How Do You Describe Your Hobby?

Ain't that the truth. I'll tell them 'if I take the time during a run to look at the speedometer I'm screwed'.

I solve this problem my alienating myself from other people.

shudders from the cold

Jensenman wrote: Ain't that the truth. I'll tell them 'if I take the time during a run to look at the speedometer I'm screwed'.

Also, "Not as fast as you could get a car up to on a freeway if you wanted to. The straits aren't long enough for me to come close to the car's top speed."

My converations usually goe something like this.

Q: What are you doing this weekend?

A: Racing.

Q: What kind of racing

A: What I do is most commonly called autocross. The club I am in rents a big patch of pavement, like the parking lot at Oakland Coliseum. We mark out a twisty course with construction cones, put timers on it and see who can drive through it the fastest.

Q: What kind of cars?

A: There are classes to accomodate everything from the family station wagon through single seat dedicated race cars. I have Miata that I compete in.

Q: How fast do you?

A: Usually not more than 60mph. Which I know doesn't sound impressive. You have to remember that we aren't on the freeway. We are doing this in a parking lot and going around corners that are as tight as a turn into most peoples driveway. The courses are designed to be safe and fun at lower speeds so you don't have buy lots of expensive safety gear or risk damaging your car by hitting a wall at 100mph. It is huge fun and doesn't cost a lot.

racing or drugs....i think drugs would be more socily acctable and cheaper in the long run....

Jensenman wrote: Ain't that the truth. I'll tell them 'if I take the time during a run to look at the speedometer I'm screwed'.

I solved this problem... the new build doesn't have one. Now I can only say stuff like 7700 RPM in 5th gear :)

Ran into this whole thing again at a party over the weekend, only it was LeMons. I tried to explain how you can have a blast in a sub $500 car and the reactions are like, 'are you crazy? All that time and effort to race a junker?'

Ya know, some people just don't (and will never) 'get it'.

EDIT: The Abomination doesn't have a speedometer either, I don't bring that up because generally the next question is 'then how do you know how fast you are going?' That could lead to having to describe calculating a rough idea of speed based on gear selected and tach reading. At that point their eyes would be so glazed over they would no longer be able to even see.

Haha, we got this new intern from Germany at work, and when I told him about LeMons, he insisted that we start a team.

I just say "I race cars."

I don't tell them that the car I race is a 4-door Saturn and I race around cones

I say, "I am a club level rally driver"...they never know what I mean, but they always seem to go away.

People see the rollbar in my miata and always ask if I race it. I just stick with yes and don't elaborate. I used to get asked all the time what my car ran, 1/4 mile time-wise. I didn't get the constant questions about that until I learned you need a rollbar if your car runs under a certain time. After that, I was pretty amused that people would think my miata could run the 1/4 mile in a respectable time.

I mention that I am a zealot and that I spend sundays out in the parking lot at my chuch swearing at the man in front of me and figuring out ways to get a freebie from "the man" in charge.

them: so what do you do for fun/

Me: nothing.

it is just so much easier that way.

Actually, I race sailboats, and that is even way more complecated to explain.....

Try explaining that you volunteer to guard a ranch gate in the middle of nowhere while other people race up and down the highway.

Imagine trying to explain this

EricM wrote: Actually, I race sailboats, and that is even way more complecated to explain.....

My brother does that. He tried to explain how it worked and my head started to explode.

Offshore Sailboat Racing: Like standing in a cold shower, tearing up 20 dollar bills.

Have you completed the tests from the Bowman's Union? http://www.bowmansunion.com/2002_web/html/2002_People_of_the_Bow.htm

1. Stand in cold shower, hitting self in head w/ frying pan all while yelling MADE.

2. Complete Rubix Cube in shower while blindfolded.

3. Spend one week communicating only by shouting with ample explatives thrown in.

I still try to explain autocross to people who ask what I like to do on weekends, so far the odd reactions haven't gotten too old. Trying to explain why you enjoy racing a Hyundai Accent is pretty tough, beyond "they're cheap and I won't care if it breaks". Karting is basically completely foreign to the average person though.

"Oh, like at Ocean City?"

"No... put it this way, those have about 5hp and weight over 600 pounds by itself. Mine has about 20hp and weighs 400 pounds with me in it and its considered "slow"."

"... "

JmfnB wrote: I mention that I am a zealot and that I spend sundays out in the parking lot at my chuch swearing at the man in front of me and figuring out ways to get a freebie from "the man" in charge.

dude, i forgot about the church of the holy cone..i just found the file for the bible yesterday going though stuff on the computer....

um... I think it was the Church of the Heavenly Cone.

do not blaspheme...

and this coming from the idiot that edited the bible.....