9 55 pm pst   [ race#1 ]

There was supposed to be footage. I had Matthew's digital camera and I had my digital video camera. It was pouring but I expected to be in the rain, filmming. Then someone said I could ride with him.

So I fetched a loaner helmet and sat in the passenge seat as my boyfriend has his first experience racing his car.

[I just asked Matthew how many DVDs we have that don't have guns in them. I think we came up with nearly ten.]

Matthew joined the SCCA this past week and we woke up early to head to the parking lot at the Oakland Coliseum. We packed food, put extra air in the tires, and headed to Matthew's first Solo2 (aka Autocross or Slalom) race.

It was a timed course of cones. It took about a minute and drivers got to do three laps. I really enjoyed being along for the ride, though it was a little scary when we lost traction with the ground.

I suppose it's not a big deal that I didn't take pictures, since the day wasn't very condusive. The heavy rain certainly didn't dissuade the drivers.

Matthew did really well for his first time out, but we didn't stick around for the official times so we are waiting until they are posted on the internet tomorrow.

The following photo is of the image that appears on the winshield when the car fogs up. It is clearly something that was stuck there during the manufacture of the car.

For some reason I took a picture of my wrist band. You can also see the burn I gave myself.