Went to the Nikon Indy 300 yesterday. I got a bit sunburnt and I think I probably managed to lose some of my hearing too.
I've always been a motorsport fan, especially when it comes to open-wheel racing. However, I've only actually been to the Indy once before yesterday - it is so much easier to follow what is going on when watching the race on TV.
So we rocked up pretty early, paid our $105 each for general admission and pretty much just walked around and explored for the morning. There were stalls set up all over the joint (though it was mostly food and merchandise). Oh and lots of girls and cars. The crowd was just settling in, picking out their spots for the day, some hitting the booze early. I glared in jealousy at the people perched on the balconies of nearby buildings. Either that, or staring into the sun made me squint which looked like a glare.
Anyway race 2 of the V8 Supercars had started, so we stopped to watch them for a bit before moving on to explore the track further whilst still keeping track of what was happening (pun intended) in the race. There was a smattering of other stuff to keep us entertained after that in the lead up to the big race, ranging from Black Hawk helicopters, the Screaming Jets performing and an F1-11 dump and burn (which I must say looks better at night, but still scares the pants off you if you don't expect it).
Soon enough it was time for the big race and we parked ourselves on the fence at the entry to one of the chicanes. There were green and gold shirts, hats and flags aplenty in the crowd, with Team Australia's Queenslander driver Will Power starting from pole position. He was looking very comfortable up front early in the race until he made a costly error, taking him out of the race. However, it wasn't all bad news for us, with Sydney lad Ryan Briscoe leading to the finish to be the first Aussie to win the race.
It was very loud, especially in parts of the track where the cars could really gun it. In some areas of the track I found it almost unbearable and needed to plug my ears with my fingers. By the middle of the third V8 Supercars race we were over it (we were out on Saturday night as well so hardly had any sleep) and decided to head off, beating the rush.
Had a great day (despite the sunnies tan I'm stuck with), though I must admit though it didn't quite beat the last time I went, where I had a reserved seat in the undercover stands (a $400+ pass that I got for free!), conveniently located where most of the crashes occurred that year. The race had everthing that year, including a short burst of hail. I think I set the standard too high...
Anyway the future of the race is apparently in doubt... I sure hope it stays, I know I'll be there next year. Between now and then, I'm hoping to pop down to Melbourne for the Formula 1 in 2009. Currently torn between that and going for the Australian Open tennis again... but leaning towards the vroom vroom.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
all hail hail
I was hungry. Went to the vending machine, got some cup noodles. Filled them up with hot water, and as I was walking away and about to cover them up for the 3 minutes when I noticed that the rain was hard and solid. I was walking through a hailstorm. And so were my noodles. It wasn't big hailstones, just lots of little ones. One actually landed in my cup noodles, splashing almost boiling water onto me.
Stupid hail.
Oh and did I mention I had a pair of expensive headphones on? Luckily they're fine and still work great.
Stupid hail.
Oh and did I mention I had a pair of expensive headphones on? Luckily they're fine and still work great.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
big day out, here i come
Big Day Out tickets went on sale online at midnight on Thursday, and several hours later at ticket outlets. I was going to stay up late to get 4 tickets like last year, but the internet was too slow (down to dial-up speeds yet again...) so I didn't even bother. Kinda had that whole work thing too so I couldn't really go wait in a queue for a few hours.
Anyway they're sold out of course, but cheers to Malex who kept me in mind when he got his tickets. Of the four tickets I got last year, the other three went to him (sure he's a big fella, but they weren't all to get him in...) so I guess we're pretty much even now.
Casting an eye over this year's lineup, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End (missed two of their gigs this year, so I've gotta make up for that...), The Prodigy (they're back!), Bullet for my Valentine and Cog were a few of the names in particular that jumped out at me. Still quite a while away, but I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, Japanese Formula One is starting soon. Peace out.
Anyway they're sold out of course, but cheers to Malex who kept me in mind when he got his tickets. Of the four tickets I got last year, the other three went to him (sure he's a big fella, but they weren't all to get him in...) so I guess we're pretty much even now.
Casting an eye over this year's lineup, Arctic Monkeys, The Living End (missed two of their gigs this year, so I've gotta make up for that...), The Prodigy (they're back!), Bullet for my Valentine and Cog were a few of the names in particular that jumped out at me. Still quite a while away, but I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, Japanese Formula One is starting soon. Peace out.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
8hr enduro
5am Sunday morning, and I was out of bed. What the hell? I don't usually see the morning on Sundays, and when I do it's before I go to bed...
I was helping out a couple of mates who were doing a mountain bike 8 hour enduro race. Consider me as part of their "pit crew". The race started at 8:30am and was about an hour and a half drive from my place, longer since I had to pick Paul up (who was also helping out), which was why I had to get up so damn early.
It was held on a private property in what felt like the middle of nowhere. Competitors and their support crews/families and friends were all camped around the place. The purpose-built course was approximately 10km or so per lap, which took the boys about half an hour to lap in the early stages when they were still fresh.
Our job - pretty much top up their bottles and give them food and/or drinks whenever they wanted them. This wasn't much of a task given that they really only came by the spot we were stationed at every half hour or so. We had a gazebo, a camping chair, a hammock (which I fell off twice) and were armed with snacks and drinks to get us through the day. It was NRL Grand Final day, so we also had a radio to listen to the matches (woohoo for the Raiders winning the Under 20's Premiership!).
The race is something you don't really get exposed to until you actually go. The atmosphere was terrific - there were lots of youngsters around, who I think had their own mini races as well as unrelated activities like a jumping castle to keep them occupied. A lot camped at the site the night before too. Everyone was very friendly and easy to talk to, and a lot of people seemed to know each other from previous races.
All this actually makes me consider getting into mountain biking, though I think I'll start with flat smooth surfaces first... Gotta go buy me a bike first though. Might do that either towards the end of the year or early next year - I'd like something I could also use for a triathlon if I manage to get my fitness up in the next few months.
Ps. Post #100. Apparently. Yay for me.
I was helping out a couple of mates who were doing a mountain bike 8 hour enduro race. Consider me as part of their "pit crew". The race started at 8:30am and was about an hour and a half drive from my place, longer since I had to pick Paul up (who was also helping out), which was why I had to get up so damn early.
It was held on a private property in what felt like the middle of nowhere. Competitors and their support crews/families and friends were all camped around the place. The purpose-built course was approximately 10km or so per lap, which took the boys about half an hour to lap in the early stages when they were still fresh.
Our job - pretty much top up their bottles and give them food and/or drinks whenever they wanted them. This wasn't much of a task given that they really only came by the spot we were stationed at every half hour or so. We had a gazebo, a camping chair, a hammock (which I fell off twice) and were armed with snacks and drinks to get us through the day. It was NRL Grand Final day, so we also had a radio to listen to the matches (woohoo for the Raiders winning the Under 20's Premiership!).
The race is something you don't really get exposed to until you actually go. The atmosphere was terrific - there were lots of youngsters around, who I think had their own mini races as well as unrelated activities like a jumping castle to keep them occupied. A lot camped at the site the night before too. Everyone was very friendly and easy to talk to, and a lot of people seemed to know each other from previous races.
All this actually makes me consider getting into mountain biking, though I think I'll start with flat smooth surfaces first... Gotta go buy me a bike first though. Might do that either towards the end of the year or early next year - I'd like something I could also use for a triathlon if I manage to get my fitness up in the next few months.
Ps. Post #100. Apparently. Yay for me.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
all-ages gigs
Damn all-ages gigs. Make me feel old. It's not often I feel old either - if anything it has always been quite the opposite.
I was at a gig last night (it was meant to be on Thursday night at the Arena but got moved) to see Underoath play at the Tivoli (probably my favourite venue in Brisbane), and found myself completely surrounded by kids who looked like they were 12. It was an earlyish gig to what I was used to - doors at 6pm, support act at 7pm and main act at 8pm, so it was over by 9:15pm (ie. bed time for the little ones). Nothing alcoholic was served at all either. I think the fact that it is currently school holiday time contributed to that a bit too. It was strange though, not something I was used to. Surely wasn't the kind of thing I got up to when I was in high school anyway - admittedly I was always more interested in attending live sport more than live music when I was growing up.
Must say though, I can't exactly say I'm a huge fan of Underoath - have a couple of their albums and like one of their songs in particular (which happened to be one of their encore songs, so there was a bit of a wait through a lot of unfamiliar songs), but besides that I mainly went because I heard about the gig when tickets went on sale, and one of my mates is a big fan of them (I had bailed on him on a gig last year, to which he ended going to on his own) so I figured I'd go along, and managed to drag another mate along for the ride. Being used to going to gigs where I actually know the songs and the words and can sing (or scream) along at the top of my lungs, I did feel a little out of place when everyone else would be joining in while I'm standing there thinking "I kinda know this song, I recognise it, but there's no way I know the lyrics..."
...but hey, it's not like you need to know the words or the song to bang your head, jump up and down against other sweaty bodies, and pump your fists in the air. Good exercise too.
I was at a gig last night (it was meant to be on Thursday night at the Arena but got moved) to see Underoath play at the Tivoli (probably my favourite venue in Brisbane), and found myself completely surrounded by kids who looked like they were 12. It was an earlyish gig to what I was used to - doors at 6pm, support act at 7pm and main act at 8pm, so it was over by 9:15pm (ie. bed time for the little ones). Nothing alcoholic was served at all either. I think the fact that it is currently school holiday time contributed to that a bit too. It was strange though, not something I was used to. Surely wasn't the kind of thing I got up to when I was in high school anyway - admittedly I was always more interested in attending live sport more than live music when I was growing up.
Must say though, I can't exactly say I'm a huge fan of Underoath - have a couple of their albums and like one of their songs in particular (which happened to be one of their encore songs, so there was a bit of a wait through a lot of unfamiliar songs), but besides that I mainly went because I heard about the gig when tickets went on sale, and one of my mates is a big fan of them (I had bailed on him on a gig last year, to which he ended going to on his own) so I figured I'd go along, and managed to drag another mate along for the ride. Being used to going to gigs where I actually know the songs and the words and can sing (or scream) along at the top of my lungs, I did feel a little out of place when everyone else would be joining in while I'm standing there thinking "I kinda know this song, I recognise it, but there's no way I know the lyrics..."
...but hey, it's not like you need to know the words or the song to bang your head, jump up and down against other sweaty bodies, and pump your fists in the air. Good exercise too.
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