mika
Still Wondering
Happy Birthday
US Forest Service: Fall color guide
urbanext.uiuc.edu: The Miracle of Fall ÔÇô About Fall Color
thevintagent.com: Hockheim 2008
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topspeed.com: A bullet-like motorcycle
motoblog.it: Ducati 749 Martini
motorbiker.org: KTM Motorcycle ÔÇô In the ÔÇ£Start Them YoungÔÇØ Department
cyrilhuzeblog.com: Jesse JamesÔÇÖ Airstream sidecar
fastbikesmag.com: Enfield bites the Bullet
Buying Used:
bikepoint.com.au: BMW K1200 RS [brick] ÔÇô Motorbike Reviews
A good look at the old style K1200 RS
xe.com currency converter
bikepoint.com.au takes one for a test ride and finds ÔÇô ÔÇÿThereÔÇÖs more to this Triumph Daytona 675 than meets the eyeÔÇØ
xe.com currency converter a Electric
thekneeslider.com: Brammo gets $10 million funding for Enert
Honda.com launched a website Monday teasing the up coming release of a new Super Cub.
Winding Road asks ÔÇô Would two wheels work for your daily driver?
GCC Rd. 6, Schweinfurt, Sept. 21st
Monday, 22 September 2008
Double win in white and blue
The sixth and penultimate round of the German Cross Country championship, held on 21 September at Schweinfurt, has been an important event for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in terms of their title ambitions.
BMW factory rider Simo Kirssi guided his BMW 450 X to a dominant win in the XCPro class. Teammate Bert Meyer finished runner-up after two hours of racing under difficult conditions, partly due to heavy downpours.
The BMW pair came to the track in northern Bavaria with the goal to steal as many points as possible from Frenchman Cyrille Coulon, who trailed Kirssi by five points going into the event. The bottomline for the team was to attack the difficult terrain and to get into a strong position for the upcoming GCC finale.
Consequently Kirssi and Meyer powered their 450 thumpers to the front right from the word go. Unfortunately Simo briefly went down in the third corner, but the Finn had regained the lead already by lap two. The 2004 champ and odds-on favourite to claim this year?¢s title would never be headed again. Kirssi simply ran away from the field despite heavy rain starting to fall midway into the proceedings. But it made no difference to the quiet-yet-determined BMW rider, who was already two minutes in front. Kirssi even lapped Coulon near the end.
Behind the winner, a battle for second place ensued between Meyer and his arch rival Steffen Albrecht. Meyer ultimately prevailed and now sits in a decent position to finish championship runner-up. (The final round will be held at Schefflenz on 4 October)
The BMW dominance was underlined by XCSport 2 class winner Juho Kirssi. Simo?¢s brother and mechanic competed "just for fun" aboard another BMW 450 X.
Simo Kirssi: "Well, the race was ok. I?¢ve been highly motivated and that made me go down in that third corner. Unnecessarily, really. The rest was fine. The track has been really demanding, kind of what I like. Halfway into the race I started to play it safe; almost like in practice. It was a fun race and I certainly enjoyed it. The bike worked extremely and we now have the suspension figured out perfectly."
Bert Meyer: "This has been a really good race. We had a nice going right from the start. I?¢ve been battling with Steffen all the way and managed to distance him a bit towards the end. My bike worked very well."
XCPro class
1. Simo Kirssi (FIN), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 26 laps
2. Bert Meyer (GER), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 26
3. Steffen Albrecht (GER), Yamaha, 26
4. Angus Heidecke (GER), Kawasaki, 26
5. Joakim Ljunggren (SWE), Husaberg, 26
6. Erik Mueller, (GER), Kawasaki, 26
7. Cyrille Coulon (FRA), Yamaha, 25
8. Thomas Guenther (GER), Husaberg, 25
9. Falko Karbautzki (GER), KTM, 25
10. Nils Hagen (GER), KTM, 23
visordown.com: Enduro ÔÇô David Knight goes to BMW
amamotocross.com: Interview ÔÇô Ricky Dietrich ÔÇô US ISDE Rider
autobloggreen.com: Honda Formula 1 team making progress testing KERS
motoring.co.za: McLaren team in Paris for Spa race ruling
Why are they in Paris?
