The Lead Adventurer of FGA, Nick Fluge, turned a bumpy spring and early summer filled with mechanical failures into a 45 plus second victory in the August Sports Car Club of America Championships. Starting from the pole alongside one of the best Porsche drivers and cars in North America, Dave Cormier, Fluge could only wonder if the car would withstand the high temperatures and humidity to finally win one for the Fluge team.

With team-mate and Rose Cup Champion Matt Crandall off on vacation, Fluge realized the race was his to lose with arguably the best Car Management Team and Crew – Steve Gatrell and Pro Fab of North America. Friend and race mentor, Todd Harris, (owner of Pro Drive and one of the world’s best professional drivers) also added his advice to Fluge to further encourage the win which was so commonplace in 2007-2009 but has been illusive this year. Other strong competitors filled out the field and were chomping at their bits to jump over team FGA with the slightest of whines from an injured car – as they’ve seen all year long. But it was not to happen.

FLUGE and FGA / Pro Fab Team on Pre Grid

Fluge jumped into the lead immediately at the green flag and never relinquished it – adding several seconds to his victory with each passing lap. Lapping car after car, the blue #7 took an easy victory from the summer weekend. The win was welcome after a challenging mid-summer that included a brief stay in the (now closed) but infamous Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia followed a week later by a Fluge performance at “Gallery Night” featuring his play on a 5 string guitar, harmonica styling and singling…accompanied by his buddies, Marianna, Reece, Craig, Kevin, the Vamps and the rest of the band known to many as “Band FGA.” Other summer events have featured FGA standouts, from Troy, Yelena, Tony and Allen competing in ‘off-road, mountain and stream runs where they gained strong finishes. The “Face” of FGA, Tiffany has been playing extremely well in top regional softball action. In recent Soap Box Derby action, Leo proved his engineer skills, Mimi her driving talent, and Patrick his strength and running ability as push off man as excellent as expected. Finally, Spence Gatrell, returned to motorsports in the Canadian / American ICSCC Challenge race along with the Pro Fab crew (now featuring Fluge as the ‘tire pressure/umbrella man). Quite a mid-summer for the cast of characters who one often sees at FGA events indeed.

Fluge, Marianna, Reece, Craig and the Band

The remainder of the summer and upcoming fall remains uncertain. However, for those of you planning on attending the “Warrior Dash” in mid-September, Fluge, Carter, King, Rudolph and others are already entered in the “Craziest Freakin Day of Your Life.” (Fluge privately hopes he’ll be painting in France by then – so as to avoid the flames, mud, and beer contests of the Warrior Dash but without any set reservations – he remains a ‘possible’ along with the great FGA team).

Fluge Lapping Top Contender

Nick Fluge and members of the FGA team traveled to the peaceful but strange town of Weston, West Virginia to visit the famed Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and determine for themselves if the paranormal is more than just a word in a dictionary. Opened in 1864, the asylum was originally intended to treat mental illness, and did that for more than 100 years, but with the additional help of ‘ice pick’ induced lobotomy’s, electric shock, and even chaining and quarantining ‘challenging’ patients the facility remained open until some years ago. The history extends from civil war veterans to 20th century patients who lived as normally as one could in such a unique facility.

The team flew into Pittsburgh from Portland and immediately began their driving journey into West Virginia hoping not to make any ‘Wrong Turns.’ Hours later they arrived in the pleasant and yet somewhat off-putting town of Weston. People in the small town were quite personable until FGA members announced the reason for their visit: “An overnight stay at the lunatic asylum.” Eyes grew, voices became silent, whispers abounded and a sense of dread and quiet filled every gas station, restaurant and hotel within 20 miles of the place. We later learned that things like double suicides, stabbings, and other violent behavior were more the norm than the rare in Weston.

ENTRANCE

The initial drive to the asylum was fine, although it was daytime, a lifetime away from the possible horrors of nightfall. We all were overwhelmed by the sense of calm that one experienced at the front gate of the 2nd largest concrete structure in the world (next to the Kremlin in Russia). Fluge and team joked about everything and played a strong hand during the day. Little did we know what we were about to experience a few short hours later.

IN STRETCHER ROOM

We were officially “committed” into the facility at 9:30 pm sharp. The only people permitted in the facility overnight, the team was nervous with electricity only lighting staircases and the main floor – but never the wards. We proceeded to tour all four floors, each containing special wards for children, women, men, veterans, violently criminal inmates, and even murderers. FGA’s Queen of Hearts, Tiffany, posed like a trooper in the ”stretcher room” until she learned that the stretchers were designed to keep the violently emotional from any type of movement until the chains bound their flesh.

