You just brought back a childhood memory of mine of sliding down the side of an overpass on a piece of cardboard and hoping I would stop before I hit traffic. This was in California and the hills were covered with a slippery, aloe type plant. I should have tried the towel parachute to slow me down. Great memories.
I saw some of those videos a while ago when I was romping through Youtube. That looks like fun... But I live 15 feet above sea level. So it looks like I'll just be spanking my manque'
These things look like great fun, but hell, every kid growing up in my neighborhood did this all summer long. Except we worked with true junk - and pre-teen brainpower. "Rope" steering of course, and NEVER any brakes - except the heels of your shoes. We started out using hard rubber coaster wagon wheels nailed to boards, but by age 9 or 10, we had advanced to low-slung pneumatic-tired rigs (off of commercial lawn mowers or industrial equipment). Our track was a VERY steep two-block long paved street with a deadly curb on each side. Helmets? Knee and elbow pads? What the hell were those? Oh yeah. We didn't count on a mere push - or gravity alone like these whimps do. Someone on his bike would pull-start you until he couldn't pedal fast enough to stay in front anymore. Then you let go of the rope and began your run. Can you say "Road Rash"? Hard to believe one of us didn't get badly hurt or killed.
I'm going to go for it and build my own car, have had one with a team of lads already and dang it this one is going to be great! Thanks for sparking me up again Ryan and SFVISBF!
Cool post..........I look at those guys and think.........Crazy.....in a good way.........kinda' like laying on my skateboard as a punk kid on the "one block" hill and racing a buddy and yelling "Car".....hahaha........FYI, for the KC guys, the soapbox derby for the kids is this Saturday.......I am going to be there in the morning. http://www.kcsbd.com/ Chris Nelson Kansas
damn that looks like fun. I want to build one but i am a bit far away in the great white north of wisconsin.
Cool, for sure, me and Bad Bob went to see the 5/10/07 race, what chaos, it was fun. The only problem I had was, for obvious safety reasons, was that the finish line (cones) was only about 100 yards from a mayor intersection with a traffic light. Some body could have gotten killed that day. But still, I sized up the competition and I am currently working on the "Silver Bullet" that will blow the competition away . <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8eLaEHokiK4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8eLaEHokiK4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
I'm hooked on the videos! When I was a kid we were inspired by the "Little Rascals"/"Our Gang"TV shows and their traditional soap box cars. I gotta ask though, is the car horn in the beginning of the videos clipped from the "Dragstrip Girl" movie with Traci Lords?
Ok Now Plan For The Pikes Peak Nationals ... Towel Parachute Hah One Side Of The Mountain Road- Mountain The Other Side Nothing But Air Til The Bottom I Have Fallen Off Bikes On Steep Hills(deep Embedded Gravel) Here In Minn... Never Any That Were A 1/4mile Or Longer Tho Quality Editing .. Youse Cali Boys Are Always A Techie Geek Fearless Bunch O Wackos
Here's a link to some "Enzo was a hotrodder" level of the sport, cars. http://www.gizmag.com/go/4681/ I know the carbon fiber body of the Honda entry was made by 5 window Deuce owner Wayne Hartman, who came out of retirement just to work on this project. All of them are "hotrod" works of love by "car guys".
HELL YHEA! Man this brings me back to thwe old BMX days(early 80"s) few or us got to gether and went to Goodwill Bought beater bikes took the cranks off, made a set of pegs where the cranks used to be, no drive chains,(some with no brakes, Takes BIG BALLS) and made Gravity Racers, what a blast it was, talk about balls to the wall speed, we had two major hills we raced here in Northern KY. Amsterdam Rd. and the other in Ohio, Anderson Ferry Road. Both led to the Ohio river, both full of tight curves and both very steep.....FUCKING AWESOME!. Olde BMX'ers never die we just have Knee replacements at 30......Or lots of Back Surgeies( working on 4 myself.)
I knew it was only a matter of time before TJJ caught on to this madness. I've been digging it from the start. As one of the racers once told me, If you don't have hills, look for parking garages. I would really think about this in the Chicagoland area if others would be up for it.
I grew up in San Francisco and my one way street had a large hill at the end of it. At the bottom of the hill was an intersection right off a main street. Had an older cousin that built a kart and we "kids" would ride it out my driveway... down the one way street... and shoot right down the big hill. I can still here the nieghbor kids yelling "CLEAR" and then yelling "CAAAAARRRRRRR" just when you were about half way down the hill. GOOD TIMES.
Man this is what living the valley will do for you...... I love it! We have been talking the talk up here for awhile as we have some killer hills, now we need to start walking the walk......
Just watched all the videos, what a riot! I was talking about soapbox racing with a friend of mine just this weekend. Bravo!
Which is the reason ya shouldn't run Motorcycle wheels on a car. The loading they get on a car is much different than they get on a bike. Some Altered class drag racers found out the hard way. The front would come up a bit and come down with the wheels turned and collapse the wheels. Its even worse for cars that operate on the street.
looks like craploads of fun indeed ! would suck here in texas though, we would have to push 'em everywhere. can you say flat land?
man I'm glad I don`t live out there any more I have flown off a mountain coming down Beverly glen on a ten speed. gotten run over in a go cart by a 68 Chevy. and I would be racing with those crazy guy`s every weekend ! I know of a good hill in austin ? this brings back some good memories.
we should start somthing like that here in wisconsin. we could race in the driftless area where theres tons of hills!
Man, I almost feel bad for wishing I was 25 years younger... I wish I had the knowledge I have now when I was like 10.... I'd probably be in jail...