|
|
|
Solar-powered vehicles from around the country will gather at Crowder College this weekend for the Solar BikeRayce USA.
High schools, colleges and some private teams will compete with solar vehicles they have made in two classes: bikes with solar panels and freewheel vehicles that look more like futuristic solar cars.
Bikes will be out Saturday morning for scrutineering and testing. Inspectors have to make sure vehicles meet the technical requirements for their category and riders can navigate the turns. Then at 9 a.m. Sunday, they hit the track around Crowder.
This year The National Guard has agreed to open up a few roads to make a straighter race track. Daniel Boyt, wind energy instructor at Crowder, is helping coordinate the race.
“It will be better,” Boyt said. “There will be more, longer straightaways than in the past. There were too many turns and that makes it too difficult to pass.”
Boyt estimates it is the 16th year for the race, which has not always been hosted at Crowder.
“We’ve hosted it in different locations in the past,” Boyt said. “We see this as a recruiting tool.”
The race itself, he said, is a great motivation for students to learn about mechanics and electronics and other technical skills.
Laps are 2.5 kilometers or about a mile and a half. The entire race is 100 kilometers.
The race begins at 8 a.m. Sunday for the bike class. At 10:30, bikers take a break and the freewheel vehicles take to the track while the bikes charge for a couple of hours. Bikers resume at 2 p.m. – or after the last freewheel vehicle comes off the track.
“It runs pretty much the whole day,” Boyt said.
Each team will rank, but with the possibility of mechanical problems, wrecks or even a few clouds, not every team will be able to finish.
“There hasn’t been a year yet where everyone finishes the race,” Boyt said.
Bikes reach speeds of up to 30-miles-per-hour. This year there are nearly 20 teams. About three-quarters of the entries are bikes and the rest are S-class or freewheel vehicles.
Last year, clouds and light rain slowed racers and drained the batteries on more than a few bikes. This year, things will be better.
“The forecast is looking good, the last time I checked,” Boyt said.
Start and finish points for Solar BikeRayce USA will be at the Crowder College skid pad just north of the dorms. Car traffic should approach from the west behind the agriculture building, but organizers ask that viewers be in place before the race or walk to the checkpoint.
Solar-powered vehicles from around the country will gather at Crowder College this weekend for the Solar BikeRayce USA.
High schools, colleges and some private teams will compete with solar vehicles they have made in two classes: bikes with solar panels and freewheel vehicles that look more like futuristic solar cars.
Bikes will be out Saturday morning for scrutineering and testing. Inspectors have to make sure vehicles meet the technical requirements for their category and riders can navigate the turns. Then at 9 a.m. Sunday, they hit the track around Crowder.
This year The National Guard has agreed to open up a few roads to make a straighter race track. Daniel Boyt, wind energy instructor at Crowder, is helping coordinate the race.
“It will be better,” Boyt said. “There will be more, longer straightaways than in the past. There were too many turns and that makes it too difficult to pass.”
Boyt estimates it is the 16th year for the race, which has not always been hosted at Crowder.
“We’ve hosted it in different locations in the past,” Boyt said. “We see this as a recruiting tool.”
The race itself, he said, is a great motivation for students to learn about mechanics and electronics and other technical skills.
Laps are 2.5 kilometers or about a mile and a half. The entire race is 100 kilometers.
The race begins at 8 a.m. Sunday for the bike class. At 10:30, bikers take a break and the freewheel vehicles take to the track while the bikes charge for a couple of hours. Bikers resume at 2 p.m. – or after the last freewheel vehicle comes off the track.
“It runs pretty much the whole day,” Boyt said.
Each team will rank, but with the possibility of mechanical problems, wrecks or even a few clouds, not every team will be able to finish.
“There hasn’t been a year yet where everyone finishes the race,” Boyt said.
Bikes reach speeds of up to 30-miles-per-hour. This year there are nearly 20 teams. About three-quarters of the entries are bikes and the rest are S-class or freewheel vehicles.
Last year, clouds and light rain slowed racers and drained the batteries on more than a few bikes. This year, things will be better.
“The forecast is looking good, the last time I checked,” Boyt said.
Start and finish points for Solar BikeRayce USA will be at the Crowder College skid pad just north of the dorms. Car traffic should approach from the west behind the agriculture building, but organizers ask that viewers be in place before the race or walk to the checkpoint.
