It’s 6 pm and our first event is tomorrow. And Panda looked like this a few hours ago (#becausestreetmod or #corralesesareprocrastinators or something):
Ummm, autocross is tomorrow, right?
In other news, we’ve finally addressed the whirring sound the MINI (Gilligan) has been making since October of 2014, and by “we” I mean I asked a mechanic to do it. I trusted Joe at NINO Performance in Bethany, CT with Gilligan and I highly recommend him. I haven’t decided if Gilligan will do any autocross this year, but I’m pretty excited to have it as an option. I might even bring it tomorrow as my back-up street mod car (even though it’s completely stock). Anyway, if you’re local, and need work done, go see Joe, and tell him I sent you.
Yay! Good as new!
Yeah, I know it’s not a great picture, but it’s what you get when I’m rushing off to teach babywearing.
It’s supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow. I remember the first event last year, thinking it was a beautiful day, and that I wished I had spent it with MJ instead of autocrossing. I’ve decided to leave MJ at home tomorrow (well, not at home, but with my parents) so I don’t have to pack for him, think about what he’ll eat, find someone to take care of him during my heats, etc. It was a tough decision to make, as I’ll be traveling for work for 7 of the next 14 days. I spend so much time away from him for work that it’s hard to be away from him voluntarily. At least my parents have learned to use FaceTime. Only 3 more years and he’ll be old enough for the kart program!
So, goals. I guess I should have some. I’d like to get more comfortable in Panda. I want to have that “oh @#$%” feeling during my runs instead of staying in my comfort zone. I’d like to get at least one mom to try autocross this season. And yeah, it would be nice if I also win.
In response to popular demand by the autocross community (yes, really), here is the knitting pattern I use to knit mini cones.
For those of you wondering what inspired this post, someone offered to/threatened to/wished he could write an article titled, “How to get past the Nationals Hangover: A guide to knitting”. My brother pointed out that I could actually write it, only I wanted to title it “How Street Mommafied spends the off season when not working or chasing after a toddler or cutting hair for G-fab boys or cooking or cleaning the house or fixing a car or making G-fab hoodies to match the color scheme of a certain ESP car”.
Skill level: Rookie
Tools you need
Size 5 or 6 dpns (4)
Orange yarn, worsted weight
Fiberfill
Welder (just kidding)
Pattern
Cone
Cast on any number of stitches that is a multiple of 3. I suggest trying 18 to see what size it is, and then adjust as necessary for the next one. Leave a long tail for attaching cone to base.
Divide among 3 dpns.
Join for working in the round. *K 2 rows. K2tog at the beginning of each needle for 1 row.* Repeat from * to * until there are 2 stitches left on each needle. Cut yarn, and use a tapestry needle to pull end through 6 remaining stitches, and tie a knot to secure. You can either tuck this in, or make a loop if you want to hang the cone.
Base
For the base, you may need to experiment to see how many stitches you need. When I start with 18 stitches for the cone, I use 12 stitches for the base.
Cast on 12 (or whatever you need) stitches. Knit in garter stitch (K every row) until you have a square. For me, I will need 20 rows if I start with 12 stitches.
Bind off, and weave in ends.
Assemble
Stuff the cone with fiberfill. Use the long tail to attach the cone to the base. Take care that you keep the cone centered on the base.
You’re done!
PS, I’ve never written a knitting pattern, so please let me know if anything is unclear. I could maybe do a video tutorial, but it will be on my to-do list after “G-fab hoodies” so don’t hold your breath.
9 things autocross and baby wearing have in common
This post is about pandas and racecars. Panda, being the name of the racecar, and also the name of one of our favorite wraps (not a coincidence). It crossed my mind recently that there are a lot of parallels between autocross and baby wearing. And then I realized it would be tough to find a topic that is more “Street Mommafied” than comparing autocross with babywearing.
Pandas and racecars!Pandas and racecars!
