It was a quite holiday week in Lake Wobegon... Until the annual Democratic High Speed Campaign Sign Tests began today! The tire smoke still hasn't cleared on the main street of Starbuck, Minnesota and this wild weekend of speed has just started.
OK, so I exaggerated a bit. In response to the popular demand expressed in last nights poll that named the "Big Wheel" as most popular campaign vehicle, we started off with the big wheel races this morning. We followed our usual rules- a campaign sign must be displayed on the front of the vehicle and you get extra points for having signs on the sides and back too. Within short order we had a gaggle of kids (some looked kinda big though) racing up and down main street. Of course, we had over a dozen campaigns on hand, fully armed with campaign stickers and had a stash of leftover Obama and Franken stickers available too. We got so busy answering the kid's demands for stickers that we forgot to stopwatch the kids as they raced by, but suffice to say every big wheel in Starbuck is now covered with democratic campaign stickers as well as substantial portions of the kids attire. Thanks to our hard work last year Starbuck leans democratic, but I suspect there'll be a few ticked of repug parents.
On to the faster classes of machinery... And let the bench racing begin!
Sorry for getting this liveblog started late, but we've had a big day of racing punctuated by the requisite thanksgiving feast and I slumbered a bit too long afterward. With the Big Wheel event out of the way, the 3, 4, and more wheeled competitors started their speed runs along the long, lonely, and straight highways of the tri state area where Minnesota and the two Dakotas meet. The weather was clear but cold, perfect for making horsepower but a bit too cold for the motorcyclists until later. The bicyclists made some preliminary runs but found the best downhills had a stoplight or stop sign at the bottom, so they'll be back later tonight when traffic is nonexistant. The rally class drivers busied themselves cleaning up the rubbish that unfortunately has been dumped along the Hogback Road rally stage they'll be trying out tonight. It finally warmed up late this afternoon and what looks like the BMW, Suzuki, and Kawasaki factory teams got in a few runs on Interstate 29, and it looks like we may have our first double-the-triple digit performances. Meanwhile, the parking lot behind our Western Minnesota Campaign headquarters has become the pit area, with tuners replacing the usual bloggers in the situation room. Let me get another cup of coffee as the nights racing begins...