Know your Opponent!

As much as I love random back road encounters, there are some crazy stupid people out there that are willing to put yours, theirs, and everyone's life in danger. And some people just don't get it either. It's so important to know WHO your up against, not necessarily WHAT your up against, before the battle.

In some cases, it takes several weeks, or months to set up a proper battle. Quick story:

A friend of mine has this super nice BMW M Coupe and was setting up the suspension. I knew him as a friend, but not as a driver, but I wanted to challenge him anyway after he was done tuning the car. Over hearing what I wanted to do, another friend that knew him better, told me that he has wrecked this particular M Coupe a couple of times before, and is a bad driver who doesn't know his limits. Taking this into consideration, I asked my friend with the M Coupe if I could ride along one night to see his habits, and my other friend was right! This guy (although a nice guy) is super scary behind the wheel, in a bad way! In the best interest of everyone, I called off the match.

Be picky about who you roll with. The best thing I found to do though, is have a few 'fun' runs with the other driver on other random nights to see if he's good around other cars and handles himself in a mature way. Especially when dealing with street touge matches, it's SO important that the drivers involved understand the level of risk they are taking. It's also important to establish contact and set up a plan for "in case of" instances.

Avoid big talkers and hot heads. Street touge is not the place for playing out drama and letting emotions take control. Though I do love to stomp that rich kid with his new, fast, shiny (fill in the blank), and see his beautiful rich kid car in the ditch, you have to think about potential other drivers on the road. And if you do take em' on, YOU decide the road and time to minimize as much risk as possible.

Within the vast sea of car enthusiasts, serious touge lovers are few and far between. Waiting for the best match up with the right person makes the experience MUCH more enjoyable, and gives you the opportunity to learn and grow as a driver as well, win OR lose!

Well said 500!

truth. I know bad things happen when runs spontaneously combust onto IA... s2000 all season tire lover... anyone remember him? gah!

There is a reason we have a private forum here..

Hmmm.... We should get a group together in the spring to roll up to Richmond and have some fun.

specVance wrote:

truth. I know bad things happen when runs spontaneously combust onto IA... s2000 all season tire lover... anyone remember him? gah!

There is a reason we have a private forum here..

I love my all seasons tyvm.

SPARTA wrote:

Hmmm.... We should get a group together in the spring to roll up to Richmond and have some fun.

Thanks, but I think Richmond is rather a pathetic place for quality roads relative to true mountain roads, i.e. Lynchburg/Roanoke area. We had to make the best of what we had. But I will say this: Rt. 746 Ruffin Mill Rd, aka "Snake Rd." ( about 2 miles from Exit 58 from I-95) is one of the best technical twisty roads I've ever been on, even though it's only 2 miles of the good stuff!

In all seriousness, I'll be down for anything!

If anything we can meet up somewhere. Even maybe Deal's Gap

SPARTA wrote:

If anything we can meet up somewhere. Even maybe Deal's Gap

Oh yeah! We shall see.

SPARTA wrote:

Hmmm.... We should get a group together in the spring to roll up to Richmond and have some fun.

im telling you, when i went to that wedding back in June i saw some SERIOUS riders up there. and on top of that, the scenery blew ours away 10:1 every time.

curve is curve

JaredM wrote:

curve is curve

I gave this statement some thought, the answer is Yes, in a perfect world on perfect roads. Of course, as we all know, the street is anything but perfect. Every turn has its own quirks, whether it's an odd bump that produces a certain bump-steer, road camber, shoulder hazards, blind turns, and some things that can only be described by people that have driven the road for a long time. I would have to say in the real world, every curve is different! He who know the road the best in the touge will have a greater advantage...bar none!

Sure, I just cant justify driving all that way when I could drive half as far to get to 'unknown' curves that are just as satisfying

Yeah it often surprises me. This is why I don't like riding along with people when they're pushing.

JaredM wrote:

Sure, I just cant justify driving all that way when I could drive half as far to get to 'unknown' curves that are just as satisfying

Yeah! I know what you mean. There are a ton of great roads out there, but finding one that is popular with car enthusiasts to make it worth while for a touge run is rare I think, at least in VA. I also think it would be worth it to go all the way to Deal's Gap to meet up with you guys too

500KEG8 wrote:

I also think it would be worth it to go all the way to Deal's Gap to meet up with you guys too

yes.

Well we will be there come february