Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ragnarok

Here is a little Norse mythology:

At the end of time, all the forces in the nine worlds will meet in Asgard for Ragnarok: the Twilight of the Gods.  Lots will go down, and it will all be bad.  The wolf Skol will catch and devour the sun.  Fire will rage over Migard and pretty much everything will be wrecked.   And Fenrir will break his fetters and devour Odin the Allfather.  Even Thor will die after killing the serpent which surrounds the world.  As it says, "That was the end; and this is the beginning."

After a few years of though, I have decided to name my racing boat Fenrir.  The reason is that it fits.

In my esteem for the racers who can finish 340 miles in under fifty hours (and some under forty), I envision them as the mighty men and women of Norse myth. So, to follow the metaphor, I would be Fenrir, trying  to defeat what are the champions.  This of course is not an attempt to lower them or their accomplishment, but rather to advance a new idea and see how far it can all go.  And, if I do, then it will be as it says: the end and the beginning.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Correction

Well, last night I made a mistake.  It turns out there is a record for the solo pedal boat in the 340.  The admin had mistakenly omitted it in the recent roster and it was only after I got into researching previous performance (when did people drop, etc. so I could form a correlation) that I discovered the slip.

It turns out that Mr. Carl Philips finished the 2009 (same year I raced it with my cousin in the Men's Tandem division) with a time of 74:47:00.  Hats off to Mr. Philips and sorry for the mistake folks.  As always the target remains and it was never my goal to prove it could be done, but to prove it could be one.  I need to beat that time by forty hours and some change.

Carry on. 

Monday, December 5, 2011

Deadline delivered

Well, it's happened: I have my deadline.  
As of a day ago, I registered for the MR340 and am on the list for the race.  I spoke to my Mom, and she will be handling the ground operations for the whole race.  This amounts to two things:


1) I need to get back on the boat


2) I am in a position to set a record.


The second part is about the history of this race. 
First off, the people at Rivermiles- specifically Scott Mansker- have made this race an open one.  There are no boat classes really, so you can take anything that is human powered.  Last year someone did the full 340 miles on a stand-up paddle board (SUP).  It wasn't sure that a person could do this, but it was done.  This matters because some races don't allow non-traditional boats.  It's not far from cycle racing, where tradition wins over innovation in the rules (look up the history of recumbent bikes or Graeme Obree to see what I mean).  As a result, I will be limited in what I can achieve.


Let's say I am right.  Let's say I make the fastest boat in the race and do it in some phenomenal 34hrs.  I won't be making the racing circuit in my fast boat, winning everything and blowing everyone's mind.  I won't be allowed.  The big races will not allow my boat in those races, no matter what the efficiency or speed.  I know this.  I am indifferent.  This is about one race.


I am focused on the singular goal of winning the 340.  I don't care about making my living as a boat racer.  What everything comes to is the validation of my own effort, both in design and in the craft of building.  If there was anything to come from this, beyond my own goals, it would be to make the design available to other people on the open market.  I could see this (assuming I am right) going into a long distance craft which anyone could use.  That would make me happy: a host of people out on the water, enjoying nature and ease of travel and all of them there because there is a design which makes it possible.  I would like to see this as the bicycle for the water: democratic, personal, accessible.  


For now, I just want to get back to the Armadillo Works and into the crucible of creation.  Onward: forward with a purpose.