June 9, 2010

Competition 2010: The Road to Competition

We have made it to the Sleep Inn in Fayetteville, Arkansas where we will be staying for the duration of competition.

Although relatively straightforward, the journey was not without perils. The rental van was in unsatisfactory condition to say the least. The van needed the right turn signals to be replaced but we were desperate for a vehicle and took it anyways. They said the repairs were minor and we could be reimbursed for any induced costs.

Immediately after hooking the van up to the trailer we discovered in addition to the turn signal bulb needing to be replaced, much of the van's electrical wiring was either disconnected or plain wrong. Austin and David were able to go to work on it and get the trailer lights working but the problems with the vehicle continued.

During the ride to Arkansas, it was discovered that the air conditioner was non-functioning, the steering assembly was loose and rusted through, and the gas pedal had a tendency to stick. The rental place has agreed to drive a replacement van down to Arkansas and switch it out with this van tomorrow morning. Well we made it, here are some pictures from our journey.


We departed from CMU at 4:30 am EST and arrived in Fayetteville at around 11 PM CST.


Driving westward through the Ford-Pitt tunnel.


Passing through ohio.



Making it past the arch with Mike sleeping.

2 comments:

Mr. Ockwel said...

Bummer about the Van. Good to hear you made it there safely. Best of luck to the team. Remember, the Carnivore is always full!

Mark Fuge said...

I like the obligatory "someone sleeping as we pass by the arch" picture. I think I got Alex doing that last year.

Good luck at competition guys, and I can wait to hear more updates!