Roulette Runner [FINAL RESULTS]

Community Challenges & Competitions
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Driver’s Meeting, Day 1, 730am

Good morning, Runners! I see some of you are a little more ready for the day than others, at least from a sleep and/or caffeination standpoint. Others… well… chuckles

In any case, here’s your set of GPS waypoints for today. You’ll notice a few numbers next to each grade. They are, in order: average grade, maximum grade, and approximate leg length. For the sake of your machines, try to make the drive as short as possible. There may be more than one way to get there, but some are slower, longer, or more torturous that others. Or maybe the shorter route is worse. cackles

We’ll be sending out cars on a three minute interval. Your target time for the day is printed at the bottom of the sheet. Try to come as close to that and you’ll be in good shape for tomorrow. If you break down, if you have to throw in the towel… call Sid and Dave on your FRS. They’ll come get you and your ride. If they do, you’re done for the event. No fixing up your rig and rejoining later.

We’ve drawn the a random start order. First up, the Suzume Kaminari. Good luck to you all!

Day 1 Leg 1 Data

Walker River Campground to Blackjack Pass via Blackjack Creek Road

Departing from the driver’s meeting at Walker River Campground, a short 5-mile drive over good pavement before the course departs onto Blackjack Creek Road. This road climbs steadily, with some sharp turns and steep sections. Minimal hazards; this is a well maintained dirt-and-gravel service road. Large parking lot at Blackjack Pass, a relatively popular hiking trailhead.

Length 24; Avg Grade 4; Max Grade 16

Suzume Kaminari -
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL: +2; Notes: None

@cpufreak101
LAE - High (slow); MRL: +2; Notes: Valve body leak seems to be exacerbated by long grades. A little fluid was added at Blackjack Pass just to be sure.

@Madrias
LAE - Exact; MRL: +3; Notes: None

@Fayeding_Spray
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL: +2; Notes: None

@F17Francesco
LAE - High (slow); MRL +2; Notes: The back end of the van was REALLY noisy going up the steep grade. There was also a bit of a vibration. You were unable to isolate it.

@HighOctaneLove
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL +2; Notes: None

@conan
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL +2; Notes: Defininte trans slippage on steep grades.

@DeusExMackia
LAE - Low (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Navigator missed turnoff to Blackjack Creek Road, adding 5 miles to total leg length

@szafirowy01
LAE - Low (slow); MRL +1; Notes: Navigator made the same mistake as above. They saw the Erin pass them going the other way, and figured out they missed the turn, so they only added 3.5 miles to their leg.

@Mikonp7
LAE - Low (Fast); MRL +2; Notes: This team thought they were doing well until they passed the Platts Special Siskin and Bogliq Kitten, both of which left significantly earlier than them.

@JohnWaldock
LAE - High (Fast); MRL +2; Notes: None

@8bs
LAE - Medium (Slow); MRL +2; Notes: None

@DoctorNarfy
LAE - High (Slow); MRL +2; Notes: None

@BobLoblaw
LAE - Low (Fast); MRL 0; Notes: Driver has been pushing the Enforcer to try to replicate the power loss issue. It happened ONCE under load on pavement in the morning, but didn’t happen again. As he was pushing, this team is significantly ahead of pace.

@stm316
LAE - Low (Fast); MRL +1; Notes: Followed the Petoskey Enforcer on pace somewhat, until realizing how far ahead they were. Still, it was fun doing so.

@Dorifto_Dorito
LAE - Exact; MRL +3; Notes: “Uhm, is it supposed to be this bouncy?”

@Leonardo9613
LAE - Low (Slow); MRL +1; Notes: A bit of holding back because there was a question as to whether the Quark would be any good off the paved roads. Didn’t scrape once going up Blackjack Creek Road, even on the steep section.

@Darkshine5
LAE - Medium (slow); MRL +2; Notes: Navigator sent the team down the wrong spur after the turnoff, adding 1.5 miles to the leg.

@Rk38
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL +2; Notes: Driver made the decision to go fast on a relatively easy stretch, due to the compound of their tires.

@EnryGT5
LAE - Medium (fast); MRL +2; Notes: Comparing times with the Maesima driver, they feel pretty confident.

