During the planning of the Solar Decathlon officials established a de-construction schedule of only 52 hours in which the teams had to remove the houses that took nearly a week to assemble. The conflicting goals were to keep the houses open to the public as long as possible, yet quickly return the site to National Park Service control, and that left the 20 teams with a real challenge. The Miners put together a plan that, while stretched to the limit, SHOULD have gotten them off the site within the 52 hours allotted. Well, they didn't meet the goal, they blew it out of the water!

Starting at 10 p.m. Saturday and working 'round the clock, the Miners removed the solar systems and pulled the upper story off the house by Sunday mid-day. By about the 38-hour point both halves of the house were then packed with furniture, solar panels and other components, rolled off the site and loaded onto flatbed trailers for the long ride home, and all that was left was the cleaning up the property. All-in-all it took about 45 hours to acomplish what many had said couldn't be done in less than three days! Why do we say three days? Apparently so many teams felt that 52 hours was an impossible goal that the organizers stretched the deadline to three full days! The solar house girls and guys figured that they had a workable plan so why not stick with it? They did all that and more and as it became obvious that their goal was attainable morale SOARED! Not only did they work extremely hard, they had a great time doing it! Amazing? Well, yeah, but isn't that typical of UMR's design team students? We think our students, faculty and alums would definitely agree.

Posted at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UMR finished 11th overall in the Decathlon, beating out teams like MIT and Kansas. Now the team is on its way home (if they're not already back) and so is the house, which will be placed back on its foundation in UMR's Solar Village. Here is the UMR news release.

Posted at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Solar Decathlon points battle on the National Mall continues to wage, but UMR is currently leading the Hot Water and Appliances portions of the event. The Miners have yet to be judged on Energy Balance and the all-important (to us) Engineering, and the Comfort Zone, Lighting, and Getting Around events are judged throughout the week, so no points have yet been awarded in any of those categories.

Stay tuned and find out who provided our entire photo-voltaic system. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Posted at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our Miners wore themselves out rebuilding the solar house on the National Mall, and if they thought it was going to get easier they got a big surprise Saturday and Sunday. THOUSANDS of people swarmed the event site to tour the houses and learn about new energy technologies, and long lines in front of most of the houses were the norm. The Mall was simply PACKED. Adam, Jacobe, Luke, and Travis, Mike and Samantha found out that talking non-stop for hour after hour to attentive groups of people will wear you out much faster than swinging a hammer all night. We hear that Jacobe was snoring before he even settled into a chair Sunday night.

Anyway, judging has started in earnest but as of this reading we don't see any scores posted. The architectural judging has been a tough event for a nearly pure engineering team, so if we can post a respectable score in that category we'll go with our strengths in the less subjective events. The public reaction to our house has been very enthusiastic; a "real" home, and "very liveable" are the comments that we keep hearing, and the price tag has been very well received by folks in that part of the country. A bargain, even.

You can learn more about the overall event at www.solardecathlon.org.

Posted at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the annals of the Solar Decathlon, UMR has built not only great solar houses, but also a reputation for arrriving on the National Mall prepared and ready to work. In both '02 and '05, the Miners were the first (or tied for first) to have their houses certified for proper operation, and this year, despite bringing a more complicated structure they were still in the top third of the houses deemed complete. Maybe that is why when the media descended upon the decathlon site UMR's breath-taking structure caught their eye. Or camera.

Regardless, the news crews from CNBC passed up other teams' entries and operated on the front porch of UMR's stunning entry, setting up lights, sound, tripods and video cameras. The Miners were the big feature of CBNC's report, we are told, so the UMR (MO S&T) march toward national recognition is picking up even more speed. Want to become part of a great project, one that will mark you as a future leader? Then enroll at Missouri S&T and join one of our many design teams. Education doesn't get any better than this!

Posted at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

High praise, indeed, from a member of the solar house team that took 3rd place in the 2005 Solar Decathlon. We won't mention the name of the well-known school, but it's fabeled location is "Far Above Cayuga's Waters". Regardless, we think you'll agree that soon-to-be Missouri S&T's stunning interior design would impress any stylish interior decorator, even this writer's lovely wife.

