This all started with a phone call from my brother. He said that he and some friends were organizing a Bogie race in their local village. I should point out here that in the North of England, Bogie is familiar term for a soapbox racer. Elsewhere the term has less savory connotations.
‘You must enter,’ he enthused, ‘build something and bring it up. It was hardly what you might call a no-brainer. The four-hundred-mile journey to the venue was the least of the obstacles. Finding the time and resources to build a suitable vehicle in a suburban home were more demanding challenges.
Instead I called on a favour and borrowed a professionally built machine that was constructed to promote the company that created it. We took it north, had a great day and were very competitive. More importantly, for the first time in all my activity with vehicles, my sons felt engaged in the project. It had no engine and was relatively free of highway regulations so my offspring could sit in it, help work on it and even drive it. It occurred to me that a gravity racer project would be something we could all be involved in and enjoy.
With that in mind and the promise that my brother’s event would be reprised for next year the project was born.
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