Just Waiting for the Team

The Saab has arrived in Darwin and the Rodeo will be there this afternoon. (16 Oct)

So we have cars...we have fuel...now all we need is the team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Team Shirts Have Arrived!

Blog by Jane:

We received our Team Ethanol dress shirts yesterday!

They look the biz. Totally Workwear get lots of credit for the amazing work they did on embroidering the logos on all shirts. They are fantastic.

Team Ethanol to the Rescue!

Blog by Brian:

The Twike team from Switzerland arrived in Mackay QLD last night. Twike is driving their Greenfleet vehicle from Brisbane to Darwin.

For Twike, it was an uneventful trip until about 35 km south of Sarina, when the “egg on wheels” had a malfunction with their auxiliary engine, which started misfiring and belching clouds of smoke.

After a frantic SOS call to Team Ethanol’s Chief Engineer and resident mechanical magician, Syd Norman, rode to the rescue.

The rest of Team Ethanol was gathered at Syd and Janet’s property for a barbecue to welcome the Swiss team. Some time later the Twike arrived to a standing ovation, despite being ignominiously towed in behind Syd’s Echo…score one for conventional technology!

The problem was soon diagnosed as a microscopic piece of foreign matter lodged under the needle and seat in the engine. Funny how one grain of sand can bring technology to its knees.

Damien Hooper from local ABC Radio was on the spot to conduct an interview with both teams, affectionately known as ‘Ethos’ and the ‘Twikers’. Nice to see the local media showing an interest. The interview aired at 7.15am this morning (9 October).

Later, everybody enjoyed a magnificent gourmet barbecue, washed down with a few convivial alcoholic libations…not ethanol, we need that for Darwin!

Today the Twikers head up the coast to Townsville, so if you see them on the road give them a rousing Mackay honk and wish them luck…they might need it!

(photo is of Team Ethanol's Syd Normal with Twike's Ralph Schnyder fixing the Twike with Twike member Stephen Meister looking on.)

More photos are available through the 'daily photos' weblink on www.teamethanol.com.au

Twike has Arrived in Mackay

We just got the news. The Twike Team is currently in Rockhampton and will be in Mackay late afternoon today!

So, members of Team Ethanol in Mackay have been rallied together for a bbq this evening when the two teams meet (eat, drink and be merry!)

We're also taking this time to have our final Team Ethanol meeting before Darwin. (woohoo!) Brian has found his tripod so we can get some good group photos for posting tomorrow.

You can check out the Twike Team on www.twikeklub.ch and their first set of photos after their arrival in Brisbane http://ds1.dreifels.ch/twikeklub/page.asp?DH=611

Back soon with more news.

Two Short Weeks!

The final countdown is on!

Team Ethanol flies out to Darwin in just two short weeks (18 October).

Our biggest headache (actually the pain was quite a bit lower), the fuel, has finally been resolved. Largely due to the sterling efforts of Scott Perkins from Canegrowers, CSR has come on board as a major sponsor and also supplied the team with a drum of E85 fuel, which is now on its way to Darwin. Sure beats the other drastic option of shoving raw cane into the fuel tank and hoping for the best! CSR is a great fit for the team as they a major producer of ethanol, from locally grown sugar cane, and a big fan of the BioPower cars from Saab.

The magnificent team banner is finished, thanks to Mackay Stickers & Signs…great job Jamie-lee. And Totally Workwear is currently doing the logo embroidery on the team shirts.

Next week is a biggie for us, with the Twike (rhymes with trick) team arriving from Switzerland. They’ll be coming through Mackay, hopefully around 9 October, for a get together with Team Ethanol, before heading right up the coast and across to Darwin for the event. Better them than us; the Twike is basically a battery powered tricycle with a hard top canopy fitted. They’ve fitted a 200cc range extender engine for the event and Team Ethanol will be donating some of their E85 fuel to run it. Keep an eye out for this strange looking bug and give them a wave.

We'll start taking photos and videos...we need the practice. A good start for this would be when the Twike team are here next week.

There a big things happening on our website soon, stay wired.