@titleguy1 / @ramthecowy
LAE - High (slow); MRL +2; Notes: None

Team Greasy Lightning

“Can I get out now?” Fuzz whined.

Jen chuckled. She took extra time stretching in the front seat, slowly reaching for the door handle to extend her brother’s discomfort.

“Seriously, Jen. Not cool.”

“Don’t worry, you can navigate the next section,” she replied. “We take turns, remember?”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not 6-4 and shoved in the back seat.”

“Maybe you should have picked something bigger from the field then,” she retorted with a laugh.

The three exited their Suzume to stretch and take the requisite team/car picture at the waypoint, the Blackjack Pass Trailhead. Rick heaved a sigh of relief.

“Made it. That was amazing.”

Fuzz bolted for the passenger seat and locked the door as soon as he slammed the dented portal shut. He stuck his tongue out at Jen, who shouted at him and kicked the door a few more times before giving up.

“Ugh,” she grumbled to Rick. “Why did you let him come along, again?”

“I had to promise or he wouldn’t take me to pick out a car. Also, I sometimes like watching you two torture each other. It’s funny for an only child.”

“Laugh when you’re sleeping on the couch at home.”

“Cold,” Rick smirked, knowing that it was a bluff. “Tell you what. You can drive the next section, I’ll take the back seat.”

“That’ll buy you a pillow for the couch. Keep it up and I might give you a blanket,” she grinned.

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What does LAE and MRL mean?

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(From earlier in this post)

LAE - Leg accuracy estimate - how confident your team is that you’re close to a “0” on that leg (remember, team that is closest to 0 for the entire event wins at the end)

MRL - Morale modifier. This can be a negative number (your people might be getting concerned or frustrated or fatigued), neutral, or positive (having a good time, feeling confident, overcoming a big obstacle)

Notes - Any notes I have about your particular team and their circumstances on that leg. You MAY see a picture of your car here with a big red “X” on it. You don’t want to see this… this means your car has suffered a critical failure. Time to call the tow truck and scrape the carcass off the road.

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Previously.

Team POD; Day 1.

After a drive via and to parking lot at Blackjack Pass. The Special Siskin full of people and equipment seems okay enough. The car was dirty, of course. But other than that it appears that this car have yet to decide to unleash it’s wrath. The driver have been the maniac Jimmy Monnet. And the team was way faster than it supposed to be.

“Oh my god, did we really made it?” Jimmy exclaims with excitement after he got out of the Special Siskin.
“We did, and waaaay faster than we supposed to.” Trevor replied “But the car is still in one piece.”
“But for how long. Do not tempt fate, mate.” Rory speak with a look of caution on his face. “The transmission’s slipping really badly. Maybe the next time you can nurse it a little?”
“Nurse it? You what, mate? You put turbocharger on this thing for me to nurse it? Are you joking?” Jimmy laughs. “Come to think of it, what’s the point of that anyway?”
“Fun?” Rory smirk with that answer.
“Do you want to swap place, Monnet?” Ivor asked Jimmy. Who replied with a shrug before he speak.
“If you want a go, sure. This thing actually doesn’t drive that badly either. Maybe what we’re doing is the most important step for the mankind… To go where no British car can go before.”
“Going for more than a 100 miles without breaking?”
“Exactly.”

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Team DSD

just after finishing the first stage

DS5: wow that was fun, that exhaust is abit loud but, I don’t think Luke should have given me those painkillers I feel like I am floating above the ground…

Romeo:Lucky you… I must apologize again for taking us down that spur, I thought we would make up some time, now I’m not so sure.

DS5: at least you can see properly, this bandage isn’t making life easy. And having to stop and replace the supercharger belt twice will probably hurt our time.

Romeo; Ok so team cunning stunts had a good run, and our friends at storm finished abit late.
But we are looking good only 1.5 miles extra, pity we have no front fender flares left.

DS5: Yeah well they don’t matter. Haha look at the younger teams to fast hehe lesson in life boys take it slow…she’ll like it better heheheh

Romeo: You’re a strange man my friend, Vous êtes un homme étrange … haha ​​et un cyclope

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Team Twin-Snail

Day 0 - Early

Day 1, 5:27 AM

Having been busy all night, between checking Darkshine5’s wounds and putting up with at least two teams and their louder-than-needed music, Luke grabbed his keys and prepared a little ‘wakeup ceremony’ for everyone there. As it had gone mostly quiet when most of the teams had gone to bed, some as little as four hours ago, Luke knew this was the time to act.