1. The addiction
I honestly don’t know what’s more addictive, autocross or baby wearing (although by “baby wearing” I mean buying stuff for baby wearing). The following sentences have actually come out of my mouth:
1. “I’m not going to autocross.”
2. “I’m not going to put money into my car just for autocross.”
3. “I’m not going to buy a car just for autocross.”
4. “I’m not going to spend that much on a wrap.”
5. “I’m not going to spend that much AGAIN on a wrap.”
6. “I’ll sell this wrap.” (No, have not yet sold any wraps.)
My first year of autocross I did maybe 2 or 3 events, and the NER rookie school. My second year of autocross, I think I went to SEVEN national events, plus almost all of the locals for 2 clubs. When my friend told me to let her know if I was interested in baby wearing, I thought to myself, “I have a Bjorn, I’m good.” But things have escalated since then. Now that I am love with wrapping and Tulas, I am even thinking of becoming an educator for one of the local baby wearing groups.
My rookie year at baby wearing with a Bjorn
Ruck tied in front
2. The learning curve
The first time I watched an autocross, and the first time I saw someone do a back carry, my response was the same. “That looks complicated.” At this point, I can navigate an autocross course pretty well, just maybe not as fast as some other drivers. I can also get the baby pretty secure in some fairly advanced back carries, just maybe not as fast as some other wrappers. The process was the same. Understand the basics, watch lots of video, get help from instructors, and practice, practice, practice. For both autocross and baby wearing, I have been approached to be an instructor, and that’s just flattering.
3. The language
I won’t be surprised if my kid says “DSP” or “SSC” before he says “ABC.” Both the autocross and baby wearing worlds have their own languages filled with acronyms. My family runs with SCCA, and have competed in SM, SSM, XP, DSP, DS, STU, and I don’t even know what else. I’ve also spent lots of PPD on JoJ, JKC, JKO, SN and an SSC.
4. Get by with a little help from a friend
Autocross and baby wearing foster a strong sense of community, both online and in real life. If you have a question, you can post online, and will have an answer (or more) within minutes. The ties are even stronger when you belong to a specific brand – for me that would be MINI and Oscha. I’ve been at countless autocross events where people are always willing to help out. I remember a time when Panda (the racecar) was broken, and the announcer said, “G-fab needs a welder!” and within minutes, there were multiple welders and generators on hand. I’ve heard of stories where a mama left a wrap on a subway or train, and the other mamas helped track it down to return it to its owner. And another one where a mama visiting from another country left her wrap at an airport and needed one for the rest of her trip in the US. So a bunch of mamas offered to lend or sell her a wrap.
5. Refresh! Refresh!
For some autocross events, there is a limited capacity and a huge number of drivers wanting to participate. When registration opens, hundreds of drivers will be furiously clicking refresh until registration begins. The high level of anxiety does not subside until you get to the confirmation page, and maybe not even until you receive the email that your credit card has been charged. Then you will see your Facebook thread fill up with posts of who got in and who didn’t, and when, and lots of other chatter. In the babywearing world, a manufacturer will announce the release of a carrier or wrap for a specific date and time. I have no idea how many people might be trying for a carrier or wrap at a time, but I know the emotions are the same. Anxiety until you check out and relief when you get a confirmation email. After a wrap is released, there are even threads of the timestamps that your order went through, in addition to the posts of who was successful and who wasn’t. In both worlds, you might be lucky to have a buddy who will register/score for you incase you have other commitments you can’t get out of or can’t be at a computer and you don’t trust mobile devices. I think I am 1 for 3 in competitive autocross registration (although I got in off of the waitlist for the other 2), and I am 1 for 3 in competitive carrier buying. I was able to score a limited release wrap, Starry Night Daisy, from Oscha. I do have prior experience though, I once bought a pair of brand new Christian Louboutins deeply discounted through an online sample sale.
