The 2018 Meatball run - Day 2 4PM-7PM

Team V6 Vandals


7:00 AM.

The Vandals piled into the Sinistra Swift, with Amy taking the hot-seat and Cody claiming shotgun. Luke and Jake settled into the rear seat and buckled in, before Amy turned the key.

The Swift fired up with a rattle and screech. The rattle was normal, and the screech went away once the engine had done a couple thousand revolutions, thereby ending up being considered normal anyway.

“The hell did you three do to this poor thing yesterday?” Amy asked, before giving a light sigh. “Poor V6 is all full of top-end rattles because someone doesn’t know how to shift instead of redlining the gears.”

“At least it’s the '87. If it had one of the mid-90’s SinCam engines, we’d be fucked right now. Reliable though they were, high oil-pressure would brick-shit the cams. Ever seen what happens when a Sinistra Twin-Cam engine gets one bank stuck in the High-Lift mode and the other stuck in Low-Lift? It ain’t pretty.” Cody said, chuckling. “They got it figured out by the end of the 90’s, but an early 90’s SinCam? Time bomb right there.”

“I thought they were good engines, personally.” Jake said. “Sinistra was always trying to be bleeding edge, even if it meant sacrificing some reliability to do it. SinCam was one of those things, bringing variable valve lift into the common market as early as they could. Good fuel economy, good performance, with the compromise being early units having a higher chance of failure. It’s a good overall deal if you asked me.”

“You’re not the one who had to drive one for 3,000 miles in a shitbox rally with the left bank backfiring and popping at low RPM, and no power at high RPM because the right bank wasn’t contributing.” Cody said.

“Well, to be fair,” Luke started, “you did choose that car 30 minutes before joining the rally.”

“Wasn’t by choice, I’ll say that much. Was preparing an Ardent Smoke when it decided to become its namesake. I mean, seriously, who runs the rear electrical harness right next to the fuel line?” Cody shot back.

“I doubt the manufacturer would have made that oversight at the factory. After all, we ran against one and it didn’t burn up.” Jake replied. “Might’ve been a base-model shitbox, but it stayed together long enough. You just got greedy and bought the lemon someone was hawking for $75 because you thought it’d be fun to win a prize for having the cheapest car. Instead, you had to burn that $500 budget on a 1996 Sinistra Serenade with a blown SinCam unit.”

“Dude, I thought I was safe avoiding the '95 with the paint-shaker triple by getting the Boxer-based LC 2.0. How was I to know they failed asymmetrically, and that the LC had plastic intake manifolds that could shatter?” Cody whined.

“They weren’t fucking plastic.” Amy spat. “Not much better, admittedly, but at least Old Man Sinistra had the sense to use cast aluminum. Hell, they were halfway eco-friendly because he used recycled aluminum where he could in the LC models. They were cheap shit, but they ran. You just got hoist by your own petard, Cody, because you tried to go cheap, then tried to recover by getting the first car barely within budget.”

“So, what’s gonna blow up in our Swift, then?” Cody asked.

“It’s the '87 with the all-aluminum 3.9 liter V6. When she goes, I’m betting head-gaskets.” Amy said, only for Jake to burst out laughing.

“Clearly you’ve never pulled the head off of one of these. It’s almost fucking impossible because there’s a quarter-inch ridge-and-valley cast into the block and head. The head gasket on these things is only a formality, I’ve seen people mod 'em by pulling the gaskets off to raise the compression a little.” Jake said. “It’s like Old Man Sinistra knew about gasket problems ahead of time.”

“I’d say it’s more that he was doing that because it’d hold the engine together better on the old 90-degree V6, and it just made sense to use the same head molds for the new aluminum 60-degree one. But it meant the block needed to use the same pattern.” Luke said. “No, if Mister Sinistra knew about warped heads and blown gaskets, he’d have likely done his thing by not mixing metals.”


(Sorry about the long post. Not much for the team to talk about, so I invented a mild issue that got them talking, then ran with a few ideas. Plus, it helps for the future of junkyard challenges if there’s a few known flaws with other Sinistra cars…)

5 Likes

Gran: Morning boys.

Mopey: Morning Gran.

Spanners: Mrs E.