He placed the keys in the ignition, turned them to the start position, and waited, hearing the quiet whining of the inertia starter’s flywheel spooling up. “One thing Sinistra did right, this SureStart system is really good. ‘Starts the first time, every time, even when cold.’ Damn right it does when you slam 10 pounds of steel turning 10,000 RPM into the flywheel.” he said to himself quietly, watching the dashboard for the “Starter Speed” light to ignite.

The crimson glow of the light flared, and Luke released the key. To Luke, it felt like an eternity, but the instant Luke released the key, the starter solenoid kicked the fast-spinning flywheel into the V8’s own flywheel, immediately causing 662 cubic inches of twin-turbo V8 to roar to life.

Luke pumped the gas a few times, causing the car to rock as it snarled and roared, then hissed as the blow-off valves released the excess boost.

Within seconds, the Storm team was awake, with Amy Storm leading Linda Regale out of the big tent, and Scott Regale making a break for the porta-potty.

The roaring V8 woke the kids in the camper near team DSD, as well as echoed across the whole campsite. Rolling clouds of smoke poured from the exhausts as Luke let the Savage idle at last, turning 1100 RPM.

“I would just like to say, Luke, that is one hell of an alarm clock.” Amy said, folding the tent and stuffing it into the trunk. “And probably everyone else is going to be very annoyed by it. Not that I give a fuck after the music last night.”

Linda yawned and grabbed a few granola bars out of the glove compartment, then slumped into the back seat. “Well, 'least we somewhat knew it was coming.” she said, yawning again as she fumbled with the plastic wrapper.

Scott staggered out of the porta-potty, packed his tent up, and dumped it equally as unceremoniously into the trunk. “Wouldn’t go in there if I were any of you. I feel a lot better.” he mumbled, then climbed over the side of the car and fell into his designated seat.

“Better in the shit-box than in the back seat of our shitbox.” Luke said. Amy smirked and settled into the passenger’s seat, then passed a map back to Linda.

“Once you’re done eating my granola bars, please, feel free to plan a course for us.” Amy said.

“Needed something to eat.” Linda responded, though grabbed the map and started poking about at it.

Day 1, 7:30 AM

The driver’s meeting went about as well as expected. Luke switched on his internal GPS, as well as the store-bought model they’d stuck to the dashboard, Linda scribbled on the laminated maps with dry erase markers, Amy cleaned and organized the wrench kit under the seat, and Scott tried to keep awake and not snore through the meeting.

Day 1, 7:39 AM

Luke settled at the starting line, the snarling Sinistra chugging away, idling around 800 RPM with it in gear. He pulled it down into Low, choosing to shift the car on his own, over-riding the automatic in favor of not burning the tires off of the back of the car early on.

The flag was dropped, and Luke floored it, causing Amy, Linda, and Scott to yell as the car lunged forward, already screaming at the 4500 RPM redline. Luke grabbed the column shifter and stuffed it in Drive, giving the car some control back.

“Luke, you do know where you’re going, right?” Linda asked.

“Of course. This part’s the easy bit, it’s all pavement, gravel, maybe a little dirt. She’s a highway cruiser, I’ll just keep her all wound out and she’ll make it.” Luke said, the engine roaring as they started the climb.

Scott gave a grunt as he felt the whole car lurch from the downshift from Drive to Third, the transmission doing what it did best. “Old Man Sinistra could’ve at least had the courtesy to make this GearMaster Performax shift smoother than that.” he said.

“It’s doing fine. Keep in mind, late 70’s, this was the closest thing you could buy to an emissions-legal muscle car. Didn’t sell real well because of the terrible gas mileage right after we had that whole gas shortage thing.” Linda said. “So the rough shifts, they’re because the car’s trying to keep in the power. There’s very little in the way of computer control in this thing, she’s all mechanical. Fuel injection, hydraulic-valve-body transmission, the only thing computer controlled is the damn starter.”

