Vrooooooooooooom!
So, today, I went to an autocross held by VMSC. First time for everything, y'see. It only took zeroband about a year of poking to get me to do it... and really, this was partly because I wanted something to do away from the computers and cptwinky was working. I took about 70 pictures while there, but I've found that some of them didn't turn out nearly as well as I thought they might have. Ah, well. I have to do some photo cropping and scaling, then I should have them ready to go. At least some of them. Also, I can see how some turned out poorly because I had I stand under a shelter in order to keep the camera out of the rain, which in turn took me out of some of the more interesting angles. I'll post as I get them ready for upload.
However, it was fun. Saw lots of neat cars, got to see just what an autocross is...and how my little Integra would just not have done well today (even if it didn't have a crack in the windshield, disqualifying it for running at all). It was rainy and around 45F. Given that the Integra is an automatic, I would've been going really slow on that curvy course. I'd have also been way too nervous and my own perfectionist streak would harp on me if I didn't get it exactly right on the first go. [Hey, at least I can say that I'm harder on myself than I am on anyone else.] Thankfully, for those that lost some control, I only had one potential picture of a drift, and I think I got it a little too early. It's not really obvious that a drift is in progress, unless you look at how the car seems placed and that the weight doesn't seem as heavy on the wheels as it probably should. ...and I only know this because I saw it happen and I can see the difference in the shots that came right before.
It also confirmed what I felt about Cameros, previously. They might have good speed (at least in those with 8s), but they wallow. The people driving them were clearly maintaining it well, but you could see a definite difference in how they drove versus the more nimble cars, like the Minis.
...
Cripes. I'm starting to learn about cars. Noooooooo! I don't need an expensive hobby. I certainly don't need to be tempted to get something to toy with. *sigh* See, I hang out with a small bunch of folks that talk about these things and I start to grab some of that knowledge and interest for my own. Ooops.
However, I can say that after 6 hours or so in the chill and occasional rain, standing or walking the whole time, that I am soooore. My back and hips are not happy with the exercise and not being stationary. The good news is that my depression has been kicked to the curb for a little while with my going to hang out at something moderately social.
However, it was fun. Saw lots of neat cars, got to see just what an autocross is...and how my little Integra would just not have done well today (even if it didn't have a crack in the windshield, disqualifying it for running at all). It was rainy and around 45F. Given that the Integra is an automatic, I would've been going really slow on that curvy course. I'd have also been way too nervous and my own perfectionist streak would harp on me if I didn't get it exactly right on the first go. [Hey, at least I can say that I'm harder on myself than I am on anyone else.] Thankfully, for those that lost some control, I only had one potential picture of a drift, and I think I got it a little too early. It's not really obvious that a drift is in progress, unless you look at how the car seems placed and that the weight doesn't seem as heavy on the wheels as it probably should. ...and I only know this because I saw it happen and I can see the difference in the shots that came right before.
It also confirmed what I felt about Cameros, previously. They might have good speed (at least in those with 8s), but they wallow. The people driving them were clearly maintaining it well, but you could see a definite difference in how they drove versus the more nimble cars, like the Minis.
...
Cripes. I'm starting to learn about cars. Noooooooo! I don't need an expensive hobby. I certainly don't need to be tempted to get something to toy with. *sigh* See, I hang out with a small bunch of folks that talk about these things and I start to grab some of that knowledge and interest for my own. Ooops.
However, I can say that after 6 hours or so in the chill and occasional rain, standing or walking the whole time, that I am soooore. My back and hips are not happy with the exercise and not being stationary. The good news is that my depression has been kicked to the curb for a little while with my going to hang out at something moderately social.