2006 Tour de Sol Updates
Tour de Sol 2006
Natalie
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006
Today consisted of driving from our small town of
North Haven to the slightly larger town of Saratoga Springs, New York.
After meeting about the day’s plan and getting last minute
supplies in Rockland we drove to Portland were we stopped for lunch.
This was our last stop in Maine and soon after eating at a local
broadway theme restaurant, and discussing our plan of attack for the
rest of New England, we left the state, and the nice weather. Most of
the rest of the drive was through a downpour, and only lightened up in
time for our extravagant dinner at Wendy’s in Brattleboro,
Vermont. Taking advantage of the walkie talkies we had to communicate
between the bus and Dietter’s truck, the “Big Bird”
and “Mean Green Machine” made the trip with no
difficulty. We ran D’s truck, (our tow vehicle) on
biodiesel until we got to Wiscassett, then threw the switch on the
waste vegetable oil (WVO) tank. We drove the rest of the way to
New York on WVO from North Haven Grocery, burning zero gallons of
fossil fuel with the tow vehicle/electric van combo. (We did burn gas
in our bus.) Finally we arrived at our camp site finishing a twelve
hour trip. We got right to setting up tarps, tents, putting together
presentation boards, and tackling unfinished work on the EV.
Scot
5-10-06
Day 2
Tour De Sol
Today started with the first of many early wake-ups
we will be having this week. My eyes were half shut and my legs were
wobbly but they quickly stiffened in order to get the presentation
boards and other minor details finished on the electric vehicle (EV).
First driving off in D’s rumbling biodiesel
powered truck and the mini bus, the group went to Saratoga Spa State
Park where the Tour de Sol is held this year. My first thought of the
place was that there weren’t many alternative vehicles in the
park, but soon there were cars coming left and right. Big and
small, long and short, biodiesel, vegetable oil, battery powered, and
solar vehicles were the attraction and purpose that everyone had come
from near and far to see and participate with. There was even one
vehicle powered by biomethane (which is exactly what you think it is,
cows and all). Finishing our presentation boards was the first
thing for some of us to deal with, while others worked on the new
battery box which would allow us to increase the voltage capacity of
the electric van to 120volts from 108volts. Working on the electrical
circuit design poster, Ian and I made a circuit model to show how the
solar panel array on top of the school works and how it can charge the
batteries. The other boards were “From Green toGreener,”
which was about what we did to make the E.V.and what we are working on
now in the school, including having set up the solar panels on the
school roof. The last board was a board about
“Renewability”, which tells about how the energy we use,
like solar for the EV, and vegetable oil to run the diesel truck, are
replenishable, unlike fossil fuels, which can’t be replaced.
After lunch the group took the vehicle through
technical static testing and dynamic testing. Being the helpful and
knowledgeable students that we are, Amilia, Natalie, and I all
volunteered to be team assistants. My first job was to run the Radar
Gun which told how fast cars were going. Meanwhile, the rest of the
group brought the vehicle through testing for electrical safety,
construction safety, practicality, and weight. Some vehicles were
sidelined for repairs, some broke as they were being tested, others
emitted small puffs of smoke and then stopped moving. Teams had
to go through an obstacle course which had brake testing, speed and
acceleration, and cones you had to weave in and out of. Soon it
was our EV.’s turn to compete. Something I did not plan on was to
be at the other end of the course, trafficking people from not going
where the drivers were driving so I could not see the action. I was
with a guy named Calvin Cheeseboro who was from the West Philly team
that built a cool biodiesel powered sportscar. Later I
heard that “Jesse became one with the E.V.” in his
driving. Later that night at around 6:45PM we hooked the E.V. up
to the massive generator to charge up. The group cleaned up our pit
stop area and headed toward the camp. Learning many different
interesting things today, it started a great time in New York.
Ian
5-11-06
Day 3
Tour de Sol
Today was another early start. The wake-up call was
at 5:45 and we left camp at 6:15. Dietter and I drove into the State
Park in the “Mean Green Machine,” which is the radio handle
for the 1997 Ford F-250 Super Duty Power Stroke Tri- Fueled Turbo
Diesel. We unplugged the EV from the charging station and attended the
Driver’s Meeting to find out about the events of the day. At 8
AM, Ben and I took off in the EV to boldly go where no North Haven EV
team has ever gone before (in terms of range). The vehicles in the Tour
de Sol had to drive on 32.5 miles of roadway to the Saratoga Technology
and Energy Institute (STEP). I think that we were the only team there
that was shouting catch phrases from TV ads. Many chants of “Veee
Duuuuuuuuubbbbb” were muttered, which is from a Volkswagon
commercial that goes along with a gang-style hand sign that
represents the VW symbol (See Picture). With Ben behind the
wheel, me with the map, and many chants of “Veee
Duuuuuuuuubbbbb” we were there in no time. Our nemesis, St. Marks
School, had no clue where they were going, so they followed us. At
STEP, the teams showed off their vehicles and attended a presentation
from high authority suit and tie state people (A.K.A “Tha
Man”). It was all about what New York was doing to implement
alternative fuels into their state transportation.
