Day 9: Battle Mountain NV

Good gentlemen, and ladies, of England now abed, or having just got up at any rate: it is just after 23:00 here and I have just got back in from dinner on account of the first meeting for world+dog always dragging on somewhat. And I have to be up at audax o'clock tomorrow. So you will have to content yourselves with looking at the pictures for now.

Hank the English Mastiff contemplates his dinner

Although the only thing that travels faster than light is bad news, in this case the fact that Mark Anderson's trailer was relieved of a large number of bits of the bike Teagan Patterson was going to ride, the good news is that the Salt Lake City police have recovered the stolen bits, which will be united with the not-stolen bits once the small matter of the six hundred mile round trip to fetch them has been taken care of. Further newses of Sunday here after tomorrow morning's business.

Actually, there probably isn't a while lot more to report.  I spent the afternoon pretending to help George Leone with the scrutineering, which all went according to plan save for the odd bolt here and uncapped bar-end there.  Wine corks are recommended for the latter, as it was the Italians.  The Leones - George and Carole - are also the inconsiderate arrogant bastards start officials this year as Usual Suspect Chris Broome was unable to come.  Or was he?

Jan-Marcel van Dijken, who is a Very Bad Man, has taken to calling the above "Chris"

The general briefing meeting followed in the evening; as usual this dragged on for a while as there's reams of paperwork to be completed, signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters.  We didn't sit down to dinner until ten pm and that only because the Chinese restaurant loves us and wants to be friends with us.  And our money.  They have a drinkohol licence this year too, so people don't have to sneak BEER in under the table.

Hiding place for Bluenose's cameras and maple syrup

So the Beagle, the latest machine to emerge from the Sheds of the prolific Larry Lem is built and Larry wonders what finish to apply to make it Shiny.  Tom Amick helpfully writes a couple of paragraphs detailing the eighty hours of work that Larry will be required to do in the three days prior to leaving for the event.  Larry utters a Several of Rude Words and paints it white.

The Beagle has landed, and appears to be sniffing, well, never mind.