just wanted to wish you all a happy new year, be safe and i look forward to sharing 2012 with you all, i hope 2012 is as big a year for you as it looks like it is going to be for me.
Oh! and if your going to drink and do silly things............make sure you film it, youtube pays big for stupidity haha. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! those of you following along with this blog already know i got the pan in, well my good mate Phil Champion came over and helped with the next step of the build, that is the spin of the board, this will add the much needed strength to the board, you can see the full photos in the gallery but here are a couple just to give you an idea of what will be happening. Phil Measuring up one of the channels then we cut that little sucka! then we work out why things won't line up, and realize.......this was the piece i measured. so we cut it again. that's better now. Then we do a mock up to check clearances and make sure it's all good before i weld it all together.
check back for more and if you got this far don't forget to click the like button at the bottom of the blog and help me get the word out there, thanks again for checking in :) So here's the great news, i have now got two pans beautifully cut and ready to be made into jetluge's, i snapped a photo of one of the boards today at a ride with the crew, you can see it if you look closely and tilt your head to the left.
just to give you an idea of length, the tallest of us it six foot tall or about 182cm the pan it's self comes to just under 2400mm, confused yet? hehe. Please allow me to apologize for not getting a post up sooner, but to those of you who follow the sport of streetluge around the world will know of the tragic news that befell us here in Australia, with the passing of Sue Wickenden, a dear friend and beautiful soul as well as a lovely women, the sport and myself had taken some time for our selves and just needed to come together and offer those who needed it strength in a time of pain, so i'm sure you can understand when things like Jetluging will take a back seat to much much more important issues.
i just want to say i love all my streetluging family and over the last couple of weeks i feel our sport now is stronger than ever before, if not the sport certainly our bond, i am happy to call all i ride with brother, even my sisters hehe :) now back to what were all here for huh, well i have been told the jet luge Pans are cut, that means the means the lower part of the board i lay on has been cut and folded, it only took them 2 weeks longer than quoted haha, now i just have to go pick them up, also i checked today and i paid for my turbine engines 11 weeks ago, i was quoted a 10 week turn around so i can only hope that they are either ready, on there way, or being packed...............i hope i'm right haha. so what i do now is i get the pans and start building the actual boards i'll be breaking the record with, which means a heap of tasty photos and eventual videos to come, stay tuned and i will keep you up to date as things roll out. thank you so much for reading and checking in, i also ask that you please share my blog on you twitter or facebook by simply pressing the like buttons below. it's been a busy busy week for me this week, with up, downs and even some sideways, but where to begin hmmmmm. Well i guess i can start with my ever continuing hunt for sponsorship, this has actually been the single hardest thing to secure, i have literally sent out hundreds of emails and made nearly as many calls to try and secure some sponsorship, but as of yet.......nothing. it does make you wonder sometimes, am i approaching them all wrong? do i not have enough information? was it to much information? have i not thought hard enough about what they get from the partnership? am i asking for the wrong thing? is product to much of an ask? i also wonder if they are just taking the approach that, "ahhh he's gotta use our gear anyway, so we'll get free marketing out of it, so we don't need to sponsor this guy". but then i take a look at the big picture, i sit back and think..........dude, you think about somethings to much, just get on with it and enjoy the ride no matter what comes, you set out for an adventure, don't loose sight of the true path as it is way to easy to be distracted, i set out no matter what, to be the fastest man on earth for a jet powered luge, that's what i'm going to do, whether i got some company name on me or not, i love streetluge, a little event i went to this weekend reminded me of how much i enjoy it, funnily enough it wasn't a streetluge event, but a billy cart event that we were invited too, to do a demonstration, the hill was rough and barely on a slope, the corners were way to wide for the slow speeds and it was only like 150mts long, it was great! i actually mean, i really enjoyed this even, i had so much fun just rolling down this little hill, the funny thing with it was, the small town we did it in was all for streetluge, the kids came over and i started showing them how to ride and within minutes i had the kids rolling on this little hill, they'd run back up and hit it again, hell! i think they would still be there if i didn't have to leave, but what it showed me was, what it REMINDED me of was, you don't need all the bells and whistle to have fun, you don't need everything you want to reach your goal, i realized, WANT and NEED, i want sponsorship, sure it would make things so much easier, but i certainly don't need it, i can build these boards and finish it all without sponsorship, i knew that when i started, i think i was starting to forget that, so i am just going to plod along and enjoy what i am building, enjoy my time with the people that are helping me along the way and enjoy the experience as a whole, sure i want to be the fastest, but i also want this to inspire others, i want it to bring attention to streetluge and gravity sports in general, i want it to open the eyes of people that are less educated on the idea of our sport, all this is hard to do if my attention is focused in the wrong areas, with saying all this we do have to make sacrifice, mine, mine is i have to go back to work, so on monday i have to start a new job, it doesn't pay well, but it's somewhat close and seems to be rather easy to do and it's only monday to friday 9 to 5, it's been that long since i have work a 9 to 5 job i was beginning to think it was just a Dolly Parton song haha, but at least this will provide me with extra funds to pay for the completion of the boards, and more importantly the repayments of my mega loan hehe, sure i will have much less time to focus on them, but i think it can be good to step back for a while, take your mind off things and look back at it with fresh eyes and a new thought.
