The Solar Miner VI crew had high hopes of running all 300 miles to Medicine Hat, Alberta today, and were well on their way to doing it. No breakdowns, no clouds, no rain, no traffic, no nuttin'.

They were maintaining just the right speed that would put them into Medicine Hat around dinner time, and were running in a loose pack of Waterloo, Bochum, Minnesota and Calgary so it really seemed like racing. Why then, did they pack it in? Very simply they could have run all day but that would have left their battery pack too low to recover in just a few evening hours, and that strategy would have forced them to trailer tomorrow to the eventual finish line. Embarrassing choice, that.

S&T has had to make this choice several times on this race. Our best showing was the run to Sioux Falls, when they placed more importance in getting to the stage point just under the wire. The strategic cost they paid the following day was that clouds prevented them from rebuilding the pack while they were running. Not only did it hurt them that day, but it put them in a hole all the way to Winnipeg and even on to Brandon, Manitoba.

Tomorrow we'll head to the finish line in Calgary, 187 miles away, if we remember correctly. Michigan appears to have vanquished the field, as has oft been their history. As of early this morning Principia had a very slight chance of catching Big Blue, and it looked like Hochshule Bochum, Waterloo, Minnesota and Calgary in that order were going to be the bridesmaids (again). Today's racing threw that book out the window when Principia suddenly vanished from the radar and Waterloo was flying along VERY strong. Rumor had it (and trust us, this event LIVES on rumors until the standings are published each morning) that wundercar Principia hit a big pothole and was sidelined, but the RA VII crew arrived in Medicine Hat around 7:00 p.m., quite late for such a fast runner.