TIFFANY FLASHING HER SMILE BEFORE THE GHOSTS ARRIVED

Elysia quickly found that once she happened upon one of the few pieces of furniture in the massive building with miles of tunnels and halls, that something persuaded her to keep rocking in a curled up pose with an odd look on her face. With courage she managed to continue the journey throughout the rambling wards and halls of the building that fails to disappoint.

ELYSIA ROCKING UNCONTROLLABLY IN AN ALTERED STATE

Paranormal activity began the minute we arrived on the top floor and shut down our flashlights as we all sat silent in Ward E. We summoned those who might still exist there by asking for their permission to let us stay, or to let us know if they recognized us. Three times, without doubt, we heard loud (very loud) footsteps moving towards us. The weaker among us asked the stronger (me) to hold their hands – I did, being the gentleman I am. We felt the footsteps were within feet of us when they stopped as abruptly as they had begun.

Later, a ball appeared out of nowhere on the second children’s floor and when we kicked it – it simply made a curve directly into a wards’ room and then miraculously returned to the hall. We quickly made our way to the first floor break room.

A final and most strange experience was when we visited ‘Lilly’s room’ which is where a 9 year old supposedly died. Lilly is known to ‘play’ with her guests at times. Our first visit before midnight only gave witness to the same strange ball movement that we had seen earlier. However a later experience back in the room at 3pm had our flashlights turning on and off without interference or touch by our team – Strange indeed.

We were allowed to leave the asylum at 5:00 am the next morning. We were happy to be gone, another journey in the many that FGA has had, and certainly one of the most strange.

Some of the Fluge Global team have arrived in West Virginia on their way for an overnighter at the famed and historic Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. They will be officially ‘committed’ to the asylum and locked in overnight with no exit possible until 5am on Sunday. The Asylum was built in 1854 and closed many years ago and today remnants of haunting and other phenomena remain.

To learn a little about their adventure go to You Tube and type in “GA-Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum”, or click here GA – Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum [1 of 4], and prepare to read about the adventure in late July when the team (hopefully returns)!

By Yelena King

The roar of the crowd echoed through the redwood trees of Eureka, CA as over 1100 running enthusiasts (aka “crazies”) positioned themselves at the starting line of the 39th annual Avenue of the Giants half-marathon. As a long-time member of the FGA crew, and Nick Fluge’s core-specialist commandante, I had been inspired by his epic (and admittedly spontaneous) finish at the 2009 Portland Marathon. This was my chance to prove to Nick, and the rest of the FGA nation, that I deserved to climb mountains, do crunches, and sip cocktails next to a champion.

FGA VO2max specialist Troy Carter had been dispatched to assure my triumphant finish. He stood beside me poised, strong and silent, staring at the course ahead like a tiger ready to pounce. I believe he was channeling Mr. Fluge from his Kilimanjaro days; alpha-male, ready to lead the pack without reservation.

The starting gun rang out like a backfiring GT1 racer, and we made our way across the starting line. Troy and I ran hard, weaving through the crowd of participants, all of whom looked at us with envy. After all, we represented the FGA team, Troy sporting a limited-edition Tarzan tech shirt, myself in a brand-new FGA racing team hat… we may as well have painted targets on our backs. The competition was fierce, and holding our lead was not easy. Between labored breaths we heard them talk amongst themselves, “What’s Tarzan?”, “Who are these Olympic-worthy athletes sporting this fancy gear?”, “Why didn’t the Fluge make a celebrity appearance this year?”

To avoid an angry mob at the finish line, we graciously allowed some participants to pass us, strategically slowing up at water stations and chatting with the locals. We even managed to elude an FGA heckler at the finish line, who claimed we were not “race official” in our gear.

“Fluge Global Adventures?” she snarled, “I’ve never heard of that brand!”

“Lady,” Troy quipped without missing a beat, “This is FGA. It’s not just a brand, it’s a lifestyle.”

Fluge Global Adventures will be represented by a team of 5th graders from Oregon at the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals! What is Destination ImagiNation? DI is an organization created in collaboration with the world-renowned Center for Creative Learning to provide educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork, and problem solving.

Every year over 100,000 students across the United States and in more than 30 countries compete in teams to solve mind-bending challenges and present their solutions at tournaments. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together, and devise original solutions for the challenges they are presented. The teams learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving. Teams that advance past regional and state/country tournaments are invited to compete at the Global Finals.

Oregon’s “5 Musketeers” are the 2009 Oregon State Destination ImagiNation Champions. They have competed at regional and state tournaments over the past two years with much success. They will be traveling to the University of Tennessee on Memorial Day Weekend to challenge hundreds of teams from all over the world in the culminating event of the season, the Global Finals. The atmosphere will be electric as they battle wits against many of the worlds future leaders. Maybe the world’s next Nick Fluge will even be there!

Oregon’s 5 Musketeers Going Global!