It's Wednesday again. Wednesday is Rocky Point day, for those of you who don't keep track. There was no Wed report last week because it was both wet and icy at our elevation, so I knew it would be a frozen mess up in those heavily shaded hills. So I spared myself the frustration and just took Cornelius Pass,.... all the while crawling behind a dump truck and a semi, of course.
Today was well below freezing too, but it was dry. It's been dry enough for long enough that I wasn't very concerned about ice. Plus I didn't get to go until 11:30 which is hours later than my usual time. I faced a parade of semis on the Cornelius Pass exit and knew that no amount of hopping between the two lanes would get me to the front of them before West Union where it drops to one lane. It's not all that critical. I only stay on Cornelius Pass for a couple miles. But the ugly truth is CP is a few minutes faster than the Rocky Point run, for me. I feel guilty about that indulgence so I'd like to minimize the time by as much as possible. Getting stuck behind semis, and not having the power to pass them safely, drives me crazy!
It's also a little frustrating that I picked the right onto Skyline as the point where I start the stopwatch. I have a quick left into a hard right and I just don't have the extra hand to hit the button at the precise moment. I either go sloppy on my corner or hit it late.
nicetrousers do you have any suggestions on a better place to start the stopwatch?
I got a little nervous when I saw snow on the sides of the road on Skyline. And then I hit the gravel, which really pissed me off. In my car when they "sand" the roads it makes the whole thing just like driving on ball bearings. Not cool at all. Fortunately the main, average driver, stay-in-the-middle-of-the-two-lines-on-t
he-pavement line was gravel free so I stuck to it. There were some corners where it really bugged me, but also some I could take in closer knowing I'd slide into that part of the lane and then get traction. That was actually quite fun ;)
I have 3 things that hang out on the dash of my work car: my little black Evo, my little black Skyline, and my glow-in-the-dark devil ducky. Although I like devil duckies this devil ducky is actually there for a purpose other than decoration. I drive with my window at least partly down at all times, and it wedges into place on the far drivers side which keeps my cars flying out my window under hard cornering. Instead they bounce off the ducky and go flying somewhere else like in my lap or on the floor.
Skyline is the faster portion of the run. A few straight stretches and a butt load of sweepers. I have no doubt in my mind I know where the "105mph uphill straight stretch" is. This time I did something I never did before. I watched for my top speed. I don't have a tach but I exited that corner right before that straight stretch in 2nd, in the power band, and still couldn't break 63mph. My top speed for the whole run was about 66-68mph. Hey, it's a Geo Metro!
Anyways. I was almost to Rocky Point when I came up on a little truck. This is the first time I've ever come up on anybody on this run. He slowed down at the right Rocky Point turn and inched towards it. It's a big wide open space and at that point I decided that if he took it I'd swing around and pass him on the left. But he went far enough forward that I could fly past him on the right before he made a decision. That was a close one! The same gravel situation continued onto Rocky Point, which both frustrated and pleased me. Frustrating because of the time it cost me, but lots of sliding around fun anyways. There's this one corner right before the best hair pin which slows me down before I hit it, a lot. But, right before I hit the hairpin I can get an almost clear shot of the road below, and confirm that the other lane is mine for the taking once i hit it. I love that! Gravel was all over the place on it. I knew I had a clear shot and apexd early, pulled the e brake, and slid all the way out riding the gravel. Cut back into my lane before the threat of anything oncoming and kept going. It was a beautiful moment for me. It kept me glowing for hours later.
I came up on a truck pulling a trailer of gutter making stuff that didn't cross lanes quite as responsibly and I ended up having to drop a tire to not hit it. But we successfully passed each other and my traffic philosophy is "no harm no foul". When you cross paths with as many bad drivers as me you lower your standards. Plus, I can't say I've never almost changed lanes into the side of some else, and neither can you.
There's this straight stretch at the bottom, right before the stop sign I can turn right on with stopping. Right before I hit STOP on the stopwatch. I see it coming and get so frustrated because i could shave a few seconds there if I only had brakes left. But I don't, and I have have to hit it slower than I'd like. I got 14:09! A new record. That's a 32 second gain from the last best, which included a llama stop. I can do better. But I'm still happy to break my own personal record.
I don't think it will be long until I drop into the 13's. I noticed that the tires aren't talking back to me much at all. There is a lot of room between where I'm comfortable driving and the limit where I can still safely drive. I'm overly cautious. There are worse problems to have so I don't beat myself up over it. I'll inch my way up there. I've done it before, on other roads.
cranky