some good news also this week, i actually found the final set of trucks i will be using for the board, they have been paid for and i'm told are in the post and on their way from Switzerland, so now that i have all the trucks i need the next step is to gather bearings and wheels, Oh! i might just ad, as i am not a fan of free advertising, i will be blanking out or masking equipment i have paid for on the board, this means ONLY things i have had to pay for will be made to look like the stealth fighter haha, i will have it painted matt black and disguise the look, i will be getting the trucks powder coated matt black as this lasts longer and can take a beating, wheels, what ever i choose to use will be painted out and not shown, i am not doing this to be vindictive, i just feel that to get exposure from something that is a great feat and that shows your product in a positive light but not in any way support the sport is kind of unfair and rather hypercritical, it's saying, i'll take money from you but i will never support anything you do, i don't see it as their saying it to just me, but the whole sport of gravity racing, and if your a skater or a streetluger, you know this is not what we're about, it's not what i'm about and it's not about getting it over someone or making a mint, sure it's great to get a little cash for what you do, but at least when you get it in a comp or doing something that not many others can do, you have earned it, they should at least earn it a little also. i have been looking at supporting a charity with what i'm doing, i think it could really bring allot of attention to the right cause and i hope i can get one on board that i can really help, i do know with some charities they don't support dangerous activities, so weather or not i fall in this category is yet to be seen hehe, supporting cancer or diabetes would be my two big ones, well, not supporting cancer or diabetes but supporting the cure, yeah that would be better, haha that would make for an interesting fund raiser "support cancer!!! smoke and stand close to microwaves!!! by the way please give!!". Oh! some other good news is Guinness World Records has already gotten back to me, they have sent me a bunch of information so as soon as i go through it all i will get you guys some of the important stuff that pertains to my record, it's going to be an interesting read and will possibly have a curve ball or two, as i said i am building two boards, one to take Joel Kinds record, well it's actually now Jason Bradbury's (UK) on the set of The Gadget Show's 200th episode and the fastest speed attained on a jet-powered street luge is 115.83 mph (186.41 km/h) and the other board is to set the fastest speed attained on JET powered LUGE, not a streetluge, semantics i know, but you can't use my boards on the street hehe. hey guys if you have read this far don't forget to press the "Like" or "Tweet" button below, this will help get my cause out there and helps show me that people are supporting me in some way hehe :) thanks again and dream big. i never know how to start this thing, but good news is the board has started, after freaking out and stressing that i had measured my board wrong and couldn't fix it my good mate Phil Champion came over to help finalize the board design, Phil also makes streetluge boards and has been doing so for a good number of years, so if you see a "Man of war" board or sticker you know it's a good one, any way back to the story. I was freaking out and worried that i had the wrong measurements, as all my measurements were taken off an indy 215 style truck, but after double checking and setting in place the actual trucks i will be using we worked out that it will be a perfect fit, this board will in no way be made for turning corners, it will be a strait line board ONLY, i also got some interesting news for those of you following this, if you read in the info section on the board, you may have noticed that the board will be around 940mm wide with both turbines, this is a very important width as i have been informed by Joel King himself of some of the rules and regulations that Guinness world records expect the board to adhere to: Powered Street Luge Rules and Regulations This record is for the highest speed reached on a Street Luge using a power source. The Street Luge should meet the following specifications: • Chassis: No part of the Street Luge may enclose the rider or hinder their ability to brake. Nothing may protrude between the rider’s legs. • Length: The overall length of the Street Luge may not exceed 3,000mm. • Width: The overall width of the Street Luge may not exceed 610mm. • Wheels: There must be a minimum of 4 wheels in contact with the ground. Wheels may not be greater than 130mm in diameter. • Steering: The street luge must be steered by leaning, using skateboard style trucks. • Brakes: Braking must be done using the rider’s feet making contact with the ground. No other form of braking is allowed. • Rider: The Street Luge must be ridden in the supine position, i.e. the rider must be lying on their back with their feet pointing forward. • Power Source: The power source and all fuel must be attached to the luge. No towing, pushing or detachable power sources are allowed. Record Qualification: The average speed of two recorded runs will be taken as the record. The two runs must be made within one hour of each other. The runs may be made in the same direction* and refuelling is allowed. *A Street Luge is normally a gravity-powered vehicle and so a record attempt may take place on a hill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you notice the OVERALL width aloud is 610mm, well my width is roughly 940mm..............do you see the problem? i actually don't as allot of you don't know i am actually building two boards at the same time, and will be looking to not only take the streetluge record but creating and setting a JETLUGE record, two records with two boards, my only problem was i couldn't afford three motors, i know as if one board wasn't a big enough undertaking huh :) well mehh, the second board will be a single engine board and will meet all these criteria. also i did a little handy craft work for you guys to, i mocked up a cardboard version of one of the motors just to give you a feeling of the size of the motors, these aren't your little hobby engines you see sitting in the shop window hehe. you can see all the photos in the Gallery.
