news update links
June 01, 2009

Virginia Beach, VA - Denton, MD - 177.2 Miles
By Josh

The warm morning sun greeted the XOF1 team after a cold, windy night. Laura and I uncovered some cheese that we buried the night prior in order to keep it cool. A reporter dropped by to check out the car, and interviewed Marcelo first thing in the morning. She was so impressed by the XOF1, she made the crew a salad for breakfast. Marcelo, Laura and I decided we needed a shower. What better place to wake up and wash up than the Atlantic Ocean? After a quick dip, and several warnings from the local lifeguard about riptides, we got ready to head for Baltimore.  We were able to cross the longest bridge in solar car history…a full 17 miles! It even managed to become the first solar car to travel through an underwater tunnel. Then we drove until the car charge was depleted. We ended up at a truck stop in Denton, Maryland after doing nothing in the state of Delaware. I can’t believe we were in Delaware.

By Jamie T.

We got up early this morning to start charging the array. It's mornings like this that make me really appreciate being on the tour. The ocean was beautiful and I had an opportunity to do yoga on the beach. It was quite chilly and very windy. Several guys were kite surfing and the wind was blowing the hand rails at a frequency that made them sing. It was really awesome.

While charging, several people stopped by and Laine, a reporter for a local paper, came over to take photos. She and her parents were very nice and generous - they made us an incredible salad and gave us some food to take on the road with us. Before our picnic, Marcelo, Laura, and Josh took a quick dip in the cold ocean water. After everyone packed up we made our way up to Delaware. Just as we got through a toll though, we taped up the car to go over a bridge and I noticed that one of the front tires was wearing thin. After changing the tire we were on our way again. We stopped late in the afternoon to charge the car at a truck stop. This was good because the cooler really needed to be cleaned. The one bad thing about being on the road is that we have no refrigeration so food keeps going bad. After cleaning out the cooler, we found an air freshner that looked like a wizard to work it's magic in the cooler. After driving a little longer, Marcelo decided it was time to call it a night. We found another truck stop in Denton, Maryland and parked the vehicles. Marcelo then let Laura, Josh, and myself sit in the solar car for the first time. It was crazy! I don't think I can even really describe it. But it's nice to hear Marcelo say that he misses driving the car sometimes, which means that it's very comfortable for him.


Early morning before we take xof1 out for a charge.
Marcelo moving xof1 out in front of the beach to charge up from sun.
What a view!
sunning.
Tilted array.
Jamie doing yoga on the beach.
gulls. They're so lucky. They get to hang out on the beach all the time.
Kite surfers.
Xof1 hanging out.
getting some charge.
and more charge.
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funny looking dog.
1 -2 - 3 solar car!!!
Our favorite star - the sunnnn!
L'ombilico del mundo - belly button of the world.
Kite surfers.
fun in the sun.
picnic right off the beach.
Taking the array down.
Solar car crew - Marcelo, Jamie, Laura, and Josj
Going over a bridge.
Jamie paying the toll for both cars.
Jamie taping up the car for the strong winds. This is when she noticed the tire.
Marcelo changing out a tire.
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brake disk. needs to be cleaned everytime it's taken apart.
Jamie - "Cool design Marcelo. Doesn't need lug nuts?"
Marcelo - "Nope, set screws hold the wheel in place."
Tire thread showing.
Jamie and Laura taping the car up again.
More bridge driving.
Xof1 going under water!!! The first solar car to do so.
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giant fake gull.
We passed lots of fields of beautiful flowers on the way.
Josh conked out in the van.
stuck in a little bit of traffic.
Paramedics seemed more interested in solar car than the accident they were tending to.
...
Laura...
Jamie...
Trying to clean the cooler out. Not an easy task.
sunset
sunset
night time driving.
Our final destination for the night.
Laura sitting in xof1 for the first time.
Jamie in xof1
The scottish warrior trying xof1 out.
Good night!