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Pre-Race

	Frogasaurus Rex is ready to get wet. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Sponge Bob. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
I don't know the name of this one. I think I will call it 'Political Compromise'. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	A hiccup bike was there. Not racing, of course. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Jim's Thunderbird. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Henry Ford Goes Surfing. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
That's A Mower, Eh? [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	We Stink. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	These watercraft were for sale. I wanted to race one against Rex, but never got the chance. He has the advantage of light weight. I have the advantage of a better propeller. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Triceratops. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Noodles. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Hobart Brown founded the Kinetic Sculpture races in 1969. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Black Widows. And their crew. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]

Water

In Ventura the Kinetic Sculptures enter the water in order based on expected speed in the water. So we would have been last. But since we take so long to convert once we touch the water, I arranged with the judges to be earlier in the lineup. That way folks wouldn't get bored while we messed with our pontoons.

In spite of that, we were one of the first to exit the water. I think we were second, but I don't quite remember.

There is a certain panache about making a big splash. That works for some of the machines. Others would be damaged by the sudden wrenching on the pontoons.

	Noodles was untested before the race. It looks like she is saying 'I'm not sure this is such a good idea.' Fortunately they had a backup system for propulsion. Of course, this means she lost her Ace Ventura award. But at least she completed the race. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Political Compromise. I would worry about having the flotation so close to submerged. I suspect that if the pilots move from their seats the craft will flip over in the water. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Nice splash by Land Shark. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Two Ton Trike has no transition. The wheels provide flotation. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Henry Ford Goes Surfing. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
We Stink. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Junkyard Hog. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Triceratops. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Sponge Bob. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
That's A Mower, Eh? [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Frogasaurus Rex eases into the water. The trick is to stop with the pontoons fully over the water. We then lift the main vehicle up onto the pontoons. If you look closely at the picture on the right you can see that we are cutting a wake in the water. That is rare for KSRs. They just aren't that fast. [left picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003. Right picture by Flash Wheeler.]
Thunderbird. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Rock-N-Fish. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	I don't know what this one is called. I will call it Mini-Political. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Sponge Bob getting a tow. I don't know what the problem was. They must have had a mechanical failure. . [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	At the midpoint of the water leg we were required to pick up a trinket from the Energizer Bunny. Here Junkyard Hog is getting his goodies. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Political Compromise. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Black Widows. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]

Sand

	Sponge Bob on the sand. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
We Stink on the sand. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Thunderbird on the sand. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Triceratops on the sand. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Frogasaurus Rex is not particularly fast on the sand. It would be better if it was lighter weight. Larger diameter wheels would also help. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
With wheels like that I would expect Mini-Political to be able to tackle the sand without being pulled. Maybe it doesn't have a low enough gear... [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Black Widows just keep going thru all of the obstacles. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]

Parking Lot Figure Eight

The "road race" in Ventura has been squeezed down to a figure eight in the Marina parking lot. They just couldn't get sponsorship for something bigger. It's a shame.

A figure eight puts a large number of big machines into a small space. It's scary. And occasionally things get broken.

Also, things are happening quickly. And the judges can't necessarily see the smaller KSRs such as Frogasaurus Rex when we pass the big vehicles. The judges miscounted the number of laps we did. So we had to do extra laps.

Another problem with the figure eight was that the exit to the mud crossed the track. When the large vehicles exited they completely blocked the race track. And since the mud staging area was very small, they couldn't fit. So they just sat there blocking the race track. I hope the Ventura officials will find a better way to set this up next year.

	While waiting for the road race to start, That's A Mower, Eh? gave a girl a ride. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Two Ton Trike. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Frogasaurus Rex and Junkyard Hogs jockying for position. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Here you can see some of the crowding in the figure eight. Frogasaurus Rex, Mini-Political, Rock-N-Fish and Sponge Bob are all bunched up. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	That's A Mower, Eh? and Triceratops. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]

Mud

The Ventura mud was not very deep. We thought that we could save time by leaving the secondary sprockets in midrange. Normally for mud and sand we shift to full low. But it takes a minute or two. Dave was doubtful, but I talked him into it. But even tho the mud wasn't deep, it was still thick.

Sponge Bob in the mud. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Henry Ford Goes Surfing crossed with Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Not exactly levitating over the mud. But the girl is pedaling! [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Black Widows in the mud. And the crew on the right. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	As the DNA-experiment-gone-awry lumbered through the thick Ventura mud, its intrepid pilots began to realize the enormity of their engineering error. The selection of the midrange on the final drive, seeming so innocent at first, began to loom as large as the call "Iceberg!" on the Titanic. Was truly the light at the end of the tunnel the fading September afternoon peering through the mouth of the vertical pit dug by the fruitless turning of our front wheels? Would we ever reach the end of the ordeal, so tantalizingly close? From all about, small fibrous aircraft harassed us. Were we to be mired forever? However, the spark had not gone from the lads from the frozen... er.... rain-swept..... er... slightly muggy North. Would the valiant efforts of the judges to stem the tide of people who just wanted to "give us one little push" be overwhelmed by the teeming press of humanity? As the heroic Oregonian duo came to the momentuous decision that they must once again face the rigours of a manual gear change, the grim necessity of once more greasing their own palms (instead of those of the judges), a groundswell of sound began. First from one throat on the right, slowly swelling to encompass the whole teeming throng surrounding the quagmire: "Go, Frog, go! Go, Frog, Go! GO,FROG,GO!". The momentuous shift effected, the vehicle shifted from its muddy abyss, Team Rex once again moves to the finish, the victorious conquering of another Ace, and fame upon the sheets of the local newspaper. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]")
Mini-Political. Nice mud! [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Political Compromise. Sometimes getting a pull by the spectators is a better compromise. Certainly, they enjoy it. And that is worth a lot. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
Noodles in the mess. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]
	Of course, if you are going to have mud, you have to play in it. Mostly its boys this time. But often the girls get involved. [picture: Copyright J. Taggart 2003]

Awards

	Ace-Ventura awards for never getting a push.
	First Place Engineering. That's two years in a row!

Copyright (C) C Allen Brown and Dave Neiman 2004.