Well, it sucks most of the time. The whole "having a family" deal is pretty groovy, but the responsibilities that mainly sum up "life after childhood" essentially kill us slowly from the inside out, starting with our soul. In my last post, I talked about club racing, and the positive affect it has on us as racers. But what about the down time between race nights? I was perusing the interweb the other day at work (Avoiding responsibility), when I came across an interesting article on RacerX Online. It talked about dirt bike maintenance, and the therapeutic effect that garage sessions and wrenching on something can have on an individual (http://racerxonline.com/2017/11/14/bench-racing-ammo-garage-therapy). It got me thinking about the wrenching I do on RC cars on an almost-nightly basis.
(Outdoor pit porn.)
If you've ever walked by my pit at a race, you'd know straight away that I have a serious case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Everything has it's proper place and purpose. I take pride in having a clean pit area at the ready for whatever comes up during a race day/night. The same is true about my maintenance routine regarding my toy cars. After each race night, shocks get drained and refilled, the car is checked to any binding or irregularities, and is reassembled for the next race. A full tear down to the bare chassis follows every second race night. Everything from shocks to bearings is inspected, cleaned and/or replaced. The car itself is brushed and cleaned to a near-new appearance.
Now, I get that this probably sounds excessive to some, and that I need to take a serious look at the priorities in my life (Now that I'm writing this, I'm starting to wonder, myself), but this is what I do before each race to ensure that my constant lack of performance is purely driver-based. There's nothing more frustrating than losing a race, or not even starting one because of a part that was overlooked or a car that was not prepped correctly It's happened to me many times, so I do my best to nip heartbreak in the ass before it leaves the pits. After reading the article though, it became blatantly apparent to me why I really spend so much time prepping my RC car during the weeks in between races. I just purely enjoy the hell out of it.
From my earliest days of racing RC cars as a little grommet, I always genuinely enjoyed performing my own maintenance and prepping my equipment for each race day. I suppose it probably came from spending so much time in the garage with pops as a kid. Stepping into the garage was like stepping into another dimension. A dimension of greasy engine parts, metal shavings and questionable language. I learned about good music, the right way (and wrong way) to turn a good wrench, and many facts of life that shall remain nameless. There wasn't a more perfect place to escape the world as a young whipper-snapper. From growing up in a house, to now residing in a more confined apartment, that garage that provided solitude from the real world, has been replaced by a hobby table and a toy car. The affect however, is still the same.
(Still making memories in the garage. My newest project: 1974 Yamaha DT250.)
There really is something extremely calming about immersing myself in rebuilding shocks, cleaning bearings, or just about any other activity involving an RC car. It's a very welcome distraction from the day-to-day doldrums of work and world events. With a cold beverage nearby, I can burn up three hours of worry-free, stress-free, hobby wrenching without batting an eye. After the kiddo and wife go to bed, I can zone out and turn off the noise for a couple hours on a weeknight or a weekend, and with today's instantly-depressing social climate being a constant presence, tuning out the world for a bit seems like a healthy practice.
The bonus in all of this, is that not only do I have a consistently well-prepped car that I seldom have to worry about on race day, but wrenching gives me a chance to unwind and "recharge" the batteries (Pun intended). Am I a better husband for spending every night massaging my toy car more than my wife? No, definitely not. Am I better human being for engaging in hobby activities on the daily? No, probably not. But it's a fun distraction from responsibility and yet another reason why this hobby is so bitchin'.
Peace and fast laps.
-Jroy386
