Datalogging on the Lawnmower
Way back in 2003 when we had a bigger yard, I decided to take my Garmin GPS V and put it in the cupholder of our riding lawn mower one sunny afternoon. As expected, it logged my time and distance, as well as displaying a nice pattern of my zig-zags across the grass. Since I had just watched an F1 race on TV (and likely due to the stupefying effects of heat and humidity) I decided to write this little piece afterward:
I did 78 laps on the lawnmower yesterday, with a final time of 58:20 for the twisty 3.15 mile circuit. The course is a technical one with a couple of long back straights and a hairy 90 degree bend entering turn one. It’s important to get a good drive out of there as you need to carry as much speed as possible into the next section of the course. Turns two and three are really a double apex sweeper and although it can be taken flat out it’s tricky to hold your line and get a clean cut. The tight infield section in front of the house has some exciting elevation changes and the mower get lots of understeer on the blind entrance to the steeply downhill left hander leading to the back field. You’ve got to have some massive attachments to hold it flat through there especially when the fat rear tires start to spin up later in the race.
Conditions for the event were excellent. The track temperature was 81 degrees and conditions were clear, making for good mechanical grip in the slower sections of the course. Crowd turnout was lower than expected but enthusiastic, cheering loudly every time I came past the stands.
I qualified on pole and had high hopes for a good result. Unfortunately, despite the excellent conditions I didn’t set any lap records and the race was marred with a couple of minor incidents. I had a temporary mechanical problem in the first stint with some grass buildup under the barge boards, then ran wide on the border of the neighbor’s yard after my first pit stop–while foolishly trying to make an adjustment to the GPS. After that I had a clear run, and I was able to really put some “Welly” into it and make up time. The normally aspirated twin ran well throughout the race and my top speed on the straights was indeed impressive. In the end my fuel strategy turned out to be a deciding factor and I was able to pull off a brilliant first place, in part due to the lack of other competitors.
My team did a great job and as always I’d like to thank my sponsors, Garmin and Corona Extra.
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