just on a separate note, i got a call the other week about an event that this place is having called "Meet You Up The Street" they want me and some others to head out there and speak about streetluge and do a little demo, i think this is awesome! for a council to actually invite gravity racers to their community to educate people on our sport, that's the first time i have heard of it being done in this country and i hope it happens more often, so this weekend i'll be heading out there and doing that, HEY! also i got my magnets in for my Van that to will be in the Gallery, stay tuned for more as i'm sure things from here on in will be getting interesting, as i am still sponsor-less and almost broke haha :) WOW! what a crazy week it's been for me, first i gotta thank everyone for all the great emails and comments, i really do appreciate it, at times i look at what i have yet to complete, and to think that all of it is on my own shoulders can be a little overwhelming at times, but it's something that i MUST do.
well my week started with a delivery of one of the two packages of wheels i'm expecting for testing, let the destruction begin! haha, i also spent allot of the week sending out a huge amount of emails seeking sponsors, i can safely say now that all major drink and energy drink companies are officially not interested in the luge land speed record, oh! and some of the minor ones hehe, i can also say that neither of the wheel companies i would like to use are interested either, hmmm lets see who else isn't interested? hehe, what i have found is most don't know what a streetluge is let alone a jetluge, then when they see what i'm doing don't expect me to be around for long in the physical sense, i even had the director of one company say "i won't sponsor you, but i will shake your hand cause you may not have one when your done." thanks for the support and positive words tiger ;) haha. One person that was interested in supporting me was a good mate Scott "Guff" Guthrie, he gave me two sets of 205 luge trucks, well when i say gave, in exchange for me to build him a website, but more or less he gave me trucks, i'll post up the website i build him when i'm done, "GUFF! YOUR A LEGEND MATE" but i do still requier one more set so if anyone knows anyone please contact me :) What that means is i can now finilize the design of the board and send it away to be cut and built, which will begin today, the bad part is i have already noticed i have over calculated the size of the wheel box (where the trucks sit) and have to shrink it down a little, now this would be easy but the one person that was doing my CAD work...........ummm is not availible to do it, you see, my partner was the CAD designer and due to streetluge and this jetluge challenge, i lost her, well i didn't loose her, i know where i left her, but i had to choose luge or her, i have been with luge for 15yrs and like i mentioned i MUST do this jet luge, now this is a rather over simplification of the situation but it was basically what it boiled down to, thus rendering me without a way to alter my original design haha, now i have measurements and now way to fix it, but i will work it out and get this board ready in no time. Oh! on a positive note i have had my first media coverage, Tyler from brisbanestreetluge sent me a link to a site called CSN or Australian Cycling News they did a little piece on the jet luge, it's cool and my first bit of outside coverage so i'm stoked! on that same note i had a guy call me from Channel 7, he wants to do a thing on streetluge and the Jetluge once i get some more of it together, i think he said he was from a show called sunday night, don't ask me! i don't watch TV anymore, once in a blue moon i'll watch as the news poorly covers another amateur streetluger after he crashes without the proper safety gear on, we have such a hard time training for events when that happens, so if Channel 7 go through with it, a good positive spin on the sport in Australia would be a great thing, but i know all they want to see are our crashes, it's easy to crash, show the hard part which is the racing at 100kph+ while rubbing shoulders and crossing the line 100,000ths of a second apart ;) i was also contacted by a representative of the parks shire council about heading out there (Parkes is in mid NSW near Dubbo about 5hrs west of Sydney) and talking to the kids about streetluge, they also mentioned that they would like me to do a demonstration, so i'm going to see if i can get a little crew of riders together and head out there, it excites me to think that some councils are thinking outside the box when it come to recreations and sports for the community, only problem is it's on a friday. now in other news the original landspeed record setter Joel King has just gotten sponsorship to begin building his next jet luge, Joel has been keen ever since he helped "the gadget show" break his own record this year and set the 186.4kph record that stands now, so this makes for two races now, me with my board and Joel with his and then the race for the 200kph mark, it's great to see he has got the ball rolling and will be again up to speed with a new jetluge...............now if only an Aussie company would help out here ;) hint hint hehe. |
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