When the alarm went off it was dark and it looked cold and I considered getting back in bed. What was I thinking?! Rolls are awesome, I just needed a reminder, and the first day of rolls did the job. Apex made it out, PiKA made it back out, CIA rolled the first new buggy of 2012, and 6 other teams came out to start the spring with a healthy crowd. Sunday was deemed too cold to roll (26 F, 8mph wind) so everyone had a short buggy weekend to get back into the groove.
In Attendance
| Org | Saturday |
|---|---|
| Apex | Camo |
| CIA | #18, Ascension, Firebird, Quasar |
| DeltaForce | Perun |
| Fringe | Banyan, Bedlam |
| PiKA | Raptor, Chimera |
| SDC | Bane, Avarice, Malice |
| SigEp | Peregrine, Barracuda |
| SigNu | Krait |
| Spirit | Zuke, Fuko |
| No-Shows | AEPi, KapSig, SAE |
Observations (Saturday Gallery)
Tough call on the headline story between Apex, PiKA, and CIA’s #18, but I’m going to to with Apex. These guys have only been at CMU for 6 months, CMU stuck them all in an ex-nursing home down on 5th Ave, but here they are rolling like champs on the first day of rolls. After learning about buggy, figuring out the funding rules, working the buggy network for a loaner buggy, and doing a lot of improvements on the buggy they got, their first day of rolls was impressively smooth. I would guess that they didn’t even own the bottom of the full-course times. As I understand it, Camo was literally thrown in a dumpster by AEPi, snagged by CIA basically just for fun, and then loaned to Apex when they came around looking for it. They had to do some pretty serious improvements (re-welding major frame elements, etc) to a buggy that hadn’t been any good in the last 10 years and it’s working out for them. Other organizations thinking about doing buggy should be encouraged by their success so far. That said, day 1 is just the beginning. Good luck Apex!
CIA’s 18th buggy was the only member of the 2012 fleet to make it out in time for the first day of rolls and it did so in its skivvies. It looks almost identical to last year’s design comp winning Ascension. The one difference I could see in its current state was that the large rear wheel is extended further back from where the shell finishes tapering. At first I was hoping it was some crazy trailing arm suspension design, but it looked pretty static. It rolled quite slowly on its first day out, but that’s mostly likely just CIA’s conservative style. Also in the “oh, CIA” category is the fact that they covered their buggy in trash bags like teams often do before they’re painted, but CIA used clear trash bags. Water repellent, but not secretive.
PiKA got the first roll of the semester and got back in the game with Chimera and Raptor, both of which looked great. They didn’t waste any time getting up to speed and both buggies were in the top tier of downhill speed by their 2nd or 3rd roll. I noticed a dark purple polyurethane compound on Chimera’s front wheels which I believe is new for them, so they weren’t sitting idle while they sat out this fall.
PiKA and CIA are now sharing the patio in front of Tepper. CIA moved into the prime location last semester in PiKA’s absence and it looks like they’ll be trying to co-exist there now that PiKA is back. I can understand PiKA being less than excited about this development, but it seems they’ve unfortunately decided to live up to the frat-guys stereotypes by picking on nice-guy CIA. I wasn’t between the tents personally, but I heard multiple reports of PiKA loudly talking shit about CIA, CIA’s extension cords “coming unplugged”, and high school caliber stuff like raw eggs being tossed around CIA’s tent. Sweepstakes chair Anthony sent a reminder e-mail after rolls concerning the sportsmanship rule and its consequences. PiKA has worked for decades to craft an image lacking humility, but for an org that currently exists in part because of the support of this community it seems like it might be a good thing to look into.
Spirit had a GoPro camera mounted just above the windshield on Zuke on a few of their rolls. They were rolling with decent speed and looked very stable in the chute while I was down there. I didn’t notice any visible changes to their wheel / compound / profile set-up so I gather they’re focusing on lines for the time being.
