Preparing In Adelaide

For the last three days, the team has been in Adelaide, South Australia. Adelaide is the only large city in SA, and the position of the finish line for the race. It served as our staging area for our planned mock race north to Darwin, 2000 miles away.

Our VW sponsorship payed off yet again, as a VW dealership just outside the city center gave us a roomy garage bay for us to work on the car in. From 9 to 9 the first two days, we worked on the car nonstop, swapping the electrical system for the new revision, getting code up and running, building the new motor, making a few small mechanical changes, and getting the trailer and caravan ready for the race. Yesterday, we worked until noon, and then loaded everything up and drove to Port Augusta, about 200 miles north of Adelaide and the last town deserving of the name until Alice Springs, the center of the outback.

Adelaide is an interesting city, in a strange kind of way. It's a very clearly planned city, with overly wide streets, bike lanes, nice sidewalks, and a comprehensive tram system. It's laid out in a strict but spacious grid, with large public squares and pedestrian only zones in many places, The city is surrounded by a large park, completely encircling the central district in a moat-like fashion. It's nice in one context, but it lends the entire place a kind of static, lifeless feeling, even when the city is out partying on a Saturday night. It's also very expensive, even for Australia - a fast-food chicken sandwich can cost you about 10 dollars.

Next, it's off to see the outback, and get some miles on the car.