Long Way Down/Round shop

For those Long Way Down, Long Way Round, Race to Dakar etc. fans, click on the banner to go to the online shop for loads of good stuff.

Aprilia Mana X

This is the "Mana X" concept from Aprilia ... very nice. It has a V2 engine (850 same as Aprilia Mana), automatic transmission.





* from motoflash.ro

Universal Motorcycle hand signals

Campania Fireblade

Riders for health

Riders for health is a great initiative born in motogp. It's all about bringing the necessary medicine to people that need it but are in remote areas and the access is difficult. Below is a short tail of the riders for health initiative conducted by McGregor and Boorman.
If you want to support or find out more about this initiative, visit riders.org

Hitler got a present, a GS :)

I finished this year's moto season - 7932km

Well, the day came for me to put by bike in a garage for the winter ... not one of the happiest days of my life :(
I striped her down and took the battery out (I had a challenge with a suborn screw). The meteorologists say that winter is coming so it is time for another passion - snowboarding!! Here are some pictures from today.

Tour through Cheia, Brasov, Buzau, Bucuresti

Today I went for a ride with 3 other guys (all 3 on BMW's). We left Bucharest at 10:00 AM and came back at around 19:00, 440km. It was a beautiful sunny day, worm weather ... I don't think this will happen again until spring! I was always last since I was the least experienced of all with the weakest bike but going slower has it's advantages ... I had more time to enjoy the splendid scenery :) We had a late lunch at hotel Ciuta.

 

 

 

 

Ducati Monster 1100

Moto GP 2008 season finish

It's official, Valentino Rossi is the World Champion at the end of a fantastic 2008 season! The key race was in Laguna Seca where Rossi battled like a lion with Stoner to take his first ever victory on the american soil! Today in Valencia, in the last race of the season, Stoner won with Pedrosa 2nd and Rossi 3rd (coming from the 10 place on the starting grid).
Rossi broke another record, related to the total number of points gathered in a season - 373! He is also the only pilot to have scored points in all the races this season, finishing 16 times on the podium - wining 9 races.

Vaaaai Vale!

2009 under the sign of the Yamaha YZF R1

Rossi wins in Sepang!

I know this has become a habit this year (thank god) but ... Rossi wins again! He started from 2nd in Malaysia with Pedrosa in pole position and Lorenzo 3rd.
Everybody expected a shotgun start from Pedrosa, as he usually does when e starts first, but Rossi managed to keep the rhythm after passing an excelent Dovitiozo!

He stayed behind the Spaniard for a couple of laps then overtook him when the poor dude least expected it. From that point onwards there was no race at the front, Rossi pulling away swiftly.
The show was behind where we had a good battle between Dovitiozo and Hayden. It was the first opportunity for the italian to get his first potium in motogp and for Hayden to beat his future replacement in Team Honda HRC. In the end, after a number of overtakings on both sides, Divitiozo managed to keep the 3rd place. Stoner finished 6th (i think) and was dead tired and dehidrated at the end of the race.
Note: the temperature was 42C in the shade and in 250 class Passini did not manage to finish the race due to exhaustion (he was not able to get off the byke once he got to the boxes) and Simoncelli, although happy, wasn't abble to talk in the official interviews at the end of the race.

Vaaai Vale! Next race in Valencia next week.

Hondboata

Last weekend I went to "Poiana Tapului". Left Bucharest on Friday evening and on the way to the mountains we saw a beautiful sun set! Saturday clear sky and a great view over the Caraiman mountain. We took the cabin up the mountain and visited the "old ladies" and the sphinx.


Unfortunately on Sunday the weather turned and it rained like hell!

I left on by Hondboata at 12 and at 14:00 I was in Bucharest. On the way it rained so hard that the rain drops looked like hale / small pieces of ice bouncing off me and off the bike.
The wet gear did a fair job but the boots were soaked and every time i changed gears there was a squish accompanied by a wet/cold feeling :)
The gloves were soaked as well and my hands had a very strong pink color when i took the gloves off.
One weird thing is that at a certain point the visor of the helmet was fogy although I have a pin lock system...