speigel.com: Hamilton decision on punishment postponed.
bmwmlog.com: BMW takes away 44,000 cars from U.S. allocation
More about the Goodwood Revival from Classic Cars and Rallies ÔÇô
Maserati at Goodwood Revival 2008
Bonhams classic cars auction at Goodwood Revival
freep.com: Congress seems ready to OK $25 billion in loans to auto industry
freep.com: Fitch sends GMÔÇÖs rating deeper into junk status
bmwmotorrad.co.za: Nate Kern is headed for South Africa
bmwmotorcycles.com: BMW Motorrad on ÔÇÿhome turfÔÇÖ at Intermot Cologne
Thread: BMW Motorrad wants to hear from you. Survey link enclosed.
Stuff
Threads worth reading: Norht Dakota takes it on the ear from National Geographic
The Great Plains states are considered by many to be something to be survived at worst or overcome at best. It seems the author of the N.G. falls in the former category. There is a group of us that donÔÇÖt fall into either. We have been captivated by the Great Plains for various reasons. The responses in the thread give some interesting glimpses into what has captivated us. If you have not check this thread out please do, itÔÇÖs worth the trip.
webbikeworld.com: PIAA LED lights
globeauto.com: Cities rethink wisdom of 50s ÔÇôera standards
articleclick.com: Selling a motorcycle
gizmag.com: Yves Rossy prepares for cross-channel flight without a plane
howstuffworks.com: WhatÔÇÖs the most expensive workshop tool out there?
gizmag.com: Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR shots full HD video
boingboing.net: Corrupted Science: the history, cause, effect and state of bad science
reuters.com: Beijing returns to congested normal after Olympics
reuters.com: Comcast details changes for managing Web traffic
howstuffworks.com: Why did Lady Godiva take a naked horse ride?
reuters.com: comic escapes prosecution fo insulting pope
Packers Blog ÔÇô jsonline.com
Packers.com ÔÇô News from the football shrine
Green Bay Post Gazette: Packer News, Commentary
Offical site of the Premier League
GasBuddy.com has gas temperature maps intended to let you see what gas prices are around the US and Canada. Areas are color coded according to the reported local average price for regular unleaded gasoline.
US
Canada
Wonderings
The Four Horsemen of the Roadster
I am writing this on the first day of fall. There are scientific definitions that define when the seasons occur. The importance of these dates varies from person to person. For many of us it marks a point to reflect in some way. For the readers of ÔÇÿWonderingsÔÇÖ in the Morning Reads it means I will be subjecting you to some my reflections from my past riding season.
My preference is to ride alone rather than in clubs or groups. Explanations of the reasons for that aside, if I am honest with myself there are four people that go along with within my helmet. Rather than naming them I simply refer to them as Me, Myself, I and The Other Guy Inside the Helmet. Together they are the Four Horsemen of the Roadster.
Riding is a time to think and sort things out. The process of riding forces a concentration on the act itself in order to do it safely. As the process of riding is mastered in an individual ride the by product is an ordering of my thoughts allowing me to process various things that are confronting me.
This can be therapeutic in many cases and hilarious in others.
Some years ago I was traveling from a trip to the Rockies back to Chicago where I lived at that time. The thoughts the Four Horsemen discussed in the helmet had moved from reflections of the mountains to observations of the beauty of the Great Plains. East of Des Moines on I80 their thoughts were turning to work. They started playing out various scenarios for hard conversations I was going to have when I returned there.
It was a hot afternoon. I had a black full faced Shoei helmet at the time. The venting was incredibly poor in the early models of full faced helmets and Camel Backs had yet to be invented. I had the face shield cracked open trying to get some air through the boiling interior of that black pot I was wearing. Traffic slowed down to a crawl and I flipped the shield full up and that is when the fifth rider showed up.
ÔÇ£Honey find a way to get away from that guy on the motorcycle, heÔÇÖs CRAZY!ÔÇØ
I looked to my left when I heard that. A bug eyed lady was rolling her window up and locking her door. I assume as traffic slowed down she had cranked down the window for a breath of fresh Iowa air in time to catch the end of a work scenario that ended up with me shout quite loudly in my helmet as I fully flipped up the face shield. I was the crazy guy she was referring to.
There was no way for them to escape me in their big red four door land yacht cage. I, totally embarrassed, on the other had I took to the shoulder and scooted up to an exit just ahead and got off the freeway. At the top of the exit I headed south. A mile or two down the road I pulled off the road at the entrance to field, dismounted, took off my helmet and began to laugh. With the safety of some distance from the freeway the image of the bug eyed lady in the cage had become funny. I laughed out loud as I striped off my riding gear to cool off and rest. This was first time Fifth Horseman was outside the helmet.
The psychologists, real or want-to-be, among you gentle readers may have had your attention peeked when I began describing the Four Horsemen inside my helmet. Others decided that Mika needs a psychologist. If all of you are honest with yourselves one of the attractions of motorcycling is the enjoyment of the alone time in the saddle no matter how you describe it. The danger point in this story and yours is not found in the Four Horsemen inside my helmet but with Fifth.
The Fifth Horseman shows up in various forms and a variety of reasons for all of us. We are pushing for too many miles and are over tired, we are suffering from hypo or hyperthermia, or for a myriad of other reasons we loose the focus needed to ride safely and the Fifth Horseman shows up.
Over the years of riding I have learned to look for the signs of his coming. They may be as simple as realizing that I for the second time on a ride I forgot to cancel my turn signal after a turn taken. When I recognize the signs I know it is time to get off the bike, take a break and deal with the dangers the Fifth Horseman rode in on.
Breaks are the fun side of the Fifth HorsemanÔÇÖs appearances. This year I have put a great number of miles on ÔÇÿpurposefully wondering aboutÔÇÖ Iowa. When stopping due to the Fifth Horseman I have explored grocery stores in search of local treats. I have continued by search for the perfect onion ring or piece of pie. I discovered incredible home made Danish pastries on one such stop.
During every stop I have met interesting people to talk with or observe. Reflecting on these experiences and the Fifth Horseman I am thankful for being introduced to these experiences and people. They are some of the great memories of a summer of exploring. I am most thankful that to the best of my knowledge the Fifth Horseman did not reintroduce me to a bug eyed lady in a red land yacht.
Where ever she is, I am certain she is thankful too.
Bike Candy
THE END
US Forest Service: Fall color guide
urbanext.uiuc.edu: The Miracle of Fall ÔÇô About Fall Color
thevintagent.com: Hockheim 2008
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topspeed.com: A bullet-like motorcycle
motoblog.it: Ducati 749 Martini
motorbiker.org: KTM Motorcycle ÔÇô In the ÔÇ£Start Them YoungÔÇØ Department
cyrilhuzeblog.com: Jesse JamesÔÇÖ Airstream sidecar
fastbikesmag.com: Enfield bites the Bullet
Buying Used:
bikepoint.com.au: BMW K1200 RS [brick] ÔÇô Motorbike Reviews
A good look at the old style K1200 RS
xe.com currency converter
bikepoint.com.au takes one for a test ride and finds ÔÇô ÔÇÿThereÔÇÖs more to this Triumph Daytona 675 than meets the eyeÔÇØ
xe.com currency converter a Electric
thekneeslider.com: Brammo gets $10 million funding for Enert
Honda.com launched a website Monday teasing the up coming release of a new Super Cub.
Winding Road asks ÔÇô Would two wheels work for your daily driver?
GCC Rd. 6, Schweinfurt, Sept. 21st
Monday, 22 September 2008
Double win in white and blue
The sixth and penultimate round of the German Cross Country championship, held on 21 September at Schweinfurt, has been an important event for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in terms of their title ambitions.
BMW factory rider Simo Kirssi guided his BMW 450 X to a dominant win in the XCPro class. Teammate Bert Meyer finished runner-up after two hours of racing under difficult conditions, partly due to heavy downpours.
The BMW pair came to the track in northern Bavaria with the goal to steal as many points as possible from Frenchman Cyrille Coulon, who trailed Kirssi by five points going into the event. The bottomline for the team was to attack the difficult terrain and to get into a strong position for the upcoming GCC finale.
Consequently Kirssi and Meyer powered their 450 thumpers to the front right from the word go. Unfortunately Simo briefly went down in the third corner, but the Finn had regained the lead already by lap two. The 2004 champ and odds-on favourite to claim this year?¢s title would never be headed again. Kirssi simply ran away from the field despite heavy rain starting to fall midway into the proceedings. But it made no difference to the quiet-yet-determined BMW rider, who was already two minutes in front. Kirssi even lapped Coulon near the end.
