First off, I have to thank a few people for their help on this report. Rachel Johnson (sweepstakes assistant chair) got the roll count doc up and got me some fantastic notes from Saturday. Lou Conely was able to take some photos since I forgot to put batteries in my camera. Thank you both for your help this weekend!
Saturday saw a flurry of activity from the orgs, and also the Pittsburgh community. No new and exciting wildlife this time, just a pack of bikers, flock of runners, a car, and a police bike that sat and watched from the curb. The car came through from panther hollow and took a quick right down towards the pond. Word on the course is that the bikers came through the Westinghouse barricade. Fortunately, none of it was out at the same time as a buggy and if anything just caused some minor delays. The newest addition to the course was what I can only guess to be a Phipps staff member sweeping up trash on all the parking spaces. He seemed very calm though all of it and was only called off the road when he started to stray close to potential buggy lines.
Next weekend is Cèilidh, so any alumni in the Pittsburgh area, or those coming in from out of town should stop by the CMUbuggy table in the UC on Saturday. Come catch up with all your friends, and mock all your rivals new and old about changes that are completely out of their control. Tom Wood will be giving his History of Buggy presentation in Rangos I. See a full schedule of events here.
PiKA made their return this weekend and joined the other orgs to make it 6 for the day. All orgs have been picking up speed and some people are taking advantage of the extra practice that comes with so few buggies on the course. This will hopefully make for an exciting show come Cèilidh next weekend.
In Attendance
| Org | Saturday |
|---|---|
| CIA | Orca, Ascension, Freyja, Quasar |
| Fringe | Bonsai, Borealis, Bedlam, Banyan |
| PiKA | Raptor, Chimera |
| SDC | Bane, Avarice, Malice, Envy |
| SigEp | Peregrine, Barracuda, Pandora |
| Spirit | Zuke, Haraka, Fuko |
| No-Shows | AEPi, Apex, SigNu |
Observations (Saturday Gallery) Continue reading
Sunday was the only day of rolls again this weekend, but this one is thanks to the diabetes walk that happens every year, so it’s not like we didn’t see this one coming. Next week we only have Saturday and from then on we should be back to the full weekend. With so few scheduled days to start with, and fewer still that will likely happen due to Pittsburgh doing what Pittsburgh does best, I’m interested to see how this will affect the spring, if at all.
Sweepstakes (I assume it was them) also made some nice giant signs to help alert people of the weekend closures.These signs allowed Sweepstakes to get things running on Sunday and things ran well. Aside from the typical shenanigans that accompany the first day of rolls, everything ran incredibly smoothly and some drivers are already maxing their fall rolls. It was an exciting day for everyone and the surrounding wildlife, so lets get into some of the details.
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It may have been April 1st, but there’re no pranks here, rolls happened on Sunday, they were fun, and we’ve got the details for you. Saturday was rained out, but in one day we got more headline material than the last couple of weeks put together. One new buggy, one radical renovation, one new team on the course, one new animal-theme paint job, and a spin for good measure. Lots of alumni in the chute and following along with our live streaming broadcast was just icing on the cake.
After almost two full weeks of ridiculously beautiful weather while the kids took two weekends off for spring break, Pittsburgh slapped the reality back into us with a cool down and enough rain to cancel Saturday’s rolls. Sunday was still overcast but dry, and 8 of our teams made it out the morning after greek sing for four cycles through the order. I was out of town on Sunday, so big thanks to Zatch and Vincent who supplied the bulk of the narrative and all of the multimedia. Read on for the details of a Fringe buggy out of retirement, some new PiKA wheels, and a couple of chute mishaps, but no new buggies!
With precipitation on 7 of the last 10 days and temperatures swinging from the 20s to the 60s faster than you can add or remove layers, it’s hard to know what to expect, but buggy demonstrated some toughness and got in two solid days this weekend. Saturday was pretty enjoyable with lots of sun and no wind making it more comfortable than the thermometers (or smartphones) were indicating. Sunday was less pleasant and teams seemed worn out from it. Snow came and went a few times during Sunday but never stuck to the ground enough to warrant Sweepstakes to cancel although Fringe, SDC, and PiKA (I think) all scratched for the day before 9.
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.
Last rolls of the semester, temps close to 60, and plans to do another live broadcast from the chute … I was excited for rolls this Sunday. And then I woke up at 10:30. Oops. My sincere apologies to anyone who tried to watch the live stream. After working out the technical details last week, we uncovered and even larger weakness: the human factor. For what it’s worth, I paid my penance with a solid hangover. Luckily Zack Waldman has my back so we’ve got a rolls report.