Gran: How is the car David?
Spanners: All checked Mrs E. Oil, water and washer bottle are all full. Windscreen is all clean and we’re ready to go as soon as breakfast has been eaten. Breakfast….eaten……hint?

Mopey: Huh?

Spanners: Someone needs to go and get breakfast……

Gran: It’s on the way David. Stop stressing.

Spanners: Phew….was getting worried there Mrs E. So what’s been ordered?

Gran: Muesli, croissants and coffee.

Spanners: WHAT???

Mopey: Hahahahaha. She’s winding you up! Bacon toasties with brown sauce, butter not marg, and a pot of tea.

Gran sniggers away

Spanners: Oooh, you naughty girl!

Gran: Have you checked the tyres and pressures?

Spanners: Yes….and I’ve pulled the biggest dents out of the car.

Gran: Oh dear……Sorry George, David.

Mopey: Don’t worry gran. You can hardly notice……if you squint really REALLY tightly.

Spanners: Doors still open, chassis looks in good shape and nothing is twisted. These HiWays are quite ruggedly built. It’ll take more than an old…erm….elderly lady trying to drift to break it completely but please don’t take that as a challenge.

6 Likes

TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS
DAY 2, 5.50 PM

Our heroes are stuffing the trunk of the IP with some of their “necessary” gear after having a hard time waking up…

ANDREAS: Well, I guess that I have to drive first like yesterday. Janne, have you checked the car?
JANNE: Uhm, well, the oil level is somewhere near OK, the tyres are still round and black and the dixie horn is working…
ANDREAS: That’s good enough! Let’s…
MARIE: HEY! Look at Team Letto, seems like they are ready to leave too!
ANDREAS: Quick! Jump into the car!

With screeching tyres the team hurried to get out on the road again before team Letto.

ANDREAS: I managed to beat them, now the rest should be only childs play! So, let’s get into the right mood then!

To be continued…

@LordLetto

4 Likes

Team Bakewell Tart


Nothing much is happening in the car Mandy and Connor are feeling a bit tired from their earlier start than the majority of the competition. The Ditane is continuing on it’s course quickly and without hiccups… so far. Connor has estimated that the leaders of the race are around 100-200KM ahead and that all going well ,with the occasional stop from all parties, Team Bakewell Tart will catch up in time to join the battle for the podium. positions.

“I heard some that that pick-up your Mum told us about is out of the race” said Connor.

“Yeah I hope they’re alright wouldn’t want that to happen to any team infront of us ever” replied Mandy with a smirk.

“Don’t speak too soon you know what these moose can be like and we aren’t in a big pick-up either” said Connor back to Mandy.

“Yeah yeah I was joking, well half joking but I still hope they’re okay” said Mandy.

Connor gave Mandy an eyeroll and shook his head and returned to his map reading and distance equations.

2 Likes

DAY 2, 7AM-10AM
Many of the vehicles are now on the sixth leg of the course, Kumla-Grums


143 kilometers of mostly highways. The weather is clear and very hot.

Some of the vehicles also have reached the seventh leg, Grums-Falköping.


227 kilometers, some of them on highways but most of them on larger country roads. The weather is still very hot and with clear skies.

The very fastest of the bunch are on the eight leg, Falköping-Vaggeryd


113 km of mixed highway and small country road driving. It’s getting cloudier and somewhat colder.

Team Off Constantly / @Obfuscious
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team is waking up and preparing to leave
Distance: 968 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today. Fuel stop at Shell Hammerdal.
Distance: 1049 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: Team is stopped by the police, speeding ticket of $450.
Distance: 1130 km

Fuel: 37 litres
Money: $5038.41
Fatigue: 7.5%

Team Mountain pass / @HighOctaneLove
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team is asleep
Distance: 1093 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team is waking up and preparing to leave
Distance: 1093 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Härjedalen
Distance: 1201 km/

Fuel: 24 litres
Money: $6795.20
Fatigue: 0%

Team Thunderstruck / @Fayeding_Spray
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team is asleep
Distance: 1141 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team is waking up and preparing to leave.
Distance: 1141 km
6AM-7AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Härjedalen
Distance: 1254 km

Fuel: 36 litres
Money: $4723.16
Fatigue: 0%

Team Green Gunners / @abg7
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team is asleep
Distance: 1197 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team is waking up and preparing to leave
Distance: 1197 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1322 km