6. Buy/Sell/Trade
The BST market is not unique to autocross and babywearing, but I think it is funny that I have been encouraged to sell car parts to fund baby carriers. In the swap groups, mamas might offer fancy cloth diapers, diaper bags, or other baby-related items to trade for wraps or carriers. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t find a babywearing mama looking for Koni Sport shocks for a MINI Cooper, so I had to straddle the 2 worlds to get this transaction done. The babywearing market seems to have an advantage over the motorsport market, in that you can reasonably expect to get back what you paid, or even profit, from selling a used carrier or wrap. Of course, this might happen in the motorsport world, but in my personal experience, it is the exception to the rule.
7. Something for every budget
If you asked autocrossers and babywearers what they spend in a year, you’d get a very wide range of responses. There are autocrossers who drive their daily drivers at local events on whatever tires came on the car. There are autocrossers who have dedicated racecars that are trailered from New England to Nebraska, sometimes twice a year! And then there are plenty in between. There are babywearers who have just one carrier, and there are babywearers with stacks and stacks of wraps and might spend over $2000 on a single carrier. And then there are plenty in between. I explained this to my husband, and mentioned that I wasn’t surprised that I was drawn to a brand that wasn’t the cheapest (but it isn’t the most expensive, either). He asked if it was like the “Corvette” of baby wraps, but I think Oscha is more like a 3 series BMW. And I might dream of owning a custom handwoven, the Ferrari of baby wraps.
8. Unicorns
In both worlds, there are things that are really unique as well as things that are mass produced. A person could spend hours (and days? months?) online hunting for a unicorn. I was lucky when I found an R56 MINI Cooper S JCW with an upgraded rear bar, Quicksilver exhaust, and double-adjustable shocks already installed. I searched for weeks before I finally found Okinami Noosa and bought it before someone else did.
9. Do you really need more than one?
This is a question I have heard about my cars as well as my wraps. At one point, I owned two MINI Coopers. One was blue, one was white. One was supercharged, one was turbocharged. So really, they weren’t two of the same thing. I quickly tired of crouching in the hatch of the MINI to get the baby in and out, so I now also have an SUV. Our cars are different colors and different sizes, and we use different cars for (mostly) distinct purposes. My wrap collection (up to 9 now, not all pictured here) is also different colors and different sizes. Each is also a distinct fabric, or blend. The longer wraps double as hammocks, too, and who doesn’t love a hammock? So, do I really need more than one? At least my wraps maintain their resale values…
MJ loves a hammock!
So what’s different?
The thing that is the most strikingly different is the gender balance (or lack thereof). Autocross is mostly men, and babywearing is mostly women. I think it would be just fantabulous if more women joined the autocross world, and more men joined the babywearing world. I really want to encourage both of these things, so please reach out to me if you are a woman wanting to autocross or a man wanting to babywear!
Much like a test and tune, I’ve been looking for ways to change and tweak my autocross experience for the better. Here are a few things that worked out well for me last weekend.
1. Pack early. Pack organized.
For our last away event, one of the challenges was getting to the site early enough for 1 or 2 course walks. One thing that always delays us is getting the baby ready to go. Now, when packing, I roll each of MJ’s outfits (onesie, shirt, shorts, and socks) and secure with an elastic band. For his meals, I separate food for each day into plastic bags so we can grab and go. When I pack for solo (by myself, not “solo” as in autocross) trips, I tell myself, “If I don’t got it, I can buy it” but when I pack for the baby, I bring extra of everything. I’m probably going to keep doing that though, because he wore almost all of his clothes, ate almost all of the food, and also wore almost everything he ate.
2. Walk alone.
I often complain that my driving doesn’t improve, but then I don’t change anything. So, I decided to pick 1-2 things to change at every event. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I end up socializing or tending to baby instead of analyzing the course. For the last event, I walked at least once with Team Panda, and then walked once by myself. Okay, technically, MJ was strapped to my back, but he seemed pretty focused on the course as he didn’t say much.