UMR's Solar House Team has long held that the Solar Decathlon is more than just about building a solar powered house, but more about designing and building an amazing energy-efficient house that also just HAPPENS to get all it power from the sun. And especially an efficient, solar-powered house that people would actually want to LIVE in. Don't believe us? How about UMR's Solar Village, where our '02 and '05 house now serve as very popular student residences. Still don't believe us? Why not visit the houses for yourself. We'd love to give you a tour.
Anyway, the previous Solar Decathlons had a very strong architectural perspective, and considering that most entries were designed more by architecture students than engineers UMR more than held its own, so much so that UMR's 05 house was featured in Popular Mechanics magazine a few months later, and honored by the D-I-Y Cable channel as well. And we expect similar kudos for our really cool 07 house when the dust (er, judging) settles. Not bad for engineers, eh?
Stay tuned for more cool stuff from the nation's capital.

Posted at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The UMR Solar House Team will be featured live this morning on CNBC. The segment airs at 9:40 a.m. Central Time.

Also, CNBC is scheduled to return to the UMR Solar House at 1 p.m. Central (2 p.m. Eastern) to broadcast live.

The UMR Solar House Team is one of 20 college and university teams competing in the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The event began earlier this week and concludes on Oct. 20. This weekend, several UMR alumni will gather at the UMR Solar House for an event.

The UMR team is also blogging about the experience.

Posted at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There has been some confusion as to StreaMiner's top speed last week. We're now officially calling it 59.26 mph. And we're sticking by the claim that Jerrod is now the third-fastest college student in the history of human-powered vehicle racing. Some results from Battle Mountain are posted here. Also, we found another blog with Battle Mountain info here.

Jerrod is planning to take StreaMiner down to Springfield for Rolla Night Monday, Oct. 15, at the Clarion Hotel on South Glenstone. If you're in the area, stop by and see StreaMiner's battle scars from Battle Mountain. The UMR recruiting event runs from 6-8:30 p.m.

Posted at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UMR's Solar House's reconstruction on the National Mall is nearly complete. The girls and guys pretty much kept on schedule rebuilding the complex structure, with both modules quickly placed and assembled and the second story components lifted into place without incident. The weather has been great (if you don't mind hot and humid), just perfect for those 12-14 hour days of heavy physical effort. On Sunday all heavy work and generator noise was banned to alow the public to wander around the huge competition site, so the team members concentrated on finishing the interior.

Worsksite safety on is paramount so Nicole Annis and Jacobe Colbert (above) install the last solar panels using safety harnesses loaned by Alberici Construction of St Louis, without fear of falling on students simultaneously finishing up the deck systems. The rest of the day was devoted to finishing up railings and rebuilding the main house entry, which is the keystone of the house's design.

Luke Sudkamp kept busy with a circular saw, but didn't have much time to take in the sights such as the US Capital in the distance. That will come later.

Posted at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not sure if Bob will get a chance to post tonight (he has a 6 a.m. flight out of Reno), so I'll go ahead and tell you that Jerrod and the UMR team came up short of the record, posting a 55 mph run in really cold weather tonight. But Jerrod can now say he's the third-fastest college student to ever push a human-powered vehicle to the max. (See the unofficial/official UMR news release text after the jump.) I want to say that Jerrod, Andrew, Craig and Matt are just about the neatest, most determined student ambassadors that UMR could hope for. They have put so much work into this project and they are very deserving of admiration. Right now, they are all at an Owl Club banquet celebrating their accomplishments. At least, I think that's where they are. (The Owl Club, a casino and diner and motel, is just about the only place in the middle of Nevada to get a hot meal and we've all been there a bunch of times this week.) It's a long way from Rolla to Nevada. See you back in the Central Time Zone.
Signing off from the Super 8 in Battle Mountain,
Lance Feyh, UMR Public Relations

UMR racer records third-fastest time ever during World Human Power Speed Challenge

Human-powered vehicle racer Jerrod Bouchard, a senior in mechanical engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, recorded the third-fastest time ever by a college student this week in the World Human Power Speed Challenge at Battle Mountain, Nev.

Bouchard's best official attempt in four tries on the 5-mile straightaway in Nevada was 58.29 mph. According to Mike Mowett, a statistician for the Human Powered Vehicle Association, the 61.49 mph record was set in 1993 by Jeff Solt, a national class sprinter who rode a University of California-Berkeley bike. Between Solt and Bouchard is Ron Layman, who recorded a time of 59.89 mph for the California Polytechnic University team in 2004 at Battle Mountain.

Human-powered vehicles are recumbent bicycles with aerodynamic shells. Bouchard and his UMR teammates worked on their vehicle, StreaMiner, for about a year prior to the event. They designed, built and tested the bullet-shaped bike in anticipation of going after the collegiate record. The team consists of chief engineer Bouchard, who is from Camdenton, Mo.; aerodynamics designer Andrew Sourk, a senior in aerospace engineering from St. Joseph, Mo.; team leader Craig George, a senior in electrical engineering from St. Joseph; and composite specialist Matt Brown, a senior in mechanical engineering from Rolla.