Fuel: 39 litres
Money: $1855.57
Fatigue: 0%

Team Two lone wolves / @Aaron.W
tsrfail
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
When leaving the parking lot, the team failed to yield for a garbage truck which hit the car in the side of the front fender. Car is totalled.
RACE OVER!
Distance covered: 1501 km

Team MV Design / @Marcus_gt500
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today
Distance: 1300 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1403 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1506 km

Fuel: 9 litres
Money: $9809.02
Fatigue: 15%

Team Bunnysquad / @Mikonp7
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team is asleep
Distance: 1501 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team is waking up and preparing to leave
Distance: 1501 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1628 km

Fuel: 27 litres
Money: $2236.69
Fatigue: 0%

Team Operation BIRD / @Elizipeazie
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today
Distance: 1492 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED:Ludvika
Distance: 1609
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED:Kumla
Distance: 1748 km

Fuel: 8 litres
Money: $5286.28
Fatigue: 10%

Team Harcourt-Entwhistle / @Jaimz
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1550km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at Gulf, Grängesberg.
Distance: 1644 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1797 km

Fuel: 32 litres
Money: $3899.33
Fatigue: 10%

Team New Life / @VicVictory
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at Gulf, Grängesberg
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1578 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1694 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: Car is not charging. The problem is traced to a dodgy connection in the alternator wiring and fixed at the side of the road.
Distance: 1811 km

Fuel: 12 litres
Money: $3747.84
Fatigue: 40%

Team Letto / @LordLetto
7AM-8AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1590 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1713 km
6AM-7AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Team has stopped for refuelling at OKQ8 Grums
Distance: 1824 km

Fuel: 50 litres
Money: $7905.83
Fatigue: 25%

Team V6 Vandals / @Madrias
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1554 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at Gulf, Grängesberg
Distance: 1662 km
9AM-10AM
Notes:CHECKPOINTS PASSED: Kumla, Grums
Distance: 1824 km

Fuel: 17 litres
Money: $865.95
Fatigue: 7%

Team Hillbilly rollers / Knugcab
7AM-8AM
Notes: Car is not running. Problem traced to a burnt out fuse to the fuel pump. Fixed at the side of the road.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1581 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Team has stopped for refuelling at Shell, Kumla
Distance: 1695 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1832 km

Fuel: 21 litres
Money: $1596
Fatigue: 25%

Team Sippppp / @TheElt
7AM-8AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Ludvika
Distance: 1602 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1785 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1940 km

Fuel: 15 litres
Money: $1943
Fatigue: 50%

Team Stm316 / @stm316
7AM-8AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Team has stopped for refuelling at ST1, Kumla
Distance: 1739 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1891 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at Qstar Mellerud
Distance: 1986 km

Fuel: 40 litres
Money: $2888.67
Fatigue: 45%

Team REE / @Detsikeulii
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1700 km
8AM-9AM
Notes:Team is refuelling at Shell, Vintrosa.
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1844 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1990 km

Fuel: 9 litres
Money: $2571.98
Fatigue: 10%

Team Bakewell Tart / @Mythrin
7AM-8AM
Notes: CHECKPOINTS PASSED: Ludvika, Kumla
Distance: 1681 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at OKQ8 Kumla
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1844 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1997 km

Fuel: 28 litres
Money: $2601.27
Fatigue: 32.5%

Team Dust Devils / @DukeOFhazards
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has stopped for refuelling at ST1, Lindesberg
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Kumla
Distance: 1696 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1876 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: None
Distance: 2004 km

Fuel: 10 litres
Money: $4950.23
Fatigue: 10%

Team Shitbox / @Mr.Computah
7AM-8AM
Notes: Team has started the journey for today
Team is refuelling at OKQ8 Kumla
CHECKPOINT PASSED: Grums
Distance: 1831 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1976 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Falköping
Distance: 2119 km

Fuel: 28 litres
Money: $2836.94
Fatigue: 22%

Team Getaway Plan / @BoostandEthanol
7AM-8AM
Notes: CHECKPOINTS PASSED: Kumla, Grums
Distance: 1844 km
8AM-9AM
Notes: None
Distance: 1994 km
9AM-10AM
Notes: CHECKPOINT PASSED: Falköping
Distance: 2153 km

Fuel: 5 litres
Money: $1529.46
Fatigue: 32.5%

9 Likes

Team Mountain Pass

Previous Post

Day Two: 7AM - 10AM
Pierre and I woke up on day two and we knew something was wrong… 8AM!!! We’d slept in, the greatest danger of any baller team, be it cannon, shit or meat! I wanted to hit the road as soon as we were decent but Pierre insisted on civility and breakfast… After eating the tasty Swedish breakfast I was glad I listened to him. We sorted out our shit and hit the road at 9AM; not a perfect start to day two by any measure but we had survived day one at least.

