Winter is damn cold, yes, even in Spain. I highly dislike being cold and riding has been put aside for some time. In the meantime, I enjoy myself watching Moto GP races I have missed and classic races. One race to mention in particular is the 1994 Suzuka race where Norifumi Abe, a wild card rider, battled with the veterans Doohan and Schwantz and showed no fear. I can easily understand that this rider would have impressed a young Valentino Rossi – he was actually so inspired that he chose Rossifumi as his first nickname.
If you have time to kill, I warmly recommend the off season Moto GP pass. 24.95 Euros and you can fill day and night until the new season begins.
It is mid-December and in Madrid it is still possible to commute to work on a motorbike. Nevermind that I wished that the heated grips still worked or that someone broke the lock to my topcase.
Life is good, and one of these days, I’ll be able to upload a post from the MotoGP weekend in Valencia…
I noticed yesterday that my brake light was not working, well actually it was working but on all the time. This made me very nervous riding to work. Spanish drivers keep a next-to-nothing margin so I just tried to brake as little as possible. Still so, being a polite Swede I still felt I had to stop for crossings, and this morning I nearly got run over by the car behind me, who apparently didn’t intend to stop to let the people cross.
Luckily it is very easy to get an appointment in a garage here, I’m always surprised. Tomorrow I can ride and brake in peace, for 48 euros problem is solved.
At the same time I tried to make an appointment for the upcoming revision, I reckon it takes 2-3 weeks to cover the mileage left before maintanence is due. Well no need for an appointment, I was told to leave the bike when I felt like it and it would be taken care of the following day. All those years riding Ducati in Sweden makes it difficult to understand that I actually don’t have to make an appointment 4 month (or more) in advance.
My Monday-edition Ducati Photo cortesy: Lillemor Johansson
I got used to always bringing jump-start cables and charging the battery in the kitchen since this beauty had an electrical problem. The nearest garage, (and only one within 400km) wouldn’t help me until October. You don’t want to hear that when you call in June.
