IS F Nürburgring!
12-14-22, 06:59 PM
#1
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IS F Nürburgring!
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01-07-23, 08:38 AM
#6
He can definitely wheel around the 'ring.
I was stationed down the road (Spangdahlem AB) from Nurburg for 4 years and made a few dozen trips with my '05 Evo MR. After years of lapping the nordschleife on PS2, PS3 and Xbox (Gran Turismo/Forza), I figured I would at least have some slight familiarization. NOPE. Too many turns and too much traffic to focus. And one of the biggest surprises is the elevation changes, in that they aren't caught by video games or even videos. Especially once you head away from the GP track and get into the woods, you're either going up or going down. And the traffic! Man, forget trying to lap on the weekends. It's packed, especially around the first month it reopens. The 'ring is swamped with cars/drivers from all over Europe. ~20% of the drivers know the track and can fly. The other 80% are tourist that just drive to enjoy and get in the way (like me). So I spent most of my time watching my rear view mirror/staying right. And that carousel, it's scary to try to drop down into the first few times. It's more tilted than it appears in videos. A lot of first timers will just ride around the top instead of tipping in. And the crashes. the longest the track will be running is probably 30-45 min before it gets suspending and the crews have to go out and recover a car that smashed the rails. Then it's open again....annnnnnnd another tourist smashed his car into the rails.
Also, there's one weekend every year where a bicycle race on the full nurburgring (nordschleife + GP track). The race is Friday/Saturday. On that Sunday, anyone can take their bicycle and ride on the ring. It's called rad am ring. You pay like 25 euros, get a little number and off you go. I went with a mountain bike and some buddies. We figured that if we maintained about 10-12mph, we'd be able to lap the 'ring 2 or maybe 3 times over the course of a few hours and then go home. I mean, we had just rode 40 miles a few weeks earlier on another ride (Happy Mosel). WRONG! Those elevation changes that I talked about above, with a Car? Yeah, it's really, really, really felt when you are using manpower. There are many more elevation changes that are not felt in a car. That first hill after the GP track (and you ride the 'ring in reverse as a biker), it killed all of our morale. There is one hill where majority of the casual riders have to eventually get off their bikes and walk. I'm talking even those dudes wearing spandex on their nifty road bikes. It was hilarious, but painful. At the top of each big hill, there were stations serving energy foods and stuff. We'd have to take a 20 minute breather at each of them. After what was probably 2 hours, we finally made our way back to the GP track to complete our first and only lap. We were toast. We all said the same thing, I NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! I got a 'ring sticker for my bike, but man, that was one of the most grueling experiences of my life.
Anyway, I'm in my 40's now and just picked up an '08 ISF. Man, this thing would have served me much better in Germany than my particular Evo (mostly stock'ish with some Ohlins R/Ts). AutoX? Evo all day. Everything else? The ISF.
I was stationed down the road (Spangdahlem AB) from Nurburg for 4 years and made a few dozen trips with my '05 Evo MR. After years of lapping the nordschleife on PS2, PS3 and Xbox (Gran Turismo/Forza), I figured I would at least have some slight familiarization. NOPE. Too many turns and too much traffic to focus. And one of the biggest surprises is the elevation changes, in that they aren't caught by video games or even videos. Especially once you head away from the GP track and get into the woods, you're either going up or going down. And the traffic! Man, forget trying to lap on the weekends. It's packed, especially around the first month it reopens. The 'ring is swamped with cars/drivers from all over Europe. ~20% of the drivers know the track and can fly. The other 80% are tourist that just drive to enjoy and get in the way (like me). So I spent most of my time watching my rear view mirror/staying right. And that carousel, it's scary to try to drop down into the first few times. It's more tilted than it appears in videos. A lot of first timers will just ride around the top instead of tipping in. And the crashes. the longest the track will be running is probably 30-45 min before it gets suspending and the crews have to go out and recover a car that smashed the rails. Then it's open again....annnnnnnd another tourist smashed his car into the rails.
Also, there's one weekend every year where a bicycle race on the full nurburgring (nordschleife + GP track). The race is Friday/Saturday. On that Sunday, anyone can take their bicycle and ride on the ring. It's called rad am ring. You pay like 25 euros, get a little number and off you go. I went with a mountain bike and some buddies. We figured that if we maintained about 10-12mph, we'd be able to lap the 'ring 2 or maybe 3 times over the course of a few hours and then go home. I mean, we had just rode 40 miles a few weeks earlier on another ride (Happy Mosel). WRONG! Those elevation changes that I talked about above, with a Car? Yeah, it's really, really, really felt when you are using manpower. There are many more elevation changes that are not felt in a car. That first hill after the GP track (and you ride the 'ring in reverse as a biker), it killed all of our morale. There is one hill where majority of the casual riders have to eventually get off their bikes and walk. I'm talking even those dudes wearing spandex on their nifty road bikes. It was hilarious, but painful. At the top of each big hill, there were stations serving energy foods and stuff. We'd have to take a 20 minute breather at each of them. After what was probably 2 hours, we finally made our way back to the GP track to complete our first and only lap. We were toast. We all said the same thing, I NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! I got a 'ring sticker for my bike, but man, that was one of the most grueling experiences of my life.
Anyway, I'm in my 40's now and just picked up an '08 ISF. Man, this thing would have served me much better in Germany than my particular Evo (mostly stock'ish with some Ohlins R/Ts). AutoX? Evo all day. Everything else? The ISF.
Last edited by RJMacReady; 01-07-23 at 09:03 AM.
09-25-23, 08:26 AM
#7
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