With all the ice around here, I started thinking about ice racing. The Hamilton Rod & Gun Club in central Mass., always hosted ice racing on the pond at the club. I wondered if they still raced there. Lo and behold (whatever that means) the season starts Sunday, January 5.
This is motorcycle and ATV racing on an oval shorttrack of solid ice. Forget, “If you ain’t sliding, you ain’t riding.” If you slide ice racing, you’re on your back. Your inside foot does slide, like you’d do on a dirt track. It’s just that your tires are covered in sheet-metal screws, their sharp-edged little heads meant to dig in, directing all horsepower forward, save for some snowflakes shot off them. So don’t go down if you don’t want to see your gear torn to shreds. (In Europe the screw-heads are dismissed in favor of inch-plus spikes, and the riders don’t slide their feet, they slide their knees. So there. )
The “Sturbridge Ice Races” season runs from the 5th to February 2, with racing every Sunday. The name hints at the town where you’ll find the gun club. You can find the directions easier on your phone than I can here. Or on a phone.