OK. So, what does everybody here do in the winter to ease the withdraw from motorsports? I'm looking forward to some snowboarding, but I'm also looking forward to yet another disappointing, rainy winter with no real snow to speak of. But seriously, it'll be cold as berkeley and still rain somehow almost every day.
There won't be any auto-x events that I know of since Philly pulled out of Ripken Stadium. My local club doesn't do winter events either. All the tracks are closed and won't even have schedules out until the spring. Hell, even my Miata is put away for now.
Is there anything to do anywhere in this country during the off-season?
Head south. I am amazed at the warm temperatures we're now having here in Florida. I saw 72 during yesterday's drive to the office.
Other ideas? iRacing seems to be catching on. How about slot cars, my personal vice.
Motorsports-wise? Road rallies? Does Philly do winter autocrosses anymore? I went to a couple...one turned into SnoCross, it was awesome.
Me personally, cars take a break, and I brew beer. Two batches earlier today! 10 gallons of yum.
Philly stopped winter events after they lost Ripken Stadium. I was at that SnoCross you speak of - the whole lot was a sheet of ice, right?
I am going to build a computer that can handle iRacing. But I don't have one yet. Forza 2 is fine for now, but the X-Box 360 gave me the ring of death a few days ago. I bricked it.
Mega-edit: I was wrong! They still do winter events! Philadelphia, here I come!!!
Do preventative maintenance and work on the cars. Plenty of time to get caught up. Lots of stuff to do tomorrow on the Bimmer.
My girlfriend just gave me a set of slotcars. They're old Tyco NASCARs. That should provide for some entertainment!
tis the season to retreat to the garage and plan upgrades and maintenance.
GT4 is getting a workout from me (its just not the same)
am hopeful to see about a day of indoor karting in mid january down in dulles (dc area)
Me and my father got the two largest track sets that Carrera sold at the time and combined them into a custom road course. We put them on a huge table we built purposefully for it, with plexiglass side panels so that the cars wouldn't fly off the table. I used a British Racing Green Porsche Carrera, he used a Panoz. They moved into a bigger house with a basement and more room. We should dig it up and set it back up so we can use it when I visit.
If it's cold enough for snowboarding, is it cold enough for frozen lakes?
ICE RACING !!
But if you have big cajones and heal fast, motorcycle ice racing!
Dan
Funny how you miss winter when you come to Florida, but it's hard to get a holiday feeling in a T-shirt when it's in the mid to high 70s. I'm looking forward to a few days in chilly climates. We usually get a month or two of reasonably cold weather; iRacing should keep the rust from forming.
The R loved the snow...
Bah. We're getting an ice storm on top of the snow that just hit us, I'm freezing, and it sucks.
Winter can bite my frozen ass.
Snowy parking lots + RWD = SNow drifting...easily some of the cheapest (until you get a ticket for it) fun to have in the snow. And if you drive a FWD, then I hope you have an e-brake handle, not a pedal. And if your stuck with the tragic pedal E brake...do em in reverse!
Personaly, Im getting a bone stock '99 Infiniti G20 with an SR20DE. Its auto tranny will hopefully be gone come march, and an extra pedal will adorn my interior. So Im gonna have my hands full for at least a week or 2! Fun fun fun!!!
Snow days = Drift days.
I am still pissed that AROC refuses to run in the snow... bunch of Gladysses.
Salanis
SuperDork
12/18/08 1:29 p.m.
Come on out to California. Temperatures are hovering about 32-42. I'm going to drive Thunderhill on Saturday.
The Auto-x season is over, but there is still motorsports going on here. 
EricM
Reader
12/18/08 1:38 p.m.
My other hobby is sailing. SI I am screwed both ways.
Salanis wrote:
Come on out to California. Temperatures are hovering about 32*-42*. I'm going to drive Thunderhill on Saturday.
The Auto-x season is over, but there is still motorsports going on here.
Yeah, but can you make any horsepower on your crap gas with Big Brother breathing down your neck? 
Actually, we can usually run track days here in the winter and go skiing the next day. Or mountain biking one day and skiing the next. I'm starting to like this Colorado thing - I haven't had to shovel the driveway in years, but I've almost suffocated in snow on the slopes.
I always seem to have a major project underway during the winter. So that keeps me busy. The lack of motorsports is actually a bit of a relief, I can do things on my weekends!
I know a few backroads and unpatrolled parking lots I can go hooning around in with my Subaru... 
I've also been doing work on my RX-7. When it's clear out I can work under the hood or underneath the car. Like today; I changed the spark plugs before I had to go to work. When it's raining or snowing out, I can work on repairing the interior. We're going to get a foot of snow tomorrow, and I have a couple of interior panels I can work on.
I'm gearing up for the 2nd annual Dago Run, my own personal race, where I drive from San Francisco to San Diego along highway 1, then 101 on the way back. Tons of fun. Unfortunately I have a crash test dummy in the passanger seat, who says "slow down." I always just say, "I did."
Just did a little shake down over the hills to make sure everything is running well. It is pretty cold for california, the last few night it has been in the 30s. You go soft skinned in these warmer climates.
I just went on a little spending spree at work that should keep me busy, or at least my wallet lighter until I decide to get cold and do the work. I bought a clutch for the miata since at 145k its finally starting to show signs of slipping, a 3G ford alternator to swap into my 68' fairlane, a rear wheel bearing for the miata to stop the howling at 40mph, and a full exhaust system for my dads frontier to replace the rusty one he had custom made about a two years ago. Thirty percent off for the holidays made me a little extra spendy 
Gonna have to check into those Philly region events too
My dad and I are hoping to head north to the Adirondacks for some ice races this winter. We would do it around where we live, but Al Gore killed the Central New York ice racing league a few years ago it seems.
If you have shop space, rebuild something cool like a motorcycle.
And Wallens, don't taunt us with your Florida weather reports.
I might have to venture up to New York, meet "IceRacer" and check out what ice racing is all about.
-I've got a zillion books stockpiled in my library to read.
-A homebrew kit might be in the works.
-Pondering a fixed gear or single speed conversion to my spare
bike
-Drink beer.
-Put my new $25 exercise bike to use.
