Z_Fan
09-18-2005, 12:14 AM
I learned a whole bunch of useful things today. Some of which I figured I might share with for your general amusement.
Firstly, let's start out by saying it's very important to pay attention. As I am getting older, I am realizing that I have started to pay less attention to detail. My mind wanders easily, and I can literally start a conversation, see a chick in a mini-skirt with a playboy top on and suddenly I don't know what I was saying. I'm simply left hoping she has something to drop on the ground and simultaneously the wind will blow directly up her skirt. :poosie:
Right, but back to paying attention. !PAY ATTENTION!
Read the thread. Right, especially if it has times in it. See, I thought everyone was going to be LEAVING Deerfoot Mall at 6:30AM to head up to Edmonton. I figured that was a nice time and we'd be able to cruise up and easily arrive on time with out ever having to break the speed limit. :rofl: I had time to take artistic photos of the Z with the lights reflecting neatly into the darkness. I had time to drive around the entire complex, twice, in search for anything with a beyond.ca decal. :rolleyes:
So, yes, I was at the parking lot bright and early. Before the sun came up. I had enough time to contemplate leaving assuming that my arriving at 6:15AM wasn't good enough and the beyond.ca clan had already left. Then I decided, perhaps I didn't pay enough attention. Perhaps they were to MEET at 6:30AM and then roll out later. As 6:30AM came and went, no one arrived. I held out a little longer and finally some cars showed up. Nice. I am so glad I set up that 5:00AM wake up call. Fuck a duck!
Pay attention. Right. I must pay attention.
I was left wondering how the hell we'd get to Edmonton on time. Well...this can be explained quite easily. Firstly, JAYMEZ_STi speeds like there is no tomorrow. That is simply fact. Our fearless leader piloted the group at speeds up to...well, the kind of speeds they just spank your ass and take your license away. Those kind of speeds. I had gas that needed to be burned, so, well, what can you do but follow the leader. Safety of the pack. Surely JAYMEZ_STi will get the ticket...crazy MOFO...I almost felt sorry for the little 4 bangers that likely had to almost redline in top gear to keep up. But then, really that just amused me and I decided to not have any empathy whatsoever. :dunno:
Despite our speeding and the stop in Red Deer and then again to wash the cars at Leduc...obviously we rolled in late. Still lots of time, but late.
Now, drag racing was fun. JAYMEZ_STi's car was super shiny and I could easily see my reflection in his wheels. I kept hoping that playboy girl with the mini-skirt would come over and stand right by his wheel. Right, easily distracted.
Anyhow, back to the drags. After a few runs, I was stopped at the end of the track and was warned very firmly to slow down sooner. Now, see, what was happening was that I know the Z traps at 124-128mph in the 1/4. Not being overly familiar with the track in Edmonton, I didn't know where the actual finish line was. So I was keeping it pegged well past the actual line, and...well...this little problem was compounded by the fact that my speedometer is %10 out. (Which I know, but always forget!) This goes back to paying attention to details. So, bottom line was that since I wasn't sure where the line was, I would keep the Z pegged until I hit 130mph on my speedo. Which is actually, LOL and ooops, 143mph. So, basically I was actually moving at 230+KM/H before braking. The guys at the end of the strip got a little excited...and told me if I did it again, I was going to get booted. So, I didn't do it again. But the reality that my speedo was %10 out kind of just sank to the back of my mind. And it took some time to realize that if the speed says 115+ mph, I've probably crossed the line and will be getting a slip that says 126mph+. Right. So, pay attention.
Yes yes, so the drag racing went well and the Z ran flawlessly. No clutch problems reared their ugly head and I answered the "How many horsepower does your Z have?" question about 6 million times. Enough that I should probably make up a window banner so I don't get a sore throat re-hashing the same shit over and over and over and over. [Being an enthusiast, I don't really mind. Plus I like the ring of 'just over 600 to the wheels.'] I know the Z is fast, but I forget just how fast it is for a car of it's class. I mean, I think it was a full second faster than the fastest car in the OUTLAW class. Yes, indeed, the Z owns the road. :bigpimp: [Well aware there are plenty of F-A-S-T-E-R cars, like Ron's Talon for example.]
