WE'RE BACK! (and finally on American time!)
We won FIRST PLACE, for art.
And finished 5th place in the competition.
(click for more photos: Pre-China or What we started with)
Are you ready to see Rabid Transit in action? Well, scroll down and we'll let the tale unfold!
The first three photos are the truck ready to roll, after a few additions in China. The seat, fuel tank, seatbelts and fish sculpture had to be added with the help of a Chineese welder (thanks!) and a minimal supply of tools. We even used a "drill" (screwdriver) to make the hole for our vent hose in the fuel cell. And "tie straps" (slices of inner tube) to hold our fuel tank on and our batteries in! Woo hoo!
Duane and Jerry hoist the American flag in the opening ceremony.
The impossible teeter-totters were later taken off their stands so we wouldn't plummet to earth and die. Here's what some of the competition looked like.
A shot of the dirt track portion, that Duane did a great job driving. Except for that part where he thought he broke his back because he hammered into a hill at about 35 MPH.
Duane going into the pit, and coming out! (he almost got me!)
Then there was bowling...
A timed drag race...
An obstacle course...
The "wooden cars", which were EXACTLY the width of our truck...
And the final event, tug-o-war. We beat a few teams but not the unimog. He broke both of our U-joints, damn...
Yeah! We did it! A moment of glory on the last day...
Duane decided to give Mr. Sun the fish, as a memento and a thank you for sponsoring such a fun time in China. THANKS Mr. Sun...
But let's not forget the fire department that ZOOMED to the aid of one of the China teams as their vehichle burned to the ground in the warehouse, while welding on a roll bar. Whoops! Later, they would rebuild and continue to compete!
We also went on a huge parade, with about 100 off-road racers, around the city of Dezhou. It was pretty cool to be doing burnouts in the middle of the street with cops everywhere, just waving and enjoying the show! They also loved our postcards and collecting autographs!
And as an extra bonus, check out this myterious "X" intersection. To get to the other side of the freeway, you honk and drive into oncoming traffic. We were suprised we didn't see an accident in the 45 minutes we sat there. The green semi in the middle is coming towards us, the blue one on the left is crossing, hold on to your hat!...
Thanks for taking an interest in the Rabid Transit story. We will be posting a link to photos of the other teams in the future, so come back in 2005, we should have a bunch of photos posted by then!
(click for more photos: Pre-China or What we started with)
And the credits, one more time....
The team consists of Duane Flatmo, Jerry Kunkel and Scott Cocking. Additional help from our trouble shooter and good friend Marcus Schaible. Also guided by the brilliant mind and knowledge of Russel Marsh.
Thank you again to our "sponsors" who have given us great deals on equipment or just plain donated stuff, money or time:
Bob's Fine Cars, Bob Crivelo
John's Used Cars
"Arcata Salvage" Doug and Bonnie Conner
Les Schwab Tires
Eureka Wholesale Auto
Tomas Jewelry
Humboldt Internet
Konaboldt Coffee, Brian & Jeri
Russel Marsh, Technical Support
Don Clark, Technical Support
Marcus Schaible, "Mr. Mechanic"
Dale Warmuth at Leon's Mufflers, Eureka
More info about the venue: www.strangevehiclegames.com
See our US competition: Ramshackle!
...and the Kiwi Team: Kiwi Dragon