The 5-mile stretch of highway where the annual Battle Mountain event is held is one of the straightest stretches of road in North America. Each evening during the event, which was held Oct. 1-6 this year, the road is closed for approximately one hour before sunset. The riders get one attempt per night. Chase vehicles follow each rider down the road.

Several event organizers catch the human-powered vehicles as the racers attempt to slow down at the finish line. The riders are then extracted from their vehicles. Bouchard says you can tell he's really "pushed it" when he's unable to walk away for several minutes after the aerodynamic shell is removed from StreaMiner.

This year's week-long event was marred by cold weather and wind. All racing was cancelled on Friday, Oct. 5, due to wind and snow, and the riders were unable to reach top speeds in the cold weather on Saturday. Oct. 6. Bouchard recorded his best time earlier in the week.

After qualifying on Monday, Oct. 1, Bouchard and his teammates had several setbacks, including a few crashes. Fortuanately, after each crash, they were allowed to start again and Bouchard did finish those runs successfully. During one sprint, Bouchard's small windshield fogged up and he had difficulty seeing the road. During another run, he topped 60 mph and even passed a vehicle that had started two minutes before him. But he had to slow down in order to overtake the other vehicle safely, a maneuver which cost him speed during the crucial stretch of road where the vehicles are officially timed.

In addition to the UMR team, professional riders and crews from the University of California-Davis and Western Washington University competed during the 2007 World Human Power Speed Challenge.

Bouchard, Sourk, George and Brown are all members of UMR’s Human-Powered Vehicle Team, which won East Coast and West Coast championships in collegiate human-powered racing last spring. The Battle Mountain endeavor, which emphasizes sprinting speed, is a separate challenge that was born out of the larger team’s success.

-30-

Posted at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As feared, weather played havoc with tonight's final sprints so the collegiate record still stands, but Jerrod did manage to post the 4th highest collegiate speed in history, a blistering 59.36 mph earlier in the week.

The wind was fickle, negating nearly every rider's attempt at a legal run. The UMR team knew that temperatures would be a real problem, but no one anticipated 40 degrees at the start line. Regardless, it was all or nothing.
Jerrod had a false start because StreaMiner had been made so slick that Craig and Andrew couldn't get a grip on it to keep it upright, but the only result was a few more scratches.

On the re-start the bike got away cleanly and Jerrod headed down the road, but ran into problems early. As his exertion and breathing heated up the enclosed bike the windshield began to fog and the defroster system they devised today simply couldn't keep up. The farther he rode the worse it got and eventually all Jerrod could see was the white line on the edge of the pavement, but he kept pushing.

Nerves in the chase vehicles were near the breaking point because as Jerrod struggled with visibility he weaved in and out of the racing lane. As the chase vehicles crept past 50mph StreaMiner picked up more and more speed, and began to pull farther away. It looked as if Jerrod would pull it out at the last minute, but it was not to be. Stress from poor visibility and a week's worth of frustration and effort had drained so much from Jerrod that he managed a 53+ mph final run. So wiped out was Jerrod that officials had to physically lift him from the bike and set him on the roadway like a wounded soldier, and was some time before he could walk under his own power.

Andrew's post-race calculations showed that the air density during Jerrod's final run was worse than sea level, wrecking the team's design calculations based on Battle Mountain's typical high desert conditions which make it the home of human powered speed records. The heavy air added drag to StreaMiner that Jerrod simply couldn't overcome. As Andrew said later, "you can't beat physics". The same factor crippled tonight's other riders: all the veteran teams (including the world and european record holders) had runs of 5-7 mph slower than their early week sprints so no one really had a successful run. The irony is that tonight's run was the first "legal" run as timing trap winds finally abated for Jerrod's run.

UMR/Missouri S&T did take 4th overall (out of 15 particpants) in the '07 event, besting several Speed Challenge veterans, and swept the collegiate category with ease and took home prize money awarded to the top college team exceeding 50mph.

Race organizers look to Missouri S&T's participation as an indication that a new speed challenge class should be organized for university teams. And our guys are already figuring out what it will take to break the record. Next year.

Posted at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last night's storm left the surrounding mountains with chilly temperatures and a light coating of snow that reached nearly to the valley floor. Things have warmed up a bit and the winds are moderate, and we hope the sunset will help diminish the breezes further.

