Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the tag “Bonneville Speedway”

01 Oct 2014
4 Comments

World of Speed 2014

The call of Bonneville.

The call of Bonneville.

The World of Speed event at Bonneville is run each year by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association, and participants were able to run what looked like their choice of 3 or 5-mile courses laid out on the salt. That’s much shorter than they would like, but current weather conditions dictate how much of the track will be dry enough to run on. Most of the vehicles don’t need any more distance, so only the big boys had a crimp put in their style.

Yes, this mini-belly tank racer is just a toy, and yes, it's cute! Racers of all kinds tend to have a sense of humor.

Yes, this mini-belly tank racer is just a toy, and yes, it’s cute! Racers of all kinds tend to have a sense of humor.

I attended one day when the weather looked most cooperative, though I did have to wade the big Ford s-l-o-w-l-y through nearly a mile of brine to get there. I ferried the Evelo Aurora and trailer across in the front bike carrier, and then broke it out to tour all around the dry pits and racing area. Considering my phobia about splashing salt on the underside of the pickup truck, the decision to attend was no small one. Looking at upcoming weather, I had a gut feeling that this one day might possibly be it for the season, so it was either go, or gamble. The depth of the water between Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Tourista! and tagged , ,
30 Sep 2014

Taking Cheapskate Seriously

Yowza! A customized old Toyota pickup goes streamliner for mileage, not speed.

Yowza! A customized old Toyota pickup goes streamliner for mileage, not speed.

Riding the Aurora e-bike on the way to Wendover, Utah one day, I came across a streamliner of sorts, parked at the Sinclair truck stop at the fringes of the Bonneville Salt Flats. It differs considerably from other streamliners in two respects. First, it is streetable, if impractical. Second, this streamliner is not built for speed, but for fuel mileage.

Based on an older Toyota T100 pickup truck, its owner has made serious modifications to its body. Functionally speaking, it is no longer a pickup truck, but a car. He was at Bonneville to hopefully wade through the brine and make a run on the salt, but that isn’t as exciting as it seems. Its little four-cylinder engine can, given enough distance, push this newly-slippery shape along at just over 100 MPH, if it has to. That may be fast for a stock T100 four-banger. I don’t know, but I assume it is. Pickup trucks are bluff boxes that force

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Posted in Daily Life, Mod Squad, Tourista! and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Aug 2014
2 Comments

A Change in Operating Philosophies

Children tend to see more solutions than problems.

Children tend to see more solutions than problems.

Changing how you approach different events or circumstances in life is never easy. When your livelihood is based on the Marine-style necessity of “improvise, adapt, overcome”, it’s pretty difficult to change mindsets later, in the Autumn of one’s years, so to speak. The saying that “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” applies to the perception of obstacles or problems. But there are times to kick the walls down, and times to go with the flow, and learning to sense which is which can be a vague, touchy-feely puzzle for those unfamiliar with any alternate approach. There’s no imperative to change mindsets of course, but as the physical and emotional energy resources to back up a “kick-the-walls-down” approach begin to gradually drain away, it can become a good idea to learn to discern and prioritize. Persist And Pursue on some things, and let some things percolate out – or not – on their own. As the old country song goes, “know when to hold ’em, and when to fold ’em”.

Many – probably most – people already know these things by rote, and learned early. I never caught on, myself. Child or adult, the only way anything ever seemed to work for me was to take a brute force approach. Brick wall? Push through, find a way over, under, or find a way around and go on to the next. Nothing ever seemed to come easily. Paths choked with difficult obstacles. Persist. Find a way. The needs of food, housing and family merely motivate one to shove harder or pursue more doggedly. As a technique, it can work. At a price.

This approach was magnified by my choosing to Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, E-Bike Pack Mule, Navel Gazing and tagged , ,
23 Aug 2014
19 Comments

The Cheapskate’s Dilemma

A pickup truck wades out toward the dry part of the salt flats used as the race course.

A pickup truck wades out toward the dry part of the salt flats used as the race course.

Something I hadn’t banked on from last year’s all-or-nothing weather at the Bonneville Speedway was that part of the salt flats could be dry and usable for speed events, while the rest could be terminally underwater. It’s a fairly common situation, as it turns out. The endpoint of the access road to get there is nicknamed the “boat ramp” for just that reason. Right now, it’s under what I’m guessing is 9″-12″ of water, depending on the path you take. It was much shallower on Friday morning before a passing thunderstorm dumped more water on it. The track area apparently survived, while the entrance did not.

The two techniques used: on the left is the wader, rolling slowly through so as to limit splashing of the saltwater. On the right is the impatient hard charger, who must have a rental or leased car, because no one would do this to a personally-owned vehicle, would they?

The two techniques used: on the left is the wader, rolling slowly through so as to limit splashing of the saltwater. On the right is the impatient hard charger, who must have a rental or leased car, because no one would do this to a personally-owned vehicle, would they?

Beginning this weekend and running through Thursday, the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials are taking place. The water entrance hasn’t proven a problem at all for the racers and hangers-on. They just dive right on in with whatever they have.

I find this impressive, but less so after I think about it. These guys make

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Posted in Campsites, Daily Life, E-Bike Pack Mule, Tourista! and tagged , , ,
13 Aug 2014
18 Comments

When Your Eyes Are Bigger Than Your Bike Trailer

The Pack Mule still looks wonky, but at least is more at home in the outlands.

