For the One NAP of America, i would now give some consideration to one of the air bag, lounger, things.
Amazon sample but available a lot of places.
For the One NAP of America, i would now give some consideration to one of the air bag, lounger, things.
Amazon sample but available a lot of places.
Some more thoughts on personal packing...
My previous experience in light packing comes from off-shore sailboat racing. These can be two day races (racing over night.) Samples include Detroit to Mackinaw Island and Newport Beach, CA to Ensenada, MX. Like OLoA, these are rain or shine events so you need to be prepared to be out in the rain. And, all your gear to be out in the wet.
I drilled myself down to two bags. My first, my clothing bag was small enough to be considered a carry on. I have a couple of genuinely waterproof bags but one I considered to be too large and the other I considered to be too difficult to access items. All my clothes went into the orange, more gym bag type and I also brought a laptop bag (since I still needed to tend to my business during the week and could not be totally absent.) Neither are waterproof. Every day, everything comes out of the car as the car goes out on track. There is no guarantee of shelter in the paddock. Any day could be a real "gully washer" of a rain storm. For waterproof-ness, in each bag, I had a standard, black Hefty Garbage Bag, still folded in it's factory original, small shape. If figured if rain became an issue, I could slide the duffel bag inside the garbage bag for additional weather protection. I also had a couple of water proof sleeves for my laptop and other electronics that I had with me.
Staying with this idea of getting everything wet, there is a common practice in sailboat racing... In a 2 day race you will likely just not change clothes for two days. It is possible that in those 2 days also that if things go pear shaped, everything you own might get wet. The common practice is to have a dry set of clothes for after the race. There is nothing nicer than finally getting out of the weather and into dry clothes. For this I use those "shrink down", "rollout the air out", "space bags."
I was not so diligent as to put all my clothes into a bag like this but I did assure that I had one full days worth of clothes in one (dry pant, dry shirt, dry undies) Just be aware that these space bags will wrinkle the living hell out of anything you put in them. However, I will take dry and wrinkled over wet any day.
Last year we were a southern route so I also had a light set of rain gear (jacket and pants) compressed down in a bag like this as well. As luck would have it, that gear never had to come out. This year, you guys are a northern route. I would expect cold 8am mornings while you are out there walking the track. Bring something warm-ish. As was one of my plans and might be common in sailboats is to "wear everything you brought". For me that would mean then adding the waterproof pants and jacket to the top layer, even on a dry day, to use them as a wind breaker layer as well.
With rain in mind and sailing experience, I focus on non-absorbent materials. Nothing sucks more than wearing wet jeans!!! Cotton is not the best choice. I have a lot of these nylon convertible pants. Sample. They are both pants and shorts. They are light weight but strong. They also are not too heavy or hot if you leave them long to gain the sun protection. They pack down very small.
For shirts I had with me some non-absorbant "Under Armor" style golf shirts as well as some Columbia brand fishing shirts. The lightweight, long sleeve type that too are good at keeping you out of the sun. Undies too are non-absorbant. Nothing worse than getting wet all the way down to cotton tighty whitties that never dry.
My bags.
As stated, every day, EVERYTHING comes out of the car and it may all get wet. One other trick that I saw and might consider is a packpack 1-2 man tent. Not so much for sleeping in (though I did see one used as a way to create a bit of shade for a nap) but rather as an "indoor space" to place all your gear during the wet.
In summary, plan what you pack and be ready for wet.
Final word...Scooters!
Oh god yes. Scooters. Big wheel ones. Game changer.
It's interesting that we talk so much about how to do the event and so little about driving. I guess that's because by the time we sign up we assume we can all handle that part?
One of the few nice things about Texas is that we're properly into test season already.
Last weekend was 650 miles of driving and about 40 laps around a 1 mile course set up at the Mineral Wells airport. Top speeds are about 85 in my car so not a hugely fast track, but it was a good time.
Origami death trap indeed! I've sat in one of those chairs in our local outdoorsy store and may go after one if/when the kids ever decide to do some 'real' camping and you have to hike everything miles to the site. Big chair stays on, though it's near the bottom of the list when/if it comes time to jettison something.
I forgot about the scooters... the kids have a couple but if I bring one it's going to need a major refurbishment before it goes in. I pretend to be a runner a few days a week but I really, really, really don't like to do it first thing in the morning (well to be fair I don't like to do it at all, but I like to eat more than I should so it's a balance) and guessing after not an ideal amount of sleep I'll be wishing a scooter was in the trunk for getting around the track. Or maybe I just suck it up and get some exercise every morning and walk when I get tired.
I'll share a trick a military friend of mine showed me for packing clothes small and tight. It takes a little longer than normal folding but with some practice it comes pretty fast. It's super efficient for space and makes for quick packing/rearranging. Opinions of it tend to range from "that is the greatest thing ever" to "that is the stupidest thing I've ever seen" but I like it. Instructions in the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so93nqxZLjM
Looks like a nice test weekend down there! We were staring at -8 F on the thermometer this morning in Michigan and I'm still probably at least a month away from even waking my car up for the spring.
Just saw the map, you’re coming right through here! I may be able to come out to nelson ledges
In reply to Patrick :
My plan is to go to Nelson Ledges also to spectate. Just remember, these are morning events. I may plan to be there near 7am and the best action happens between 8am and Noon. By 2:00 the place will begin to empty out quickly.
Cinco de Mayo at Nelson Ledges!
Sunday morning racing!
The 2019 map...
