Watch me race tomorrow...? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/21/2006 02:01:52 AM · #1

(sorry this is a little late notice, but i've been too busy working on buggy/being excited for this race to mention it here)

If any of you in Pittsburgh want to catch an awesome CMU tradition, come down to campus, the buggy prelims are tomorrow and finals are on Saturday. The course is on the CMU campus, going right past Phipps Conservatory on Schenley Drive. YOU WILL SEE ALL THE PEOPLE. Also, the roads are closed, so you'll have to park somewhere and walk (i'm not sure where you can do this).

Buggy, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is a .8 mile race which is a mix between street luge, engineered soapbox racing, and a baton relay (where the buggy acts like a baton). Usually they stuff someone my size or smaller into a five and a half foot long tube with wheels, pushes it up a hill and lets it roll down the other side. Then, after going around the course, the buggy executes a sharp right-hand turn (where crashes often happen for the amusement of the spectators) where it then is picked up by more people who push it up the last stretch of hill to the finish line.

Confused yet? Here's a really crappy video I made during practice: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB1BnTndgDg

This will be webcast! All of you who are not in Pittsburgh can watch me race tomorrow, too :D

//www.cmutv.org/buggy2006.htm has some info, click 'watch now' and setup all the software and you can see me race. The times that I, personally, will be on the course as follows:

8:08 - Pushing hill 3 (near the end of the course after the turn--it will be a TOTALLY BEAUTIFUL black and red and gold buggy, freshly painted)
8:56 - Driving the sky blue buggy.
10:23 - Driving the sky blue buggy.

These are all Friday morning, eastern standard time. Saturday morning is debatable, considering how well we do tomorrow.

I'm most looking forward to the last race because we're going up against my boyfriend's organization's A-team (I'm driving A-team for my org), and it's going to be a really close race because while their pushers are slightly faster and stronger, my buggy is just that much faster. I'm expecting a pass in the chute and then hoping the pushers will be able to keep up.

Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling now, I've got to get in at least a few hours of sleep before this happens. I haven't been this excited or ready for anything in my entire life. If you miss watching the webcast I might post some footage from my rolls later. And always, well-wishings are welcomed :)

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

04/21/2006 02:39:36 AM · #2

I watched the video (OW! The sun burned my retinas) - this looks very bizarre and interesting! Hope you survive and have a blast! I'll look for the post-event video. :)

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

04/21/2006 03:07:46 AM · #3

Haha, looks like a great sport. Brakeless I presume? :)

Also, don't eat sh*t.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

04/21/2006 03:37:11 AM · #4

Originally posted by MadMan2k:

Haha, looks like a great sport. Brakeless I presume? :)

Also, don't eat sh*t.

No, man, brakes are probably the most important part, safety-wise, at least. Once, when I was driving, my helmet slipped over my eyes and I overshot the curve and started bumping into the curb...the fact that my org's buggies are mechanically probably the safest with some of the best brakes kept me from getting hurt at all.

//www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~ar99/buggy/cmcc/1995/spin_l.mov

smilebig4me1x

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

04/21/2006 07:54:34 AM · #5

Ok...Im all set up and ready to watch...Let the race begin!

And leave him in the DUST!!!!! good luck!
~Cher~~ :o)

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

04/21/2006 08:14:01 AM · #6

Haha, you crazy kids! That looks like a total blast. Good luck and have fun!

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

04/21/2006 08:25:18 AM · #7

Best of luck in your races, that looks like a blast! Be safe! It's hard to believe people actually fit in those little tubes. If I were to squeeze my fat arse in there, I think I'd be stuck like Agustus in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. -Somebody get me an Oompa Loompa and get me the hell outta here! :-)

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

04/21/2006 09:03:20 AM · #8

Bummer... I'm coaching a soccer game tomorrow (despite not knowing a single thing about soccer, which is another story). It would be fun to see, though!

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

04/21/2006 01:24:39 PM · #9

So we didn't even come close to winning (we weren't realistically expecting to) but they were some of the best rolls around the course I've ever had. Also, the pusher who crossed the finish line with me was absolutely AMAZING...he dove at the last second to give a huge shove and got road burn all over, gronked the back of my buggy and nearly knocked me over (and scared the hell out of me) but it was worth it for the rush.

I don't have any videos available yet but I'll post them when I get some. Nothing terribly exciting happened, although I did pass the pusher that I was chasing for the first heat.

We didn't make it into finals tomorrow, but there are still exhibition heats, which are just fun runs with stuff like alumni pushing, etc. I'm not going to be driving but I'll show up just for kicks.

Thanks to anyone who watched...according to my roomie half the time the broadcast cut out and got stuck or something. I dunno.

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

04/21/2006 04:51:17 PM · #10

Originally posted by modgethanc:

Ah, OK. What kind of brakes do you use in those things? And what size wheels are they?