Blog du Wren

My ShBang 2012 Anecdote

Sh'Bang 2012, if you ask any of the attendees, was a huge success. The video and picture* evidence only serves to reinforce. I don't have any pictures of my own, however, since I was busy racing my soapbox derby car, giving tours of the property (being sure to highlight my cabin!), and encouraging people to go down the new water slide*. But I do have what I consider a wonderful anecdote from the festival which is my contribution to the collective recorded memory.

This year, like the 4 previous years, I built a soapbox derby (using the same pallet, actually, that the previous 4 years' cars have been built on). As you may remember from years past, my car building skillz aren't so , so I brought in a little help on the final touches*. put together a pretty dang good car such that I made it down the course 3 times, including one time over the jump! (I did, however post the slowest time which I attribute to my caution rather than the car's ability. (Slowest Time did, however, win me a nice Mallard gift certificate!))

Well, whether it was from taking the jump* or from pushing the limits of my little pallet car, the back wheel was bend pretty good so I decided to opt out of the head-to-head and death match races. Lebn, however, looked like he was itching for a trip down the course. I told him if he wanted to fix the wheel, he was welcome to give it a go. Off he went to find some tools.

The head-to-head racers zipped by in pairs much to the delight of the crowd. Keeping count in my head, I realized that there was only one pair left to come down the hill, so it must be Lebn on the pallet car. I got in a good viewing position and waited. Soon, a car rounded the bend and came zipping by. It's a welded car without a nail or wooden board in sight. But no Lebn. He must have bailed or wrecked earlier up the course, I concluded, and started to walk away. But as soon as I did, around the corner he comes.

But wait, the car looks a little funny. Is it missing a wheel?!? Sure enough, the once tricycle has lost one of its back wheels but Lebn is still coaxing it along by heavily leaning to one side to keep it from dragging to a stop. What determination, what cleverness, what ingenuity! The crowd starts to cheer.

As is so often the case, determination, cleverness, and ingenuity is sometimes packaged with, well, let's call it overambition. The cheering of the crowd grows as it becomes evident that this cleverly-driven hobbled car is going to take the jump. Fortunately for posterity, photographer Peter James was there to capture the . Unfortunately for Lebn, tri-cum-bicycles don't really carry speed like their unhobbled relatives. He doesn't quite clear the mud pit and tumbles to the ground.

Not content to let it rest, he hops back on the doubly damaged machine and limps it across the line. Only later does the full damage report come in: a broken collar bone for the fearless rider. Alas. But, even 3 days later he reports that despite it all, he's "still smiling".

Thanks Sh'Bangers for a great weekend and great stories! The Quarry wouldn't be the same without ya'll.

Wednesday September 12 2012

File under: quarry

Toggle Comments (3)

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on Thu 13th Sep, 2012 10:32 pm PDT Jule said:
I saw it and it was amazing! That's some nice derby-ing guys. My condolences to the collarbone.
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on Thu 13th Sep, 2012 10:34 pm PDT Jule said:
Although the slide and rock cabin were worthy draws in themselves.

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on Thu 20th Sep, 2012 09:38 am PDT Mark said:
Just watched the video, Wren -OMG! I think I just decided NEVER to enter that race (as if I was actually considering it!), and when I am a spectator, I will stay well back of the course! EPIC!
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