Human power takes many forms

Mel Torre
ASME Public Information

RENO, Nev. — Mechanical engineering students from coast to coast gathered in Reno for the 2001 ASME Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Challenge, held April 27-29.

With the snow-capped foothills of the Sierra Nevadas providing a scenic outdoor stage, teams representing more than 20 universities participated in the three-day competition, which showcased the design, aerodynamics, speed and performance of pedal-powered, land-based vehicles.

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas sent the Purgatory Bus to ASME's Human Powered Vehicle Challenge. It came in second in the overall competition for multi-rider vehicles.

Expectations and team spirit ran high as riders and pit crews readied for competition in the single and multi-rider design, sprint, endurance and utility race categories. Gusting headwinds forced teams to make both mental and mechanical strategic adjustments on the first day of sprint race competition held near Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

San Diego State University's (SDSU) Montezuma's Revenge took first place in the men's single-rider 100-meter sprint race, finishing the run in 6.38 seconds at 35.06 miles per hour. Second place went to Unruly of the University of California, Davis, in 6.75 seconds at 33.14 mph. Premonition from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, finished third in 6.81 seconds at 32.85 mph.

In the woman's single-rider sprint, Colorado State's Penguin led the 100-meter event in 9.25 seconds at 24.18 mph, followed by San Diego State in 9.43 seconds (23.72 mph) and the University of Montana/Montana Tech Copper King finishing the sprint course in 9.99 seconds at a speed of 22.39 mph.

The entries for the University of Colorado-Denver (first in line), UC-Davis and Cal State-Long Beach line up to test their capabilities in the sprint race. UC-Davis came in second in the male, single-rider vehicle category.

In the multi-rider sprint competition, it was a clean sweep for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, with Magic Box and Purgatory Bus taking first (30.07 mph) and second place (23.26 mph), respectively.

In the utility vehicle category, riders maneuvered through obstacles, ramps and speed bumps in a test of handling, durability and vehicle practicality. Brigham Young University's Desert Cat captured first place on the 10-kilometer course, followed by Colorado State's Hiro and the University of Colorado-Denver, with Mark I, Mod II, finishing third. Hiro also won the utility design competition and captured the overall utility vehicle championship.

Rounding out the utility category were BYU's Human Octane, finishing second in the design competition, third place overall, and UC-Denver's Mark I, Mod II, third in design and in second place overall.

One of BYU's entries, Desert Cat, captured first place in the endurance competition for utility vehicles.

The venue shifted to Reno's Virginia Lake for the grueling 40-mile Grand Prix-style endurance competition. Cal Poly-SLO went the distance to win in the single-rider endurance race, followed by runnerup San Diego State and UC-Davis finishing third.

In the multi-rider endurance category, UNLV repeated its sprint performance, with Magic Box and Purgatory Bus again finishing one, two. It also captured the Overall Championship for tandem rider vehicles. The University of Idaho's HPV, called The Goat, was third overall, but won the multi-rider design competition.

Colorado State took first and second place in the single-rider vehicle design competition, with Penguin and Hiro, respectively, while South Dakota School of Mines and Technology's Hardrocker Rocket finished in third.

Top honors in the single-rider vehicle Overall Championship went to Colorado State's Penguin, followed by the University of Missouri-Rolla's UMRevolution in second and Unruly from UC, Davis, in third.

Other participants in the 2001 ASME HPV Challenge included the University of Buffalo, New Mexico State, University of California-LA, Youngstown State University, University of Kansas, California State University-Chico, University of North Carolina-Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College, and California State University-Long Beach.

photos by Joe Barbieri and Mel Torre

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