Ah, it was that time of the season again! The time when we as a team get together for some serious bonding time. Yes, it was time for the wonderful bobsled tradition of runner sanding.
Trust us, it isn't that wonderful! But it isn't so bad, either to be quite honest.
A lot of people ask us why we sand the runners, or blades, that sit on the bottom of the bobsled. Well, the surfaces of the runners are the only part of the sled that has contact with the ice. Now, you might have to dig deep to remember your days in physics class in high school. No, I'm not talking about the girl you had a crush on in the class. Think about friction.
Since the runners are in contact with the ice, the smoother we can make the surface, the less friction there will be. Translation: faster. So, as athletes we try to sand out all the nicks, cuts, scraps, and rust marks from the surface of our runners. Basically, they are done when you can see your face on the steel like a mirror.
Needless to say, we had a good time (after eating a ton of pizza of course) and the runners look great. We're hoping to drop a few tenths of a second off of our time!
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2 comments:
Yes, and I still have the metal shards in my hand to prove it! ha ha ha!
Very cool to learn about!
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