Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Rayce Day 1 - Testing times
It's go time. The build-up to the rayce has been long, stressful and exhausting. No one expects the rayce itself to be any different. Despite the difficulty and lack of sleeping, considering the load on the student's minds, the team rises up and presents the car in timely and professional fashion for the Teams Pictures. Some detail polishing later, they grid the car. They find that the Red River Raycer is not in the worst of shape, as 4 cars gridded in front of them yield their starting position to fix some untimely issues. The r3 Solar Car starts in its assigned position.
The rayce starts. This is the first real caravan day for the team. Lead car, Red River Raycer and chase car move in sync. They're making good speed, good time, and even passing a competitor. 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, the r3 Solar Car charges on. But then, bad weather hits. The grip goes away. The visibility goes away. The confidence goes away.
During the whole run, there was little sun to power the car. Texas didn't deliver its usual abundance of sun-rays. Hurricane Emily's presence is felt throughout the area. The car was running mostly on its fragile lithium-ion batteries that require so much protection circuitry. The team, perhaps a little under-experienced, perhaps a little over-excited, charged on through the impossible weather. The battery voltage was dropping. It was sliding down the "slippery slope," as one team member put it.
And then a battery cell died. It's not going to be an easy fix. 111 miles into the 212-mile stage, their running day was done. The team, making the most of its sunlight time, charges whatever they can while investigating their problem. They make it just in time to the checkpoint by trailer to lock up their batteries for the night.
Even though they're often reminded that they've already achieved more than could have been expected of them, the team, true raycers that they are, choose to charge on, full-effort, full-commitment, maximum results. The promise of a better car, more experienced team, and better times in 2 years is not enough. Their time is now. They want to do this thing.
The plan is to get to work on the battery-circuitry first thing next morning, do a quick systems check run, and trailer the car to the next checkpoint. There's just no time for all the repairs, a charge, and a run through the massive 300-mile stage.
This competition is intensely grueling, and it's wearing out the team. But they'll get this done and evolve as the competition carries on. No one doubts the arrival in Winnipeg, which should provide the Red River Raycer team with a much-needed boost.
The rayce starts. This is the first real caravan day for the team. Lead car, Red River Raycer and chase car move in sync. They're making good speed, good time, and even passing a competitor. 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, the r3 Solar Car charges on. But then, bad weather hits. The grip goes away. The visibility goes away. The confidence goes away.
During the whole run, there was little sun to power the car. Texas didn't deliver its usual abundance of sun-rays. Hurricane Emily's presence is felt throughout the area. The car was running mostly on its fragile lithium-ion batteries that require so much protection circuitry. The team, perhaps a little under-experienced, perhaps a little over-excited, charged on through the impossible weather. The battery voltage was dropping. It was sliding down the "slippery slope," as one team member put it.
And then a battery cell died. It's not going to be an easy fix. 111 miles into the 212-mile stage, their running day was done. The team, making the most of its sunlight time, charges whatever they can while investigating their problem. They make it just in time to the checkpoint by trailer to lock up their batteries for the night.
Even though they're often reminded that they've already achieved more than could have been expected of them, the team, true raycers that they are, choose to charge on, full-effort, full-commitment, maximum results. The promise of a better car, more experienced team, and better times in 2 years is not enough. Their time is now. They want to do this thing.
The plan is to get to work on the battery-circuitry first thing next morning, do a quick systems check run, and trailer the car to the next checkpoint. There's just no time for all the repairs, a charge, and a run through the massive 300-mile stage.
This competition is intensely grueling, and it's wearing out the team. But they'll get this done and evolve as the competition carries on. No one doubts the arrival in Winnipeg, which should provide the Red River Raycer team with a much-needed boost.
