Recent content by Ben lay

We close our tale with Charlie's son approaching him in the back yard after he mowed. Charlie junior is 12 and confesses to his dad that he has been challenged to a race by the school bully.... Charlie senior grins as they walk behind the shed The end. Beat of luck to...

Our hero crossed the parking lot at 15 miles per hour , eyes closed , screaming at a pitch usually not attainable unless female and under 15 , or inspired by lots of fear. .... Charlie struck the small dirt berm and the bike stayed put , launching him over the handlebars and tumbling down...

Charlie was two bike lengths behind JP as they reached the slight curve toward the end ... Charlie quickly caught up as jp pressed his brakes and Charlie couldn't. The bike went into a wierd embarrassing speed wobble from that point on ... Charlie and JP passed the finish line too close...

Both boys started off wobbly , and settled in to a downhill coast with a pedal here and there . It was silent. Around the half way point Charlie went to bump his brakes a little and they didn't work. He instantly remembered Mr Sticks telling him not to forget to tighten the coaster brake...

And now for the realistic version ... 8 or 10 kids followed Charlie and JP to the hill after school. As the boys lined up Charlie tried to make eye contact with Becca but she was busy with chatting with her friends. A fat kid named Stevie screamed ready set go...

Charlie launched over the dirt berm , cleared the steep hill leading to the river , cleared a fisherman in a boat ( dukes of Hazzard style ) , and landed like a pro , riding a wheelie to the other side , racing back across the bridge and into the parking lot into Becca's arms. A dirt covered ...

Charlie never let off through the loose dirt covered curve ... The back of his bike fishtailed a little as JP hit his brakes and skidded off the road in a cloud of dirt Charlie crossed the little dead end parking lot at over 60 miles per hour , bullets white tires smelled of burning rubber...

Charlie never let up , and never stopped pedaling. JP had him by a wheel as they hit the half way point ... The slight curve fast approached as Charlie's speedometer broke , it was now or never ...

The while world went into slow motion as the cap gun fired for the start. Charlie and JP left fast on the flat leadup section , then both got down low and sleek as the decent started. Neck and neck they both began to pedal as they went faster and faster " I'm gonna beat you Charlie ..." JP yelled

The hill is steep , and after a slight right hand curve , it ends in a small parking lot. The parking lot is just big enough for a few fishermen to park. At the back of the parking lot is a little dirt bank , then a dropoff down to green river....

The big race THe nervous slow ride from school seemed to take forever ... Hundreds of kids all walking and bicycling toward walnut hill. A confident JP and his gang out front , and our underdog Charlie toward the back. The hill was lined with kids from top to bottom , the crowds roar was...

Two versions of the race will follow , version 1 will be the made for tv , super fantastic hero version. Hold onto your hats !

Charlie and Mr. Sticks finished refurbishing old bullet just in time. Bullet was mean looking with it's fades green and white original paint , red wheels , drag bars , and set back lucky 7 seat . The solid white tires popped and it looked just like a racer from the old black and white photos...

And a few more ... Good luck everyone in the contest !

Unfortunately I won't be finishing the building this year. I had a super tight deadline goal to get my dreamliner car project to a show ( in unfinished project form ) this weekend. We made it ! Here are a few photos of it and shortly after the story of how the race went down for hot rod...