Yup, so, the event went well. Beyond.ca got a few trophies and we all go home. Now, I leave a bit early and head out on the road. I'm minding my own fucking business doing about 120km/h (on my speedo, so about 132km/h in reality) and JAYMEZ_STi pulls up behind me like I'm standing still. Naturally I decide to hang with him for a while. After following him at about 150km/h on my speedo (a good 165km/h) I decide you know what, this road is always patrolled on the weekend and I'd like to get home without a ticket. So, I decide I'll slow it up, set the cruise and that'll be good enough.
Safety of the pack.
It's almost like the animal kingdom. But the reality is there is safety within the pack. This holds true for speeding on the highway. If you're somewhere in the pack, you might not be the one who gets nailed. I should really learn to pay attention. I should have hung with JAYMEZ_STi and 88CRX and made a high speed train on the highway right back to Calgary. God knows I would have arrived sooner. Fuck, just travelling in JAYMEZ_STi 's wake would have saved me tonnes of fuel from his 170km/h draft!
Whether you know this or not - I advocate keeping racing to the track. You know, if you want to go fast, do it smart and safe and go to the track. Not to say I don't speed, because naturally I do. But generally I try to keep it reasonable. I have a clean license. No tickets. No demerits. No trouble ever.
So, what happens next is rather annoying. Just about 5 minutes after I let JAYMEZ_STi and 88CRX blister down the highway ... with me setting my cruise at considerably less ... I get tagged with laser radar. Total :bullshit: considering the sweet tickets that could have been issued just a few miles up the highway. You guys are lucky...and were really close to getting nailed. :guns:
As the red and blue lights close in, I'm certain it is for me. I don't hit my brakes, just press the clutch and disengage cruise. Frankly, I wasn't paying attention. I just set the speed at something considerably less than I was travelling and dosed off. Probably something to do with not paying attention. That 5AM wake-up is taking its toll on me. I honestly have no idea how fast I was going. :rolleyes:
I switch lanes and the red and blue follow suit. Ah shit!
I come to a stop and think of the irony in my license plate. Stupid vanity plate. QWKRNUR. God dammit, this is a moment where I wish I didn't have that stupid plate. Doh! :banghead:
The officer approaches on the driver side. I roll the window down and the first thing he sees is the trophy. The car is still displaying the R66 badging from the SCC. I *KNOW* he read the plate and probably chuckled. Fuck. I've been owned. Crap.
Officer: "Oh, you won a trophy did you?"
Me: "Yup, won the drag racing competition."
Officer: "I see. Is she fast?"
Me: "Yup. Wanna race?" [Quick enough to spank your cruiser I think to myself.]
Officer: [Laughs out loud] "I see. You got some timeslips?"
Me: "Hell yes. [Opens glove box, takes top slips which are all the 11 second slips.] Here, check this one out!!! [I hand him an 11.5x slip at 128mph]
Officer: "Wow, that's pretty quick."
Me: "Yes. I've been de-sensitized to highway speed, and that coupled with my lack of sleep and the fact that I was completely not paying attention are my primary reasons for doing whatever speed I was doing. [Evil Grin] My bad. Seriously, my bad."
Officer: "License and registration please."
Me: "You wanna see some more slips? I'm sure I got a faster one in here somewhere!" [Offer him more slips, but then hand him registration.]
Officer: "License please."
Me: "Here you go." [Pass license to officer.]
[Long dramatic pause here while he goes to write up my ticket and I try to calculate how fast I was going not having any clue really as to what the cruise was set at. Thinking it could have been has high as 140 (or 154km/h) - Finally - Not an automatic suspension speed like my fellow beyonders up the highway are surely travelling at (lucky bastards). Officer returns with ticket in hand.]
