For the last 3 years now I’ve been pretty active and focused in RC Racing. I’ve been in this hobby for years before moving to Denver. The onroad racing program in Denver (www.5280Raceway.com) is one of the best in the country, and not only made me a better driver and mechanic, but made it fun. I have traveled all over the country racing with the crew from 5280, and have had an awesome time doing it. With the peak of this being 4th place (out of a class of 45+) in Vegas 2013 for one of the classes I was running.
In the last 7 or 8 months, my interest has been declining as costs have been rising in the sport. I have been focused on getting in shape and changing my overall lifestyle since that race. I was replacing time I would use at the track racing, with healthy active options like biking, hiking, or just generally being outside and doing stuff. My view on what was important to me shifted away from expensive toy cars as a primary focus.
RC is pretty much the polar opposite of a healthy life style. You sit on your ass most of the day huddled over an expensive toy car, working with toxic and known carcinogenic materials (Lead, petroleum distillates, and the occasional smoke from burning electronics and exploding lithium batteries – which on their own release phosgene gas). You try to find food between runs which generally results in some fast food variant if you didn’t manage your time well or if your racing isn’t going good and you spend your time wrenching instead.
The unhealthiness of RC isn’t the biggest reason. The main reason for this hiatus is money. We just signed a contract on a new house and the belt needs to tighten across the board for the next year as we save. RC is an epic money pit, and if you don’t put the time into it, the money you spend is pointless (and unending). Since I don’t have the interest in focusing on RC right now, it seems best suited to go on hold to not burn money needlessly.
I still have a true love for the hobby. I am keeping everything and will still race now and then. But I have packed up my gear, turned in my key to the track last night.
Above is the total culmination of everything I have in RC, now stacked up in my office. It’s sitting next to its replacement for now, my hiking backpack.
What’s Next?
As stated above, active outdoorsy things mostly. I am already planning at least 1 14er to summit later this summer, the Warrior Dash in a couple weeks, and quite a few fun hikes and bike rides on the weekends and mid week. By not going to big RC races like IIC in Vegas, it leaves me with more vacation time to spend on a potential motorcycle vacation in September also.
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