dterrick 0 #1 July 17, 2003 Yee hah!! California mountains ROCK!! I blew 2 1/2 hours this afternoon 'racing' through the giant redwoods along Skyline Drive, Hwy 9 and Hwy 236 (Big Basin State Park) in my sister's Honda Del Sol this afternoon. Pity it isn't shod with sticky rubber or I might have been able to use 3rd gear more. Seriously, for all those gearheads out there, this is Mecca. I've been a racing driver by hobby since 1987 and a competition instructor since 1993. Sadly, these twisty roads have taught me that there is FAR more to fast driving on mountain roads than one from the flatlands could imagine. No, there's not a scratch on the car or on me but I was as tired after this 110 mile sojurn as I was after the the last 2 hour endurance race in which I competed .. but on this trip I was lucky to make 60 mph in the twisties. Yikes!! Of course I COULD have travelleld faster, but after all these are "2 lane" roads though from where I come they'd be considered narrow back lanes from hell. Rock cliffs on one side, The Abyss on the other (no guardrail on "Old LaHonda Road" he he) - I was sooo in my element...(and yes, I was staying within my lane) For the first time since I started skydiving I had some of the same feelings behingd the wheel as I get when I'm trying something new in the air. This may mark a turning point in my racing career since what I was doing was more like Rally than circuit racing... and I really REALLY liked it. I also have to credit my skydiving 'emergency training' for saving me at least twice - "mere mortals" who were oncoming traffic had decided that I didn't deserve all of "my lane" and in a flury of footwork and fancy steering later I was able to keep it on the hard surface with the paint intact. The DelSol, after all, is a convertible and I doubt putting it on its' roof in a canyon - or into an unyielding redwood - would have been any fun at all. Seriously, in all my (not so) many demos on HP canopies I have instinctively used a 'cross-draw' technique to counter 'toggle oversteer'. I've only been able to equate this to throttle on countersteering in flatland racing until now (and of course nobody else on my DZ has auto racing experience so the simile is moot) but today was a real eye opener. Damnit, it's so close as to be the same thing but in 2-D !! I could continue into a discussion of where my eyes were focused and how I always planned to have 'something in reserve' (pun intended) but man, this was REAL ... and it was soooo cool. Me likes. And the cooler thing was that these roads were so challenging that ther was no place for a CHP to hide - and if there was I'd not have been doing much more than 10 over the 'posted' limit (which would have been virtual suicide in the dark) Skydiving has made me a better driver... and California's Highways department have given me one more reason to seek a Green Card . I strongly recommend a visit (...in either a sports car you know well or a rental car with full insurance coverage ) Who else out there catches this vibe and what roads do 'it' for you??? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 1 #2 July 17, 2003 Are you still inthe area? That sounds fun and it's practically my back yard. Thanks for the story -My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viking 0 #3 July 17, 2003 damn Del Sol its a bastardized CRX The only good thing about them is that the Si model had the B16 in it.I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet - chicagoskydiver My God has a bigger dick than your god -George Carlin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebazz1 2 #4 July 17, 2003 That's my back yard baby!! Glad you had a good one buddy. I couldn't think of a better day to be cruising the hills... Skyline Taxi... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dterrick 0 #5 July 17, 2003 Quote damn Del Sol its a bastardized CRX The only good thing about them is that the Si model had the B16 in it. Once upon a time I'd have agreed with you about the DelSol but now I'm not so sure. I 'fly' an 89 Civic Si at home. sunroof and all, which is really a long wheelbase CRX. Three windows open and no lid beats a CRX anyday except for competition. The S5 chassis appears to be far more solid than the S4 but between the extra weight and the wide ratio 'economy' gearbox you gotta pedal it hard. Of course, once it's on the boil, all 102 screamin' ponies do show up ... and THAT's where it lived for most of the drive. B16, hell there's lots of room for a B-18. Mate that to a ZC close ratio gearbox and an Si final drive and you'd have something that would scare even me! Shoudda done that when the tranny was out. Oh well. -Dave ...Now what ashphalt shall I tear up today? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