Behind the winner, a battle for second place ensued between Meyer and his arch rival Steffen Albrecht. Meyer ultimately prevailed and now sits in a decent position to finish championship runner-up. (The final round will be held at Schefflenz on 4 October)
The BMW dominance was underlined by XCSport 2 class winner Juho Kirssi. Simo?¢s brother and mechanic competed "just for fun" aboard another BMW 450 X.
Simo Kirssi: "Well, the race was ok. I?¢ve been highly motivated and that made me go down in that third corner. Unnecessarily, really. The rest was fine. The track has been really demanding, kind of what I like. Halfway into the race I started to play it safe; almost like in practice. It was a fun race and I certainly enjoyed it. The bike worked extremely and we now have the suspension figured out perfectly."
Bert Meyer: "This has been a really good race. We had a nice going right from the start. I?¢ve been battling with Steffen all the way and managed to distance him a bit towards the end. My bike worked very well."
XCPro class
1. Simo Kirssi (FIN), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 26 laps
2. Bert Meyer (GER), BMW Motorrad Motorsport, 26
3. Steffen Albrecht (GER), Yamaha, 26
4. Angus Heidecke (GER), Kawasaki, 26
5. Joakim Ljunggren (SWE), Husaberg, 26
6. Erik Mueller, (GER), Kawasaki, 26
7. Cyrille Coulon (FRA), Yamaha, 25
8. Thomas Guenther (GER), Husaberg, 25
9. Falko Karbautzki (GER), KTM, 25
10. Nils Hagen (GER), KTM, 23
visordown.com: Enduro ÔÇô David Knight goes to BMW
amamotocross.com: Interview ÔÇô Ricky Dietrich ÔÇô US ISDE Rider
autobloggreen.com: Honda Formula 1 team making progress testing KERS
motoring.co.za: McLaren team in Paris for Spa race ruling
Why are they in Paris?
speigel.com: Hamilton decision on punishment postponed.
bmwmlog.com: BMW takes away 44,000 cars from U.S. allocation
More about the Goodwood Revival from Classic Cars and Rallies ÔÇô
Maserati at Goodwood Revival 2008
Bonhams classic cars auction at Goodwood Revival
freep.com: Congress seems ready to OK $25 billion in loans to auto industry
freep.com: Fitch sends GMÔÇÖs rating deeper into junk status
bmwmotorrad.co.za: Nate Kern is headed for South Africa
bmwmotorcycles.com: BMW Motorrad on ÔÇÿhome turfÔÇÖ at Intermot Cologne
Thread: BMW Motorrad wants to hear from you. Survey link enclosed.
Stuff
Threads worth reading: Norht Dakota takes it on the ear from National Geographic
The Great Plains states are considered by many to be something to be survived at worst or overcome at best. It seems the author of the N.G. falls in the former category. There is a group of us that donÔÇÖt fall into either. We have been captivated by the Great Plains for various reasons. The responses in the thread give some interesting glimpses into what has captivated us. If you have not check this thread out please do, itÔÇÖs worth the trip.
webbikeworld.com: PIAA LED lights
globeauto.com: Cities rethink wisdom of 50s ÔÇôera standards
articleclick.com: Selling a motorcycle
gizmag.com: Yves Rossy prepares for cross-channel flight without a plane
howstuffworks.com: WhatÔÇÖs the most expensive workshop tool out there?
gizmag.com: Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR shots full HD video
boingboing.net: Corrupted Science: the history, cause, effect and state of bad science
reuters.com: Beijing returns to congested normal after Olympics
reuters.com: Comcast details changes for managing Web traffic
howstuffworks.com: Why did Lady Godiva take a naked horse ride?
reuters.com: comic escapes prosecution fo insulting pope
Packers Blog ÔÇô jsonline.com
Packers.com ÔÇô News from the football shrine
Green Bay Post Gazette: Packer News, Commentary
Offical site of the Premier League
GasBuddy.com has gas temperature maps intended to let you see what gas prices are around the US and Canada. Areas are color coded according to the reported local average price for regular unleaded gasoline.
US
Canada
Wonderings
The Four Horsemen of the Roadster
I am writing this on the first day of fall. There are scientific definitions that define when the seasons occur. The importance of these dates varies from person to person. For many of us it marks a point to reflect in some way. For the readers of ÔÇÿWonderingsÔÇÖ in the Morning Reads it means I will be subjecting you to some my reflections from my past riding season.
My preference is to ride alone rather than in clubs or groups. Explanations of the reasons for that aside, if I am honest with myself there are four people that go along with within my helmet. Rather than naming them I simply refer to them as Me, Myself, I and The Other Guy Inside the Helmet. Together they are the Four Horsemen of the Roadster.
Riding is a time to think and sort things out. The process of riding forces a concentration on the act itself in order to do it safely. As the process of riding is mastered in an individual ride the by product is an ordering of my thoughts allowing me to process various things that are confronting me.
This can be therapeutic in many cases and hilarious in others.
Some years ago I was traveling from a trip to the Rockies back to Chicago where I lived at that time. The thoughts the Four Horsemen discussed in the helmet had moved from reflections of the mountains to observations of the beauty of the Great Plains. East of Des Moines on I80 their thoughts were turning to work. They started playing out various scenarios for hard conversations I was going to have when I returned there.
It was a hot afternoon. I had a black full faced Shoei helmet at the time. The venting was incredibly poor in the early models of full faced helmets and Camel Backs had yet to be invented. I had the face shield cracked open trying to get some air through the boiling interior of that black pot I was wearing. Traffic slowed down to a crawl and I flipped the shield full up and that is when the fifth rider showed up.
ÔÇ£Honey find a way to get away from that guy on the motorcycle, heÔÇÖs CRAZY!ÔÇØ
I looked to my left when I heard that. A bug eyed lady was rolling her window up and locking her door. I assume as traffic slowed down she had cranked down the window for a breath of fresh Iowa air in time to catch the end of a work scenario that ended up with me shout quite loudly in my helmet as I fully flipped up the face shield. I was the crazy guy she was referring to.
There was no way for them to escape me in their big red four door land yacht cage. I, totally embarrassed, on the other had I took to the shoulder and scooted up to an exit just ahead and got off the freeway. At the top of the exit I headed south. A mile or two down the road I pulled off the road at the entrance to field, dismounted, took off my helmet and began to laugh. With the safety of some distance from the freeway the image of the bug eyed lady in the cage had become funny. I laughed out loud as I striped off my riding gear to cool off and rest. This was first time Fifth Horseman was outside the helmet.
The psychologists, real or want-to-be, among you gentle readers may have had your attention peeked when I began describing the Four Horsemen inside my helmet. Others decided that Mika needs a psychologist. If all of you are honest with yourselves one of the attractions of motorcycling is the enjoyment of the alone time in the saddle no matter how you describe it. The danger point in this story and yours is not found in the Four Horsemen inside my helmet but with Fifth.
The Fifth Horseman shows up in various forms and a variety of reasons for all of us. We are pushing for too many miles and are over tired, we are suffering from hypo or hyperthermia, or for a myriad of other reasons we loose the focus needed to ride safely and the Fifth Horseman shows up.
Over the years of riding I have learned to look for the signs of his coming. They may be as simple as realizing that I for the second time on a ride I forgot to cancel my turn signal after a turn taken. When I recognize the signs I know it is time to get off the bike, take a break and deal with the dangers the Fifth Horseman rode in on.
Breaks are the fun side of the Fifth HorsemanÔÇÖs appearances. This year I have put a great number of miles on ÔÇÿpurposefully wondering aboutÔÇÖ Iowa. When stopping due to the Fifth Horseman I have explored grocery stores in search of local treats. I have continued by search for the perfect onion ring or piece of pie. I discovered incredible home made Danish pastries on one such stop.
During every stop I have met interesting people to talk with or observe. Reflecting on these experiences and the Fifth Horseman I am thankful for being introduced to these experiences and people. They are some of the great memories of a summer of exploring. I am most thankful that to the best of my knowledge the Fifth Horseman did not reintroduce me to a bug eyed lady in a red land yacht.
Where ever she is, I am certain she is thankful too.
Bike Candy
THE END
