First track day ever today. Wowwww! you can drive a street car fast if there's no traffic! I hit 116 on the front straight which is a personal land-speed record

The event was at Portland International Raceway which struck me as a simple and forgiving track. It's wide, the track is only two miles long with just 12 turns, and there's plenty of space if you run off.

Although another novice driver in front of me did in fact run off, I had grip for days thanks to my recent tire purchase -- Falken Azenis RT660s. Good God damn those are sticky! I can't believe how much of a difference they made over my first stab at autocross when I was understeering all over the place on my street tires.

I had so much fun! We were doing lead-follow instruction (covid) and I told my instructor, hey I'm good, we can brake much later. He told me "Great! you go in front then!" I led the rest of the day with tips from behind via radio... it was magic.

Here's me shredding on the front straight (116 hell yeah!!!!!)

And a few photos of cool cars. (There was also a heavily modified Porsche 924 that screamed like a banshee... soooo fucking cool... but I didn't get a pic )

Ok, I just went camping. I thought I’d share some neat photos from my Memorial Day trip with my wife.

The cascades near Portland are slammed at all times, you can’t even park let alone hike in peace. So we have been going to the Ochoco mountains recently. Here’s an abandoned cabin where we camped for the weekend. Not quite square but whatever:

Neat plants and an old snag with lichen:

We did a lot of hiking around to the different rocks, bluffs and viewpoints because I’m a sucker for a good view. The Ochocos are really nice in that regard because they are very open unlike the high cascades which are a thicket of hemlock until you manage to get to tree line.

10/10 trip, would overland again!

60 acres surrounded on all sides by national forest. Alpine landscape accessible by snowmobile in winter. Spring for water, totally off grid.

I'm thinking build a cabin and a spur trail to the main Elkhorn Crest trail and let hikers stay overnight. It's not exactly chump change at 130k, but good god damn those photos...

No car news as I have been confined to the house and “forced” to watch soccer.

But I know a few of you probably like extreme medical stuff so here you go. Check out my new titanium bits!

Front-on

Side-on

Also related and a little humorous, got to go to a store yesterday that sells medical devices, it’s called “Brace Yourself, Portland”

SensibleChuckle.gif

Ever cook a dinner so bad that you look at your SO and say, fuck it, let's just get a pizza?

It was an anticlimactic end to a rousing day in which I got my cheap-ass track car and Mrs. Chips took it for a long drive and ADORED it. She says she wants to use it for her new DD, replacing her Escape hybrid, and I don't blame her. VTEC yo!!

'06 Civic SI in burnt orange, 194k miles, slathered in armorall. $5300. Needs new or machined rotors, driver's sun visor and antisocial exhaust. Pics tomorrow as it's dark out now.

I have been seeking advice and weighing up potential money pits track cars and I just want to brag on my wife a bit.

She is actively encouraging me to go to the track. She told me without my ever saying it that since running the DD isn't ideal, I should just buy a dedicated track car. And, when I pointed out a Celica on the freeway today saying "That's a contender," she told me "Awesome, it looks fast! If you get one I want to drive it too."

I love her to bits. That is all.


@farscythe maybe go to her yard, take a different branch, and duct tape it on your pine tree?

Pnw oppos:

Registered for my first ever autocross! Portland oppos, join in! It's gonna be wet, almost guaranteed. But at least we shouldn't have snow

@frinesi2 said in rough translation:

That’s one cute little wanker

@gettingoldercarguy said in Man this is dumb:

@misterbuttercup going to eat one straight up.

Good luck and Godspeed.

@akioohtori oooh I do like a trooper. The first gens around here are mostly too far gone but second gens regularly pop up on CL for 4-5k. NGL I am tempted every time I see one advertised

@pip-bip want! gib!

@pixel The HG issues were sorted by the early aughts. The valve cover gaskets on my 97 would never quit weeping no matter how many times or how carefully I replaced them.

Edit: $1200 is basically f- it money though, if you like the rest of the car

@DipodomysDeserti impressive, I admit would've just ponied up for a Jiffy Lube or some such

@bicyclebuck weirdly, I always felt like money for nothing didn't really fit on that record... but hey gotta get on the radio to get them checks for free LOL

@stuckmtb listening to this track right now, it's pretty good but not exactly bumpin

@midengine so if you get enough reviews on airbnb that are less than 5 stars you get kicked off the site. The number of bad reviews needed is very low. Just so you know