SDC had Bane rolling on some blindingly bright new white tires which is not significant except that it made me realize how the white compound (which gets dingy over time) makes it more observable when new wheels are brought into the rotation. If I had to guess at current pusher rosters, I would say that SDC had the most big dudes with athletic wear and cmu sports clothes hanging around the hills.
Fringe and SigEp both brought out only two buggies but looked well- to over- staffed on the hills for the job, so I’m guessing their mechanics are working hard to finish up their builds.- SigNu, Delta Force, and Apex are all staging out in the open from little spots around the peace garden (between Hunt and Tepper on hill 5). It used to be (ok, in my specific time frame ~ the last 10 years) pretty rare for teams to work out in the open like that, but they’ve got a good little crowd going now. I’m guessing anyone who happened to walk by might have assumed it was the tail end of one of those Occupy protests.
- Teams that didn’t make it out included (1) SAE who is apparently sending representatives to chairmen’s meetings, so hopefully they’ll be out soon; (2) AEPi who was out in the fall and I would expect to see often, but not every day this semester; and (3) KapSig who is reportedly out for the year. I really hope they can regroup for next year.
I’m going to try live-streaming rolls with intermittent commentary on Saturday next week, so if you’re into that kind of thing, mark you calendar. Welcome back to buggy, and get ready for more because the next 8 weeks are going to go fast.
Ben says:
Great rolls report Sam, always fun to see what I missed in my slightly less than sober state while walking around the course.
can’t wait to see how teams and new buggies develop.
Zatch says:
“…but it seems they’ve unfortunately decided to live up to the frat-guys stereotypes…” “…for an org that currently exists in part because of the support of this community it seems like it might be a good thing to look into.”
What a disappointment. They narrowly avoid the axe entirely, there is generally (from what I heard) a sense of hoping they return, that they had started to turn around their reputation, that other teams actually wanted to see them return, and this is the class that they manage to refound with?
On the KS note, word is that it’s unlikely.
Edge says:
Camo lives!
Paul D says:
Pika acting like assholes? The more things change the more things stay the same.
Carl says:
Better the asshole you know than the asshole you don’t.
Ben says:
truer words… have probably been said, but have never applied as directly
lemuroid says:
far be it from me to defend PKA but they have used that spot for about 1000 years and cia should move on.
trophymursky says:
it’s not cia’s fault that pika wasn’t out in the fall. Thou I do remember a CIA guy saying that they’d leave if pika comes back so IDK.
Paul D says:
Honestly you are probably right, but that sort of behavior can not be tolerated. Throwing eggs? What the fuck is that about? Pika needs to remember that a privilege has been extended to them that has traditional not been given to other orgs in similar situations. If they are going to go around making buggy an unpleasant experience for other orgs then they have no place in buggy.
Eric Bruner says:
Egg Toss is something that PiKA does after many days of rolls…It’s not like eggs were being thrown at other orgs.
Howeverm, the space proved to be very tight with both tents right next to eachother when carrying buggies in and out
Paul D says:
Is verbal harassment also a Pika tradition? Oh wait it is that’s why pikabuggy.org was created in the first place.
Zatch says:
Yeah, come on guys, they weren’t throwing eggs, eggs got thrown and orgs got in the way. Let’s lay off these fine gentlemen.
Sam Swift says:
Maybe I’m just getting old, but I’m not a big fan of stepping over broken eggs on my way into work regardless of PiKA’s motivation in tossing them. Weak explanation.
snowboardernyc says:
When it comes down to it, they were asked if they could wait before they started their traditional egg toss. They claimed that they always do the egg toss and that we were in the way. Tradition is no excuse for disrespect. When it was brought to their attention that they would probably be angry if eggs were thrown over their tent, it was ignored. Repeated requests for them to stop throwing the eggs were also ignored.
