Today we finished the first leg of the American Solar Challenge, arriving in Topeka in the afternoon, after moving up another spot to 4th place (we're gaining! Thanks to everyone who's been cheering us on!).
It was been eventful today. After one of our four solar panel trackers stopped working, Tim had to rewire the array to work through the remaining three. We finished that just in time to hit the road as soon as we were cleared to, after spending the night in a small town named Butler.
On the road, we managed to shear a tire completely off its rim on some rough railroad tracks, while two vehicles managed to get between Axiom and our lead vehicle. An emergency stop was called, but because of those vehicles, lead was a kilometer ahead of Axiom when they pulled over. Lead has all the equipment needed for a tire change.
The end result was a frantic sprint across that kilometer, carrying all the required equipment back to Axiom. Yes, we got everybody safely off the tracks, and yes a train did come in the time we were pulled over. (Two, actually.)
As soon as we got that worked out and were moving again, we were hit by a tough rain storm, but like we've been planning all along, we drove through it and it eventually passed, giving us a clear path for the rest of the day.
Talk to you soon,
Brandon Heenan
Project Co-Chair, Business Manager