“Not even that. Magnets in the flywheel plus a couple coils. Basic magneto, except all it’s doing is making a light on the dash glow when the starter’s at full speed.” Scott said. “Very simple engineering, not a computer in this thing, short of the one that’s driving.”

“Did I remember to put an ejector seat in here?” Luke said, causing Amy and Linda to laugh.

They followed the service road up to the parking lot at Blackjack Pass, where they pulled the car into one of the many available parking spots. Well, technically, they managed to block 8 of them with the huge sedan and Luke’s intentionally shoddy parking job.

Day 1, Leg 1 Aftermath

“Now, that’s what I call fun!” Scott said, climbing over the side of the car and wandering a little way away from the car. Despite the distance, the rest of team Twin-Snail still heard the fart.

Luke opened the door and pulled the hood release as Amy and Linda got out and started grabbing supplies.

“Looks like we’re okay. Top the fluids up and we’ll be fine. She’ll need about a quarter-quart of motor oil because she smoked the whole way up the road, but otherwise, she’s doing fine.” Luke said, checking the dip-sticks for the engine oil and transmission fluid.

Scott slowly made his way over to them, then asked Luke, “So, how’s the voltage regulator holding up?”

“Seems okay. With the car running, battery charging, and lights on, the regulator’s at…” Luke reached up and touched the heatsink, reading the temperature, “… Looks like 82 degrees Celsius.”

“And in real numbers?”

“355 Kelvin, roughly.”

“You know what I meant.”

“Oh, you want that scale that’s only really good for air temperature. Then it’s 179.6 degrees Fahrenheit. So don’t touch it or you’ll lose a finger.” Luke said, before closing the hood.

“So now what?”

“We wait, we plan, we defend. And we wish ill on the other teams.” Amy said, before handing Scott a plastic bag full of beef jerky. “And we enjoy a snack or two while the results roll in.”

“Wait, that’s mine!” Linda shouted.

“You ate my granola bars. Didn’t you think there’d be revenge at some point?” Amy yelled back.

“Ah, the sounds of chaos. Dunno about the three of you, but I’ve got some supplies in the car.” Luke said, before opening the center console and grabbing several items.

First, he put the 8-track to Cassette adapter into the Sinistra’s old 8-track player. Then he dropped in a cassette to 3.5mm audio adapter, and finally, plugged in a cheap MP3 player. He turned on the radio, then decided the appropriate song for the end of the first stage would be Iron Maiden’s Aces High. Played obnoxiously loudly, of course.

“Really, Luke? Now you’re being the jerk with the loud radio?” Amy asked.

“Well, it just seems appropriate given…”

“Hey, I like this song, so it’s not that bad.” Scott said, interrupting Luke.

“…that we got kept up extra late. No point in fighting a war of noise when our radio isn’t that great.” Luke finished, before checking supplies and attempting, unsuccessfully, to unstick the top cover so they could get the top back up.

“And that’s still jammed, so the top stays down.” Luke said, after having bent a cheap screwdriver while trying to use it as a pry bar.

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Boy, I really like your writing (style)! :blush:

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Well, I used to like creative writing, so… it comes naturally to me. I suppose, in a way, it makes up for my lack of ability with art.

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Competition wrap up: Day One

Andrew
After leaving Pierre’s house, where our l’il Kitten was stored, we headed out to Walker River valley, where the start of the rally is located. On the way I couldn’t help but be impressed at how much camping gear, spare parts and tools the Kitten was able to swallow. Pierre and I shared driving duties and, other than outright speed, the Kitten impressed us with it’s driving prowess. Gasmean’s don’t tend to “get” small cars like this, so we copped a lot of weird looks an mocking smiles whenever we pulled over for “gas” as the Gasmean’s like to call it…

On arrival at Walker River valley, we set up our campsite and got ready to sleep, after a simple meal of tinned ham and canned corn (yup, we’re livin’ the dream… NOT!). Pierre likes to sleep in so the rowdy parties had him grumbling into his pillow, but we were able to get a good eight hours of kinda cramped sleep…

