Urban Challenge - Lexington (9/17/05)

Team Mumu (19687)

This year, Urban Challenge reduced its race schedule to only two cities besides the finals to be held in Phoenix. We chose to continue the fun and race in Lexington, Kentucky.

TRIVIA QUIZ

The race begins with a trivia quiz. We got 10 wrong in the first 20 and 5 more wrong in the last 10 putting us into the 4th starting group and losing 15 minutes at the start of the race.

The Start

Sayre School -- 194 North Limestone St - Map

We are released and receive the clue sheet at 9:15am. We begin with Checkpoint #3. John dictates it to Cliff over the phone as we run across the street to our hotel and a convenient fax machine to send the rest of the clues.

On to the race:



CHECKPOINT 3:

Our All Holy Emmy Award Celebration.

Checkpoint 3 is located at X East 5th Street. To solve for X, compute the following:

The number of Emmy's The West Wing was nominated for in 2004

TIMES

The number of Emmy nominations received by the actor who plays "Frank" on Everyone Loves Raymond

TIMES

The number of Emmy nominations rec'd by the actress who plays "Claire" on Six Feet Under

MINUS

The number of lead Desperate Housewives that were Emmy-nominated this year

ANSWER: Shiloh Baptist Church - 237 East Fifth St

We ran up and down Fifth Street looking for several addresses as our research team pinned down the final result. The Shiloh Baptist Church didn't have a street number posted anywhere on the building that we could find, but it was the correct answer.

DISTANCE: about 0.8 miles - map


CHECKPOINT 4:

David Bowie nearby?

The Chartres Cathedral in France is well known for people going there for a special prayer experience. Maybe they don't know they could just go to Lexington since there's a copy of this prayer experience here? Take a picture in the center of the special prayer path. You'll find it in the MLK neighborhood.

ANSWER:

The outdoor labyrinth at the Old Episcopal Burying Ground, 3rd and Elm Tree Lane.

DISTANCE: 0.3 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 5:

Take me out to the Ball Game

A player on the Diamondbacks in the year they won the World Series had a Batting Average of .276. Since then this player has been traded, what ballpark is his team's home field?

Find all within 1/4 mile of Woodland Park.

ANSWER: Charlie's - 490 E High St

Diamondbacks won in 2001. David Dellucci hit .276 in 2001. He's now on the Texas Rangers, which plays on Ameriquest Field, so it's Charlie's Foreign Car Service.

We passed by the skip man on our way up High Street and got our photo with him which will allow us to skip one of the later clues.

DISTANCE: 0.7 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 6:

Man's Best Friend.

Unscramble the anagram below to find the four-word name of the restaurant on East High Street that serves as Checkpoint 6.

ABSURDLY BLIND DRAG

ANSWER: Buddy's Bar and Grill - 854 E High St

DISTANCE: 0.5 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 7:

Dead or Alive:

Sydney's father at the end of the movie, Scream.

Find both on the University of Kentucky campus.

ANSWER: Phi Sigma Kappa - 439 Hugelet Avenue

DISTANCE: 1.2 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 8:

Rabbit Ears?

Take your photo with the sculpture, Two Lines Oblique, by George Rickey cuz it's Checkpoint 8. You can find the sculpture on the University of Kentucky campus.

ANSWER:

This sculpture is outside the University of Kentucky Art Museum on campus at Rose Street and Euclid Avenue.

DISTANCE: 0.6 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 9:

Does Judi own it?

Interesting enough, the USA officially didn't have a President for a day due to the incoming president refusing to take the Oath of Office on the Sabbath and no one else was sworn in. The number of years since this occurred is the address on West Main Street that serves as Checkpoint 9.

ANSWER: The Dame - 156 West Main Street

The event in question occurred March 4 1849.

DISTANCE: 0.9 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 10:

Donald's middle name?

This establishment on Maxwell Street shares it's name with the last word of the title of the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burenett that tells the story of an American boy in England.

ANSWER: Fauntleroy's Cafe - 640 West Maxwell

DISTANCE: 0.7 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 11:

Ditto.

We are bustin' out the Patented Wacky Equation. Take a photo with the establishment bearing the name suggested by the following:

                       ____________________ Oil

		                PLUS

                            Female Sheep

                      Sounds like Checkpoint 11

Find this establishment northeast of High Street and northwest of Upper Street.

ANSWER: Isle of You - 591 W Short St

DISTANCE: 0.5 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 12:

6-5000

Checkpoint 12 is a building that shares it's name with the birth city of the author of the novel that starts with the following line:

"The American handed Leamas another cup of coffee and said, "Why don't you go back to sleep? We can ring you if he shows up."

Find it within 1/4 miles of Fayette Park.

ANSWER: Poole Hall at the end of Kenilworth Ct.

There's a 1985 movie called "Transylvania 6-5000." The quote is from The Spy Who Came In from the Cold by John Le Carre -- born David John Moore Cornwell in Poole, Dorsetshire. DISTANCE: 0.7 miles - Map


CHECKPOINT 1:

Please pass the salt.

Take your photo with the mural that has the following quote in it cuz it's Checkpoint 1:

"Years from now, no one may remember who I was or what I had done, what matters is that I was important in the life of a child."

Find the mural Northeast of 3rd Street in the MLK neighborhood.

ANSWER: Mural in Duncan Park

DISTANCE: 0.4 miles - Map

We passed by here while looking for Checkpoint 3 and noticed other teams running around in the park and realized we'd probably be back here for a future clue. Of course, by the time we got here near the end of the race we were slightly disoriented and got directions from a friendly passerby.



FINISH LINE

We used the skip man to skip Checkpoint 2 and headed back to the finish line.

DISTANCE: 0.6 miles - Map

We crossed the finish line in 17th place with a time of 2:42. Our best UC finishing time yet. With disqualifications, our final placement is 7th qualifying us for a free entry into the National Finals in Phoenix in November.

TOTAL DISTANCE: Approximately 8 miles - entirely on foot

Other links:


Official Entrants Research Team
John Salmon
Lynn Salmon
Cliff Young
Celeste Young
Christopher Snyder
Brian Towles
Michael Theobald
Wendy Pan
Kate Nesin
Dave Fullagar
Joyce Farnsworth
Cariann Chan
Brannon Batson