Hi All,
Bikes, I love them. They're almost as varied as women and safer and less trouble in the long run. Bikes I can understand, women are a constant shifting sand dune. Don't know where I'm going with that analogy but that's not the point. Both women and bikes are wonderful, but bikes are easier to maintain and don't crack the shits for unknowable reasons.
I'm off to a track day at Phillip Island at the end of this month. It's a HRCA event which means not only to I get to fang my P&J around the circuit but I get to sample Honda's latest and greated too. I'm particularly keen to try, in descending order, the VTR1000, CBR600/1000 and the VFR800 (mostly to confirm my VFR is better). It'll be only my second go on a track so it's al still very exciting! Fingers crossed nothing expensive happens.
Troy Corser, legend. Suzuki, fantastic GSXR1000. Combination? SBK World Champion if the start to the season is anything to go by. I never got around to finishing my SBK wrap up but I'm slack like that and no one reads this stuff anyway. Well the actual race at PI was truly superb. Watching it from a rain-soaked Siberia Corner was a hoot and seeing an Aussie carve them up was the icing on the cake.
Now Troy is sitting on 182 points from team mate Kagayama on 130 with the great Chris Vermeulen in third on 115. The Suzuki team just seems to be killing the others at the moment so expect some amazing racing in 2006 once the other unofficial Factory teams get their act together. This season is all Suzuki though. Ducati must be seriously worried with last year's world champ James Toseland struggling down in the middle of the field on an uncompetitive twin. There are rumours of a V4 Duke road bike to meet homolgation rules and I for one hope it comes about. Wait an see.
The world of MotoGP is back into it's predictable groove. Rossi is beating up on his opposition like a bunch of man-bitches. Gibernau is still chasing and sucking and sooking, Biaggi is valiant but will never be the champion, Nicky Hayden is trying but still not there yet, Troy Bayliss is really having a hard time getting used to the Honda after being a Ducati man for so long. I'm in the process of working out accommodation for the week and already it's near impossible to find a place. Shits me to tears to see how much they jack up the prices but there you go.
On the up side for the Aussies, Casy Stoner has 2 wins from 4 starts and is looking very strong. After an accident plagued last season on the 125 it's great to see him really make a mark. Go Casy!
Well that's it for now,
Catch ya later...
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Lazy blogger
Dear Non existent Reader,
Apologies for the infrequent nature of my blog posts, I am a lazy bastard who gets all these great ideas at work and then comes home and drinks a red and does something else. Anzac Day was one thing I wanted to write about but didn't. How slack is that? I was actually at the Dawn Service this year with a mate of mine, Mark, and even wrote a comment on Tim Blair but didn't write jack here. Bloody hopeless.
There have been a few things I wanted to share, but for one reason or another didn't. For instance, my Gran is knocking on Heaven's door. Surely that is worth a few measly words? Someone who has existed for 92 years must warrant at least a paragraph right? The celebration of her life is soured somewhat by the stupid fighting of her children over what to do with her last days and what to do with the remaining assets. Some people need a good slap and I know of two I could line up right now. I hope I can write a proper eulogy when the time comes. It's not the sort of thing anyone likes to think about and I'm an anyone.
I've run out of steam so will sign off. Thanks for your perserverance dear Non existent Reader, I'll see you soon.
Catch you later...
Apologies for the infrequent nature of my blog posts, I am a lazy bastard who gets all these great ideas at work and then comes home and drinks a red and does something else. Anzac Day was one thing I wanted to write about but didn't. How slack is that? I was actually at the Dawn Service this year with a mate of mine, Mark, and even wrote a comment on Tim Blair but didn't write jack here. Bloody hopeless.
There have been a few things I wanted to share, but for one reason or another didn't. For instance, my Gran is knocking on Heaven's door. Surely that is worth a few measly words? Someone who has existed for 92 years must warrant at least a paragraph right? The celebration of her life is soured somewhat by the stupid fighting of her children over what to do with her last days and what to do with the remaining assets. Some people need a good slap and I know of two I could line up right now. I hope I can write a proper eulogy when the time comes. It's not the sort of thing anyone likes to think about and I'm an anyone.
