On The Road with Streetwise Special Delivery Inc.: April 2010

Monday, April 12, 2010

Santa Clara Traffic

Check out the entrance to Santa Clara's Traffic Court on Homestead Street every weekday morning or afternoon. It is always lined with city police cars, motorcycle units, and CHP vehicles who's officers are inside testifying against the many drivers they issue tickets to.

Still, motorists continue to speed, even though Santa Clara's city streets are unusually filled with radar traps....especially just west of the San Jose Airport on both DeLaCruz Blvd and Lafayette Streets.

I travel those corridors every day for work, and it seems I'm either changing lanes to let speeders pass, or watching them get tickets on the side of the road! It's not that I'm some "goody goody" slow-poke who never breaks the speed limit, but it's not that hard to see cops pointing radar guns at you!

They are always there, where Coleman Ave becomes DeLaCruz Blvd....stretching past the Hwy 101 interchange. Yet, folks continue to plow through at well over the 40mph speed limit, which should be fast enough for them!

Heading to work the morning of April 6th, I saw three cars pulled over by motorcycle cops. Then, I saw two more getting tickets(on DeLaCruz Blvd) on my way home! It occures to me those getting cited, and those getting away with it--are creating a very DANGEROUS situation on a heavily populated street.

For whatever reason, they are not paying attention. They are driving as if with "tunnel vision". They are headed for either danger or an expensive citation. They need to SLOW DOWN!

I even saw a driver get pulled over ahead of me as three cops just stood in the middle of the street.(Aviation Rd.) They stopped the whole group of us.(7or8 cars) Then, they physically led the lead car to the side for a ticket, by way of this unusual speed trap.

The Santa Clara Police Department seems to be making a statement....Slow Down! We should heed this advice, in Santa Clara, and in every city in the Bay Area.

Thanks, and be safe of the road.

PeteCam4

Friday, April 9, 2010

LIVE MUSIC IN SAN JOSE AND LOS GATOS

LIVE MUSIC IN SAN JOSE AND LOS GATOS

I had friends from out of town one of them was a Jazz and R an B Singer from Florida she wanted to check out the Jazz and R an B scene, but we did not fill like driving to San Francisco or Oakland. I found two live spots to go and listen to live music this past week. The first spot was right down the street from where I live called the Three Flames at 1547 Meridian Avenue San Jose, CA 95125. For all you Jazz lovers, there’s a Swing Jazz band called Modesto Briseno Septet from 7:30 to 10:30 pm on Tuesday, come dance or sit back and groove to their Blues-ey Jazz style. If you can’t get out on Tuesday there’s always Sunday night too they have Latin Jazz added to there repertoire. Come out and get your Salsa on from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, there is no cover charge. The second spot is a place I used to frequent back in the 90s, called The Number One Broadway 102 South Santa Cruz Avenue Los Gatos Ca. 95030. If you play an instrument or sing you can come put your name on the list and sit in with The JC band on Thursday nights from 10:00pm to 1:00pm. They play R an B this is definitely a kick back atmosphere, there’s dancing and no cover charge. My friends and I had a great time we didn’t have to take a long drive, If your looking for something different to do, check out these two spots you will have a great time.

LM

http://www.3flamesrestaurant.com/index.html

http://www.numberonebroadway.com/

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Satisfying the "Need for Speed"!

Did you ever want to know what it feels like to get behind the wheel of a race car, and drive as fast as you can while making the sharpest turns, never worrying about injury or getting a ticket?

At "Go Kart Racer" in Burlingame, California....fantasy becomes reality, seven days a week! Go Kart Racer is a huge, indoor facility located a block west of the 'Bay shore Freeway'(Hwy101) just off the Broadway St. exit at 1541 Adrian Road.

It has the largest indoor track (3/8mile) in the United States, featuring three, European-designed courses called the Yokohama, Monza, and Super Track, with state of the art go karts, hair-pin and high speed turns, and an excellent staff of safety officials and customer service hosts.

This is a great place for family members, groups of friends, and corporate teams to enjoy great, road racing competition....while fulfilling the pure, powerful, adrenaline rush desired by all of us "road hogs"!

I speak from personal experience two months ago...my first ever! My boss, Streetwise President Michael Ealey, who's on the board of directors of the 'California Delivery Association', sent me there to race against six other members....including the CDA President, Andrew Brady.

Michael would have gone, but, since he stands 6-feet 8 inches tall, he thought I'd be a better fit. Well, we had a blast! We all met there for a catered lunch, were fitted into racing suits and helmets, saw a rules and instructional video, and hit the track for ten-minutes of practice laps, and a grueling 20-minute race.

I have never felt that kind of ground speed in a car, nor endured a tougher arm and body workout from making all those tight turns. I have much more respect now for professional race car drivers, many of whom began racing in go karts. More on that later.

As for our racing finish, it turns out Michael may have fared better than me! Let's just say I wouldn't have claimed any prize money....had any been offered. They did give us a nice victory celebration, and, although it would have been nice to stand on the podium, I still had fun! WE all did, and it was great exercise too!

While working as a TV sportscaster in Bakersfield, California in the 1980's,I got to know the famous Mears racing family, otherwise known as "The Mears Gang". Rick went onto win the Indy 500 four times(2 while I was there), while older brother Roger won 4-Baja 1000's! They both began racing on go karts as kids! So did their sons Roger Jr.,Casey,(now a NASCAR champ) Rick's son Clint, and current superstar Kevin Harvick.

So did other racing legends I had the privilege of interviewing, such as: Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan Bill Elliott, Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace. All went on to stardom, and all began in go karts during their early days. To me, go carting is as fast as I want to go!

'Go Kart Racer' has also had its share of famous visitors to the track, including Jerry Rice, Jason Kidd, Michael Strahan, MC Hammer, Jon Fogherty, and even the late Paul Newman.

If you're interested in testing your driving skills, 'Go Kart Racer requires you have a valid drivers license, and those ages 12-17 are allowed a special driving school course. Those pregnant, or with back or heart ailments, are not advised to drive, however, for the rest of us it's a safe, well-run, high-caliber experience,of speed, hard turns,and thrills.(no bumping allowed)

As for the cost: 10-minute hot laps are $25 each and $20 each additional lap.

Races are $45 each, which includes 20-minutes of between 20-30 laps.($40 dollars for each additional race)

The grand prix course includes 30-minutes of between 50 and 60 laps on the track, and that costs $60-dollars. For me, it was well worth it! You should try it too....at least once!

Thanks, and drive carefully...no matter what road you're on!

Sincerely, PeteCam4