The guys have installed a small defroster fan to keep the windshield clear in what is expected to be a chilly run. StreaMiner's skin has been sanded and polished so smooth that it is difficult to hold. Jerrod is napping, and UMR will get the last run of the evening. And they are psyched. This is it, simply.

GO MINERS!

Posted at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UMR's solar house has been topped off with the addition of the upper walls and roof sections yesterday. Three 18-wheelers hauled the modern-style solar powered house the 1,000 miles to the nation's capital. Two of the trucks unloaded Wednesday, and once the house modules were bolted together and secured the truck carrying the higher walls and roof panels pulled up to the site and the second-story components were carefully lifted into place.

The weather continues to be warm and dry, excellent for an intensive construction schedule, to say nothing of having a roofless house for a couple of days. UMR has a reputation for rapid solar house set-up. In both previous Solar Decathlons ('02 and '05) the Miners were the first team to have their houses completed and certified for operation.

Posted at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, here's the situation. It is 4 in the afternoon, 35 degrees outside and blowing hard, raining on the race course and there is a winter weather advisory for tonight. Would YOU want to ride a bicycle 60-80 mph down a dark highway? Didn't think so, and neither do the folks here, so racing is cancelled for tonight. Guess that means that wind speed is just a little too high to set a valid record, but wouldn't THAT tailwind be fun to watch, eh?

Anyway, Andrew and Craig report that StreaMiner has been made slicker than ever, and they'll bet the house on tomorrow night's run.

By the way, did we mention that Battle Mountain is a mining town? Wouldn't it be appropriate for the Miners to be the collegiate champions? GO MINERS!

Posted at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unbelievable tension; the drama really got ratcheted up last night. Thursday's weather was perfect; calm winds, moderate temperatures and high, thin clouds had the guys chafing to run at mid-day, but looming on the western horizon was a large Pacific storm moving inexorably closer. The big question was could the bikes outrace the storm?

The guys were pumped. StreaMiner was repaired to an even smoother finish than the original paint job, the on-board computer was re-mounted, and Jerrod was well rested. The troops deployed to SR 305.

An hour before launch the clouds moved in, temperatures cooled noticably, the wind picked up, and Monday's winter clothing reappeared. The teams gathered at the start area (mind the cow chips, boys) with Discovery Channel video crews hovering around the top teams, UMR included, of course.

StreaMiner was scheduled for the second heat and the last run of the night, so the guys had time to prepare. Jerrod and other riders warmed up on their stationary bikes, Craig helped launch riders in heat #1, and Andrew and Matt double-checked the chase vehicle. Jerrod even got some last-minute pointers from world champion and emergency tire-provider Sam Wittingham.

And then things got interesting. VERY interesting. The second heat was made up of all the fastest racers. The very best (Sam and other professionals) always go first because they can't be overtaken. UMR was slated to be the last of 5 bikes to run, but the #4 rider balked at the strong crosswinds and opted out, so with light fading StreaMiner moved up a slot. And then they were off.

Jerrod fought off the wind (StreaMiner is designed for stability over 50 mph, not so much when slow) and began to build speed. 10, 20, 30, maybe 40mph as the mile markers slipped by. Get the right gearing. Hit the cadence. Two miles to go and the chase vehicles are nudging 50mph! Suddenly Jerrod begins to pull away. Farther. Faster. Faster still. He is leaving the chase vehicles in the dust! He HAS to be doing well over 60! The guys are yelling GO! GO, JERROD, GO!

And then they see the flashing lights. At 1,000 meters to go Jerrod is overtaking the #3 rider and his chase car, who started two minutes ahead! There isn't enough room for all of them. In the fading light Jerrod can barely see the other rider, the other chase car can't see Jerrod, and that rider probably has no idea what is happening so he can't get out of the way! Jerrod has no choice but to back off pedaling to avoid a collision.

In what has to be a timekeeper's worst nightmare both bikes enter the all-critical time trap at nearly the same time, so no one knows what speeds to assign. UMR's pursuit car can't get around the other chase vehicle and check on Jerrod, who by now is in the catch area as darkness falls.

Total confusion because this has never happened before in Speed Challenge racing. Back at the hotel things began to be sorted out; times were finally established and despite the mayhem Jerrod was clocked at just over 55 mph.