I've run out of steam so will sign off. Thanks for your perserverance dear Non existent Reader, I'll see you soon.
Catch you later...
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Bastards
Some days I just want to kick particular people in the nuts. Really hard. I have this shaved monkey at work that takes up oxygen on a daily basis, contributing the sum of his exhalations of carbon dioxide to the world. An otherwise pointless, annoying, primate that learned to use tools. Fuckwit. I may just kick him in the nuts tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
World Superbikes Phillip Island - My Mecca Day 1
Let me just start by saying how sorry I feel for all the people who weren't there for one of motorsports great events. The weekend just gone started on the Friday for me and stretched out to a lazy Monday. In between I spent three, count them, three glorious days wandering around a track so full of charm and beauty it should be a heritage site.
For those who have never been to Phillip Island it is a place of simple, rugged, natural beauty sticking out into a sometimes raging Tasman Strait. About two hours by car (and just a bit quicker by bike) it's a pleasant ride down with varying quality roads and highways or detour and take in the twisties. It's a rural sort of place that takes in a handy income from being the site of one of the world's great race tracks. It reminds me greatly of Tassie and I always feel at home when I'm there. There is something special about being so close to the ocean, it's a vibrancy, a freshness in the air that absorb within you. I love the place.
A recent friend of mine, John Orchard, was scheduled to race that weekend in the Australian Superbikes, facing up to the likes of Krusty Ferguson. John works for the Benelli importer who have provided John with a bike to race, a tasty Tornado Tre in red. Having had the pleasure of briefly riding a standard version Tre and falling instantly in love, I was looking forward to a spectacle. As it was I had just arrived when John headed out onto the track for some qualifying laps. I chose to watch the excitement from the viewing area above pit lane, did I mention that I scored a pit pass for the weekend? Yes, I am a lucky bastard sometimes.
I did my usual wander through the AMCN tent to touch bikes I cant afford and buy my own small slice of the event. I walked out with a hat, the Faster DVD (truly excellent), a stubbie cooler (must have item) and some photos of bikes I plan to own when I win a million. The tent wasn't as well stocked as years past, not as many stalls and fewer bike brands but still a nice display.
The day itself was hot and sunny with only the smallest smudge of clouds across a light blue sky. I rode down in my leathers and was more than glad that I brought some shorts and sneaker to change into. The crowd was minimal, mostly bike crews and bike-tragics like myself. The hard-core campers had taken the best positions by the fence line and the orange overalled marshals made the most of any shade, what little there was.
I spent my time trying to soak up as much pit-side atmosphere as I could, probably looked the complete tool to the old hands, but with my trusty digital camera in hand I snapped away and rubber-necked my heart out. I caught up with John to see how things were going only to find out that he was suffering tyre and suspension problems. I noticed him getting blown away on the straights too so he wasn't too pleased. We chatted for a bit before I went to watch the SBK kings cut some fast laps.
A man who has languished at the bottom of the heap on a slow pig of a bike finally showed what class his possessed by posting the quickest time of the day was none other than Troy Corser, Aussie legend. Finally aboard a decent bike again he's on top of the competition once more.
I've got more to say about those three great days but right now I've got noone to see and nothing to do, better get to it.
Catch you later.
For those who have never been to Phillip Island it is a place of simple, rugged, natural beauty sticking out into a sometimes raging Tasman Strait. About two hours by car (and just a bit quicker by bike) it's a pleasant ride down with varying quality roads and highways or detour and take in the twisties. It's a rural sort of place that takes in a handy income from being the site of one of the world's great race tracks. It reminds me greatly of Tassie and I always feel at home when I'm there. There is something special about being so close to the ocean, it's a vibrancy, a freshness in the air that absorb within you. I love the place.
A recent friend of mine, John Orchard, was scheduled to race that weekend in the Australian Superbikes, facing up to the likes of Krusty Ferguson. John works for the Benelli importer who have provided John with a bike to race, a tasty Tornado Tre in red. Having had the pleasure of briefly riding a standard version Tre and falling instantly in love, I was looking forward to a spectacle. As it was I had just arrived when John headed out onto the track for some qualifying laps. I chose to watch the excitement from the viewing area above pit lane, did I mention that I scored a pit pass for the weekend? Yes, I am a lucky bastard sometimes.
I did my usual wander through the AMCN tent to touch bikes I cant afford and buy my own small slice of the event. I walked out with a hat, the Faster DVD (truly excellent), a stubbie cooler (must have item) and some photos of bikes I plan to own when I win a million. The tent wasn't as well stocked as years past, not as many stalls and fewer bike brands but still a nice display.
The day itself was hot and sunny with only the smallest smudge of clouds across a light blue sky. I rode down in my leathers and was more than glad that I brought some shorts and sneaker to change into. The crowd was minimal, mostly bike crews and bike-tragics like myself. The hard-core campers had taken the best positions by the fence line and the orange overalled marshals made the most of any shade, what little there was.
I spent my time trying to soak up as much pit-side atmosphere as I could, probably looked the complete tool to the old hands, but with my trusty digital camera in hand I snapped away and rubber-necked my heart out. I caught up with John to see how things were going only to find out that he was suffering tyre and suspension problems. I noticed him getting blown away on the straights too so he wasn't too pleased. We chatted for a bit before I went to watch the SBK kings cut some fast laps.
A man who has languished at the bottom of the heap on a slow pig of a bike finally showed what class his possessed by posting the quickest time of the day was none other than Troy Corser, Aussie legend. Finally aboard a decent bike again he's on top of the competition once more.
I've got more to say about those three great days but right now I've got noone to see and nothing to do, better get to it.
Catch you later.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Beer is not my friend
My mate Craig is a bastard. That's about the best reason I can come up with for the hangover I'm suffering today. What sort of bastard inflicts a hangover on a mate on a Monday? Yesterday was a perfect Melbourne day, warm, sunny, beautiful. So what does a young lad about town do on such a day? Get pissed and look at hot chicks? You betcha!
It all started with an invitation to go with him to the Carlton family day. I thought he was joking at first, being a bombers supporter I'm not to inclined to hang out at the Blues events. As it was he was taking his sweet time so we only caught the tail end of it but he got a photo with the Wizard Cup, so he's happy. What an ugly piece of silverware that thing is, looks like a year 10 metal-work assignment gone wrong.
So after standing out on the turf and having a general gander we decide heading into the city for a quiet cleansing ale. After much farking around with a car that wouldn't start we finally get back to his joint, grab some travellers and train it in. To cut a long story short, we ended up in Richmond at the Corner Hotel and sat on the roof admiring the scantilly clad scenery and sipping on fine amber draught. His girlfriend eventually joined us, a rather nice Italian lass, and we decided to drink dinner. We eventually got back to my place where he started on bourbon and I thought a glass or two of Château Box would be the ticket. All was right with the world and everyone's happy.
Cut to today. It's 6:30 am, my alarm is sending sonic needles into my brain and a very small carpet layer has been to work on my tounge. Faaaark! About an hour later I finally manage to stumble out and not throw up all over the place. I somehow manage to shower myself and even dress with everything around the right way. Mako the Wonder Dog does his best to get his useless master awake and functioning, a sloppy lick on a bare leg will do that first thing in the morning. I eventually mope out into the garage and bring the bike out for the ride in to work. Why did it gain an extra 50 kilos in the night?
On the way in some stupid bitch decides that the space I'm currently occupying is just to good to pass up and forthwith swerves into my lane. Thankfully for me the part of the brain that is still able to tick over is also the part riding the bike and I avoid another bone crunching accident. Bitch naturally doesn't give a stuff and gives me the finger when I get on the horn. Typical.
So to work. My manager is very impressed I'm an hour late, the lunch menu at the caffeteria sucks even by it's low standard and I'm just happy to keep my stomach in the right place.
The personal hell that is my work station eventually spits me out at a bit after 5 and I again have the pleasure of a near-death experience thanks to another hateful shrew bent on my destruction. I make it home. Gods, the things we do to ourselves.
And all of this is thanks to my mate Craig. You bastard!
Catch you soon...
It all started with an invitation to go with him to the Carlton family day. I thought he was joking at first, being a bombers supporter I'm not to inclined to hang out at the Blues events. As it was he was taking his sweet time so we only caught the tail end of it but he got a photo with the Wizard Cup, so he's happy. What an ugly piece of silverware that thing is, looks like a year 10 metal-work assignment gone wrong.
So after standing out on the turf and having a general gander we decide heading into the city for a quiet cleansing ale. After much farking around with a car that wouldn't start we finally get back to his joint, grab some travellers and train it in. To cut a long story short, we ended up in Richmond at the Corner Hotel and sat on the roof admiring the scantilly clad scenery and sipping on fine amber draught. His girlfriend eventually joined us, a rather nice Italian lass, and we decided to drink dinner. We eventually got back to my place where he started on bourbon and I thought a glass or two of Château Box would be the ticket. All was right with the world and everyone's happy.
Cut to today. It's 6:30 am, my alarm is sending sonic needles into my brain and a very small carpet layer has been to work on my tounge. Faaaark! About an hour later I finally manage to stumble out and not throw up all over the place. I somehow manage to shower myself and even dress with everything around the right way. Mako the Wonder Dog does his best to get his useless master awake and functioning, a sloppy lick on a bare leg will do that first thing in the morning. I eventually mope out into the garage and bring the bike out for the ride in to work. Why did it gain an extra 50 kilos in the night?
On the way in some stupid bitch decides that the space I'm currently occupying is just to good to pass up and forthwith swerves into my lane. Thankfully for me the part of the brain that is still able to tick over is also the part riding the bike and I avoid another bone crunching accident. Bitch naturally doesn't give a stuff and gives me the finger when I get on the horn. Typical.
So to work. My manager is very impressed I'm an hour late, the lunch menu at the caffeteria sucks even by it's low standard and I'm just happy to keep my stomach in the right place.
The personal hell that is my work station eventually spits me out at a bit after 5 and I again have the pleasure of a near-death experience thanks to another hateful shrew bent on my destruction. I make it home. Gods, the things we do to ourselves.
And all of this is thanks to my mate Craig. You bastard!
Catch you soon...
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
A brief intro....
So this is bloging is it? Hmmm, doesn't seem that hard. Just think of something worthwhile to write about and put it down. So, how about that...ummm, ah thing, you know? Really good stuff!
Ok, so thinking of a decent first post isn't that straight forward. Perhaps a couple of comments on things that are going on around me...
Well the F1 was on yesterday and for a change Schumacher didn't win. Nice change actually but still a boring race all the same. At least the V8s occasionally pass each other. Check out this link for Tim Blair's take on the race.
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/trackback/1380/GdUdIWBh/
As an aside, one of the first things I want to learn is how to change the ugly links into something shorter and more readable.
The World Superbikes are almost with us again, thank God! Being a motorbike tragic I'm really excited about this year's competition. With six Aussies in the line up and Troy Corser already with one win under his belt from the first round it's shaping up to be a good season. For the rundown on the first round pay a visit here... http://www.mcnews.com.au/motorcycleracing2005/superbike/round1_losail/sbk_r1.htm
I was planning on staying down there ("down there" being Phillip Island) with a group of people but that got spannered when the girlfriend made one too many decrees and we parted ways......and she then hooked up with the next best, taking my spot. Thanks for that..*muffled expletive*. I'm still welcome to stay so I'm told. Somehow I can't see that happening.
In local racing news there was a tragic accident a the Broadford round of the Victorian Road Racing Championship. Richard Cant lost his life racing in the 250cc class after crashing and being hit by two following bikes. He is survived by his wife Tiffany and their as yet unborn child. I was there that day I can tell you that it was the worst day I've spent at a track. These days with rider gear and on-track help at such a high standard you just don't expect to see a man die just having a go around a small circuit against some mates. Here's a pic of Richard at the 2003 GP.
http://www.mcnews.com.au/Riders/richard_cant/tragedy_announce.htm
If you are wondering who's behind this embryo of a blog, I'm a guy, living in Melbourne. I've been here for that last few years after having lived pretty much everywhere else in Australia and more than a few places overseas. I love Thai food, cold beer and fast motorbikes. I don't score highly on the PC charts but I'm not a neanderthal either. "I'm a bloke" would be how I'd put it. I did my time at Uni and earned the piece of paper only to find it means sweet FA in the real world. I work for a multi-nat but would love to run my own small business, humble as that may be. I think being my own boss, while perhaps not as financially stable, would be much more satisfying personally. For the animal lovers I have a large German Shepherd cross who does a passable impersonation of a puppy even though he weighs in at more that 46 kilos. We found him at the Lost Dogs Home and from the moment I saw him I knew he was my dog. A better natured animal would be hard to find.
Well now, I seem to have run out of things to say for the moment. I hope to make this little collection of thoughts reasonably interesting but don't hold your breath. I'll mostly just talk about what interests me or comment on events around Melbourne and internationally. To be honest there are far better established bloggers who do a much better job so I'll be making good use of links to their sites. I have no illusions about becoming a great writer or blogger of any renown but it's something I want to have a crack at, so let's see where it goes.
Catch you soon....
Ok, so thinking of a decent first post isn't that straight forward. Perhaps a couple of comments on things that are going on around me...
Well the F1 was on yesterday and for a change Schumacher didn't win. Nice change actually but still a boring race all the same. At least the V8s occasionally pass each other. Check out this link for Tim Blair's take on the race.
http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/trackback/1380/GdUdIWBh/
As an aside, one of the first things I want to learn is how to change the ugly links into something shorter and more readable.
The World Superbikes are almost with us again, thank God! Being a motorbike tragic I'm really excited about this year's competition. With six Aussies in the line up and Troy Corser already with one win under his belt from the first round it's shaping up to be a good season. For the rundown on the first round pay a visit here... http://www.mcnews.com.au/motorcycleracing2005/superbike/round1_losail/sbk_r1.htm
I was planning on staying down there ("down there" being Phillip Island) with a group of people but that got spannered when the girlfriend made one too many decrees and we parted ways......and she then hooked up with the next best, taking my spot. Thanks for that..*muffled expletive*. I'm still welcome to stay so I'm told. Somehow I can't see that happening.
In local racing news there was a tragic accident a the Broadford round of the Victorian Road Racing Championship. Richard Cant lost his life racing in the 250cc class after crashing and being hit by two following bikes. He is survived by his wife Tiffany and their as yet unborn child. I was there that day I can tell you that it was the worst day I've spent at a track. These days with rider gear and on-track help at such a high standard you just don't expect to see a man die just having a go around a small circuit against some mates. Here's a pic of Richard at the 2003 GP.
http://www.mcnews.com.au/Riders/richard_cant/tragedy_announce.htm
If you are wondering who's behind this embryo of a blog, I'm a guy, living in Melbourne. I've been here for that last few years after having lived pretty much everywhere else in Australia and more than a few places overseas. I love Thai food, cold beer and fast motorbikes. I don't score highly on the PC charts but I'm not a neanderthal either. "I'm a bloke" would be how I'd put it. I did my time at Uni and earned the piece of paper only to find it means sweet FA in the real world. I work for a multi-nat but would love to run my own small business, humble as that may be. I think being my own boss, while perhaps not as financially stable, would be much more satisfying personally. For the animal lovers I have a large German Shepherd cross who does a passable impersonation of a puppy even though he weighs in at more that 46 kilos. We found him at the Lost Dogs Home and from the moment I saw him I knew he was my dog. A better natured animal would be hard to find.
Well now, I seem to have run out of things to say for the moment. I hope to make this little collection of thoughts reasonably interesting but don't hold your breath. I'll mostly just talk about what interests me or comment on events around Melbourne and internationally. To be honest there are far better established bloggers who do a much better job so I'll be making good use of links to their sites. I have no illusions about becoming a great writer or blogger of any renown but it's something I want to have a crack at, so let's see where it goes.
Catch you soon....
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