3. Filipinos are always late.
Okay, so this is not a lesson learned, because I knew that already. And apparently, Team Panda knows too. Dave and Todd each pointed out spots on the course and said, “You should be at full throttle here, and stay in it until there.” I told them later, “I really tried to get to full throttle at that spot you pointed out, but I just couldn’t. But I did try to get there earlier and earlier on each run.” And then they each confessed, “Yeah, I couldn’t get to full throttle there either, it drove a lot faster than it walked.” Dave pointed out, “You know how you tell someone a party is at 6 when you want them to be there at 7? We just told you to be at full throttle earlier so you’d actually get there when you are supposed to.”
4. It’s never too early to find a co-driver.
This has nothing to do with my driving, but is just too adorable to not mention.
5. Make sure you fit and are secure in the seat.
After Day 1, I realized I was bracing myself really hard with my left leg, and my co-driver noticed on my videos that my left leg was all over the place. On Day 2, I tried a chest strap to help hold me into the seat. We may want to install a real harness as this is an issue for both of us. MJ does NOT fit into a seat quite yet, but we have a few years before we have to deal with that…
6. #wearallthebabies.
MINI Cooper drivers are one of those groups of people who wave at each other, band together for social events, create online groups through social media, and other things that fanatics tend to do. Baby wearers are the same. We have online communities, we call out to each other in public. We think baby wearing is the solution to everything. Everytime I put MJ on my back, someone would comment: “Wow, that’s impressive/cool/convenient.” or “You could totally shag cones like that.” I walked course with him on my back, I did my work assignment with him on my back. Tip: be sure to avoid getting the baby’s shorts button tangled in your hair, or make sure someone is close by to untangle you (Thanks Kathy!). Bonus: panda wrap means MJ got to go on course in a panda.
7. Be inspired.
Pam, formerly known around NER as THE autocross mom (but now a self-proclaimed autocross “grandma”), is my hero. She is always quick to offer to watch MJ, and she is so great with him, I think he might even prefer her over me. It was an honor to have her sport the first-ever “Street Mommafied” t-shirt, although hers should probably say “Super Street Mommafied.” She watched him AND she drove at the event! I have talked about quitting autocross a few times, but made the decision to keep trying. I wouldn’t be able to do it without her. I’m also motivated by others who have commented on the fact that I’m still driving. Last year, I heard comments along the lines of:
“It’s so great to see you back so soon after the baby!”
“You’re an inspiration. We want to start a family soon, so it’s awesome to see you keep driving.”
“Too many women stop after having babies, we need to encourage them to come back.”
It’s true that I started driving because I enjoyed spending time with my husband, my brother, and all of the friends I have made. But I am motivated to KEEP driving because of all of the support and inspiration I have received. So, support all the mommas!
8. Set reasonable goals.
Let’s face it, I’m probably not going to win. I’ll leave the winning to my husband Todd. If I’m lucky, I might trophy. But I’m still driving. I improved on every run for the whole weekend. That’s progress. That counts. It keeps me coming back.
Stoller is on the stock suspension, but it’s adjustable!
Some people can get up and run a 5k. I am not one of those people. I have been doing a modified couch-2-5k program (because, you know, after driving in Street Modified, stock just doesn’t cut it anymore) and am just a few weeks away from being able to run a 5k. The program uses combinations of walking/jogging, with gradual increases in jogging time and decreases in walking time. It strongly encourages users to start with week 1 even if it seems easy to jump ahead. I, of course, did not start with week 1, I started with week 4. I had challenges with following the program, in part due to schedule challenges and sleep-deprivation, but I’ve been making slow progress. I am now on week 7, even though I started the program over 3 weeks ago. In retrospect, it probably would have been better to start with week 1 and get faster gradually. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s doable to skip ahead. Similarly, I went from driving (almost solely) a MINI in D Stock to driving a Nissan 240SX (aka Panda) in Street Modified. I often wonder if it would have been better to move up gradually. Maybe I should have tried out A Street, or even DSP. We do, sort of, have a DSP car after all. Although as PJ once said, “Who drives a Subaru in DSP?” So here I am, trying to tame the beast known as “Panda” and trying to keep up with all of the ridiculous talent on Team Panda (which includes 3 National Champions). Not easy, but doable, right?