Me: "Hey, would mind posing up against my car so I can snap a photo?"
Officer: [Long pause.] "Uh, sure. I guess so."
Me: "Great! I've got some friends that could really learn from this. I am always preaching about not speeding and keeping racing to the track. So, this would be really nice to help drive safety on the highways home." [I think I may have added some other BS in here too.]
Officer: "Ok, well, I need to explain the ticket first."
Me: [Grabbing my camera and ready to jump from the car to snap the photo.] "Oh, yeah, right. Sure." [Dismissing the ticket as trivial.]
Officer: "Normally this is a really really really big ticket. I'm being really nice here."
Me: "Thank you, I appreciate that." [Fine, I don't care - just fucking pose for the god damn picture already! This is gonna be a hoot!]
Officer: [Explains ticket emphasizing his leniency.]
Me: [Grabs ticket, throws on car floor without ever looking at it. Snaps camera off the seat quickly. I think I double-emphasized the trivial nature of the ticket. Intentional, but perhaps a little over the top!] Excitedly proclaims: "Alright, let's do the picture!!!"
Officer: "Right. You want me to hold the ticket up?"
Me: "Hell yes, that's a great idea." [Gets ticket for officer to hold. Walks to a nice place to get the picture.]
Me: "Smile."
Snaps picture:
http://www.turbocharge.ca/zfan_busted.jpg
There is no moral to this story. Except, PAY ATTENTION. Oh, and if you happen to be going really fast in your Z, have strapped on racing drag tires, got a shiny trophy in your front seat, a racing tech sticker and race numbering on your car, be DAMN sure to show the RCMP all your timeslips and discuss the best ones. You'd be surprised how well this may work in your favour!! :D
Special thanks to the officer for being a very good sport. I drove the speed limit all the way home. ;) :devil:
Edit:
Times: Several runs at 11.5x at 126-128mph. No Nitrous. Street legal drag radial. Equalled my PB from earlier in the year in EDM but that was with nitrous.
Ticket: It's yellow, my first one in like a decade, so it's no big deal. :angel:
Firstly, let's start out by saying it's very important to pay attention. As I am getting older, I am realizing that I have started to pay less attention to detail. My mind wanders easily, and I can literally start a conversation, see a chick in a mini-skirt with a playboy top on and suddenly I don't know what I was saying. I'm simply left hoping she has something to drop on the ground and simultaneously the wind will blow directly up her skirt. :poosie:
Right, but back to paying attention. !PAY ATTENTION!
Read the thread. Right, especially if it has times in it. See, I thought everyone was going to be LEAVING Deerfoot Mall at 6:30AM to head up to Edmonton. I figured that was a nice time and we'd be able to cruise up and easily arrive on time with out ever having to break the speed limit. :rofl: I had time to take artistic photos of the Z with the lights reflecting neatly into the darkness. I had time to drive around the entire complex, twice, in search for anything with a beyond.ca decal. :rolleyes:
So, yes, I was at the parking lot bright and early. Before the sun came up. I had enough time to contemplate leaving assuming that my arriving at 6:15AM wasn't good enough and the beyond.ca clan had already left. Then I decided, perhaps I didn't pay enough attention. Perhaps they were to MEET at 6:30AM and then roll out later. As 6:30AM came and went, no one arrived. I held out a little longer and finally some cars showed up. Nice. I am so glad I set up that 5:00AM wake up call. Fuck a duck!
Pay attention. Right. I must pay attention.
I was left wondering how the hell we'd get to Edmonton on time. Well...this can be explained quite easily. Firstly, JAYMEZ_STi speeds like there is no tomorrow. That is simply fact. Our fearless leader piloted the group at speeds up to...well, the kind of speeds they just spank your ass and take your license away. Those kind of speeds. I had gas that needed to be burned, so, well, what can you do but follow the leader. Safety of the pack. Surely JAYMEZ_STi will get the ticket...crazy MOFO...I almost felt sorry for the little 4 bangers that likely had to almost redline in top gear to keep up. But then, really that just amused me and I decided to not have any empathy whatsoever. :dunno:
Despite our speeding and the stop in Red Deer and then again to wash the cars at Leduc...obviously we rolled in late. Still lots of time, but late.
