Starting in July of 2015, I was on the road a lot – and into 2016. I was wracking up the frequent flyer miles and living out of a suitcase like a road rat.
First up in July of 2015 was Swainsboro, Georgia, where I worked with a new client on Raceday. I learned a lot that day about the state of Kart racing!
In August, I headed to Spokane, Washington, to work with a new car group up there. They were fantastic, and I had a blast. It’s a beautiful area I want to explore again when I have more time!
In September, I was off to Chicago – partially for work and wrapping up some loose ends from some of the snowmobile stuff. A lot of my junk was stored at a friend’s house there, and I was finally ready to get it out of their way. On the way back, my trip got delayed for several hours from this truck fire along the interstate.
In October, it was time to start doing some Raceday trade shows. First up was the Off-Road Expo in Pomona, California, where Grant Klinsing and I tried out the new booth for the first time. The show was good for us; we found many new customers and then slowly started getting them signed up.
When I got home, I found the trucking company, Total Quality Logistics, had mangled our cases, but we had no time to fix them as we were off to the AIME Expo in Orlando, Florida, a couple of days later.
Also, in October, I was off to Los Vegas to work with another client out there and talk to a few more.
In December, Grant, JD, and I all went to the PRI show in Indianapolis. We did not take the booth – instead, we just walked around and talked to potential clients. This turned out to be one of the best shows yet, netting about 40 leads.
Later in December, I was back up in Minnesota for the Holidays. Drove up and got to meet my newest nephew, whose name I can’t pronounce nor spell, so I am just going to call him Thor.
In early February, I was off to Northern Michigan to work with another client. Nerve-wracking, as this was the super-bowl weekend, and my beloved Broncos were in the game! Fortunately, I was able to get back to Colorado in time to watch it with friends. I was also thrilled to see Gabe Bunke win again at the famed 500 lap race!
Right after that, I was back up in Minnesota working with the Oval Racers Alliance at the Alexandria Winter Spectacular – and watching Jacob Goede race my 340 RXL for the last time. After nine years, she was getting worn out and ready for a rest. She won 7 of 9 tries at Eagle River and so many other races that I cannot remember all of them.
Then on the weekend around February 10th, I was back to St. Germain, Wisconsin, for a benefit ride for the Snowmobile Hall of Fame, including getting to see the Polaris factory race truck I wrote about in Starfire Kids finally arrive at its new home at the Hall of Fame.
Then at the end of February, I was back in Chicago for the Race and Performance Expo. Another good one where we landed a great many leads. I no more than got home, and I was back on a plane for the Kartmania Expo in Myrtle Beach, Florida.
Whew! That was quite a good and good schedule for us, but I am so glad to be home! In the immortal words of Forrest Gump. “I’m kind of tired. I think I’ll go home now…”
