Kinetic Sculpture Grand Championship

From kinetic race

This guy reminds me that everyone has their own opinion in Arcata



In another weekend adventure, my buddy Tim, his brother Dan, and his uncle Greg changed our annual tradition to a trip to the World Championship Kinetic Sculpture Race in Arcata. Greg's friend Scott built a sculpture called "Dow Jones Wild Ride."


I guess I should explain the premise of this crazy race. The vehicle has to be human powered, it should be artistic (which ours was a not quite as extravagant as the others) and it has to work on the road, the sand dunes, the bay, the river, and mud.

From kinetic race

There are many highlights of the race including a parade at the beginning with performances, a death defying drop called: dead-mans drop, a mid race camp-out and bonfire, and a final parade down main street Ferndale. The awards arent typical of other races, the middle finisher gets an award, the first to break down gets an award, the team with the most spirit gets an award, etc., etc.



Its a lot of fun and it brings out the most interesting characters from all over Humboldt county and beyond.



Here is a slideshow of all of the shots:

Century club

Last Weekend, I became a member of the "century club!" and if you think I'm talking about the one that includes drinking 100 shots of beer, you are mistaken. I rode my bike 100 miles in the blistering heat just to say that I had done it! I've ridden long distances over time, but never that far in one day.


A teaching colleague of mine has made it a life goal of hers to complete a century ride. She decided to coerce me into doing it with her, so I thought, why not? So we both signed up.

If you heard the whole story you might have thought I made a mistake by signing up for it or that I was going into it completely blind. Not the case!

I actually knew that it would be in the 90s to 100s where we were riding (Anderson, CA) I also knew that the climbing would add to approximately 7000 feet. And I was still into it. I may have set myself up for failure, but fail I did not!

I rode my ass off (literally) and it was kind of fun. There were little old rotary club ladies showering me with strawberries, misters, and applause as I completed each stage. I had to abandon my friend Cindy about half way through because the heat and the hills were killing her.

I finished around 5 and was told that my eyes looked like they were sunken into my head (look at the picture above) and I was bordering slight dehydration, but it was nothing a little spaghetti and 7up couldn't fix. the first time I tried to stand up my muscles contracted and told me I would have to lay down on the grass a little longer.

Overall I think I did a pretty good job, and I was proud of myself. Maybe this is the start of a new riding career. Who knows? LOOK OUT LANCE!!!!

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