Jojo in DSP?
On one of my recent runs, I found myself zoning out and taking steps, but I was not putting in effort to make real strides. I was going through the motions, putting one foot in front of the other, but I was not pushing myself forward. It struck me that I would not get faster if I did not push myself. What a simple concept! I also realized that when I push the jogging stroller, I’m not as fast as when I’m alone, but I should still put in effort and focus on moving forward. The Devens National Championship Tour is coming up this weekend, so I will have 2 days to put my thoughts into action. I will push myself to get faster. I will not zone out. I will have the baby though, so I might be a little slower than when I’m on my own, but I will not just go through the motions. And now that it’s on the internet, it will have to be true.
PS I am in no way, shape, or form, implying that driving a MINI is like sitting on a couch. It’s not! It’s super fun, especially when it’s MY MINI! Not that I remember what that’s like, because it hasn’t been running since October. But I digress…
The following comparisons assume that I bring the baby to the event. I have a debate with myself before every event about bringing him, but I’ll save that for another post.
1. Eat/Sleep/Autocross becomes Eat/Parent/Autocross. I realized it was appropriate to replace sleep. Because what is sleep? I don’t think I need to say much about this one. Anyone who is a parent knows that you don’t sleep, at least not like you used to, once you have a baby. I’m not really sure what happens as the baby gets older, but I’m optimistic that I’ll sleep again someday. Also, my baby seems to have a sixth sense and almost always wakes up at least once in the middle of the night when I have to be up early the next morning. According to my FitBit, I got a whopping 3 hours and 27 minutes of sleep before heading to NJ for the ProSolo.
The night before we left for the NJ ProSolo
2. The night before an event. Before baby: grab your helmet, wheel (depending on what car I’m driving), GoPro, lots of water, sunblock, and maybe some snacks and/or a packed lunch. After baby: all of that, plus milk, ice packs and cooler, food for the baby, baby sunblock, stroller, toys, blanket, tent, hat, baby wearing wrap, extra nipples if the baby is still on a bottle (because how many times have i left the house with bottles of milk and no nipples?), cleaning supplies for the dirty nipples (although how many times have i actually cleaned the nipples after the baby finished his bottle?), bibs, washcloths, diapers, wipes, extra clothes for when he gets dirty, pajamas for the ride home if it’s going to be late, and probably some other things I don’t remember right now. When MJ was less than a year old, I was still nursing, which meant making sure the pump was charged, bringing enough bottles or bags for storage, cooler packs, and pumping accessories. Note: there is a Babies R Us in Leominster if you are up at Devens and realize you forgot something. Just make sure you tell an ops steward you need to run out and get someone to cover your work shift if you aren’t back in time.
3. Onsite car prep. Before baby: empty car, change tires, adjust shocks, check tire pressures, add air if necessary, set up GoPro, put numbers on car, head to grid. After baby: make sure baby has breakfast, change diaper, put sunblock on baby, hand baby off to someone who isn’t driving the same heat, head to grid…Okay, so I suppose I can still help with car stuff, but if I’m not busy chasing the baby around, I’m just too tired to do anything else. See #1.
Paddock before babyPaddock after baby
4. Walk course. Before baby: walk with co-driver, analyze the course, identify key cones, plan your lines, discuss braking zones, other stuff that good drivers do. After baby: figure out where the start is, push the stroller around course, tend to baby if he gets cranky, chit chat with whoever decided to give up a serious coursewalk and walk with me, find the finish.
5. Drive. Before baby: think about the plan you created on the coursewalk, drive it!. After baby: stay awake! See #1 again. Look at my ProSolo reaction times before and after baby. I think I may have actually been asleep at the wheel.
ProSolo reaction times before babyProSolo reaction times after baby
6. Pack up. Before baby: change tires and adjust shocks, pack up, hang out, and wait for trophies. After baby: consider leaving early if you have the last heat off. You probably don’t get to stay for trophies even if you miraculously win your class but it’s probably fine if your husband has won so much glassware that you’re out of storage space.