Now, drag racing was fun. JAYMEZ_STi's car was super shiny and I could easily see my reflection in his wheels. I kept hoping that playboy girl with the mini-skirt would come over and stand right by his wheel. Right, easily distracted.
Anyhow, back to the drags. After a few runs, I was stopped at the end of the track and was warned very firmly to slow down sooner. Now, see, what was happening was that I know the Z traps at 124-128mph in the 1/4. Not being overly familiar with the track in Edmonton, I didn't know where the actual finish line was. So I was keeping it pegged well past the actual line, and...well...this little problem was compounded by the fact that my speedometer is %10 out. (Which I know, but always forget!) This goes back to paying attention to details. So, bottom line was that since I wasn't sure where the line was, I would keep the Z pegged until I hit 130mph on my speedo. Which is actually, LOL and ooops, 143mph. So, basically I was actually moving at 230+KM/H before braking. The guys at the end of the strip got a little excited...and told me if I did it again, I was going to get booted. So, I didn't do it again. But the reality that my speedo was %10 out kind of just sank to the back of my mind. And it took some time to realize that if the speed says 115+ mph, I've probably crossed the line and will be getting a slip that says 126mph+. Right. So, pay attention.
Yes yes, so the drag racing went well and the Z ran flawlessly. No clutch problems reared their ugly head and I answered the "How many horsepower does your Z have?" question about 6 million times. Enough that I should probably make up a window banner so I don't get a sore throat re-hashing the same shit over and over and over and over. [Being an enthusiast, I don't really mind. Plus I like the ring of 'just over 600 to the wheels.'] I know the Z is fast, but I forget just how fast it is for a car of it's class. I mean, I think it was a full second faster than the fastest car in the OUTLAW class. Yes, indeed, the Z owns the road. :bigpimp: [Well aware there are plenty of F-A-S-T-E-R cars, like Ron's Talon for example.]
Yup, so, the event went well. Beyond.ca got a few trophies and we all go home. Now, I leave a bit early and head out on the road. I'm minding my own fucking business doing about 120km/h (on my speedo, so about 132km/h in reality) and JAYMEZ_STi pulls up behind me like I'm standing still. Naturally I decide to hang with him for a while. After following him at about 150km/h on my speedo (a good 165km/h) I decide you know what, this road is always patrolled on the weekend and I'd like to get home without a ticket. So, I decide I'll slow it up, set the cruise and that'll be good enough.
Safety of the pack.
It's almost like the animal kingdom. But the reality is there is safety within the pack. This holds true for speeding on the highway. If you're somewhere in the pack, you might not be the one who gets nailed. I should really learn to pay attention. I should have hung with JAYMEZ_STi and 88CRX and made a high speed train on the highway right back to Calgary. God knows I would have arrived sooner. Fuck, just travelling in JAYMEZ_STi 's wake would have saved me tonnes of fuel from his 170km/h draft!
Whether you know this or not - I advocate keeping racing to the track. You know, if you want to go fast, do it smart and safe and go to the track. Not to say I don't speed, because naturally I do. But generally I try to keep it reasonable. I have a clean license. No tickets. No demerits. No trouble ever.
So, what happens next is rather annoying. Just about 5 minutes after I let JAYMEZ_STi and 88CRX blister down the highway ... with me setting my cruise at considerably less ... I get tagged with laser radar. Total :bullshit: considering the sweet tickets that could have been issued just a few miles up the highway. You guys are lucky...and were really close to getting nailed. :guns:
As the red and blue lights close in, I'm certain it is for me. I don't hit my brakes, just press the clutch and disengage cruise. Frankly, I wasn't paying attention. I just set the speed at something considerably less than I was travelling and dosed off. Probably something to do with not paying attention. That 5AM wake-up is taking its toll on me. I honestly have no idea how fast I was going. :rolleyes:
I switch lanes and the red and blue follow suit. Ah shit!
