lost my mind, I pulled out the manual and did a little reading.  Sure enough, if you leave the wipers in intermittent mode and they sense that it's raining, they'll run on their own, at a speed appropriate to the car's speed.  How fantastic is that???  Surely psychic wipers should be considered one of the great wonders of the world, right behind the Grand Canyon and four-cheese ravioli from the old Figlio's restaurant in Kansas City.

But it gets better!  (...for the car, at least.  Not so much for me.)  There's a fancy little flipper knob embedded within the wiper control stalk that, I thought, controlled the speed of the intermittent wiping feature. It always perplexed me, to the point where I was pretty sure a German hadn't designed it, that the diagram next to the knob didn't seem to correspond even remotely to the resulting speed of the wipers.  I'd convinced myself that it was broken.  Thanks to my little stroll through the manual, I learned that the flipper knob actually regulates the sensitivity of the rain sensor, not the speed of the intermittent wiping. Of course it does!  DUH!  It all makes sense now...though that does not make any of these revelations any less embarrassing.

I really do love the features on this car, but I really hate how much smarter it is than me.  Friggin' bright red smarty bitch...