Rayce Day 6: Stage 3 Start

Today went pretty smoothly, as far as the rest of our race days thus far are concerned. This morning was mildly frustrating as the stage start put us right in to rush-hour traffic in downtown Sioux Falls. Complimented with minor electrical problems, we lost a little bit of time on the teams in front of us but managed to keep ahead of the ones behind us. Once on the open road, though, we were able to cruise just under or at the speed limit for most of the day. As with most of the race, we were neck-and-neck with Calgary and Missouri S&T (Rolla), but eventually managed to open up a gap between them, despite being caught at a railroad crossing for a few minutes.

We had a little more excitement than we would like at the Fargo checkpoint, when once again, fuses on our power trackers started popping, which we now know is due to an improper shutdown of the car. Fortunately, this time, it happened only a few minutes in to our allotted half hour, and our amazing electrical team was able to quickly solve the problem, resulting in no lost time.

The remainder of the day was beautiful, with only scattered clouds to impede our progress. We stopped for the evening about 40 miles south of Grand Forks, ND, charged, and are staying in our hotel in Grand Forks. It is rumored that leaders Michigan and Principia are somewhere around Grand Forks, and FH Bochum and Calgary are stopped somewhere around us. No word on Waterloo or S&T. Tomorrow, we should be able to make it to Winnipeg without too much trouble and within an hour or two of the top teams.

A big "Thank you" to all of our friends, family, and supporters who have come out to see us at the Checkpoints and stage stops, it is definitely a welcome dose of home after two weeks on the road (has it really only been that long?)

--David Towey
Crew Chief

July 18, 2008

Comments

Sounds like you finally had some good weather. Go Gophers.

Posted by: Roger & Jan | July 18, 2008 10:56 PM

It was so good to see you in Fargo!!! You are an amazing group of young people. I love how well you work together. Konrad, your hair looks amazing. Morgan, thanks for the hug. Sam, your parents and grandparents are so nice. Next rayce, though, I want to make sure we have more t-shirted fans than Michigan does in attendance. :-) It didn't occur to me to bring my maroon & gold. When I get my pictures on flickr, I'll post the link. I think I got shots of almost everyone. Glad to hear that you made it most of the way to Grand Forks. I hope you had sunshine today! Happy border crossing!

Posted by: Jeanne LaMoore | July 19, 2008 6:54 PM