Derby Day

Today's Box Cart Derby day was filled with ups and downs. Dave had his three wheeled cart dialed in and perfected. During time trials he placed second!

Then it was time to wait...and wait and wait for the juniors to get their downhill runs done. There was one kid with his cart called Black Magic, that every time he came to the start line he got out of his cart and did a magic trick. Cute but time consuming (the roll bar on his cart was actually made out of PVC, although it looked like metal).

It seemed to take forever to get all the carts back up the hill. 

So Dave, pit crew Barry and I sat on the sidelines in the shade wondering when the adults would get their turn. Finally they announced that the junior winner was the Dove, sponsored by the Abaco Rage Sailing Syndicate!

That meant it was time for the adult racers to prepare, and I headed down to the finish line at the bottom of Big Hill to watch and take photos. I kept waiting for Dave to appear, but all I saw were some really close races.

Then Barry came up to me and told me that Dave had a flat tire when he went to get in the race line up! So back up the hill I headed only to find a very depressed Dave heading my way. He even tried inflating the tire, thanks to another competitor, but it wouldn't hold air. How disappointing after waiting a year for this day. If only we had known while we were waiting for the juniors, he might have had time to fix it. I was tired and since Dave wasn't going to race (as our friend Barb kiddingly said, he was having a 'pity party'), I walked the mile and a half  home by way of the trails. About an hour later Dave called me on the VHF marine radio to tell me he had won 3rd place in the slalom course! How'd that happen? Apparently right after I left, the pity party got over and he remembered the motto that was on his shirt and hat...What Would Dave Do? He grabbed a friend with a golf cart and flew down to the local bicycle rental shop who had a tube and tire irons he could use. As he was running back up Big Hill, the slalom carts were competing and he quickly installed the tube, managing to be the last competitor of the day. Later at the awards he found out that this tenacity and the innovative angled cart itself also earned him 1st place for Showmanship! What an honor after a long day of ups and downs. Now it's time to rest the weary bones of this 60 year old senior racer with gumption...

He may not be able to move, but he can smile. "Where did I leave the Aleve?"