Pierre
The whole camp was woken up on raceday by an obnoxiously loud V8 roaring it’s defiance at obsolescence, the owner taking revenge on the party-goers of last night. I figured I’d had enough sleep and a drowsy Andrew agreed with me so we got up, answered the call of nature and broke camp. After eating a breakfast of baked beans, cold re-fried spam and toast, Andrew and I roshambo’d for day 1 driving duties. Needless to say, I won so I fired up the Kitten and moved us into the starting area. Andrew takes the GPS information and enters them into the Satnav and we await our turn to leave…

Andrew
And we’re off! Well, that’s what I’d like to say but Pierre drives worse than my grandma! We follow the course, which is mercifully not that rough being tarmac and properly graded gravel, but I swear that Pierre is driving with the handbrake on. About halfay through, where the pavement turns to gravel, a HUGE black van screams by which confirms all my suspicions; Pierre drives SLOW! Sure enough, after the van passes Pierre looks over me with a sheepish grin then picks up the pace. We arrived at Blackjack pass without further incident and I instructed Pierre to find a good parking spot, out of the sun…

Pierre
Well, that could have gone better! I had a plan at the beginning of the leg to stick to an average speed, since I’d mentally calculated how fast I’d have to go, but I must have dropped a digit because we were clearly not on the pace. At the turn-off to the gravel section a big black van nearly blew us off the road, I swear it had bullet holes in it’s flanks, and I then realised I’d miscalculated. I then put the pedal to the metal and we made up for lost time, arriving in one piece. As Andrew went to stretch his legs, I checked under the bonnet; all was well! Feeling chuffed at our luck so far, Andrew and I sat next to the car and waited for whatever came next…

Summary

Day 1.1

Car: No damage to report

Crew: Feeling chuffed (whatever THAT means!) MRL +2

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#Team ‘Southend Or Bust’
Original Post - Previous Post

“Good job boys” chuffed James, stepping out of the car and closing the door, “We did well today”
“Well, apart from your mistake” quipped Seb, and he and Martin started laughing, again.
" 'Fuck up you guys, I didn’t see the sign" said James, trying to resolve the situation, which only produced more laughter from the other two.
“It’s OK James” said Martin in a mocking tone, as he opened the boot to get some tools out, “we all mistakes”
“Hey!” James was getting angry now, and the laughing was getting louder. He pointed at Seb. “You’re the navigator, geography nerd”
Seb pretented to be taken aback by that “Oooh I’m so hurt!” he cooed, before snapping back into seriousness “You should’ve listened to my directions, you tool!”
James paused for a moment, trying to find a come-back. He didn’t.

“What are you doing Martin?” asked Seb, as he turned around to admire the view.
“Just gonna put that skid plate back in place” replied Martin as he open the tool box and dived under the car “Sorry, I meant to say” - he yanked something, then yanked again - “get this thing off” and he pulled out a chunk of scratched plastic.
Seb looked a little concerened. “Erm” he said “Should we be taking bits off the car?”
“It’s fine” said Martin, confidently. “These nineties Erins had a lot of useless plastic on them, this was to cover the front skidplate. Like what even is the point of that?”. He tossed the ruined plastic into the back of the car. “Just heard it scraping about today, so”

So far then, all was going well. The car was driving fine - for now - the navigation issues had been sorted and they’d barely broken into their two crates of < insert cheap beer brand here >. Oh, and the views were pretty decent too.

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Team Hobo

Day one

Hobo OK! Let’s rock this joint…

They finished the joint, sipped some gin, and started the engine.

No problem in the tarmac, but when the van hits the trail, the crappy CD player was replaced by the tilting of the gin bottles in the back of the van. Oh boy, the biblical noise it was making!!! The hobo dog spent all the way howling to that bottle symphony …

Aarghhh shut the f@ck up you full of fleas stinky dog !!! Cried Hobo…

Slowly reaching at the top, it was time to cool down the engine. All that weight wasn’t helping, and the engine temperature gauge was starting to show his concern about that on the way…

Another sip of gin… The dog fell asleep.

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Also, fart jokes never get old. :smiley:

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yes they do, my grandad is 83 :wink:

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why am I laughing so much

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#Team Arstotska

Mike: We did it, we made it through the first stage!

Josh: yeah we did, and that was some pretty good fun too.

Mike: yeah it was, however the car is showing a few issues, were you noticing the valve body leak?

Josh: what’s that?

