news update links
June 10, 2009

Columbus, OH - Lima, OH - 88.1miles
By Marcelo;
Heavy overcast in the morning, couldn't even say where the sun was in the sky. No rush getting up or setting up the array by the railroad track as we plan last night, instead we just uncovered the solar array left it to soak up whatever light it couldaoat the same place we parked, Lucas parking stop at the back of the house. Everyone was up early for setting up the array and went back to bed to hibernate a bit more. I took the quiet time to attempt to catch up on emails and phone calls, I am a couple of weeks behind in my emails. At first plan to leave at about 10nish, than 12vish, we didn't leave until 16:38. On the way to the Ohio State University to check out their Declaton house project before heading out of town.

Lucas gave us a tour of the house their are building using the latest technology, using environmentaly friendly products made from reusable, reclyclable and localy made. The house being build will be taken apart and reasemble in Washington DC at an international competition. It is a competition for the most environmental home.

Surprisinly none of the major hardware stores are sponsoring their project. What an incredible marketing opportunity they are missing, the students could be building the house in a hardware store parking lot,


imagine thyronwere could,


From the Ohio State University we headed towards Chicago, our major next stop. Hopelessness of getting anytime soon. The battery is seating just over 96V when we left, giving us roughtly 60miles range. Traffic was getting heavy, we got on highway 33, the single lane road actually seems a good place to be, traffic was moving at a resonable pace,


Hope there will be solar cars parked y will uw

Declaton house.

Church "lord heal our land".

Republicans will come here and destroy your property.


By Jamie
We woke up to an overcast sky so we decided to stick around Lucas' place to do some work. Lucas left to go to school and in the meantime Josh and I went to fill the van up with gas, get some groceries, and buy lunch. We lucked out and found all 3 in one place. By the time we returned, Lucas was back but there wasn't much of a charge so we continued to work, or at least Marcelo, Laura, and Josh did. I snuck out and took a cat nap in the trailor. My sinuses have been congested for about a week now and I feel like I'm running low on energy so I try and get a nap in when I can. Unfortunately things are always go, go, go with the solar car team, so it seems that there is never time to catch up on sleep. I really don't understand how Marcelo continues to go the way he does and rarely gets sick. Perhaps he really is from another planet.

After we pack up and leave Lucas and Bethany's house, they both lead us to Ohio State University to check out their model home for the solar decathalon. This was really cool and I'm glad that we made contact with them. The home was small, only 800 square feet, but was extremely expensive. They had great ideas and it was quite obvious that they had people from several disciplines helping with this home. Lucas is actually a political science major but seems to stay pretty involved with the sciences. Bethany is an electrical/computer engineering major and is working on the controls for the house.

We couldn't drive very far that day so we stopped in a small town called Lima (pronounced like the bean, not like the Peruvian city). There was a 24 hour wal-mart with plenty of spacious parking so we set up camp for the night and had a picnic in the parking lot, eating our favorite avocado and tomato sandwiches but with Pita bread this time. While sitting in the van, one guy pulls up and gives us a warning, something like "you better watch out. Once the republicans find out you are here, they will destroy what you are doing!". I thought it was funny at first. How would they know that we aren't republicans? Anyway, he took off and left me a little paranoid but it didn't seem to phase Marcelo. When I asked why he said that his teacher once told him that you should never live your life in fear, or something along those lines. I guess he took those words seriously.


By Josh; Laura and I were up early to set up the array. It was very cloudy in Columbus, OH, and so our charge wasn't very good. We waited all morning for the sun, but we did not see any
rays. After getting the website almost completely up to speed, Jamie and I went for some lunch and groceries. We went to a place called Mozart's Cafe, where we got some awesome coffee and got to hear some minuets and sonatas. We picked up lunch for the crew, but apparently their portabello burgers were burgers with portabello, not burgers made from portobella! That was bad news for our vegetarian minded team, but Laura got a hummus wrap anyway. The team packed up in the late afternoon with a weak charge, and we stopped by OSU on the way out. Lucas and Bethany showed us the OSU solar decathlon project. They gave us a tour of their soon to be solar powered, green, and efficient concept design that would be ready for exhibition at the National Mall in Washington D.C. during October. They have been working hard to ensure that proper insulation, passive solar lighting, energy star appliances, and solar technology is utilized in their design process. When parking and security stopped by the parked solar car, the team ran to the van, grabbed a postcard for our new OSU friends, and hit the road. With only about 96 V, the team drove for a short while, until we stopped at a church for a wash room break. After stopping to smell the flowers a bit, we hit the road until the battery was about to die. We got some great motion shots along the way, with the exception of one guy who drove right in front of the shot. We were parked in front of his house, but what are the odds that we'll be filming in front of a farm in the boondocks right when this person wants to drive in front of my view? Anyway, we landed at a Walmart in Lima, OH, and had some avocado stuffed pitas before hitting the sack. Hoping for some sunshine after only 88 miles driven today. Even still, 88 miles on 96 volts is a great run for the XOF1!

By
By
By
By
By
A short lived break in the sky, By
By
To the sun my good man, to the sun....
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By