The bike handled superbly and was always on track - no slide what so ever.

Rossi wins the world title!

Vale did it again and won another world title after a 2 year break! He did it on the Motegi circuit in Japan, beating on the track Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner - in this order.
After the race the mayor of Tavulia signed and sealed his helmet and officialesed Rossi's nomination as mayor of the city for 1 day :)
The race was not spectaculous but it proved once again the great yeat that Rossi had!
Vaaaaai Vale!

Rossi's interview after his victory at Laguna Seca

Valentino Rossi wins an amazing race at Laguna Seca!

VALENTINO ROSSI IS THE RACE WINER AT LAGUNA SECA (USA)! It was an amazing race where Rossi battled with Stoner 2/3 of the race. In lap 24 Stoner brakes late and lost the grip on the rear tire. Avoiding the impact with Rossi he ended up outside the circuit and went down. He lost a lot of time but still managed to finish 2nd due to the amazing speed at which he and Rossi traveled. They passed each other several times BUT, after a long time, I saw the old Rossi back! He had a very good start and passed Stoner (who had the pole position) in the cork screw chicane! He was aggressive, determined, fast and always had a response to Stoner's attacks! One of the most beautiful races I have ever seen and Rossi won!
They both have Bridgestone tires (the first 4 that finished the race have Bridgestone) and the same compound for the front (medium) and the rear (hard).
Lorenzo "managed" to fly again at the beginning of the race and screwed his left leg again. He lost grip with his rear tire and in the middle of a curve and when he got it back the bike threw him off for a huge leap!
Gooooooooo Rossi!

in trafic ...

New winscreen on my Honda

I decided to install a windscreen (Puig, adjustable hight) on my bike. The last trip to Vama Veche determined me to get it. At high speed is priceless!
Since I went "shopping" I went for broke and bought equipment for Moni as well + rain gear included ... for Moni a flashy green :):)

I was afraid I won't like it with the windscreen on but I do, uhhh.

My first real ride!

This weekend I went to the Black Sea, more precisely, to Vama Veche together with Moni and Pode. Since Moni doesn't have all the motorcycle equipment (yet) she went with Pode's car and I took my Honda. I managed to get there and back as quick as they did with his Seat Leon FR but my ass hurts :) In Vama there were a lot of good looking bikes like the ones in the picture but the coolest ones arrived Saturday night. A crew of slovak riders came on BMW's ... nice image. Anyway, on the way back it rained like hell until Constanta and I was as wet as it gets but i was dry when I reached Bucharest. Besides, the moisture was absorbed by the cohorts of mosquitoes that i murdered on the way :)

In Catalunya - 1st Pedrosa, 2nd Rossi 3rd Stoner

Race winner Dani Pedrosa and his fellow podium finishers all faced the cameras after the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya to give their thoughts on the Barcelona showdown.

Dani Pedrosa – Race Winner

`I don't know where the pace came from. It was a fantastic race, amazing to win. I won in 125cc and 250cc here, so now to win in MotoGP is great. The other two were pushing hard. I went to a different setting than yesterday, and it worked.´

Valentino Rossi – Second Place

`What a race! I´m very happy; I had a lot of fun with overtaking. I´m pleased with 20 points, but knew that if we were going to beat Dani then we´d have to start at the front. It was a great battle with Casey, which I enjoyed a lot.´

Casey Stoner – Third Place

`For some reason we had no rear feeling entering the corners from the first lap. I lost a lot of confidence because in these corners you need hard braking as you´re cornering. Generally I wasn't happy at all with my riding today. In the end it was just a battle with vale at the end; he was close to me a few times, I could feel him. I have to be happy with a podium in any case.´

* article & photo from www.motogp.com