Only 250 miles from here to Nelson Ledges. Easy enough to knock that out in 4 hours. And it's a Sunday event. Hmm... I might just need to book a hotel so I can drive out there Saturday, watch Sunday morning and then drive back home after everyone leaves the track.
One Lap approaches. The car is simultaneously basically done and still tons to do. Knocked out the vinyl today while hanging out with the family.
Not as much track practice as we wanted this spring, but we do a have a weekend at MSR Houston. My co-driver from the last two years ended up with my old RX7 which he's using to learn everything about rear wheel drive before hopping in his dad's Corvette for the week. That works, right?
Flat tire on the tow rig. Tow dolly has running lights and left turn, but nothing else. Blasted around the neighborhood at full brap for old times sake. Already having fun.
Seth, if you are going to or from nelson and are in my area at a meal time, i’ll cook for whoever you bring with you as a respite from fast food.
In reply to Patrick :
There's no time for "meal time" during One Lap. These guys will leave Nelson Ledges about 2:00pm and don't get to bed until they reach Milwaukee
If you want to be a real hero, prepare a healthy, wholesome meal and bring it to the track for lunch.
It's possible that they might get in town the night before Nelson Ledges as early as 9pm. Maybe food then.
The RX7 did three session before a rear tire loosened it's belt.
Back on the tow dolly headed to my house to swap with the Miata. Spare parts are OK, but whole spare cars are better.
He missed one session. 
Final shakedown of the car was this weekend. I've never run an event with Chin Motorsports but I was massively happy with the weekend. For starters, they have 30 minute sessions, four of them a day. Cool, that means a bit more time than the 20-25 minute sessions with NASA or PCA. But wait, they also have a half hour warm up session under yellow at the beginning of each day. But wait again, they ALSO have a one hour "happy hour" at the end of the day. Add that all up and you're looking at seven hours of track time if you drive every session that you've paid for. We did the first warm up on Saturday as an actual warm up, came in early and checked pressures and what not. Lost 15 minutes of the Saturday happy hour to lightning, but otherwise I hit every session for six and a half hours behind the wheel. I checked mileage on my final hour and I did a bit over 62 miles in that session. Extrapolate that out to what I drove and I did somewhere between 350 and 400 track miles. 
I'm so tired.
We were placed in the Red/Instructor group. How did we end up there? Well, we each wrote out an essay explaining out backgrounds and the words One Lap popped out at the guy who's job it was to place us. He called a buddy who we know from One Lap and he said "throw them in with the instructors, they'll be fine" and we were. Open passing with a point and this was the best behaved open passing group I've ever been in. Just phenominal. Along with the usual instuctor cars you see like various Porsches and fast Miatas and various time trial cars, this guy came out on Sunday. He passed us. A lot. It was cool to watch the wing flatten out as he rocketed away in the distance. The Accord has now been on track with a McClaren Senna. That really means nothing, but it is cool.
My buddy left the event early, missing the last session and the happy hour. I sent him back to my house with the Accord because by that point I had put four hours on the car and he had done another half hour. The car works and it works well. He's pretty sure it's faster than his Civic was the first year even with less power. It stops and turns much better and it's more comfortable on the highway. I'm super stoked. The car is done. This means I only have a ton of work left to do.
I have been meaning to mention this for months.... but my spare room is open if you need/want a night of peace and quiet before onelap. I figured Tim was likely flying into Chicago or Detroit? But the garage is open if you want to once-over the car before the big week.
Nope, I'm flying into Houston, and then out of Chicago.
And spacedet is flying to Chicago and then driving back to Dallas with me and I'll make the leg back to Houston all my my lonesome. It's confusing. I'm hoping the other two are paying attention.
One Lap requires a fire extinguisher preferably mounted where the driver can reach. Did that today. Some nutserts, a bit of metal strap, holes, and this quick release mount that I've become fond of. Easy to reach from the drivers seat as long as there isn't a passenger with legs in the way. Check another thing off my list.
Well, regardless you both are welcome.
In reply to bobzilla :
You are 100% on our DO CALL list. Our route, both to and from and the event itself is repeatedly crossing close enough to you that you may get a call.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
At the very least I'll get a glimpse of y'all on Saturday at Grissom.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Do you have the EZ Pass System transponder?
You are going to see toll roads in Ohio, Indiana and Greater Chicago. The EZ PASS transponder will save you from having to slow for toll booths and give cash. Having the transponder will save you just a slight bit of time in Ohio and Indiana but if you hit Chicago at the wrong time of the day, you could have a more significant delay in Chicago as you stop and make change with the booth.
In reply to John Welsh :
Ah crap, I NEED to get that right now. My thought was to get this Plate Pass unless there is a better option?
Never mind, that's only for rental cars. Crap. I'm so tired today.
Wait, I need an E-Zpass don't I?
Im not familiar with Plate Pass. The first thing it asks is what rental car company???
Yes, EZ Pass. Though I live in Ohio, I got my EZ Pass through Indiana because their terms were more favorable.
Another thought...TIm may have an EZ Pass account from his DC days.
Link to Indiana EZ Pass: https://www.indianatollroad.org/e-zpass/
The Indian website says you can also buy over the counter at CVS locations. The map then shows there is a CVS 2 blocks north of the Waterford Hotel (OLoA start hotel.)
In reply to John Welsh :
nope, we had one for sleepywife to use as needed, but had to turn it in before leaving. VA/DC's EZPass has a requirement that you spend a certain amount a quarter(?), or they ding your account with a 'none use fee', iirc. And if it isn't used for a year, they'll consider it abandoned, and charge your for the pass.
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