Mike: never mind, I’ll deal with it.

Josh: can duct tape fix it?

Mike: hopefully, i don’t feel like spending a lot of time or money on this car unless we really have to.

Josh: so lets hope the duct tape can hold whatever this issue is back

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Team ‘Unfixed, Unfazed, Unbroken’

Things had not started well. The team barely arrived at the event the night before. Guided only the loud music and lights from the various camps. Then to top things off someone had forgotten to pack enough tents. As punishment for forgetting his tent, Daniel left with no choice but to sleep in the car he so resented.

Thankfully for the others, he chose not to destroy it in the darkness. The night past booze filled towards the first day of actual racing. Still, a little hungover and unacclimatised they had set off without issue.

Mitchell: Bloody hell, Sam you really gunned it down those straights. Y’know this ain’t a video game.

Sam: Mitch come on we’ve just put new rubber on this thing it feels like a whole new car. Besides I don’t want those blokes with the Seishido ute catch up to us.

Daniel: Y’know their driver is a chick right?

Sam: Well Dan that’s all the more reason to push things. I’m not losing to a girl!

Daniel: Well if we’d gotten a JDM car maaaybe you wouldn’t need to push at all.

Sam: Nothing has actually gone wrong with the Maesima you ought to give it some credit.

Daniel: You’re right clearly your just a rubbish driver.

Sam rolls his eyes and sighs

Sam: At least I didn’t forget my tent

Mitchell: Look, I’m just saying take it easy. It’s an old car, there is still plenty of racing to be done. Let’s try and keep it in one piece. I’d rather not be trying to do road repairs out here.

Sam: Yeah, yeah. But come on we f@ckin’ nailed it! We ought to bee looking up and treat ourselves to some beer.

Mitchell: On that, we can agree.

Daniel: How much beer do we actually have?

Mitchell: We got a couple of slabs in the boot. Otherwise, if things get dire we take on those pommy kids in the Erin. They seem to have a healthy supply.

Daniel: Pommy beer? Yuck!

Sam: Well there was another Aussie team here. They’ll sure to have some booze.

Daniel: Those are the DSD blokes, right?

Mitchell: Yeah, I don’t know about that mate. Their camp seems to be brawling already. Besides, I need an early night. My back is killing me, after that stage. These seats weren’t designed for off-road driving.

The team sat around the fire, BBQ’d some snags, drank long into the night. Much later as the fire had turned to embers and Mitch had gone to sleep while Sam had passed out half in his tent.

Dan stumbled towards the NV-993. The empty bottle still in his hand. He rested it on the bonnet.

Then gave the car a look. It’s tired body illuminated in the clear moonlit night. The dented, rusty and now dirt and dust covered. Dan smiled to himself. He lent down and gave the car a reassuring tap. Maybe they weren’t all bad after all.

He then stumbled for the door handle and climbed inside Maesima and went to bed. What shall the morrow bring…

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#Team Cunning Stunts: Day 1, Leg 1

S=Stephanie
L=Lawrence
A=Alex

Start of Leg 1
L: Alright, were all packed up.
A: Ive made sure the water cooler is topped up so the engine shouldnt overheat.
S: Lawrence dear, have you go the map ready?
L: Yup, the map and the GPS are set.
A: Oi sis, our numbers been called! Lets go!
S: Alright, alright…jeez…
L: Great lets get going!
S: Lemme just put some music on…

End Of Leg 1
A: That was alright. No major issues.
L: Yeah I think we were on the right track there, so we shouldnt be too far back.
S: As nice as all that was, my legs are aching. Lawrence you drive next.
L: Sure honey. Alex, you’ll be navigating next.
A: Sure thing, you guys take a break. Ill check on the car…

Car Condition: Leg 1
Alex
So today wasn’t too bad. The ride was a bit bumpy, but it looks like the car handled it just fine. Today wasn’t particularly hot, so the inter-cooler didn’t lose much water. The suspension is also in good condition considering the rough terrain, but then again, the ‘Lucky Lady’ was designed to be a rally car, so I’m not surprised. The wheels are also holding out well. Looking at the other cars, they seem to doing fine too. Apparently from what I’ve heard, the Petroskey Enforcer’s been outpacing everyone. Steph ain’t surprised, she still insists that that would have been a better choice…