I come to a stop and think of the irony in my license plate. Stupid vanity plate. QWKRNUR. God dammit, this is a moment where I wish I didn't have that stupid plate. Doh! :banghead:
The officer approaches on the driver side. I roll the window down and the first thing he sees is the trophy. The car is still displaying the R66 badging from the SCC. I *KNOW* he read the plate and probably chuckled. Fuck. I've been owned. Crap.
Officer: "Oh, you won a trophy did you?"
Me: "Yup, won the drag racing competition."
Officer: "I see. Is she fast?"
Me: "Yup. Wanna race?" [Quick enough to spank your cruiser I think to myself.]
Officer: [Laughs out loud] "I see. You got some timeslips?"
Me: "Hell yes. [Opens glove box, takes top slips which are all the 11 second slips.] Here, check this one out!!! [I hand him an 11.5x slip at 128mph]
Officer: "Wow, that's pretty quick."
Me: "Yes. I've been de-sensitized to highway speed, and that coupled with my lack of sleep and the fact that I was completely not paying attention are my primary reasons for doing whatever speed I was doing. [Evil Grin] My bad. Seriously, my bad."
Officer: "License and registration please."
Me: "You wanna see some more slips? I'm sure I got a faster one in here somewhere!" [Offer him more slips, but then hand him registration.]
Officer: "License please."
Me: "Here you go." [Pass license to officer.]
[Long dramatic pause here while he goes to write up my ticket and I try to calculate how fast I was going not having any clue really as to what the cruise was set at. Thinking it could have been has high as 140 (or 154km/h) - Finally - Not an automatic suspension speed like my fellow beyonders up the highway are surely travelling at (lucky bastards). Officer returns with ticket in hand.]
Me: "Hey, would mind posing up against my car so I can snap a photo?"
Officer: [Long pause.] "Uh, sure. I guess so."
Me: "Great! I've got some friends that could really learn from this. I am always preaching about not speeding and keeping racing to the track. So, this would be really nice to help drive safety on the highways home." [I think I may have added some other BS in here too.]
Officer: "Ok, well, I need to explain the ticket first."
Me: [Grabbing my camera and ready to jump from the car to snap the photo.] "Oh, yeah, right. Sure." [Dismissing the ticket as trivial.]
Officer: "Normally this is a really really really big ticket. I'm being really nice here."
Me: "Thank you, I appreciate that." [Fine, I don't care - just fucking pose for the god damn picture already! This is gonna be a hoot!]
Officer: [Explains ticket emphasizing his leniency.]
Me: [Grabs ticket, throws on car floor without ever looking at it. Snaps camera off the seat quickly. I think I double-emphasized the trivial nature of the ticket. Intentional, but perhaps a little over the top!] Excitedly proclaims: "Alright, let's do the picture!!!"
Officer: "Right. You want me to hold the ticket up?"
Me: "Hell yes, that's a great idea." [Gets ticket for officer to hold. Walks to a nice place to get the picture.]
Me: "Smile."
Snaps picture:
http://www.turbocharge.ca/zfan_busted.jpg
There is no moral to this story. Except, PAY ATTENTION. Oh, and if you happen to be going really fast in your Z, have strapped on racing drag tires, got a shiny trophy in your front seat, a racing tech sticker and race numbering on your car, be DAMN sure to show the RCMP all your timeslips and discuss the best ones. You'd be surprised how well this may work in your favour!! :D
Special thanks to the officer for being a very good sport. I drove the speed limit all the way home. ;) :devil:
Edit:
Times: Several runs at 11.5x at 126-128mph. No Nitrous. Street legal drag radial. Equalled my PB from earlier in the year in EDM but that was with nitrous.
Ticket: It's yellow, my first one in like a decade, so it's no big deal. :angel: