Archive for the Travel Category

Back in the Saddle Again | Cycling in London!

By on June 13, 2012
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Like I am with bikes, I dove right back in the deep end. I’ve been a fairly good patient these past 9 weeks, following doctor’s orders, babying that pelvic fracture to the point where I’m overusing the cane. But today I couldn’t take another minute of it. London had dried out, and I had to get from the Waterloo tube station to the Tate modern- a considerable distance for someone who’s supposed to be “taking it easy”.

There they were, proudly waiting right outside the station, whispering “take me! I’m yours! I’ll get you there swiftly, safely, and with far more pleasure than any other mode. take me, I’m free!” So I did. Got on a bicycle for the first time since April 6th. Wearing the same pants I wore that night too. In London, a city I was so terrified to ride my motorcycle in I’d only ride on weekends and usually at night or in the burbs. I’ve ridden in lots of cities, American and European, but the whole left side traffic thing makes it a little too exciting. Especially on a bicycle. One which I can’t be bothered to figure out how to change gears. And without a helmet. I felt safe enough cruising around Barcelona without a helmet, but there’s a lot less traffic there than London and it’s all on the right side. Perhaps it’s also that I drive/ride more like a Spaniard or an Italian than a Brit. It felt so wrong to be riding without a helmet and with only my purse for hi-viz, but London was good to me, and I also rode slowly on the sidewalks when traffic was too scary. Looking forward to getting the official go-ahead! from the Doc June 20th…

Now I’m near Silverstone, looking forward to volunteering with Riders for Health this weekend. More about that later…

Adventures Of a TT Groupie

By on June 3, 2012
This entry is filed under Race Reports, Travel and tagged , , , .

Just like the first time I rode on the back of a motorcycle, it’s not so much that I want to be around people who have them, but that I want one for myself. Same goes for the TT, even though I’m here for the first time. I’m going as a tourist and journalist, to witness the electric bikes make history, and help my brother celebrate his birthday. But I’d rather be flying through the air, 200 ponies between my legs, slamming back down to earth only to tip the bike into a sharp bend up ahead, then to fly along the Mountain as fast as I possibly dare. This all-out speed on the world’s deadliest racetrack is my idea of a good time.

 

But that’s not gonna happen this year, and honestly, I’ll probably never be fast enough to qualify for a TT race. Someday I will ride the TT course, but likely not in competition. This really shouldn’t be the year for that even, as my collarbone persists in being detached and the doc persists in forcing me to use this infernal cane. Because I’d rather be a gimp a little longer than suffer crippling arthritis the rest of my days, I’m following doctors orders. Well, as best I can…

Continue reading Adventures Of a TT Groupie

Dreaming of Mecca, aka The Isle of Man TT

By on September 17, 2011
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Thanks Kevin Rothwell for capturing the photo most like my dream, and sharing it!

Photo courtesy Kevin Rothwell via Creative Commons License

 

This morning I had the best dream- I was at the Isle of Man TT, which I’m finally going to in 2012. The only downside of the dream is I was also preparing my next project for the class I’m currently teaching on garment construction. But when I wasn’t doing that…

 

In the dream, there was also a MotoGP paddock, as if the TT were back on the schedule. Somehow I had access to Colin Edwards’ bike. Somehow I knew that if I disconnected the CPU, the bike would run solely on electric power. So I did, then later returned to Colin’s garage and rode off. I wasn’t even dressed to ride, and of course the streets were open to all traffic. But the bike was FAST and so much fun. I careened through the crowded streets and in my dream I was really in some mall (of course), so parts of my short laps were through a clothing store. It was pandemonium but the crowd loved it (as TT fans would). I loved showing them that a GP bike could be fast and fun even without gas. I did 3 “laps” around this little city block, then rode around some real streets.

Continue reading Dreaming of Mecca, aka The Isle of Man TT

Day in the Life…

By on November 4, 2010
This entry is filed under Ride Reports, Travel and tagged , .

Or rather, days. Just to clarify, here’s what I’ve been up to…

pool

By on April 7, 2009
This entry is filed under Travel and tagged , .


pool, originally uploaded by pinkyracer.

The train from Nice to points west is a fabulous place for daydreaming. The best view from any train I’ve ever been on, even the ones under Manhattan.

view from here and now

By on April 7, 2009
This entry is filed under Race Reports, Travel and tagged , , , .


view from here and now, originally uploaded by pinkyracer.

one of the many fine views I enjoyed over the weekend at Valencia. Those long concrete strips leading up to the Ford billboard are actually steps. That’s where they put all the bad MotoGP fans who thought they bought tickets, then had their tickets revoked and didn’t figure this out until 2 days before the race.

As you can see, there are not nearly as many WSB fans in Spain as there are MotoGP fans. Only about 43,000 people turned up, so the cheap seats were totally empty. And I could hobble up the day before the race and buy one of the good seats. Sure felt good being able to do that.

Recovery

By on April 3, 2009
This entry is filed under Ride Reports, Travel and tagged , , , . | 1 Comment

OK, so I made it back to Barcelona and cried like a baby the first night home. No wifi. No internet, in fact, as my crappy Vodafone USB modem was not working as usual. No room service, and no giant fluffy pillows. But it was the no elevator part of being home that did me in. Carrying my gear and crap up 4 flights of stairs help exacerbate the pulled muscle in my chest so it not only felt like someone had ripped my heart out, but now also hurt to breathe. I also faced the first night without opiates, and could tell I was fiending. Drugs suck. Called some people I knew I could count on, and they came through, gave me the words of encouragement I needed in a time when all I could do was beat myself up for making such a stupid mistake (the whole riding to Nice in the rain idea, really).

So the next day I noticed I was constantly holding my left “lil’ buddy” (an homage to Zina) in place, so I put on my sports bra and felt better. Went to see a local multilingual Italian orthopedist because I was starting to get nervous like maybe I was having a heart attack or had a broken rib, despite the lack of bruising. He gave me a rigorous regime for my ankle which could also work for my chest and also recommended just wrapping my chest in wide ace bandages.

Which I did, and it works like a charm! So now instead of being small, I get to be super-flat, but hey, it feels good and I can breathe, so that’s all I care about. So now I’m releived it’s only a very pulled muscle, like I had thought. I’ve been doing my best to rest up, stay in bed, only going out for absolute necessities (like to recharge (money, not power) my stupid USB modem, because of course Vodafone won’t let you do that shit online unless you have a Spanish credit card. Grrrr.

So I finished the epic paper from hell, and should be able to finish the easier small paper tonight, which marks my absolute final deliverable for business school. It’s something I sort of dread letting go of, because that means I really and truly need to find a job now. Which is such an unpleasant process. But to give myself a better reason to finish my homework, and because dammit, I came to Spain to be with my people, I am GOING to Valencia tomorrow for World Superbike!!! Even though I will be chillaxin’ at the hotel on Saturday, only going to the track on Sunday and doing as little walking as possible, dammit, I have to go! Must watch Ben Spies kick some more bootay! And be in a lovely hotel again… I won’t be riding there and then to Bilbao as I had previously planned, but I must go, even if it’s on the train. It is my duty as a race fan to make sure those stands are full!

Pythagorian Theorem of Riding

By on March 21, 2009
This entry is filed under Ride Reports, Travel and tagged , , , .

Wow! So I’m catching up on my horoscopes, and this is amazing. I actually followed Brezny’s advice without even realizing it. The dogma was that I am too cool to ride a scooter. I finally relented and rented one (with a nudge from Britt, if she hadn’t suggested it, I might not have done it). And what’s changed about my worldview is that I can actually enjoy getting from point A to point B even though I am the slowest guy out there. While some of you have survived being passengers in a car driven by me, none of you know what goes on inside my helmet at a red light. I filter to the front, thinking nasty thoughts about what a bunch of tools these cagers all are, especially the idiots in North Carolina who honk at me as I neatly cut through the lanes. Losers. And I am appalled beyond belief at just how excrutiatingly slowly people pull away from a light, especially in North Carolina. In Barcelona, of course, people drive the way people should drive the world over. Fast. No dilly-dallying. So I thought I would need to be on my fast bike to enjoy riding here. But I’m on the slowest thing ever, and I’m actually digging it. AND I actually arrive calmer because I’m not freaking out over how slow everyone is the whole way there.

I’m glad that Pythagoras’ dogma was shattered because everyone knows mere numbers can’t provide the ultimate truth about reality. pffft.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras is
known as “the father of numbers.” He taught that mathematics provides
the ultimate truth about reality. His otherwise productive career went
through a rough patch when one of his students found that the square
root of two is an “irrational” number that can’t be expressed as a simple
fraction. “Impossible!” said Pythagoras. His system was built on the axiom
that there are no such numbers. Yet he couldn’t refute the student’s
proof. By some accounts, Pythagoras had the student drowned for his
impunity. The brilliant theorist couldn’t deal with the threat to his dogma.
I bring this to your attention, Aries, because you have an opportunity to
do what Pythagoras couldn’t: accept the evidence that your beliefs about
reality are limited, and incorporate the new data into a revised worldview.

oh boohoo

By on December 25, 2008
This entry is filed under Travel and tagged , , , .

pobre mio. I just realized I’d been looking at the 2008 GP calendar, and that I’ll only be able to make one GP while in Europe. Quel triste. At least Laguna’s on 4th of July weekend so I know I won’t miss that!

On the bright side, Valentino Jr. is adjusting well to his new (temporary?) home with his grandma and grandpa, so I will not have to worry about him while I’m in Spain. He is chilling on my bed right now, even though he has a disturbing preference for relaxing under the bed (a tight spot for a cat of his size) all day. At least he acts like a normal cat at night.

My parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and the party will continue in La Jolla this weekend, when the whole family schleps down there to help them celebrate the actual day. I’ve been in more of my parent’s weddings than I have of my own (2 or 3 to 0). They’ve renewed their vows a few times, and this time we had quite a large cast, what with my brothers, their wives, Dave’s 3 kids, my mom’s sister, my dad’s niece, and my cousin. My cousin Diane and I, being the single ones, marched down the aisle arm in arm just like the married couples. That was fun because not all of my parent’s friends know Diane so we were fake lesbians for a moment in a traditional Episcopalian church.

Christmas was nice this year, we had a lovely adult brunch at Gary & Colleen’s, the highlight of which for me was tormenting their adorable dog Roxy. Roxy has a thing for light, she’ll chase any sort of light there is, and a laser pointer drives her into a complete frenzy. Colleen made me stop before I gave the poor thing a heart attack, as dogs aren’t exactly prone to indulging in fun in moderation. But it was so fun watching her chase that thing all over the house. I want a dog so bad.