Day 15: Battle Mountain NV

This morning was just as chilly as yesterday and with a more capricious wind blowing around the ankles of the masses. No legal winds at all for the riders who ran on the full course, Dave and Ken in the AR1 and Thomas and Alan in Vortex.  Slightly better for the short course runners.  Sherry finally completed a run, albeit in Vortex as Bluenose is quite badly banged up after the cavalier treatment it's had lately.  As is Velox V - they found that the front part of the fairing would no longer fit into place and have reluctantly decided not to take any further part in the event.  It's not been a vintage year for the HPT youngsters.

HPT Delft/Amsterdam, with the damage artfully hidden

A better year for Team Kowalik as Genna stormed through at 40.7 mph.  But with illegal wind.  Some jibbling with the timetable saw her able to do another run, this time in legal wind, for 37.29 mph and a new record for the 11-and-under age group, in spite of having been lifted out of the bike a few minutes earlier.

"I want coffee and I want it NOW"

Mark has managed to get his car fixed.  Then he let Sherri drive it!  Here, Sherri and Joyce prepare to re-enact the finale of "Thelma And Louise":

Sherry with a "y" also got a second run in after a misaligned sensor meant no time for her first; a legal 51.44.  Liz has had her wheels balanced by the indefatigable Barclay Henry, but it didn't make a whole bunch of difference to her speed.  She needs some lace trim:

Then back to town for the debrief, photo-op and arrest of serial Bad Man Dr T Reichert of Toronto.

Sergeant Aten adds to his impressive arrest record

Released early for good behaviour

Noes!!1!  It's the Western Half-Devil Monster Face again!

World+Dog: L-R: Velox V, Eta, Seiran, Red Lightning, Cygnus Chronos, Bluenose, Vortex, PulsaR, Micro-Moby, Beagle, CO2, Beluga, Velox XS, ARION1, Eivie 4.2

One more set of runs to go.  Weather good.  And I have a free hat!  Updates when time permits.

Not only do I have a free hat and a free pen but also not one but TWO packets of stroopwafels.  It would appear that Team Cygnus smuggled about 8 kg of the yummy biscuity snacky beauties into USAnia, presumably without declaring them.  From which it may be deduced that I am back from the evening runs and the awards bash.  I have way too many pictures to caption and upload tonight so you'll have to make do with the Executive Summary for now.

• Todd edged his world record out to 86.65 mph.
• Damjan finally got his long-sought-after 80 mph hat before totalling the bike in what was apparently a very spectacular wreck in the deceleration zone.  Flat rear tyre, I subsequently learned.

  

  Tail not supposed to be at that jaunty angle...

• Dave took the BRITISH record off Ken with a 70.60 mph run.
• Ken promptly took it back with 75.04.
• Andrea took the Italian record to 72.19
• Sherry got a run on the full course and didn't crash.
• Teagan got a 65.57 and one of the biggest cheers of the week.
• Jan-Marcel went over at the launch again tonight, albeit only once.  Frans, your country needs you!

I aten't uploaded any pictures yet coz it's late and I'm tired and any Scousers carousing under my window will be met with the pointy end of Chris the Broom Handle and, optionally, a bucket of cold water.  Though this is unlikely as they're in a different motel.  There shall be pictures and more Stuffs tomorrow night and now I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and maybe a stroopwafel or two before going to Bedfordshire.

Not really that much to add; since the event started having these new-fangled modern-type morning runs everyone is too knackered to do much more than fitful party-type activity.  But here are some extracts from the Rogues' Gallery.

Jan-Marcel attempt to bribe Sergeant Aten with stroopwafels.  Western Half-Devil Monster Face van Schaik gets in on the act.

Did you ever see a more sorry-looking bunch of crims in your life?  Citations are issued for lane discipline violations (i.e. crashing), speeding or, in some cases, both.  Todd, Jan-Marcel, Andrea, Damjan, Ken, Sherry, Robert, Lieske, Dave

Almost all the riders - Adam Kyte had already had to leave.
Back: Lieske Yntema, Jan-Marcel van Dijken, Calvin Moes, Allan Pettit, Sherry Shi, Ellen van Vugt, Todd Reichert, Damjan Zabovnik, Teagan Patterson, Tom Amick, Thomas Ulph, Ken Buckley, Dave Collins
Front: Jun Nogami, Genna Kowalik, Ceci Kowalik, Robert Braam, Liz McTernan, Larry Lem, Andrea Gallo, Natasha Morrison, Florian Kowalik

The event awards Hats to those who have a legal run faster than 50 mph, in 5 mph increments.  This year's crop:

Todd (85), Tom (60), Thomas (50), Damjan (80), Robert (60), Sherry (55), Lieske (55), Allan (55), Teagan (65), Larry (65), Dave (70), Andrea (70), Ken (70)

Note how drab Todd's 85 mph Hat looks - as though it had been left on the dashboard of Al'n'Alice's minivan since the idea was first mooted.  Use your Junior Pocket Microscope (Model 3a) to spot the contrast with the old-skool hot-rodder's dream that is the 80 mph variety.  Or click the picture to embiggen it.