slosurfer
02-28-2009, 01:44 PM
I went!!!! :flipoff:
:laugh:
Well on Thursday, I started really thinking that I wanted to go to KOH and well me being dumb, just assumed that the main race was on Saturday. So I started thinking Jack and I could head out Friday night and be there for the race and come home Saturday night. I started texting Yotagirl to see if she was going and if she was planning on camping at the lakebed or just leaving from her house. She was already camped out there and then after texting for awhile on Thursday night around 9pm she realized that I was saying the wrong day. The race was on Friday!!!!
Damn, I guess I'm not going, but then she said I should just throw some stuff in the van or 4runner and leave then and be there by morning. I told her I would think about it, as I was already in pajamas, it was almost 10pm, the kids were in bed. Well my wonderful wife said I could go if I really wanted to, but I had a hard time deciding since it would be a long trip (6hrs one way according to google) and money is tight right now. Then Lance called and I talked to him for awhile about the trailer he was going to go get and he helped convince me to go for it.
I would have taken the van because it gets good mileage, but it was full of tools and tile and I didn't want to unload it at 11pm. That and the cool thing is the 4runner is always ready to go. Spare parts, tools, first aid kit, co2 tank, tire plug kit, fire extinguisher, etc.... is always strapped in and ready for a trip to the dunes or wherever. I grabbed a grocery bag and filled it with snacks, a box of cereal, and stuff to make pb and j sandwiches. Threw a 3gallon container of water in the 4runner, along with my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. Grabbed my "bugout bag" (it's not a real BB, but I always have it with me) and a few clothes, toiletries, and my jackets. I reheated the left over coffee and took a quick shower before heading out the door.
I had to stop by one of my jobs in Morro Bay and take care of something and gassed up there. I was on the freeway by 1am Friday morning and made it to the lakebed by 6:30am and found Jenn about 7am
It was fun and a cool race to watch, but kind of annoying as to not really knowing the route and who was who. I'm hoping next year they will have a program with at least the driver's names and numbers and their starting positions. We watched part of the start and then headed over to Sledgehammer to get a good spot, which we did and then realized that we would be there a really long time before any racers showed up, so we headed over to Backdoor. Even then we had to wait awhile before we saw anyone. We watched about 15 rigs come through and only once was there two coming down close to each other.
I ended up going over to Jackhammer after that and ended up seeing some good passing action at the waterfall and got some pictures and was close to the action. After that I headed back to the lakebed to check out the finish line. I ended running into PismoJim and hung out with him at the finish line, looking at the rigs that had finished and got to see a few rigs come into the finish line. I ended up saying goodbye to everyone and leaving about 5pm. Only 20+ rigs had finished the course when I left the finish line at 4ish pm. :yikes: I don't know how many of the 90+rigs finished by dark which was when the race ended.
I made it back home at 10:50pm after being awake for two days straight. According to my gps, 660miles and 11 1/2 hrs of time moving (which included some of the driving back and forth between the race viewing areas). It was totally worth it!!!!! That is one brutal race!!!
Some of the highlights were seeing passes in the rocks and one on a waterfall. Checking out the rigs that had finished, and watching them finish a totally brutal race. Watching an ftoy finish was pretty cool too! Many thanks to Jenn and Joe for showing me around and letting me tag along. :thumbup:
I'll have pics up in a little bit as they are uploading.
:laugh:
Well on Thursday, I started really thinking that I wanted to go to KOH and well me being dumb, just assumed that the main race was on Saturday. So I started thinking Jack and I could head out Friday night and be there for the race and come home Saturday night. I started texting Yotagirl to see if she was going and if she was planning on camping at the lakebed or just leaving from her house. She was already camped out there and then after texting for awhile on Thursday night around 9pm she realized that I was saying the wrong day. The race was on Friday!!!!
Damn, I guess I'm not going, but then she said I should just throw some stuff in the van or 4runner and leave then and be there by morning. I told her I would think about it, as I was already in pajamas, it was almost 10pm, the kids were in bed. Well my wonderful wife said I could go if I really wanted to, but I had a hard time deciding since it would be a long trip (6hrs one way according to google) and money is tight right now. Then Lance called and I talked to him for awhile about the trailer he was going to go get and he helped convince me to go for it.
I would have taken the van because it gets good mileage, but it was full of tools and tile and I didn't want to unload it at 11pm. That and the cool thing is the 4runner is always ready to go. Spare parts, tools, first aid kit, co2 tank, tire plug kit, fire extinguisher, etc.... is always strapped in and ready for a trip to the dunes or wherever. I grabbed a grocery bag and filled it with snacks, a box of cereal, and stuff to make pb and j sandwiches. Threw a 3gallon container of water in the 4runner, along with my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. Grabbed my "bugout bag" (it's not a real BB, but I always have it with me) and a few clothes, toiletries, and my jackets. I reheated the left over coffee and took a quick shower before heading out the door.
I had to stop by one of my jobs in Morro Bay and take care of something and gassed up there. I was on the freeway by 1am Friday morning and made it to the lakebed by 6:30am and found Jenn about 7am
It was fun and a cool race to watch, but kind of annoying as to not really knowing the route and who was who. I'm hoping next year they will have a program with at least the driver's names and numbers and their starting positions. We watched part of the start and then headed over to Sledgehammer to get a good spot, which we did and then realized that we would be there a really long time before any racers showed up, so we headed over to Backdoor. Even then we had to wait awhile before we saw anyone. We watched about 15 rigs come through and only once was there two coming down close to each other.
I ended up going over to Jackhammer after that and ended up seeing some good passing action at the waterfall and got some pictures and was close to the action. After that I headed back to the lakebed to check out the finish line. I ended running into PismoJim and hung out with him at the finish line, looking at the rigs that had finished and got to see a few rigs come into the finish line. I ended up saying goodbye to everyone and leaving about 5pm. Only 20+ rigs had finished the course when I left the finish line at 4ish pm. :yikes: I don't know how many of the 90+rigs finished by dark which was when the race ended.
I made it back home at 10:50pm after being awake for two days straight. According to my gps, 660miles and 11 1/2 hrs of time moving (which included some of the driving back and forth between the race viewing areas). It was totally worth it!!!!! That is one brutal race!!!
Some of the highlights were seeing passes in the rocks and one on a waterfall. Checking out the rigs that had finished, and watching them finish a totally brutal race. Watching an ftoy finish was pretty cool too! Many thanks to Jenn and Joe for showing me around and letting me tag along. :thumbup:
I'll have pics up in a little bit as they are uploading.