Ultimately it came down to the wind which refused to abate at dusk. The overtaken bike aparently was unable to handle the strong winds and chose to slow down or risk crashing (in heat #1 a similar bike crashed). StreamMiner, designed to perform at high speed, became rock-solid but simply had no place to go. And because of the wind none of the times that night would have became official even if records had been surpassed. After four nights of racing only about 10-15% of the sprints would have been officlal marks because the winds have just been too high.

There are possibly two more attempts for StreaMiner and the guys. Rain and snow threaten tonight's run and may well preclude any speed attempts, but that gives Jerrod time to rest and recover. Saturday is the last hurrah for this event so it is an all-or-nothing at that point. Strong winds are still on the menu, so it appears that Mother Nature may be frowning on changing the record books. She is pretty harsh out here.

One thing is for sure. Missouri S&T/UMR is now a top player in this league, and four guys are coming back to Rolla with newly-minted grey hair. Stay with us, folks, there's a lot more to this story.

Posted at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Rolla brought more to Battle Mountain that a top contending bike with a great paint job. They also unveiled Craig George, their Human Training Wheels.

Veteran Battle Mountain teams have for years devised many launching systems, some more successful than others, but race officials have been so impressed with the StreaMiner's launching prowess that they raved about it at Wednesday night's debriefing. Immediately after several teams approached Craig with a request for his help, so while Jerrod, Andrew and Matt were repairing body damage or sleeping in Thursday, Craig was back on the qualifying course providing his special expertise to several teams. Word is that they have offered to buy special lubricants for his rollerblades.

Posted at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Can't resist posting a photo of what looks like the world's biggest human powered vehicle poised to run a qualifying heat. Is Buck Rogers missing a space ship?

Posted at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Solar House Team is rebuilding the solar house in Washington DC and the Speed Challenge team is grabbing headlines in the Nevada desert, but UMR's other premier design teams are hard at work back in Rolla. The announcement that Toyota will sponsor the 2008 solar car race has breathed new life into solar racing programs across the country.

Construction on Missouri S&T's Solar Miner VI is underway and the solar cells are being harvested from an unusual source; Solar Miner V 's high-powered 2005 array. In the shadow of 2003 national champion Solar Miner IV and In a money- and time-saving strategy, UMR is carefully sawing up the body and gently peeling away the backing from the $100,000 solar array. So far nearly every panel has tested good, and the critical parts are carefully stored away for later use. SM VI is scheduled to roll out in time for the Best Ever 100th St Pat's celebration in March 2007. Now THAT will be a party!

Posted at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Musical chairs, er, trucks actually, on the National Mall as 50+ 18-wheelers descended upon one section of the Mall all at the same time, all trying to disgorge their solar houses in the middle of the night. How'd YOU like to be in charge of that?
Anyway, we are delighted to report that the reconstruction of UMR's solar house is on schedule despite a 2-hour traffic delay in moving onto their lot. The two house modules are safely off the trucks, set on their foundations and bolted together. Now students are hooking up the plumbing and under-house electrical systems and looking forward to installating the upper walls and roof sections tomorrow (Friday). All the heavy jacks, lifting equipment and other shipping items have been removed and stored off site, and the innovative siding is going back up. By week's end we should see a nearly finished house.
The team is pretty busy, so we don't have photos to post but we hope to rectify that shortly.

Posted at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Race officials look like they are trying to land planes on an aircraft hanger, which is similar to grabbing bikes that have just been going from 60 to 80 mph.

A scratched-up StreaMiner cruises in for a landing, safe in the hands of fellow speed enthusiasts.
Volunteers act like a safety net to grab (and run with) the bikes as they slow to a stop, and prevent the two-wheeled jewels from falling over. It gets particularly dicey when bikes come in just seconds apart, because as exhausted riders are being extracted from their mounts other machines are easing to a stop.

Posted at 01:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Day three of human powered vehicle racing was pretty. Pretty blustery, and very nearly disasterous for StreaMiner. The UMR team designed a vehicle that slips through the air, but its flat sides make it difficult to control in strong cross winds.

After a perfect start StreaMiner streaked down the course, and even began to pull away from the chase vehicle as Jerrod approached the 50 mph speed mark. A sudden blast of wind nearly toppled the bike but he recovered nicely; moments later a bigger gust instantly flipped StreaMiner on its side and sent it careening down the highway like a spinning top. The chase crew immediately pounced on the bike to clear it from the road and check on Jerrod's (and the bike's) condition. Remarkably both were fine despite a nearly 250-ft slide down the asphalt. Not a scratch on Jerrod and only gouges and paint damage to StreaMiner, but with only one run per day it looked like the day (and maybe the event) was over for UMR. The guys gathered their wits, loaded it back in the truck and as soon as the road reopened headed back to the start where one remaining time slot was still available. In recognition of UMR's dedication and potential race officials agreed to a rare second run for StreaMiner and Jerrod was back in business. Though a little winded from his rocky first run, he took off with a vengence and blazed to 59.26 mph as darkness fell, just short of the existing record.