The Pack Mule still looks wonky, but at least is more at home in the outlands.

I did a grocery run into town yesterday, a trip taking an hour each way, not including the dawdling and looping around in the store to locate things. I found everything I needed though, and then some. Meat, produce, fruits, eggs, etc. Of course, I needed to replenish my supply of Carlo Rossi’s Paisano Fine Table Wine. I’m not sure what vintage it is, since it’s $13 for a glass 4-liter jug of the stuff. Red wine. Good for the heart, you know, unless of course you drink all of it in just a few sittings. I even found some sunscreen rated at 100, just the thing for if one of the scheduled Bonneville Speedway events isn’t rained out. Unfortunately, they had a sale on Coca-Cola. If you bought six 1-liter bottles, the price dropped to $1 a bottle. I was helpless to resist.

In the store, I quickly stumbled into three people wearing “Venturi Buckeye Bullet” T-shirts, who have their racing vehicle parked in one of the hangers of the defunct WWII airport at the fringes of downtown Wendover. They said they were waiting out the weather for a bit to see if an FIA-certified land speed record attempt could/would be made. What’s notable is that their narrow four-wheeler is entirely electric, and in a previous incarnation has topped 320 MPH in the past. They sounded like they were sitting on an updated design, and had their hearts set on 400 MPH. These guys (and gal) are obviously packing some serious watts. Personally, I am very optimistic for electric-powered vehicles in this setting, since short bursts of extreme power levels is their forte, much more so than long-distance runs. By the way, they mentioned the special race events for electric motorcycles at the Isle of Mann, so they apparently get around. This is an interesting place, come August!

Once I was back out in the hard reality of the parking lot with my e-bike and trailer, it became apparent that Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, E-Bike Pack Mule and tagged , , , ,
12 Oct 2013
2 Comments

Nope. No Soap.

DSCN0167wtmk

Hanging out on the salt, since there’s nothing better to do.

Well, it went down to the wire. The hope was that today’s spectacular sun and breeze would dry out mile 7, which is about where the two-wheelers would pop their chutes at max speed. It just refused to dry out, though. Mike Cook, the organizer of the event, was forced to cancel it for good for 2013.  If it won’t be safe, it can’t happen. How safe one can be while approaching 400 MPH is debatable, but there’s just no point shoveling in more risk.

So, I wandered around and saw a lowered and huffed (turbocharged) VW New Beetle and wandered over to find its crew in good spirits despite the cancellation. Racers are a tenacious bunch, and seem to roll with the punches more easily than many. As a rule, they’re also welcoming by nature – you can just barge in and join them without the usual “who’s this guy?” looks. There was a bright young lady among them who definitely sounded like Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged , , ,
10 Oct 2013
2 Comments

Shootout: In Doubt

DSCN0154Today is Thursday AM. The 2013 Top Speed Shootout guys are having to contend with rapidly changing weather forecasts, which has made putting their wallets on the line risky. The problem for them is squirmy logistics. It isn’t exactly cheap for them to haul trailers of carefully-prepped racing equipment cross-country, or to buy no-discount airline tickets, or book motels or the local KOA campground. These guys are in the upper echelon of speed crazies, and most have sponsors to keep happy. To be sure, none of these guys are poor, but each has invested way, way too much in their speed addiction. I liken it to owning a horse. On the grand scale of things, you have to be comparatively wealthy to own and stable a horse. Once you do that, you are by all accounts no longer wealthy.

The salt surface has proven problematic, and a few days ago was deemed unsuitable for high-speed runs in Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged , ,
08 Oct 2013
2 Comments

Busted!

It seems worthy to note that right on completion of a post mentioning that RVs have stuff that fails, my fridge went out. All the indicator lights read just fine, but it ain’t cooling at all. It thinks it’s running, and so the gas keeps going, which it’s not supposed to do. I goofed with it a little, and there apparently isn’t much to be done until I get to Quartzsite, 3 days away. So I shut it off. Food loss was minimal – mainly just a bag and a third of “Sea Varmints”: a frozen seafood mix of  critters dredged up from the ocean, and some frozen lima beans.

I’m not leaving in 3 days, though. Despite a forecast spritz of rain Wednesday and Thursday, I’m hoping the final speed event is able to take place from Thursday over the weekend. So, I’m changing my diet to foods that don’t require refrigeration. Desperate men do desperate things. To that end, I made a trip to town to mail off the failed Kidde smoke alarm, and for the dump station, diesel fuel, propane refill, laundromat, and food for my readjusted no-fridge diet.

On the way back, I went out to the Salt Flats entrance and saw Read more…

Posted in Daily Life and tagged ,
03 Oct 2013
5 Comments

The Salt Addicts

This was all lake a week ago.

This was all lake a week ago.

Well, the Top Speed Shootout 2013 is turning into a saga long before it takes place. The most respected and only surviving land speed event this year, it was originally scheduled for September 12th-16th. Heavy thunderstorms flooded it and several other events out as the salt flats went deep underwater. Even as recently as last week, the racing surface looked pretty hopeless. This event’s rain date was October 10-14, and then they decided to arrange with the BLM for October 7-12 due to racer requests. It’s starting to get a bit nippy out here. The BLM okayed that, but then Congressional Republicans nixed that idea by shutting down so many government services. Somehow, the local BLM office is able to restage it with the original 10-14 dates, so, weather Read more…

Posted in Tourista! and tagged , , ,

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