PART B
Context – Human Powered Vehicle Challange
Its an annual Event organized by ASME, where Teams from colleges around the country participate. The teams are required to design and manufacture a Human powered vehicle within the pre-defined rules and regulations. The Human Powered vehicle challenge is a 3-day event, 1st day is Design report presentations and safety checks. The 2nd day begins with a qualification round in which only 30 teams come through. Then 1v1 drag races start, where 2 defeats lead to knockouts. On the 3rd day we have an endurance race, where all the teams have to ride their vehicles for 2 hours and 30 mins on a track of about 2 km, and the team the teams with the most number of laps wins. The final results take into account the results of all these events.
Story
Now, in my 2nd year of engineering at KIIT University, I was the part of the college team for the Human Powered vehicle and was elected the vice-captain of the same. The event was scheduled in the month of February 2017 at LNMIIT, Jaipur and we started our preparation from September. So the vehicle was ready in January and was shipped before the end of the month. Though I wasn’t satisfied with the performance of the vehicle, the riders were well prepared. We reached Jaipur a day before the event started, settled ourselves, had a last inspection of the vehicle before the events started. Everything looked fine.
1st day: Safety Inspections and Design report Presentation were to take place at the same time, So presentation team went in and both went well, we were the only team to clear the safety inspections in 1 go, thus reinforcing our confidence. But out of nowhere, when the results of Design Presentations came out, Our team stood at #32 out of 44, That’s where everything started going south. Nevertheless, we went to our accommodations and prepared for the next day.
2nd day: Qualification round and Drag Race. We did well, I rode in the qualification race and finished in 4th Place thus securing a place in the Winning bracket. Next started the drag races, being the winning bracket had us in a good spot, we won 3 races and needed to win 1 more to get into the final 4, but in the 4th race, the guiding pulley in the transmission gave in and broke off the chasis, leaving the vehicle immovable. Even after getting a 10-meter lead in a 700m race, I lost and we were placed in the losing bracket. The team started panicking but we had 1 more chance at this, But we had to repair the vehicle and we only had 15 mins, so we did what we could do in that little time and we were back at the start line. But fate wasn’t on our side. During the next race, the same thing happened and we lost the race and finished 6th. Hopes of securing a good position overall were all gone. #32 in 1 event, #6 in the 2nd. All we had was the last day to get a respectable rank at the end of the tournament. Back at the hostel, the whole team was hopeless, long faces everywhere, some were crying even our seniors were all quiet and sad. I, at this moment, trying to figure out any possible way to get a good rank in final results, took out the results of the 2 events, trying to figure out which team was standing at which rank, and of a chance we had. There, it clicked, and I found a way. If we finish 1st or 2nd, with at least a margin of 4 laps with the present leading teams after 2 rounds, we had a chance of getting into top 5. Sounded quite impossible but if only luck favored and we all gave our best, we could pull this off. That’s what I said trying to cheer my team up. There I was, a 2nd-year student, with a team of 3rd years and 4th years, trying to motivate them, gave them hope. And I succeeded (Quite surprisingly). All of us with a new found hope and zeal, went off to sleep, get all the rest we could before the big day.
3rd Day: Everyone went in, all pumped up, 6 riders prepared for the challenge, with the other all around the circuit, cheering and giving out all the help they could. 6 of us, starting with the thought of giving ours all for the team and our college. Those 2 and half hours were the most astonishing and positive moments of my life, our lives infact. Everyone, not only the riders, the other around the track gave in their everything. Everyone lost track of the number of laps we or the other teams completed. At the end of those 2 ½ hours, there we were all 6 of the riders, including me, on the shoulders of the rest of us, everyone was celebrating, no matter the results, we were all so proud and happy. After all the cheers and celebrations, we went on for the ending ceremony, where the 3rd-day results were to be announced. Everyone sat there, without any thought of winning anything, waiting for the results. The judges declared the 1st 2 days results and gave away the prizes, we sat there clapping and praying. Then as the judges started declaring the results of the last event, we hoped to hear our names, but for the 3rd and the 2nd positions, we weren’t awarded and there we lost our hopes. But what happened next, was the best thing I ever experienced in my life. We had won the 3rd event with 6 laps lead and secured the 3rd position overall. That’s were everyone lifted me up, went to the staged, received our prize. That was pure bliss.
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