It looks like the team is now poised for an all-out attack on the title, though warnings of winter-like weather tomorrow are being heard.
Stay tuned and hang on for a real rough ride!

Posted at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Out here in the middle of Nevada, we just read that the Wendy's in Rolla has been named one of the top Wendy's in America. That got us missing home and feeling proud. Speaking of proud, we're out here with Jerrod and his UMR crew to chronicle their attempt to break the the collegiate human-powered land speed record (which you already know about if you're reading this, so this is getting kind of repetitive).

P.S. Did we mention that it's pretty desolate out here?

P.P.S. Stay tuned for more of Bob's updates, which should be posted some time Pacific Time after tonight's action (or at least by some time tomorrow morning). We'll be here all week!

Posted at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

We would be remiss if we didn't mention Jerrod's biggest supporter, counselor, and part-time crew member, his mother Marcie. Marcie and her husband Robert have been been at the race site to offer support, and while we are sure Jerrod will be a little embarassed we thought we'd share this tender moment anyway.

Posted at 02:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the desert sun beginning to dip behind the Nevada mountains, Jerrod warms up and psyches up for UMR's first-ever attack on Nevada Route 305 and the collegiate speed record, while Craig and Matt make last-minute checks on StreaMiner.

StreaMiner finally hit the speed run and blazed down the course at 54.9 miles per hour, nearly 7mph faster than the second-place college team.

A day after a thrown chain aborted UMR's first record attempt the crew finally got it together, but not without another equipment scare. Just before their first scheduled run one tire blew and the other's valve failed. The guys had extra tires, but back at the hotel, miles away. Turning to the other riders lined up behind them, world record holder (81.5mph) Sam Wittingham came through with spares, and in a wild rush they yanked out the chassis and in under 10 minutes had both tires repaired, Jerrod jammed back in the bike, and pushed off with a support vehicle trailing behind.
StreaMiner's first-ever full length run took place just seconds before the end of the first heat. Worries about windshield condensation and sufficient air in the cramped enclosure proved unfounded, and Craig, Matt, Jerrod and Andrew feel confident that the speed record is well within their reach over the next evenings.

Posted at 01:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Where do you keep a highly-prized vehicle that you spent months building? In your hotel room, of course! While competitors' bikes sit outside the Battle Mountain Super 8 Motel, Andrew and Craig carefully haul StreaMiner from their room. Is it crowded? Four guys, all their stuff and a nearly 10-foot-long vehicle? You bet! Is it worth it? Absolutely!

We spoke earlier about UMR Alumni Support. What better example can we offer but Matt Wolk, leader of the Human Powered Vehicle Team when UMR started its 6-year run of east coast championships?

Matt has served as as a race official on several ASME-sponsored Human Powered Vehicles races, and re-joined the guys for the Battle Mountain journey. Matt works on balancing the front wheel while Jerrod applies anti-fog treatments to StreaMiners's windshield.

Posted at 01:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Weeks ago, when StreaMiner was covered in Masonite and duct tape, we said that a really cool paint job was in the offing. Well, Duke's Body Shop pulled out all the stops and StreaMiner really ROCKS! Just hours before heading to Nevada Andrew Sourk, Jerrod Bouchard and Craig George unveiled the shiny new paint scheme topped off with the first public use of Missouri S&T's new logo. With a new racing venue and audience, they figured that they may as well get a jump on the publicity.

The 1,600-mile trip was uneventful, if you don't count sleeping in the truck during a surprise snowfall. Monday's first qualifying series involving just five bikes was held under difficult conditions. Gusty crosswinds and cold temperatures, topped off by bone-chilling rain showers all persuaded the riders that one (or none) two-mile qualifying runs would just have to do.

Posted at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As the Land Speed Challenge Team of Jerrod, Craig and Andrew head for the Nevada desert, we want to recognize the great support that UMR alums provided at the recent Gateway International raceway speed trials. Recent (and some not-so-recent) UMR grads came by to run the radar gun, hold the bike up, offer encouragement and advice about design issues, and praise the team for its goals

Posted at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)