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NOTE:My speech is in bold
Rams’s is in italic
#Team Yokai
Day 0

– Day 1 - 5:30 AM - Ram’s POV –
I pull on my shoes and tug on the laces. Stretching out and inhaling deeply, the crisp Gasmean air shoots up my nose into my lungs. Nothing to freshen you up like a good whiff of that. Not a bad time for a quick jog. I looked down watching my feet place themselves one in front of the other, carrying me up the gentle slope. I could see Evan still sleeping in the van. And there was the guy. What was his name again? Uhhh… I said to myself out loud, broken by pauses to catch my breath. Luke? Seemed like it. Whatever. Look forward and keep going. Ignore the team shouting at him. Ignore his stupid car waking you up. I pressed on.

– Day 1 - 7:00 AM - Evan’s POV –
Today, I woke up at around 7 o’clock in order to prepare for the long trip ahead. However, Ram was already awake and everything had been done.
Are you, like, okay? I’m barely able to stay awake and knowing you, you probably got 3 hours of sleep.
Don’t worry, I couldn’t be feeling better replied Ram with real enthusiasm. I woke up from the sound of some jackasses starting up their loud-ass car.
Whatever you say. If we die by falling off a cliff, though, I blame you.
You’re the Asian driver here he joked. I cursed him out under my breath. I could already tell it was going to be a long day. We headed to the briefing in order to secure details about the event.

– Day 1 - 7:30 AM –
When we pulled up to the briefing, we saw some faces with a mixture of expressions which ranged from perplexed to condescending. Nothing like yesterday night. Guess they were all too drunk? I heard murmurs when we walked to our car. I could’ve sworn Team Science Guys were saying something along the lines of “water damage… good luck to them, they’ll need it…” I glanced over at their car. Ram seems to have gotten the message too.
A Nickel 4 Spec? Those things are the definition of a land barge. I’m pretty sure the Arctos makes more power than that… I know a friend who’d thoroughly enjoy that car, but he’s a bit… Ram tapped his finger on the side of his temple, signaling “cuckoo.” Yeah, I know who you’re talking about. No need to hide it I quipped, chuckling.

Still, can’t believe somebody brought a classic Baltazar to an event like this. It really is quite a surprise. I wasn’t expecting somebody to… I wouldn’t say trash, but use a Quark in such a way.
Seems like we’re not the only ones who’re younger as well; their main driver just became the legal drinking age in 'Murica.

– Day 1 - 7:40 AM –
The briefing just ended, and I have to say it seems to be looking good for us. A flat, well-maintained dirt road? This is what the Kimura was made for; soft roading. The ground clearance seemed to be decent, so hopefully, it’ll hold up when obstacles come our way.

– Day 1, Leg 1 - 8:00 AM –
We set off from our journey at around 7:50 since we’re the last ones to leave. Hopefully, the route is as stated; smooth gravel. We’ve, as previously mentioned, stocked up on a bunch of shit, with 2 crates of water and a helluva lot of food. A first aid kit was also on hand along with many spare parts; duct tape, zip ties, and other actual spare parts to name a few. Ram and I decided to alternate driving; we’d switch every 2 hours or so. The Arctos pulled along with intent and determination with Ram and me inside, genuinely excited.
Damn, I’m really surprised how fun this car is.
I know, right? It might just be a van, but it’s really got some go. It was true; the Kimura whizzed around corners like a much smaller car. It’s like a budget WRX! I chortled. Whatever you want to believe, man…

I chuck the Arctos into the next tight corner with a mini Scandinavian flick. The car remains surprisingly flat, and I power out with a skid. Laughing with a sprinkling of terror ensues
I knew you were going to get us killed.
Ahhhh, don’t worry about it. I’m a professional! I jested with a flippant punch to Ram’s shoulder.

I have to say, the interior is actually not too bad. It’s dark and drab and the materials scream 90’s shit box, but everything is exactly where I want it to be and it’s rather smartly packaged as well.
What I like more is the engine. It might be a minivan but damn does it scream!
I responded with a downshift and a jab of the gas, surging the Arctos ahead on the smooth, gravel path. More laughing. Ah, shit, you know what I have to do?
What? Ram replies, deadpan.
Post some stuff on my Insta! Ram looks at me with a repulsed expression.
I didn’t know you’re a basic white bitch. I punched him again, only with a little more intent.
Shut up, I need the followers. I see Ram sigh and roll his eyes. Fine. I stop the car, take a few pictures, and then we continue the ascent.

