One of the best numbers is that we had our biggest year ever in fundraising for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition and raised $3085. I would like to thank all who donated to the cause and made this possible. Another number of interest is 4307 miles that we put on for this adventure including the 1200 miles to and from the start/finish at South Bend Indiana. I frequently have people say how many weeks does this take? We do this all in about 9 days from leaving home to returning home. Some other interesting numbers, we had 2 people on our team, Joe Vasta and I. The transit mileage on the schedule listed 2827 miles for the 2016 One Lap of America. We competed in 17 different events over 8 days plus a control stop at Lake Erie Harley Davidson in Cleveland. We visited 6 different road race tracks. The competition consisted of 2 skid pad events, 2 drag strip competitions and 12 time trials on road courses. On each time trial you get 1 lap around the course to reconnaissance the track, you then stop on the track at the start/finish line and are flagged to a start about 15 seconds apart to complete 3 timed laps. The total time of the 3 laps is what counts so if you have a problem like an off road excursion or a spin, you need to get moving as quickly as possible.
Last year gas prices were a little lower and this year, in general, lower still. We spent just over $740 on fuel. The average price we paid for Hi Test was $2.85 , and the highest was on the Indiana Toll road at $3.79.9 beating their last years high of $3.349, they really take advantage of their captive audience. Speaking of fuel we averaged 17.5 miles per gallon which isn't too bad considering we are pulling a trailer and our mileage on the track is about about 6 mpg. Tolls were a little higher this year and we spent $178.38 about 2 1/2 times the amount spent last year.
The competition seemed a little tougher this year. Other years we set our sights on a top 20 finish, but after seeing the lineup of vehicles in South Bend, I told Joe we would be lucky to get a top 30 out of the 69 entries. We ended up in 27th place overall and consider that a success. Thanks again to all who followed us and a special thanks to those who donated to our charity, the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.
