On my way up to the 6 hours of the Glen IMSA race at Watkins Glen International Raceway I stopped by a friends house in Virginia, I went to the race from there, came back and my wife flew up to Washington DC. We then toured the area then returned home to Florida via the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was July, so not much traffic, and very green. Would definitely like to do that ride again in the Fall. Day 1 was hot and sunny, day 2 was rainy, and day 3 was rainy and foggy. It was definitely a learning experience for this new rider. Anyway here are some pictures and videos.
Slideshow of iPhone pictures from the whole weekend:
The first motorcycle ride we had planned on going on as a couple was to Key West in 2017. Well Hurricane Irma came that weekend.
We finally made the trip in September 2018. The ride was great, the weekend was fantastic, and the return ride just as nice.
Here's a slideshow of the weekend:
Here's the ride across the 7 mile bridge to Key West:
And for fun, here's a 360 degree walkthrough of the Key West Butterfly Garden:
And the most requested view of Key West, A 360 view of the Southern most point of the Continital United States. Just FYI, to answer a popular question, if you get up and go before say 9 AM, no line. Almost always a line after that thou.
My opinion of each track and venue of the 2018 season.
Introduction
After my retirement I made the decision to ride my new 2017
Harley Davidson Ultra Limited to each and every race of the 2018 Patron North
American Endurance Races. I would ride to the races, camp in my small tent, and
then ride home after each race weekend. What I learned I hope will help others
plan and execute their own trips. This is a review of my experience more so at the
track and race scene, not the actual riding, which was a story in its own self. (NOTE: I had originally planned on going to every track race in the 2018 IMSA season, but quickly learned that would be very hard on timing, and my wife's opinion. So I settled with the 4 endurance races within the IMSA season.)
Daytona International Speedway
I’ve been to the Rolex 24 three times before, all were
infield locations where I slepted in my car. The infield is great if you go for
the party and infield activities. But the views of the race and different track
positions are almost all blocked by tents and buildings. For this 2018 Rolex 24
I went all out and bought the Rolex 24 Lounge ticket.
I had reserved a small camping area. The site area was assigned
to me and each spot marked with chalk, so it was easy to arrive to the section
assigned and find an open spot.
The lounge itself was fantastic, has an indoor area with
plenty of seats, tables, and TV’s along with a bar and food serving tables. The
food was plentiful and great. It also has an outdoor area that overlooks the
start/finish line, from up there you can see the whole track and the pits. It
was money well spent, the only drawback is that you must have binoculars to see
the race details on the far side.
Sebring International Raceway
I’ve also been to the 12 hours of Sebring a couple of times
before, this year I got the Gurney Terrace. This is right above the pit stops
watching pit exit and turn 1. This was a good seat with overhead cover and a
few TV’s to watch the race. There was no free food or drink, but plenty of food
trucks just down stairs.
Sebring has a nice camping program, it’s included with your
ticket. You still need to rent RV spots but basically throw up your tent in the
general area. In my case I simple pitched my tent right next to the free
motorcycle parking area.
Sebring’s spectator options are pretty good. You can pretty
much walk the whole track, they keep about a 5-foot-wide walkway around it.
They also have spectator hills around most of the main turns.
Watkins Glen International Raceway
This was my longest trip on motorcycle. Upon my arrival there
was clear signs to my assigned camping area. What was great about Watkins Glen
is that you pick and reserve your camping spot online. I was able to Google map
the track and clearly see my spot which has the area marked and with the
assigned number. I knew right where to go and setup quickly. Watkins Glen also
had many clean hard buildings for bathrooms and showers, most others just have
portable toilets and portable shower areas.
I bought the hospitality ticket for the new Esses Party Deck.
This was a covered platform that had a small bar and 2 TV’s for viewing. It
also had a small grill area. Food and drink were not free but sold at a
discount price compared to other public locations.
The thing is, the Esses Party Deck over looked the Esses,
but the view really isn’t that great. The angle was all wrong, you could see
the cars take turn 1 then climb the Esses but disappear behind the wall, then
the view is blocked by the big yellow building used for TV cameras or
officials. So, for me the Esses Party Deck was a waste. But don’t worry Watkins
Glen has open bleachers almost completely around the whole track, giving you
great views and a place to sit. It was far better just to walk, sit, watch,
repeat around the whole track. With plenty of bathrooms and food stops around.
Road Atlanta Raceway
I was delayed a day on my travel to Road Atlanta due to a
Hurricane. There was no option to reserve a camping site, instead I paid $40
for a non-reserved site. What that meant was that you find a spot in the
designated camping area and pitch your tent. I arrived in the early evening,
none of the security personnel knew where I was supposed to go, just where I
wasn’t allowed to go. There were no signs either. I was told just to find a
spot. After riding around for an hour after a 12 hour ride to get there I
couldn’t find a open spot. I finally just stopped on the side of a road in the
middle of the track area and pitched my tent there before it got to dark.
I bought the hospitality ticket for the Podium Club. It was
in a nice location, right on the front stretch over looking the pit lane. I was
disappointed to learn it was a semi trailer, the inside sat around 8 people and
had a TV, it also had a small bar and serving area for the included food, which
was included in the price. You could climb up to the top of the semi trailer
and watch from the top uncovered. You really couldn’t see much besides the pit
stalls and turn 1.
Road Atlanta has a nice walking area around the track with
nice spectator watch areas around some of the exciting turns. Again, it was
more exciting just to walk around the track.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the best track and facility is hands down
Watkins Glen International. All other tracks should learn from the Glen. The
camp site was firm, well marked and maintained. The Glen had plenty of hard
covered bathrooms and showers, and always clean. The track had complete
visibility with many bleachers at every turn. The only issue I had was the
Esses Party Deck. Like I said before was better just walking around the track.
I guess the Party Deck was good for cheap food and drink.
Sebring was my second favorite, and my home track.Sebring is more of an old school flat track.
With a nice walk around area and excellent viewing mounds. The camping was
free, no extra charge.
Daytona was great because I paid for the Rolex 24 hour
lounge ticket. Very fancy, high end. But if your only in the infield area, it’s
all for the party because buildings and tents block almost the whole race
track. The camping was good and organized.
Road Atlanta was the worst. Unorganized and confusing on
where to go, where to set up your tent. And none of the workers had answers.
The area is very hilly, and made mostly of rocks, gravel, and slippery red
clay. I had a difficult time getting my 900-pound Harley around the area. I
bought the Podium Club ticket expecting it to be like the Rolex 24 club, it was
not. It was a semi-trailer with an uncovered roof stand. The food was good and
included but I don’t think I will ever go back to Road Atlanta, till they make
some serious improvements to the facilities.
NOTE: Plenty of slideshow videos, GoPro videos, and more 360 videos on my You Tube Page if interested. Link listed below this article.
Here are a few of my other links that might be of interest to you.
My Facebook page, I actually started that years ago to keep an eye on my kids and what they post. I ended up finding long lost military friends, so I kept the account even after the kids grew up. It is mostly for family and friends, I do not accept others into my friends list, but do post a lot about my life and travels there.
My Twitter account, this is where I share most of my information that some of you may be interested in. I usually post about games there, along with my other hobbies like dog training, scuba diving, motorcycles, car races, guns, and other stuff. It's also about the only place I share my political opinions once in a while, so you've been warned.
My You Tube page, this is pretty much where I share all my video related stuff, and usually link it here in an article. You'll find mostly motorcycle riding, travel, car races and events, along with my Rylo 360 camera footage and/or my GoPro footage. I'm not a very good video editor, so I try and keep it all short and sweet.
