Guidelines for "spirited" canyon driving...
11-10-2003
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Just Be
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Guidelines for "spirited" canyon driving...
Driving in Caravan
"In youth and beauty wisdom is but rare."
Homer, Odyssey
Caravans are great fun. There's nothing more fun than sports cars, nose to tail, bound for a mutual destination. But, we've seen, first hand, clubs make stupid rookie mistakes, and get themselves into all kinds of trouble. Leading a caravan is no place for a passive driver with his brain in neutral. Lead car must have the aptitude to think for all cars behind. Many aspects of what you do while leading a caravan are amplified many fold (denoted Chain Rule, below) for each successive car behind you. Indicative of the old woman driving down the freeway, she always seems to get where she's going. But, 15 cars in back of her, mayhem. Similarly, you could wind up bending up a lot of expensive sports cars, so take heed:
* Provide perfect information to all event participants.
* Do not defecate on your driving event by imposing irrelevant extracurricular activities (dumb kids do this all the time). Focus your driving event. Do not do so childishly. Certain economic transactions are only practical close to home. Focus on the ones which aren't; focus on the ones with appropriate geographical significance (e.g., Danish pastries in Solvang). On the long drive up to the big rally a good while back, the event planner, aforementioned IMOC dweeb, thought it would be nifty to schedule our caravan to stop at an audio store in San Luis Obispo where he once bought a car stereo when he was in College. Participants in gran turismo driving events are not likely going to be interested in stopping someplace, far from home, to have a new stereo installed in their car, midpoint, on their way up to the big rally. Nor will everyone else in your caravan appreciate being delayed three hours by the one imbecile who does. Ultimately, you'll splinter your group along the irrelevant criterion of their love, or indifference to car audio; the latter ultimately pushing on to the final destination, without you, if not abandoning your event entirely.
* Be extremely careful when the lead driver has no experience, on point. Know who's immature, inexperienced, or unsure of themselves, and observe them intently.
* If you do not exclude vehicles found to be unsafe from the event, then at least relegate them to the rear of the caravan for the duration. Insist they perform remedial measures immediately.
* The best equipped car (the guy with the most junk in his trunk) should be your designated chase vehicle.
* In the event of an accident, do not advance the effected car further along the rally, but immediately move the rest of caravan forward to the next planned intermediate. The worst thing that can happen to the effected driver is for the authorities to rest their eyes upon 20 shiny sports cars picnicking at the accident scene. Get your people out of there; let your chase car do its job (assisting the effected driver).
* Chain Rule: Never invert your caravan. Dividing your caravan into two components (a fast group, and a slow group, for example), the slow group should always go last. Inverting your caravan exponentially increases the likelihood of a sub optimal outcome. It's unethical to use your slow group for passing points.
* Do not compete with other cars in your caravan (this is how dumb kids get hurt). Drive your own canyon.
* If you stretched an interval over the car behind you, then at all major junctions where your caravan changes direction, wait for the trailing vehicle to appear before proceeding. Doing so minimizes reliance upon error laden, or poorly conceived written directions.
* Never back-track for a lost car (e.g., never make your vehicles convergent). If someone's missing, then stay put. Let your chase car do its job.
* If another participant flashes twice, hold the high line through a turn and permit the pass.
* Never flash to pass in a turn.
* Never use high-lights on a fellow participant at night. Flick your lights off, then back on momentarily, to pass.
* Be quick on the human response cycle. Anticipate when the car in front of you will accelerate away from a traffic signal so drivers behind you aren't unnecessarily left stranded when driving in caravan.
* Do not use your parking brake at rest stops unless absolutely necessary. Bring wheel chalks.
* Chain Rule: NEVER decelerate on a lane change while driving in caravan.
* Chain Rule: NEVER brake after passing on an undivided two lane road. If someone in your caravan is following you through, they'll have to brake twice as hard.
* Chain Rule: If you're getting interference (somebody ahead's blocking your caravan), send two cars from the rear of the caravan to the front. Position one car directly in front of the blocker; the other directly beside. Then have the car in front of the blocker throttle off gently, while the car beside accelerates. This will open a gap, and the caravan will whisk by.
* Do not flair up when someone exogenous to your group tries to slip midpoint into your caravan. They are perfectly within their legal right. Be extremely careful of those who do; refer to the chain rule, above, for the implicit remedial measure.
* Never bring your children on driving events.
* Chain Rule: Never bring your mistress to a driving event. People take pictures (this actually happened!). My wife took out her photo album, set it out on the coffee table without thinking about it, and... surprise. Somebody saw something. We felt awful... still do.
* Never invite outsiders to a driving event; Never discuss an upcoming driving event to outsiders.
* One participant's unpreparedness is an unfair imposition upon the group. Arrive prepared, well rested, with machinery capable of sustaining triple digit velocities for significant durations.
* Chain Rule: U-Turning a caravan, or impromptu stops, are extremely dangerous. U-turning a caravan is a signal indication of poor event preparation.
* Chain Rule: Planning rest stops at key geographic locations (KGLs) on the opposite side of the road is problematical, and should be carefully evaluated (left turn visibility for multiple cars; area necessary for multiple vehicles). Regardless, the lead driver should pull as far downrange relative to the KGL as possible to avoid congestion associated with the subsequent leap frogging effect that occurs when lead car high-grades for a high profile parking spot.
* Do not march your drivers to a key geographic location (KGL). Plan for parking in close proximity to a KGL.
* Monitor your web stats. Any increase of Dot govs hits to your web site which correlate with respect in time to your scheduled driving events means you have rats... time to clean house.
~ Table of Contents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Speed, in God's Canyons
"All truth passes through three stages:
First it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self evident."
- Arthur Schopenhauer
On the racetrack, you encounter the same series of turns, over, and over, and over, and over, ad nausium. It's only a matter of time before you get it right. In the canyons, no turn is the same. You encounter it only once. You have but one chance to get it right. On the track, there is no oncoming traffic. You can shunt another driver into the Armco, and not have to pay for it. Canyon driving is significantly more dangerous. Point-to-point driving requires uncomprimised concentration, diligence, patience, and an infinitely greater degree of financial responsibility. On the race track, the ambulance is right there for you. In God's canyons, it will be the ravens who find you first. If nothing else you heed, heed this:
* First do no harm. God's canyons belong to nature. Being there, we are her guests. Act accordingly. Never smoke cigarettes in Southern California Canyons (refer to geography page for detailed information).
* Sports car driving is dangerous, to the second power. Leave home with your house in order. Eat well, and rest well the night before your canyon drive. Dress comfortably (wear appropriate shoes), then shower affection upon your loved ones as you depart. You may never see them again.
* Commit all aspects of the route to memory. Don't spend all your grid time socializing. Business first... memorize every aspect of your drive.
* Cinch your seat belts tight. Get comfortable. Get your mirrors right. Wear gloves. Stow loose objects. Keep your left foot on that dead pedal when you're not banging through gears. Clear your mind. Know how to access your hazard switch, audio, and climate control systems by touch.
* Do not do what you cannot do. Stay focused; get it right. The implications are awesome. One tiny mistake, God's going to tap you on the shoulder for a little chit-chat. Bad enough it's going to happen eventually, all the worse the sooner it does. So, do it right; don't make mistakes. Stay cool. You may not be able to do rudimentary algebra, but your brain computes level II integrals and differential calculus for you automatically. You have an internal, self-correction mechanism that does a fine job of keeping you out of harm's way by telling you what you can and cannot do... do not do what you cannot do.
* Chain Rule: Start slow. Get some heat to your tyres, and brakes. Make sure everyone else in the caravan does likewise.
* Know when to say uncle: When your arms or legs begin to cramp is when it's most likely you'll make mistakes. Ask for a replacement driver to take over behind the wheel for a short time, or relegate yourself to the rear of the caravan. No shame in that...
* Stay focused upon the vanishing point: At speed, never focus upon fixed objects (you'll lose your equilibrium, and you'll shunt).
* Chain Rule: When traversing through villages, hamlets, or high population density areas, show respect by observing local speed limits.
* Never follow another participant into a braking zone when he/she is passing in transitions.
* NEVER focus on tail lights. Peripherally monitor the tyre/wheel-whel relationship (...this will tell you everything you need to know about the car ahead).
* Usurp your braking zone (the distance between you and the car in front) only to pass, and only when the car ahead is accelerating or has achieved constant velocity. Do not slipstream in transitions if you do not intend to pass. Do not pass if you won't be able to draw away; do not increase tempo after you are passed. Drive your own canyon, not somebody else's.
* Know exactly what you're doing. Bring your driving to a conscious level. Assess how your body reacts to the information your car provides (ie. you constantly reach down with your left hand from the 9:00 to the 8:00 position on the wheel; you feel compelled to take your foot off the dead pedal... what does this mean? ).
* Do not use your hand brake when parked (...you'll warp your rotors). Use wheel chalks, or 2nd gear.
* Chain Rule: Go gingerly through runoff (brake pads absorb water). There's nothing medicinal about immersion in cold water for your pipping hot rotors, pads, bushings, calipers, and exhaust. Once through, put some heat back in your brakes, and scrub off your tyres. Information only has initial marginal value now: If you went through a rock laden stream bed, you'll need pull over thereafter, and inspect your tyres; make sure you haven't cut one down... better to find out now than later.
* Chain Rule: Corvette brakes are only as good as the brakes of the car directly behind. Bear down hard, and that mini van or SUV behind you will have little choice but to go off the side.
* Chase car (outrider) should be delayed several minutes, the driver should possess intimate knowledge about the characteristics of the drivers ahead (who's experienced, who isn't, who has ABS, etc). He should have the route (and an alternate route) memorized. Chase cars should be driven by someone who intimately knows the route. Chase car should have a navigator to handle up communications and look for telltale signs of cars going off the side (tyre marks; ABS makes this quite difficult).
* If a scout (bird dog) is to be employed, then it makes little sense to do so without some type of electronic gear (jammers, detectors, communications).
"In youth and beauty wisdom is but rare."
Homer, Odyssey
Caravans are great fun. There's nothing more fun than sports cars, nose to tail, bound for a mutual destination. But, we've seen, first hand, clubs make stupid rookie mistakes, and get themselves into all kinds of trouble. Leading a caravan is no place for a passive driver with his brain in neutral. Lead car must have the aptitude to think for all cars behind. Many aspects of what you do while leading a caravan are amplified many fold (denoted Chain Rule, below) for each successive car behind you. Indicative of the old woman driving down the freeway, she always seems to get where she's going. But, 15 cars in back of her, mayhem. Similarly, you could wind up bending up a lot of expensive sports cars, so take heed:
* Provide perfect information to all event participants.
* Do not defecate on your driving event by imposing irrelevant extracurricular activities (dumb kids do this all the time). Focus your driving event. Do not do so childishly. Certain economic transactions are only practical close to home. Focus on the ones which aren't; focus on the ones with appropriate geographical significance (e.g., Danish pastries in Solvang). On the long drive up to the big rally a good while back, the event planner, aforementioned IMOC dweeb, thought it would be nifty to schedule our caravan to stop at an audio store in San Luis Obispo where he once bought a car stereo when he was in College. Participants in gran turismo driving events are not likely going to be interested in stopping someplace, far from home, to have a new stereo installed in their car, midpoint, on their way up to the big rally. Nor will everyone else in your caravan appreciate being delayed three hours by the one imbecile who does. Ultimately, you'll splinter your group along the irrelevant criterion of their love, or indifference to car audio; the latter ultimately pushing on to the final destination, without you, if not abandoning your event entirely.
* Be extremely careful when the lead driver has no experience, on point. Know who's immature, inexperienced, or unsure of themselves, and observe them intently.
* If you do not exclude vehicles found to be unsafe from the event, then at least relegate them to the rear of the caravan for the duration. Insist they perform remedial measures immediately.
* The best equipped car (the guy with the most junk in his trunk) should be your designated chase vehicle.
* In the event of an accident, do not advance the effected car further along the rally, but immediately move the rest of caravan forward to the next planned intermediate. The worst thing that can happen to the effected driver is for the authorities to rest their eyes upon 20 shiny sports cars picnicking at the accident scene. Get your people out of there; let your chase car do its job (assisting the effected driver).
* Chain Rule: Never invert your caravan. Dividing your caravan into two components (a fast group, and a slow group, for example), the slow group should always go last. Inverting your caravan exponentially increases the likelihood of a sub optimal outcome. It's unethical to use your slow group for passing points.
* Do not compete with other cars in your caravan (this is how dumb kids get hurt). Drive your own canyon.
* If you stretched an interval over the car behind you, then at all major junctions where your caravan changes direction, wait for the trailing vehicle to appear before proceeding. Doing so minimizes reliance upon error laden, or poorly conceived written directions.
* Never back-track for a lost car (e.g., never make your vehicles convergent). If someone's missing, then stay put. Let your chase car do its job.
* If another participant flashes twice, hold the high line through a turn and permit the pass.
* Never flash to pass in a turn.
* Never use high-lights on a fellow participant at night. Flick your lights off, then back on momentarily, to pass.
* Be quick on the human response cycle. Anticipate when the car in front of you will accelerate away from a traffic signal so drivers behind you aren't unnecessarily left stranded when driving in caravan.
* Do not use your parking brake at rest stops unless absolutely necessary. Bring wheel chalks.
* Chain Rule: NEVER decelerate on a lane change while driving in caravan.
* Chain Rule: NEVER brake after passing on an undivided two lane road. If someone in your caravan is following you through, they'll have to brake twice as hard.
* Chain Rule: If you're getting interference (somebody ahead's blocking your caravan), send two cars from the rear of the caravan to the front. Position one car directly in front of the blocker; the other directly beside. Then have the car in front of the blocker throttle off gently, while the car beside accelerates. This will open a gap, and the caravan will whisk by.
* Do not flair up when someone exogenous to your group tries to slip midpoint into your caravan. They are perfectly within their legal right. Be extremely careful of those who do; refer to the chain rule, above, for the implicit remedial measure.
* Never bring your children on driving events.
* Chain Rule: Never bring your mistress to a driving event. People take pictures (this actually happened!). My wife took out her photo album, set it out on the coffee table without thinking about it, and... surprise. Somebody saw something. We felt awful... still do.
* Never invite outsiders to a driving event; Never discuss an upcoming driving event to outsiders.
* One participant's unpreparedness is an unfair imposition upon the group. Arrive prepared, well rested, with machinery capable of sustaining triple digit velocities for significant durations.
* Chain Rule: U-Turning a caravan, or impromptu stops, are extremely dangerous. U-turning a caravan is a signal indication of poor event preparation.
* Chain Rule: Planning rest stops at key geographic locations (KGLs) on the opposite side of the road is problematical, and should be carefully evaluated (left turn visibility for multiple cars; area necessary for multiple vehicles). Regardless, the lead driver should pull as far downrange relative to the KGL as possible to avoid congestion associated with the subsequent leap frogging effect that occurs when lead car high-grades for a high profile parking spot.
* Do not march your drivers to a key geographic location (KGL). Plan for parking in close proximity to a KGL.
* Monitor your web stats. Any increase of Dot govs hits to your web site which correlate with respect in time to your scheduled driving events means you have rats... time to clean house.
~ Table of Contents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Speed, in God's Canyons
"All truth passes through three stages:
First it is ridiculed.
Second, it is violently opposed.
Third, it is accepted as being self evident."
- Arthur Schopenhauer
On the racetrack, you encounter the same series of turns, over, and over, and over, and over, ad nausium. It's only a matter of time before you get it right. In the canyons, no turn is the same. You encounter it only once. You have but one chance to get it right. On the track, there is no oncoming traffic. You can shunt another driver into the Armco, and not have to pay for it. Canyon driving is significantly more dangerous. Point-to-point driving requires uncomprimised concentration, diligence, patience, and an infinitely greater degree of financial responsibility. On the race track, the ambulance is right there for you. In God's canyons, it will be the ravens who find you first. If nothing else you heed, heed this:
* First do no harm. God's canyons belong to nature. Being there, we are her guests. Act accordingly. Never smoke cigarettes in Southern California Canyons (refer to geography page for detailed information).
* Sports car driving is dangerous, to the second power. Leave home with your house in order. Eat well, and rest well the night before your canyon drive. Dress comfortably (wear appropriate shoes), then shower affection upon your loved ones as you depart. You may never see them again.
* Commit all aspects of the route to memory. Don't spend all your grid time socializing. Business first... memorize every aspect of your drive.
* Cinch your seat belts tight. Get comfortable. Get your mirrors right. Wear gloves. Stow loose objects. Keep your left foot on that dead pedal when you're not banging through gears. Clear your mind. Know how to access your hazard switch, audio, and climate control systems by touch.
* Do not do what you cannot do. Stay focused; get it right. The implications are awesome. One tiny mistake, God's going to tap you on the shoulder for a little chit-chat. Bad enough it's going to happen eventually, all the worse the sooner it does. So, do it right; don't make mistakes. Stay cool. You may not be able to do rudimentary algebra, but your brain computes level II integrals and differential calculus for you automatically. You have an internal, self-correction mechanism that does a fine job of keeping you out of harm's way by telling you what you can and cannot do... do not do what you cannot do.
* Chain Rule: Start slow. Get some heat to your tyres, and brakes. Make sure everyone else in the caravan does likewise.
* Know when to say uncle: When your arms or legs begin to cramp is when it's most likely you'll make mistakes. Ask for a replacement driver to take over behind the wheel for a short time, or relegate yourself to the rear of the caravan. No shame in that...
* Stay focused upon the vanishing point: At speed, never focus upon fixed objects (you'll lose your equilibrium, and you'll shunt).
* Chain Rule: When traversing through villages, hamlets, or high population density areas, show respect by observing local speed limits.
* Never follow another participant into a braking zone when he/she is passing in transitions.
* NEVER focus on tail lights. Peripherally monitor the tyre/wheel-whel relationship (...this will tell you everything you need to know about the car ahead).
* Usurp your braking zone (the distance between you and the car in front) only to pass, and only when the car ahead is accelerating or has achieved constant velocity. Do not slipstream in transitions if you do not intend to pass. Do not pass if you won't be able to draw away; do not increase tempo after you are passed. Drive your own canyon, not somebody else's.
* Know exactly what you're doing. Bring your driving to a conscious level. Assess how your body reacts to the information your car provides (ie. you constantly reach down with your left hand from the 9:00 to the 8:00 position on the wheel; you feel compelled to take your foot off the dead pedal... what does this mean? ).
* Do not use your hand brake when parked (...you'll warp your rotors). Use wheel chalks, or 2nd gear.
* Chain Rule: Go gingerly through runoff (brake pads absorb water). There's nothing medicinal about immersion in cold water for your pipping hot rotors, pads, bushings, calipers, and exhaust. Once through, put some heat back in your brakes, and scrub off your tyres. Information only has initial marginal value now: If you went through a rock laden stream bed, you'll need pull over thereafter, and inspect your tyres; make sure you haven't cut one down... better to find out now than later.
* Chain Rule: Corvette brakes are only as good as the brakes of the car directly behind. Bear down hard, and that mini van or SUV behind you will have little choice but to go off the side.
* Chase car (outrider) should be delayed several minutes, the driver should possess intimate knowledge about the characteristics of the drivers ahead (who's experienced, who isn't, who has ABS, etc). He should have the route (and an alternate route) memorized. Chase cars should be driven by someone who intimately knows the route. Chase car should have a navigator to handle up communications and look for telltale signs of cars going off the side (tyre marks; ABS makes this quite difficult).
* If a scout (bird dog) is to be employed, then it makes little sense to do so without some type of electronic gear (jammers, detectors, communications).
11-10-2003
#5
Just Be
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: San Fernando Valley
Age: 40
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Rep Power: 0 i dont understand though, how could using your parking brake warp your rotors? i know WE dont have to worry about that, but still...g
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