Heading back out, there was about 9 miles of road
between STEP and the Park, bringing the total miles driven to 41.6
miles. This is the longest the EV has ever traveled on one charge. The
increased battery pack and using our new charger made it possible to
pump 150 volts into out nominal 120v battery pack. Completing the loop
today was definitely a good sign of what was to come tomorrow in the
range event, which consists of driving the EV to its full range, over
the course of 3 different sized driving loops.
This evening we went out to have supper at a mainly
fried food joint. When we were done eating, there was some talk about
what the restaurant does with their used cooking oil. This was brought
to our attention because of the similarity of the smell of the
restaurant and Dietter’s truck’s exhaust. Me, the fearless
leader in times like this had the most fortitude out of anyone in
the group, and went up to the restaurant owner to ask what they did
with their used cooking oil. They did not have any with them in that
restaurant, but the owner also owned another restaurant one block away
that had oil that was still warm from being changed out. One trip
deep into the bowels of the restaurant kitchen llater, we had 20
gallons of cooking oil for our return trip. So, it looks like we will
be driving back to Maine running the tow vehicle off of waste vegetable
oil that we received complimentary with our supper.
P.S. The mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont can wreak havoc on the
front brakes of a 3/4 ton truck with 1000 + lbs. of cargo and towing an
electric vehicle that weighs 2.5 tons. See the picture of Nathan
and me working on the truck.
Day 3
Amilia Campbell
We arrived at home base early this morning and started the days events with
Ben driving and Ian as navigator to Saratoga Technology and Energy Park as
the range event. Once there, we presented our vehicle to a wide variety of
people, from representatives of the industrial park to members from other
vehicle teams. All the teams attended a meeting with different speakers
telling about New York's State plan for alternative energy and alternative
fuel vehicles. While listening to Nancy Hazard(the head coordinator of the
Tour De Sol) the sun started to shine, while every one else was enjoying the
warm weather I was worried about what would happen if I came home with a
sunburn, when my mom specifically told me to put on sun screen every day. So
I ran to the EV to grab a mini emergency supply. While I was there,
thoroughly applying my SPF 50, one of the team members from West Philly asked
me about our van. I told him that I had just built, installed, wired, and
tested a battery module to up the voltage from 108 volts to 120 volts in
order for the van to hold a greater charge. Not only was I amazed at how much
I knew and had learned in just the last two days, but also that we could talk
about alternative fuel vehicles and understand the different processesthat
our vehicles use because we had been through similar experiences. For me to
feel comfortable talking about the EV and being able to understand when he
was talking about his turbo diesel, really shows me how much I am learning
over here.
Like most North Haven Community School trips, day three of the Tour de
Sol started eventfully with pouring rain. Nevertheless, we got up and
packed what we needed for the day. The drive to the event grounds went
without a hitch, meaning that we did not get lost. When we arrived the
grounds where filling and a meeting was already in progress in the main
event tent. D, Ian, and Natalie were already there, having gone
ahead to take the EV off of the charger and represent us at the
meeting. Once we had heard the plans for the day we started to
make are own plans under the shelter of our sturdy VW-made roof. After
a while we moved to a different location beside the big tent and set up
shop, prepping ourselves for the horde of school kids that would soon
descend on us. When they arrived, those of us who where not presenting
to them about our car were sent to lead tours for the school groups.
They seemed more interseted in West Philly, with their biodiesel
powered carbon fiber race car, than they where with us and our van, but
they enjoyed the show and liked the fact that they could climb into our
van and pretend to drive it. Once we had brought one or two
groups through, we took a break and had a chat with some members of the
West Philly team. We managed to almost convince one of them that
our van was powered by gerbils. After a awhile all the school kids left
and we where left to prep for the range event, which would measure how
far we could go on a single charge.
The near constant rain made it almost impossible for some of the solar
cars to run, but everyone made a great effort. Emmett went with
Gavin Watson as a navigator for the 200 mile event for biodiesel and
hybrid cars. Gavin summers on North Haven and has converted a Porsche
914 to run on veggie oil. Soon after, the EV set off with Ben at the
wheel projecting a 45 mile run An hour or two later the EV returned in
tow of D’s truck, we had gone 40 miles which was pretty good for
a day with rain, entailing the use of headlights and wipers. Natalie
navigated flawlessly on the two trips around the medium cores and this
was no doubt part of our good time record.
After purchasing food we returned to the camp and set up a tarp over
the grill and cooked a dinner of chicken and burger cooked on the
grill while we gathered around the fire. After a day in the cold
rain it was very good. A little after eight o'clock
D came back from plugging in the EV with a very hungry Emmett. We had a
group talk and settled into bed. I’m writing this listening
to the rain on the tent roof.