It was my turn to drive the Zealot and I was surprised at just how underwhelming it was as a performance car. Based on the looks of the few officials controlling the race (and a sneak peak at their paperwork) Pierre and I realised just how incredibly slow we really were. Some teams were over 800Km in front of us! Sure, we had no mechanical trouble and the radio worked so I was able to plumb the depths of the local Country and Western scene, but we were in a hopeless position to achieve anything competitive at all! Even the wooden spoon was denied us by an even slower team… Yup, our mediocre car choice had placed us in a slightly-worse-than-mediocre race position.

But I intended to give it all we had so I kept the l’il Bogliq planted to the firewall and prayed the other teams would suffer for their hubris. Fancy that! Coming first instead of us!!! The 1.6L four pot hummed in slightly-strained enthusiasm at my aggression and we pushed forward into the glorious Swedish morning…

Stats:
Distance travelled - 1201Km
Fuel used - 127 litres
Money remaining - $6,795.20
Fatigue level - 0%

3 Likes

Team V6 Vandals

Amy buried her foot in the firewall, leaving an angry black stripe from the parking lot all the way out onto the street, the 3.9 liter V6 roaring as she swung the midsize hatchback out into traffic.

With nothing really going on, several hours passed in relative silence, other than the roaring wind noise after Amy put her hand on the window switches to get ‘an awful fucking stink’ out of the car for about 15 minutes.

Around 10AM, however, the speeding Vandals finally had something to do.

“Hey, look up there, about 5 miles ahead.” Luke said. “It’s the shitbox from the Hillbilly Rollers team.”

Amy chuckled, then grabbed the CB. “This is the V6 Vandals, Motor Matron speaking. Got your ears on, Hillbilly Rollers? We’re on your 6, and closing fast!” @Knugcab

“That’ll get us some mild attention and something to do.” Amy said, giving a wicked grin. Cody and Jake chuckled, then said, “Shame we don’t have anything we can do to them when we pass.”

“Check behind the seat.” Luke said. “I brought fireworks. I figure, you guys launch those out the window as we pass, we’ll give them a good surprise.”

5 Likes

TEAM HILLBILLY ROLLERS
DAY 2 7-10 AM

Everything was going well for our friends until the engine all of a sudden went stone dead. Trying to start it again, the starter was spinning the engine around but absolutely nothing happened.

JANNE: Oh, crap! Andreas, can you turn the key to the first position, so I can hear if the fuel pump is turning on…nope, it’s stone dead!
ANDREAS: Is there anything at all we can do about this?
JANNE: It depends…
ANDREAS: Oh, right?
JANNE: I have been working as an IP mechanic in the 90s, and when there is trouble with the fuel pump on their early EFI cars, there is most often one of two possible problems.
ANDREAS: OK?
JANNE: If we are out of luck, it’s the primitive anti theft system that has blocked the fuel pump. You see the little box that is hanging from the key chain? It has to be there, it’s a kind of transponder, and when the car is losing connection with that one, the computer decides to turn off the fuel pump. If the problem is in the communication between the car and the transponder, there’s no way we can continue this right now.
ANDREAS: And if we are lucky?
JANNE: Then it’s the fuse inside the fuel pump relay that’s blown, so we’ll start with checking it out…

Some wrenching later

JANNE: Yup, this fuse is stone dead, let’s replace it and try again.

The twincam four under the bonnet fired up like nothing ever happened and the trip could continue. After the team had passed the checkpoint in Grums, the CB radio came alive.