– Day 1, Leg 1 - 9:36 AM –
A loud rattling noise began emanating from the rear right side of the car.
Oh, crap. I think I screwed up the car. Ram looked at me, at first with a dumbfounded face but quickly transitioning to unbelieving glee.
I told you that you’re going to fuck us up! said Ram, guffawing. I stared at him with a blank expression.
I cannot believe you’re laughing. I said solemnly.
Oh, c’mon, you could see it coming from the other side of the universe even if all you had was binoculars with lenses made of fucking jello. 100% predictable. Being serious, you did flick the car in every other corner. And, well, the route has a lot of fucking corners. I sighed in defeat.
Yeah, it probably was my fault. We have a few extra miscellaneous bolts in the back and a spare wheel so I think if it becomes a major problem we should be fine. In response, I slowed the car down a little, and the vibrations too slowed down.
I guess we’ll have to stay around this pace, then.
No, pull over. 10 minutes check up. Ram instructed me. Once we slowed down, he headed around to the side, pulled out a jack and put it under the car.
Anything broken?
Most of the drivetrain looks intact. I need to check if all the lug nuts are torqued down properly. While I’m working on this, go grab the spare bulbs in the overhead compartment, I just realized we forgot to check if all the lights are working. There might be no tech inspection but I don’t want either you or me or anyone, for that matter, dying.
While I grab the screwdriver and bulbs I had to turn to admire the landscape before us. The scenery was really something else. This was my first time in Gasmea, and the landscape is highly diverse around the country. Where we were, in particular, was sandy and desolate, and we could see around us for miles. Hopefully, we won’t have to leave this country with a bad taste in our mouths.

– Day 1, Leg 1 - At the destination - Ram’s POV –
Everyone alive? Intact? I asked, watching him from the corner of my eye.
Evan had drifted off to sleep in the warm summer heat. Added to his already high fatigue level after not sleeping well last night, though, I couldn’t blame him. He stirs.
Huh? It took him a moment to gather his bearings as he came to the realization that we had come to a stop. I pull off my seatbelt.
The GPS was programmed perfectly. If only that stupid wheel thing hadn’t happened… I trail off.
Oh well, we live and we learn I guess. Evan says, sliding out of his seat. We’re one of the last ones aren’t we?
I nod and shrug. Throw me a snack. I’m gonna go talk to that Luke guy.
Luke who? Evan said turning to rummage through the food box.
The twin turbo V8 lunatics. Sinistra.
Catching the pack midair, I slowly begin to walk away from our Kimura, weaving my way through all the cars and all the rubble left by other teams.

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TEAM OUTRIDERS

Worden: Damn, we made some good time.

Levinstein: I’m still pissed that we didn’t catch anything from early on when it seemed to bog down a bit.

Worden: Or that it happened around the start and we haven’t seen it since. Much as I would love to believe it, no problem just simply “fixes itself”.

Levinstein: That aside the car handled like a dream. Definitely rides smoother than the cop version.

Worden: I think tomorrow, we should tone it down a bit. This is a competition of navigation more than speed, besides I am a bit worried that pushing too hard may make the problem worse.

Levinstein: Fine with me, it’s your turn to drive anyway.

Worden: (pops the hood) That being said, it’s dinner time. Today’s special: Burgers a-la 301 Triforce. (pulls foil-wrapped burgers out of the engine compartment.)

Levinstein: I’ve never cooked anything under the hood of a car before.

Worden: I did it a couple times with my old Cortino.

Levinstein: (grabs buns and condiments from the cooler) How’d that work out?

Worden: Tasted awful.

Levinstein: And that’s what we’re eating now?

Worden: Don’t worry, this car doesn’t have an oil leak like my Cortino did. That was the deciding factor.

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[corporate]T R I G G G E R E R R E D E R E D ! ! ![/corporate]

Seriously though, I liked the story :smiley: