Kinetic Grand Championship - Eureka, CA

 We decided to get out and about today and check out the town a bit more.  Gerry needed some cough medicine so we stopped by CVS and picked it up and then stopped for lunch at the Humboldt Soup Company.  The soup hit the spot on this cloudy and damp day.

The Kinetic race is being held this weekend and we went out searching for some of the participants.  Many were arriving in Eureka and we managed to get a few photos of the unique vehicles.  I've included a writeup about the race below since they explain it much better than I can.

 

The Kinetic Grand Championship is a 3-day, 42-mile bicycle race over land, sand, mud and water. Many refer to the Kinetic Grand Championship as the "Triathlon of the Art World."

Day 1 of the Kinetic Grand Championship starts on the Plaza in Arcata, California at the noon whistle every Memorial Day weekend. The racers take off to the Manila dunes, where they race through miles of sand to the great and inevitable "Deadman's Drop". Then on to Eureka's downtown gazebo.

Day 2 starts in Eureka at the waterfront on the Humboldt Bay, where brave Kinetic Pilots race their crafts through the water (most float). Then back on land where kinetic sculptures go up Hookton Hill, a 1 mile-7% incline and decline. Day 2 ends with a private campout for racers and volunteers only.

Day 3 starts from the private party at Crab Park where they will head over land to cross the Eel River just outside of Fernbridge. Watch the Racers cross the finish line on Ferndale's historic Mainstreet, where they will park for a while before heading up to the Final Awards Dinner.

What is a Kinetic Sculpture?

Kinetic Sculptures are all-terrain human-powered art sculptures that are engineered to race over road, water, mud and sand. Kinetic sculptures are amazing works of art; many are animated with moving parts like blinking eyes, opening mouths, heads that move side to side and up and down.

Kinetic Sculptures are usually made from what some people consider "junk". But one man's junk is another racer's raw material. Each Kinetic Sculpture is a work of art and each racing team has its own theme.

The teams consist of pilots, pit crew and pee-ons. Kinetic Pilots pedal the sculpture and steer, the pit crew assists the pilots in transforming the vehicle for the various elements and fixing mechanical issues, and pee-ons, well, they do whatever is needed for the team to get glory. The teams give out "bribes" to their adoring spectators, judges and Rutabaga Royalty.

Spectators are encouraged to follow the race on their bikes (obeying all traffic laws that apply please). Seeing these marvels of art and engineering turns many people on to bike culture and reminds people how much fun riding your bike can be!

Partial view of this one since it was tooling down the road.

 

Another head on view of the above.

 

This one needs a little push up the hill.

 

Sail power worked today with all the wind.

Family following along with the race.

Two person powered bike.

 

Not sure why this one was on the trailer.

 Hopefully we can get out on Sunday to see them going by on the road near where we are parked in the motor home.  If not, we will search them out and get some more pictures.

This 1955 Oldsmobile convertible was parked near the finish line for tonight and since it is one of my favorite all time cars I had to take this photo.  If I had unlimited funds this would be the first car I would buy for my collection.  I wouldn't even have to change it's color.  They just don't make classic cars like this now days.  Every car maker follows what the others sell and they are all the same.  Sad that the kids of today won't enjoy the cars of the era when we grew up.

That was our day, how was yours?