MARIE: WHO THE (curse word) IS YELLING IN THE CB WHEN I AM TRYING TO SLEEP?
ANDREAS: The V6 vandals I think, I have no idea what they are blaring about, let’s just ignore them.
JANNE: Yeah, let’s just ignore them anyway. It’s like they are trying to threat us. Like if they could do something?
MARIE: Well, I’m awake anyway so why not turn up the volume on the stereo

ANDREAS: Why a christmas song now?
MARIE: I don’t know, it just felt right in some strange way.
ANDREAS: Yeah, just because you look like a huge pile of pork anyway…
MARIE: I HEARD THAT!

To be continued…

6 Likes

Team Green Gunners, Part 6

At 8:00 am on the second day, Tom and Bob woke up, packed their belongings, got back into their car and resumed the race. “We made it past the first day with relative ease”, Bob remarked as the GST-30 cruised down the highway at high speed. “But will we survive another?”

Tom’s answer was short and to the point. “We should, given our current strategy and the conditions we’re facing. However, I’m starting to hear reports of an orange Taikan which got torpedoed by a garbage truck, and was too badly damaged to continue the race.”

“So another rival bites the dust, then. If we make it past where they crashed out, we’ll move even further up in the standings”, Bob replied.

The Green Gunners continued to accelerate away into the distance, eager to make up lost ground for their late start and still as confident of a strong finish as they had previously been. But would they get through the second day, or even complete the whole race? Only time will tell.

1 Like

Operation BIRD


Day 2; around 8 in the morning

State of team:
Connor: currently driving; neutral
Redwood: has slept well, although not long enough :stuck_out_tongue: ; excited about next day happenings; passenger seat
Tonsom: not a good noght for him; really wishes progress on their Mission… ; rear-left seat

After having left their Hotel just about an hour ago, they are rolling down the road in their Damien Benoît.
For the past hour, not much of interest has happened, until they see a GT-style sports car by the side of the road, severely damaged.

[the car is just about visible in the distance, but only Connor can distinguish it from it´s surroundings]
Connor: “It seems like another team has some degree of trouble with their vehicle.”
Tonsom: “What? There is no car… Stop talking bull… [Tonsom notices the car as well] Fuck… You´re right…”
Redwood: “Remember last time? Did not work out too well…”
Connor: “I agree with Tim. The last time we tried to help other participants saw limited success to say the least.”
Tonsom: [:angry:*; at Connor] “You still haven´t learnt shit, have you?”
Connor: “I am sorry about that.” [:pensive:]

they are about to pass the car in question

Tonsom: [:rage:] “FUCK! Do i need to tell you everything?? STOP THE FUCKING CAR!!!”

Connor slams the brakes of the Damien Benoît, sliding past the other team on the side of the road, coming to a stop about 40 metres behind.
Then Tonsom reaches iver Connor´s shoulder and presses the Horn.
HOOOOOONK
Tonsom opens the rear-left door, then shouts at the broken-down car.
Tonsom: “HEY, You guys back there! IS everything okay? Need a lift?”

Connor gets out and walks towards the car to check in on the Two Lone Wolfes.
Tonsom: [from inside the car] “What are you doing? Get back here, NOW!!”
Redwood: [to Tonsom] “Let him do his thing, he´s learning…”
Tonsom turns around again, starting to realize that he managed to tech Connor something.

Connor: “Your car has been severely damaged and i hope you suffered no injuries. We are willing to offer you a lift to the next major town if needed. We also have a first-aid-kit for any minor injuries you might have.”

*the Emojis represent the facial expressions between characters


@Aaron.W

You need a lift? There´s room for two more in our car.

8 Likes

Team New Life

Bzzzt

“OW, goddamn it!” Kyle shouted, snapping his right hand back and forth.

Hank sighed. “Well, at least we know there’s power flowing. Hey Fuzz, grab me the electrician’s tape and wire strippers out of the tool kit.”

“You got it, boss,” the young deputy replied cheerfully. For once it wasn’t HIS body absorbing the abuse.

Kyle leaned in slightly toward the Ardent’s engine bay, his hand resting on the propped-up hood. “You know, this thing isn’t actually that big of a piece of shit.”

“That’s what I kept telling you when we were looking,” Fuzz retorted. “My sister, her hubs, and I have had great luck in various Ardents. The only car ever to betray us in one of these runs was a Suzume.”

Hank’s eyebrows arched as he took the tool from Fuzz. “Oh? I thought those were supposed to be really reliable.”

“Mechanically, yeah,” Fuzz explained. “Ran like a top, even after sitting in a field for years. But it had rotted out and we didn’t catch it until the whole rear suspension collapsed.”

“Yikes,” Kyle exclaimed.

“It’s OK. We were fine. The car was shot. Actually, we ended up taking the engine out of it and shoving it in a first-gen Chancellor that was missing its engine. Weird mash-up, but it worked well. Oh man, I cried when that car was stolen and wrecked. I loved that thing so much.”

Hank had quickly repaired the damaged wire Kyle had inadvertently found. “That should do it.”

They piled in the car and fired it up. They all sighed in relief when the charge light on the dash went away after the car’s power-on self-check was done.

Hank stared at the wheel as he ran his hands over it. “All things considered, this isn’t too bad. We’re neither in last place, nor headed for the scrap heap. Onward, we go!”

“Onward!” the other two shouted in unison.

4 Likes

TWO LONE WOLVES

So Lucas and John is leaving the hotel parking lot. Then suddenly, they crashed.
Lucas: Noooooo!!!
John: Really?! The car is now totaled. God! 1 Tora RS is now off the road…
Lucas: You ok?
John: You can say that…
Garbage truck driver: Oh. Sorry. I didn’t dee your car over there. It was so low.
Lucas: No. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. Should’ve yielded.
Then suddenly, a car appeared
Someone yelled “you need a ride? Are you ok?”
Lucas: Sure.
John: I’m ok. The car’s not.
So, they entered the car and called the tow truck to tow the car…
Lucas: You must be in the meatball run right?
Tomson and Connor: Yeah, why?
Lucas: I knew it. No one will ever pick us up except a kind participant of the meatball run. Thank you for the ride. You’re very kind.
John: We appreciate the ride.
Connor: No problem. I’ll drop you off to the next town…


@Elizipeazie
Thank you for the ride!

6 Likes

Operation BIRD


OOC note: questions marked with an asterix (* <- that thing) are to be answered by the other player


State of team:
Connor:
currently driving; sometimes checks on the others in the rear-viev-mirror; slightly nervous
Redwood: co-driver´s seat; neutral; closely watches Connor having noticed his nervousness
Tonsom: rear left seat; feels like he´s done the right thing; visibly dissapointed in relation to Connor

Possible State of guest occupants:
note: whoever is physically smaller gets the rear-center seat, the other the rear-right one
Lucas: happy about the offer; sad about car being a hunk of metal; surprised about the car being a commuter sedan.
John: see Lucas


John, Lucas and Connor approach the car.
Connor: “We only have the rear-right and rear-center seats left. I would advise the smaller one of you to take the middle seat in order to save space.”
John: “Well… if you say so.”

The three enter the car and start moving.
After a mimute of silence Tonsom starts an introductory round.
Tonsom: “Well… I think we should get to know each other…
I am Captain Frank Tonsom, driver´s seat is set by our piece of shit we call Connor and thi…”
Redwood: “Really? You are starting to talk shit about Connor right after he seemed to have learnt stuff from you?? By the way, hasn´t been my turn yet… I am Tim Redwood…”
Tonsom: “Yeah… he´s still a dumbfuck…
Anyway, i have the money, Connor has the knowledge and Tim… i don´t even know why he is here.”

Redwood: [:roll_eyes:] “Really? I have told you before we left… You would likely have smashed Connor to pieces if i wasn´t here…”
Tonsom: “Stop lying… back to business… well… the team as a whole is called Operation BIRD…”

Another moment of awkward silence.

Connor: "It would be helpful for both of us if you would introduce yourselves as well.* "
Tonsom: “How far are you planning to seek asylum in here?* We can drop you off in the next major town. Alternatively, we can drag you all the way to the finish line… Then you at least finished albeit without a car…”
Connor: “May i remind you that there is a mission to accomplish?”
Tonsom: “You and your stupid mission… but you´re right… now that you are here, you could be very helpful for us… if you agree in… say… pursuing a goal not related to winning the race…”
Redwood: “WOOOO! More colleagues!”
Tonsom: [:roll_eyes:] “Was that REALLY necessary?”
Redwood: “Sorry about that…”

Connor: “I suggest giving our guests some time to think over the questions asked. I´ll inform you when we approach the next major town.”
Tonsom: "Seems like a decent idea for once…

So. If you do have any questions, i am all ears…"


@Aaron.W
your turn

questions for short:
how long to be here?
introduction of “Two Lone Wolfes”
if you are willing to provide info for our mission

5 Likes

Lucas is secretly laughing while the OPERATION BIRD is insulting themselves…
Connor: “It would be helpful for both of us if you would introduce yourselves as well.”
Lucas: So, I am Lucas, the driver and here’s John, a co-driver.
John: Hi.
Lucas: We’re the Two Lone Wolves. The name came from the idea when we fight about tuning the TSR Tora RS. Two Lone Wolves because we’re not a pack of wolves…
John: Can you drop us down at the next major city so that we’ll catch a train to go back to Stockholm?
Lucas: Can I have your phone number so that I can see how you’re doing in the race?
John: Hey! That’s asking too much!
Lucas: Oh yeah, and where is the train station in the next major town?


@Elizipeazie
Your turn…

3 Likes

Operation BIRD

OOC note: questions marked with an asterix (* <- that thing) are to be answered by the other player

State of team:
Connor:
currently driving; sometimes checks on the others in the rear-viev-mirror; neutral
Redwood: co-driver´s seat; neutral; in conversation with John and Lucas
Tonsom: rear left seat; feels like he´s done the right thing; in conversation with John and Lucas

Possible State of guest occupants:
Lucas: in conversation with Tonsom and Redwood, possibly Connor
John: see Lucas


Connor: “It seems like our recent internal conversation has been amusing for our guests.”
Tonsom: “Let them laugh… i don´t care…”
A bit of a pause
Tonsom: “So the next town it is then…”

Tonsom turns over to Connor
Tonsom: “You heard them, next major town train station.”
Connor: [calm as ever] “Got it.”

Tonsom: "Soo… Lucas… for the phone number…
First: We are not really intending to win since we have a different mission here
[Redwood starts searching for his phone]
Tonsom: [:angry:; to Redwood] “You leave that in your pocket.
[back to Lucas] Second: Only if you do NOT have the number of any other team…
Otherwise you could fuck our mission over by telling the others…”

Redwood: “Are you gonna be staying in Stockholm until the race ends or are you directly heading home?”
John: “Why would you need to know that?”
Redwood: "Just curious… you are not the first to be offered a lift, but the other team just was like Let´s pretend nobody is there "

Tonsom: “Here´s the plan:
If you don´t have any other Meatball numbers, you can have his. [points at Redwood]
You may, if wanted, help us on our mission. We´ll explain it if you agree to do so…
Regardless of wether you want to help or not, we´ll drop you off at the next town´s central station so you can get to Stockholm.”

The car turns mostly silent and continues it´s journey, the (more reliable than expected tbh) engine “roaring” along the highway.


@Aaron.W
back to you

4 Likes

John: We’ll be going directly home in Stockholm.
Then OPERATION BIRD explains that John and Lucas can help them.
Lucas: Oh, I would love to help. You don’t need to buy me food anyways, I brought snacks from my car we can share if you guys want it…
Tonsom: Great!
John: I want to fix the car… So, I’m going back to Stockholm. No need for the phone numbers anyways…
Redwood: Ok.
Lucas eats one of his snacks, and its Japanese…


1 Like

OOC:
Good call; Tonsom loves that sweet stuff


Operation BIRD

State of team:
Connor:
currently driving; repeatedly checks on the others in the rear-viev-mirror; sceptical about trustworthiness of Lucas and John
Redwood:
co-driver´s seat; neutral; in conversation with John and Lucas
Tonsom:
rear left seat; in conversation with John and Lucas; in hope for progress on mission

Possible State of guest occupants:
Lucas: in conversation with Tonsom and Redwood, possibly Connor; eager to help
John: see Lucas


Tonsom takes two of the snacks from Lucas, one of them being handed over to Redwood fairly quickly. They unwrap whatever they recieved and have a bite.
Redwood immediately gets rid of said snack by spitting it out of the window.

Redwood: “BAH! That was horrible!”
Tonsom: “Dunno what your problem is… I think its alright.” [takes another bite]
Redwood: “Whatever that thing was… Stay away with that crap.”
Tonsom: "Anyway… nom nom As said, nom we have a different nom purpose here… nom nom To be fair…
Connor: “I am sorry to interrupt you, Captain, but the information you are about to provide is to be kept secret.”

Tonsom throws whatever is left of the snack at Connor, actually dealing a head-shot. Connor does show little reaction though, apart from wiping said snack off.

Tonsom: “You shut the fuck UP! I know what i´m doin so stop commanding me you piece of shit!”
Redwood: “Erm… Frank… you are doing it again… And Connor is right… if we tell too much we can bin our mission…”
Tonsom: "Fuck… FUUUCK!.. Okay Frank calm down… calm down… deep breath "
Redwood: “Got cooled off?”
Tonsom: “I´m good… [turns over to Lucas]
So… we cannot tell our job in this thing, but what i can tell is that we are doing this not because we want it… We have to do this…”
Connor: “We are drifting off the original topic…”
Tonsom: “Shut up we are not… Can you tell us everything you know about how this Meatball thing was organized or established? Every single bit helps!
Also… can i have another one of these? They are friggin awesome.”


@Aaron.W

your turn
won´t be too long to town
just the info you might have and some set to say goodbye

4 Likes

Team Off Constantly

The ladies of Team Off Constantly slept late and sat down to breakfast, after yesterday’s shenanigans with the local fauna and law enforcement they decided to dial back the aggression a notch. As Mel showered, Dani did a quick search on her phone and found an unofficial site posting the progress of the Meatball. Her stomach churned as she discovered their place: Dead last. Some of the teams had covered twice the distance of their poor, battered Tazio. Knowing Mel’s competitive nature, she decided not to inform her of this fact. It was Dani’s day to drive, she would do her best, but didn’t want Mel encouraging her to overdrive. Besides, knowing the fact wouldn’t change anything, and she wanted to enjoy her day of driving.

“I left you some hot water. I’ll go settle the bill and check the car over,” said Mel, emerging from a steaming bathroom. As Dani showered, Mel too had checked for race results and discovered their placing. She decided not to tell Dani, she didn’t need any added pressure, and besides, they were on holiday. She marvelled at how far some of the cars had travelled in the first day, and decided that simply finishing without winding up underneath another moose would be a win for their team.

Dani walked towards the idling Tazio as Mel was cleaning yesterday’s grime off the windows.
“Car looks good, sweets. Ready for another day of Sweden at speed?”
“Let’s do it.”

The morning went smoothly, with the team stopping for fuel and then stopping again for a police car -which handed them another speeding ticket. Conversation between the two was limited mostly to pace notes, as both were carefully avoiding the topic of their non-competitiveness. Mel made no comment on Dani’s drive, except to compliment her on the fact of her speeding ticket being more expensive. Dani, for her part, drove fast but conservatively, keeping her eyes far ahead on the road, scanning for wildlife.

4 Likes

Team Shitbox Brothers

These two will have a breakdown soon, amirite?


Day 2.

As the Brothers navigated towards Grum, a stop for fuel and some snacks robbed them of some time Getaway Plan used to overtake them.

Ana: “I told you, we should’ve woke up way earlier. We had no margin and now that thing with wheels is in front.”

Alejandro: “We’ll caaaaatch them, so stop complaining.”

Ana: “We better do, I swear we better do. At least the guys in the Ceder haven’t caught up…”

The km went by mostly silently until a notification popped up in Alejandro’s phone. He read it quickly.

Alejandro: “Another team bit the dust. Lone Wolves. They crashed into a garbage truck, they are alright buuuuuuut their car wrecked completely. Totalled. Dead.”

Ana: “At least they are fine. How many of us racers left on the road?”

Alejandro: “Let’s see…Off Constantly, the Bogliq boys…the two girls in the Thunder, the Green Gunners aaaaaand…ah yes, these MV guys. Also the youtuber bunch, the group in the Damien Benoit, that old woman’s you had an argument with team, that Ardent SUV…Letto, the Vandals, the Hillbillies, Sipp, Stm, Ree, Bakewell Tart, the Devils, Getaway and us. So that makes…19 racers still on the road, and we are second.”

Ana: “Alright, no time to relax. We can’t be the next ones to wreck.”

And once again, the pastel pink Caliban disappeared in the horizon with its inline 4 wailing.

8 Likes

apparently nobody noticed the Lone Wolfes taking a lift with Operation BIRD xD

2 Likes