Gregg's Web Log

Category Misc. Ramblings

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. I'm back from visiting the parents down south and greatly enjoyed my time away from DC. I had the traditional Ginsberg holiday dinner--meaning anything but home cooked. Mom, Dad and I headed out to the same Charlotte hotel we eat at every year. Nothing new but a good meal nonetheless. Rest assured, if Mom could find a way to cook a turkey in the microwave we'd have eaten at their place.

Other than sit around and watch the Valvolene Runoff's I didn't do much..just dragged Mom to the new Billy Bob Thornton movie, Bad Santa, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Then again, I'm a fan of the dry, wry humor of Thornton's Willie Stokes.Just the thing to get you in the Christmas spririt.

Bah humbug!  

Posted by Gregg S Ginsberg At 12:36 AM Location Arlington, VA | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category Four-wheeled toys

After my little incident I finally pulled the trigger and bought myself a tow vehicle. Nothing new, but to the contrary I purchased the '89 GMC Suburban SLE seen above. Nope, no four-wheel drive. Who needs it? I ain't gonna be doin' no towin' in the snow. Besides, with that huge 454 big block motor providing the motive force, who in their right mind would go joy riding in a truck that gets about 9 mpg? I'd first seen it w/ the For Sale sign about 1/2mi from my house earlier this summer and it turns out the seller had been trying to unload it for almost a year. It's got very low mileage, appears to be mechanically sound, and only appears to have some power window/lock issues that stick out. For what I paid (not a lot), it was a very good deal.

Now all I have to do is find a trailer and my days of dependence are over....

And just maybe I'll be able to take the race car to the body shop and start the repairs on my schedule.  

Posted by Gregg S Ginsberg At 9:01 PM Location Arlington, VA | Permalink | Comments (1)

Category Misc. Ramblings

Rather than yet another story about my racing exploits (all three of you who read this page must be bored to death already), today's is a story about walking bow-legged.

You see, yesterday, Heidi, Raelyn, Dan and I headed out the the JBit Ranch in Berryville, VA for a trail ride.Now in my storied past I had done my share of English riding, including a great deal of dressage and jumping, but I'd never fit my huge rear in a Western saddle. I believe it was Heidi's and Dan's first time on horseback, but other than a little trotting tribulations by some in our party it turned out to be a relaxing, enjoyable afternoon.

Afterwards, we headed out to Harpers Ferry so the girls could go antiquing. And boy do I love to shop...Not!

So what did  I learn from our experiences? Hmm...  

• Horseback riders talking on cell phones are just as dangerous as those driving cars.  
• 27 yr old mares who given birth to 14 or 15 foals can be lively old gals.  
• Parking in Harpers Ferry is worse than Disney World. For a town that doesn't seem to have more that 300 tourists on a beautiful Saturday, it's funny that you have to park five miles away and take a shuttle bus.  
• For $20/year even you can go see a historc Civil War community as many times as you like.

Posted by Gregg S Ginsberg At 8:22 PM Location Arlington, VA | Permalink | Comments (0)

Category Four-wheeled toys


After an entire day of enduring Dave's ridicule for banging up his truck, he, Terri and I loaded into the family truckster and headed out to the DC Region SCCA banquet. Decent dinner, decent music, decent open bar, and good friends make for a decent evening

We sat thru an evening's worth of awards and when the Master of Cermonies got to the Rookie of the Year award, the story she told sounded quite familiar.

o Crashed his car in drivers school
o Missed the first four races while rebuilding the car
o Several top four finishes
o Finished the year in the top 10
o Came in 2nd at the last race of the year

Must be me!

Ya gotta love friends who have no qualms about torturing you, knowing all along that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

To everybody who's helped me get a competitive car on the track and kept me sane this past year, thank you! I owe you all in spades.

Posted by Gregg S Ginsberg At 8:14 PM Location Arlington, VA | Permalink | Comments (2)

Category Four-wheeled toys

Some would say that I have no luck at all, or that perhaps just a bit less than anyone else. There might just a little bit of truth to that.

Dateline: Saturday, 5:25am
I've just finished tying the race car down to the borrowed tow dolly and everything's a go for my last races of the year. Although the car and I have been through a lot this year, I have a good feeling about this last East Coast Honda Challenge weekend.

Saturday, 5:30am
I'm off and driving up the hill, two blocks from my house.

BANG!!

Having just made the turn onto the main road, I look back and see #72's bumper laying in the road and the car sitting at the crest of the hill--40 feet behind me!

Saturday, 5:31am
Rather than jumping out of the truck and heading for the car, I did exactly what I was told not to do--back up the truck w/ the tow dolly attached, as I thought the truck might get hit where it stood. Why was I told this? Because backing up means certain jack knifing.

BANG!!

Yup. Jack knifed the dolly, bending the tongue and the tray that the car sits on. Blew out a rear tire on the truck. Dented up the bed pretty badly just ahead of the tire. Duh!

Saturday, 5:32am
After flipping the truck around, crawling on the flat tire, I headed for the race car. The car rolled downhill about 40 feet, missed parked cars and backed into a lamp post/utility pole. Thankfully the car hit the pole dead center in the rear. It destroyed the bumper skin, blew out the taillights and lower hatch glass, and dented up the hatch. All in all, not so horrible. Guess I'll just be giving the front and rear the Maaco makeover at the same time. Unfortunately I won't be taking the car to the track (since I've screwed both the truck and dolly).


Wednesday, 4:30
So here's the rundown on my expensive two-block tow:

Truck bodywork estimate: $1500
Replacement truck tire: $150
Replacement parts for tow dolly: $280
Race car body work: ???

And I only have until March to get the car fixed.  

Posted by Gregg S Ginsberg At 12:36 AM Location Arlington, VA | Permalink | Comments (1)