Month: May 2011

Remembering Moto GP Estoril

In Sweden, Good Friday or the first of May are the traditional days for inaguration rides and events marking the beginning of the sesason. Fortunately for me, I live a better biker-life at the moment and can enjoy riding my Ducati almost the whole year.

This Easter and 1st of May, though, my Ducati was stored away since I was travelling by other means. On the 1st of May I was at the circuit of Estoril enjoying the MotoGP. The weather forecast told us to gear up for rain. I was looking forward to seeing a wet race live since I find these races more exciting, especially if the conditons change and they have to pit for other tyres. But quite the opposite, it turned out to be a very sunny and warm day wich indeed is better for both audience and riders.

I was seated in corner 9, the chicane. I was able to get a good view of the bikes passing since this is a low speed corner and I could enjoy many overtakes and a few (injury-free) crashes. Awesome spot – but no TV monitors. This left me a bit puzzled since wI never knew when or how something had happened that changed the order in the group. But if you want to get the best view of a race you should at tay home watching TV, this is the truth. At sight, on the other hand, you get a full experience, the feel, smell and sound of the bikes.

In Moto 2, the italian rider Ianonne who started 14th on the grid managed to fight his way up to the leading group. Then pushing to hard he visited the sand pit and finally passing the finish line in 13th place.

Ianonne gets the finall push and the marshals runs off to safety
Iannone gets the final push and the marshals runs off to safety

Another highlight was the Spanish rider Bautista. It was absolutely fantastic to hear the crowds roar when he passes – lap after lap, even though he was many seconds behind the rest he still fought on, and could finish the race despite his injury (broken leg!). At the end of the race one of the marshals bows to the ground to show how impressed he is. I would have done the same. What an amazing effort!

After getting home, I watched all the races again over the internet, to fill in the gaps and to smile in memory of all the things happening in “my corner” of the track.

Rossi finally ends 5th after fighting with Dovizioso
Rossi finally ends 5th after fighting with Dovizioso

Sick & Tired

Literally, that is what I am and have been for almost a week. I’m on the mend but it scares me to remember the days with high fever and hallucinations. I have not been this sick since I lived with my parents, now I had to manage all on my own – quite hard work being sick!

pills to make me happy?
pills to make me happy?

I used to say that when I’m riding my Ducati I fear only two things: idiots turning left and water in the electronics. Now I fear a third thing:  getting sick along the route and not being able to continue, or take care of myself. This week of illness has not only drained all my energy but also my inspiration.

I also feel slightly stressed. There were plenty of things that I was supposed to do last week, not to mention during the weekend. I had planned to do long dayrides to see if my back holds and build my durability and strength. Riding a bike is a physical activity, a sport. You need muscle strength to do it, especially if you want to ride long distances on a café-bike, like I do. This might be needless to explain for other bikers, but I find that for non-riders this is often hard to understand.

My Ducati could do with a good wash as well. I did drag myself out there to cover it for the heavy rain on Saturday. That was done by pure love and I had to rest for hours after that. I had an idea of at least cleaning the rims today, but that just has to wait, it was like I was glued to the sofa. (Which indeed is a step up from the bed, proof of healing).

Some really good news though – I made plans with my Estonian friend Anneli and she will join me in Sweden and we’ll ride to England together. This is just as nice as unexpected. Apparently she is alone representing her country at the WIMA rally as well.

Happy memories from meeting Anneli at the Japanese WIMA rally
Happy memories from meeting Anneli at the Japanese WIMA rally

And also, I managed to make the reservation for the Kiel-Gothenburg ferry before I got sick. So now I have a shared cabin and my membership in SMC gave me a flexi-ticket instead of a budget for the same price. That is something to be happy about, ferries are expensive even though I saved about 20 euros by sharing a cabin. Now I’m thinking of that poor woman who will share it with me. Bikers tend to not smell like roses after a few days intensive riding, even the female ones.

going north

Today I put decent amount of work into my travel plan. Now the route for step one: “Going north” is planned and accommodations booked, except last night which is a wild card. Its tricky to find hostels or hotels online for France and Germany, especially within my budget.

This is what the route roughly will look like, rides divided on 7 days:
Visa större karta

Next I have to call Stena Line to see if I can make a reservation in a shared female cabin… there is supposed to be an option but not available online. Annoying but worth investigating, travelling alone gets expensive when you have to pay for doubles.