While it is true that PiKA has had that spot for years, and it could be debated that therefore they deserve to have it back, privileges should go to those who have consistently been around, not done anything to jeopardize their standing as an organization and have consistently contributed positively to Sweepstakes and the buggy community as a whole.
spud says:
While I will be the first to admit that PiKA is far from error when it comes to buggy, I would like to clear up a couple of things. “Priveleges should go to those who have consistently been around”. Let me get this straight, the one semester where PiKA needs to take a semester off to improve themselves as a chapter is grounds to kick them off a spot they have held long before CIA even existed? How about the fact PiKA has never missed a raceday since the inception of the damn race? Didn’t CIA confirm they would give the spot back to PiKA and then try and get it without even telling the PiKA chairman?
“Contributed positively to Sweepstakes and the buggy community”? Am I missing something or have more than half the recent sweepstakes chairmen and assistant chairmen come from PiKA? I am sure they would differ on your characterization of PiKA Hasn’t PiKA taken the grunt of hay bales every year (save a few exceptions) and other tasks around sweepstakes in general?
Look, I am a recent alum and am not privy to the details of the incidents on Saturday. I also know from my expereince some brothers could be stupid, but don’t for one second pretend to dismiss this organization’s 90 year participation in this sport. THAT is disrespectful just as much.
Natalie says:
Sportsmanship in buggy is a cornerstone to the organization as a whole. No one gets to antagonize and attempt to intimidate another organization. Period. PiKA’s collective behavior was disgusting on Saturday. Their history in Sweepstakes does not give them a carte blanche to bully others. There are channels they could go through if they don’t like there situation, and a diplomatic agreement could have been reached. They chose to disrespect another organization.
Carl says:
Uh. Sportsmanship in buggy? I was under the impression that if someone slips and falls you don’t help them up; you try to get them DQ’d for interference.
Plus, the whole ‘slip and fall’ routine was probably a ploy to get them a re-roll later in the day, anyway. Assholes.
mel says:
Go back and study up some buggy history before making such silly comments about our participation and us ‘being around’. (Sam has done a great job at capturing all of this for us!: http://cmubuggy.org/history/org/pika)
Winners train, losers complain.
CIA should focus more on trying to win rather than trying to annoy PiKA by stealing their well deserved spot.
Besides, our drivers need to be inside Tepper so they can get daily massages and early morning lattes…
Shafeeq says:
I know nothing. But back when, CIA lucked out in getting its traditional spot back after taking a couple years off (helped by KapSig having their buggy mysteriously vanish only to reappear in Westinghouse pond). What goes around (should) come around.
Carl says:
I don’t think that throwing CIA’s buggies into Westinghouse pond is the answer. But I guess if you think it’s the logical next step…
tommyk says:
Someone has to say it … with the grace extended to them (which was withheld from other teams) … shouldn’t they be the ones walking on eggshells?
jake says:
ZING!
mel says:
What ‘grace’ are we talking about here? Oh, you mean the ‘grace’ given to other teams in letting them roll when they shouldn’t have after getting DQed the year before?
Or is it the ‘grace’ given to other teams for not DQing them on the spot for attacking certain drivers after a terrible accident she had?…
blue says:
I think in this particular case he’s referring to the whole KDR thing…I’m not greek at all, but from what I’ve heard, they were kicked off by CMU (but National said they were still a thing/ok…somehow?). Despite the National thingy, they weren’t allowed to keep doing buggy, even as a different version of the organization (a la “Kool Dudes Running”). Pika has had some problems, but they get to keep doing buggy. I’m not saying other bad/annoying things haven’t happened in both directions of bias, at other times, I just know this is a particularly sore subject with some people.
Did I mention I really don’t know things about actual greek life? Because I don’t. If I screwed something up, please attempt to be gentle with your corrections.
PS: I also know that all of the various orgs that got KDR people/buggies/whatnot are happy that they got the people/stuff, even if it was because of not-goodness. Just wanted to mention that too.
Amy says:
Sad to say it, but you can officially take KapSig off of your list of “No-Shows”. They’re done for the semester, at least…bringing my driving career to an unsatisfying end.