August’s Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week doesn’t mark the end of the sprint season, even if it is the most famous event. The Land Speed World Finals are scheduled for October 3-6, 2017 on the Salt Flats, weather permitting. If you’re heading to Bonneville for the first time, our Salt Flats Survival Guide can help you avoid everything from hearing damage to burns.
The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) organizes Speed Week and the World Finals. Helpful Tips for Viewers from an SCTA page explains the event, but doesn’t say much about personal protection other than wearing a hat and staying in the shade. By “shade” they mean banners or popups because what you see in the photo below is where it all happens. Note the lack of trees, buildings, or anything else that might cast a shadow.
Alvis Upitis/Getty Images
Alvis Upitis/Getty Images
This year, Digital Trends was “in the salt” for the Spirit of Munro 50th Anniversary race during Speed Week. It was my first trip to the Salinas and although many people gave me advice in advance, I was not prepared for anything. That’s why we decided to write this survival guide.
Why plan?
The Bonneville Salt Flats aren’t on the moon, they just look like it. You can camp for free on adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property while attending Salt Flats events, but there are no campground facilities, just wilderness. Also bring food and water, as the nearest town is 12 miles away.
The way many people get to the Bonneville Salt Flats is to fly into Salt Lake City and rent a car. Exit the airport and take the first right onto 80 West. The highway is straight and fast for 110 miles to exit 4. The speed limit is 80. I haven’t seen a single state trooper on two trips. I didn’t drive, but guess how fast most of the vehicles were going.
You will see the Salt Flats on your right before you come to the exit. When you go down there is a pump, a restaurant and a couple of small shops and that’s about it.
Salt Flats Survival Guide
Factors associated with the desert
Is it really salt?
Salt Flats salt is really salt. I didn’t try it myself, but three other journalists did. They all agreed that it had an extremely strong and sharp “salty” taste. Nobody said, “Oh, mmm, that’s great.” I’m happy to learn from other people’s experiences when it comes to testing something that’s been open in the ground for perhaps thousands of years.
Dehydration
You are in the desert under the sun. It’s dry. You dehydrate quickly if you don’t drink a lot of fluids. Coffee and alcohol don’t help much. The best option is water. If you start to feel thirsty, you are already partially dehydrated. If you don’t drink, it will get worse, and sometimes the “worst” can come on suddenly. I know this from previous personal experience. Drink at least twice as much as usual.
Bronzer
Spending a day in salt in the desert is intense and inconvenient. You should use sunscreen and reapply every few hours.
The tricky part is that the salt reflects the sun. Apply sunscreen to parts of your body that you wouldn’t normally protect, such as under your chin, under your nose, and even under your ears. If you’re wearing baggy shorts, there’s a real chance you’ll get sunburn in parts of your body where it can be extremely uncomfortable, not to mention embarrassing. ‘Enough talk.
hats
Hats are a good thing in Bonneville. Salt Flats vets wear silly hats with huge floppy brims that shade their shoulders, chests, backs, and upper arms, as well as cover their heads.
Sunglasses
Sunglasses will help protect your eyes, not only from the sun, but also from the reflection of the sun on the salt. The reflected sun may not be as bright as the sun itself, but it can still be very tiring. Good sunglasses can also help you see tiny cars miles away traveling at extremely high speeds.
Lipstick
Lip balm may not be necessary for everyone, but if you use it when you’re not in the desert, you’ll definitely need it on the Salt Flats. If you need lip balm when you’re in Vegas, you’ll need it here.
SCTA officials told us that all the shoes we wore in the salt would be destroyed in a few days.
Shoes
SCTA officials told us that all the shoes we wore in the salt would be destroyed in a few days. I was wearing an old pair that I was going to throw away. They were fine after I cleaned up the salt. It is not a big thing.
Pants
Pants are better than shorts on the Salt Flats. The pants will not only protect from the sun, but also from sand or salt. I haven’t seen anyone in a skirt or dress in three days. Jeans are the most common underwear.
shirts
Long-sleeved shirts certainly protect your arms better than short-sleeved shirts, but it seemed like most people wore short-sleeved shirts and just slathered on sunscreen.
desert wind
The desert winds blew rapidly three times in the four days we were in Bonneville. The wind picked up quickly twice the night we were at the Indian Motorcycle RV compound.
A very strong wind blew during the day while we were in the pits. There are no trees in the desert, and there are no hills or buildings in Bonneville, so nothing can stop the wind. You have to be very careful because the wind not only blows sand, but in Bonneville it can also throw salt, even if you are miles away from the Salt Flats.
cleansing salt
Indian Motorcycle hosted a group of journalists at Speed Week to see Lee Munro ride the new partially streamlined Indian Scout to celebrate his great-grandson and great-great-grandson’s 1967 world record. Lee did several races over four days. The following video shows him getting ready and taking off in his first run.
Lee Munro’s first ride on the Bonneville Salt Flats Short Course
We stayed in motorhomes in the desert. During the day, the same campers were driven to the salt pit area in Indiana. People were in and out of the RVs all day.
Even if you scraped your shoes, it was impossible not to find salt everywhere. I took it upon myself to sweep our RV and clean the salt off the stairs several times a day. The desert salt sweeps away like slightly wet snow.
Event-related factors
David Taylor/Getty Images
David Taylor/Getty Images
Ear plugs
I wondered before the trip if earplugs would be needed but decided against bringing them. That was a mistake. Vehicles competing for land speed records are noisy. Especially near the starting line. (See notes on press vests below.)
Out of control cars spin into the crowd at 400 mph
SCTA officials warned us of many things when we checked in and signed up for press passes and vests. A warning got our full attention.
You have to be alert at all times in the Salinas. Many of the lookouts for the three Salt Flats speed record tracks are only a quarter mile from the course. If the vehicle is spinning near 400 mph, the quarter mile is only 2.25 seconds away.
And yes, the speed will most likely be reduced, but if a 40-foot long streamer turns your way across a flat desert with no obstacles, don’t argue, get out of the way as best you can.
Nitrogen recovery is bad for cameras (not to mention humans)
SCTA officials also advised us not to stand behind or too close to nitrogen-burning vehicles. They emit harmful particles and vapors in the exhaust fumes that can quickly destroy photographic equipment. Not to mention human skin and eyes.
Advantages of the press vest
Registered members of the Bonneville press receive brightly colored numbered vests. The numbers on the vests serve two purposes: to ensure the vests are returned, and to identify your body in case you weren’t paying attention when the aerodynamicist began spinning in your direction at 400 mph.
Thanks to the vests, we were able to cross the security line and approach the vehicles that were about to start driving and talk to their drivers, equipment and track officials. Access was excellent.
Disadvantages of the press vest
Because he is wearing a pressure vest, he can find himself very close to vehicles making a ripping noise. You can also get behind those nitrogen-burning vehicles with their expensive cameras and gorgeous skin and eyes.
The following video is an example of a car that made a large amount of noise. I was too close, but so was everyone else. Even marshals with headphones covered their ears.
Dangerously Loud Sound — Car 5593 off the line at Bonneville Salt Flats Long Course
everyone is friendly
The Speed Week participants were universally friendly. While all the drivers compete, they compete against themselves for their personal best. It was obvious that they all supported each other.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn