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I told you we could count on the other inmates on the ward to judge pure, crystalline sanity when they see it.

What’s the optimum no of bikes to own? Easy: However many you currently own + 1 more Can you ever have enough?

@guzzigary nailed it.

That's an easy one: enough minus 1

Not sure what you are asking, but it seems "prudent" and "racy" always showed up on opposite sides of the campus . . .

Thanks Mick. Bloody glad we missed that eh!

G'day Mick Just back on Wed. No, we avoided the city of churches but skirted round it...Mannum, Hahndorf, Goolwa and Victor Harbour then Portland on the way back managing to get home before the statewide storms! We missed the 25mm of rain in 10 minutes and cricket ball sized hail in Casterton by a day but it's now just hitting Melbourne and heading for us in Gippsland. I wish I was able to post the TV news footage from Casterton but beyond my abilities I'm afraid. Anyways we had a great time over there. Only Hahndorf and Victor Harbour were crowded but this is due to small streets limited parking and most of Adelaide flocks to these places on weekends when the weathers good. Absolutely nothing like the congestion of Europe and Nth America though! I remember when I first left NZ back in 1980 and feeling claustrophobia for the first time of my life in the small, overcrowded streets of London! And that was then so hate to think what it's like now...! Gotta love the wide- open spaces and small populations down under eh! Now, I have a week left before returning to the grindstone...bugger they go quick don't they. Cheers

My phone feed is telling me that Dorna would like for Rossi to quit diss-ing Marc over '15. It's not good for the sport. I suppose Dorna should've done something back in '15?

VIN says 4, which means 2004 build. Bike first registered March 2006

I have often had the same thoughts The problem is I would find it difficult to part with my black Griso which I’ve owned for the past 11 years. I have the same problems with my various V11 Sports purchased before I acquired the Coppa & RC; I can’t really bear to sell them, and IMO the red frame models are different enough to the black framed Ohlins equipped specials to justify keeping them all This photo of my Griso, Coppa & RC is weird. The wide angle has stretched the wheelbases of the Griso & RC

I think that recording could use a bit more reverb...

The wife and I just got back from our vacation. We pull an RV trailer with our Jeep. So generally we avoid hotels. And we tend to go places that are in the middle of nowhere. So for the most part we had no issues with crowds. I do also live the other side of this, I live near a ski resort and on the way to a mountain lake. So I do run into "tourists" in the summer and winter. They are often annoying, but I don't dwell on it and typically just move on. I did almost get a speeding ticket one time because of them, I was so annoyed with the line of tourists clogging the road I turned around and went racing off the other way (right into a cop who was looking for speeding tourists). Luckily the cop realized I was a local and let me off with a warning.

interesting… I don’t recall the new Stelvio being that tall, at least compared to the V85. I popped off my V85 at the John Day gathering and took the new Stelvio for a spin, and was giggling happy with it, despite an assumption I wouldn’t like it. i think the tank is higher, but don’t recall the seat height being any taller, fwiw. it certainly is a whole different machine than our beloved v11’s. the “involvement” of the slipper clutch when approaching twisties on decel was impressive for me on that brief ride, but not necessarily desirable….i’m just not used to it, and it would add to the existing need to remember you’re on a V11 if hopping between bikes, to avoid bad results on the V11 entering a corner. but she was lovely.

As for cost, do you want the real amount ... or what I told Kathi?

Looks like a great trip. The day-of-the-week floor mats were funny. Bummer about the spill - and that's about what I thought would happen to the pipes on new engines. Cattle in the road... classic. Scenery... stunning. And Brazilian Pillion... well that just sounds right.

This was a particularly challenging photo-collage to select a single favorite. Yet, I chose this one. Certainly for the captivating character depicted, gelato in hand, but made ever more curious by the story behind the fleeting donna misteriosa in the background . . . and that longing look .

best of the bunch. heck of a deal

Timely topic regarding holidays as we're just loading up the car for a trip to South Australia, and I believe it's school hols over there.... Don't expect anywhere near the crowds of elsewhere though! Geez, it even looks like the weather might come to the party too! Anyways folk's stay safe and catch you all in a week or so. Cheers Guzzler

it's not like the riders have their panties in a bunch. Geeees, where's the hate? Fights? Yelling? Crap, they're laughing about it like buddies.

I agree with you. I have to come back on my previous statement that Marc Marquez would be doing the "arbitrage" between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. When you look at the last two GP, Aragon and Misano, Marc Marquez becomes untouchable as soon as the track condition are complicated. In Aragon, the asphalt was terrible after the two showers on Friday and Saturday night. In Misano, the rain during the race demonstrated that our two major protagonists can't fare up to Marc Marquez. Bagnaia admitted that he could not keep Marc's pace. After the next Misano GP, the caravan embarks for the offshore dates, and there, anything can happen in terms of weather. If any of these poor conditions are met, my money is on Marc Marquez to be able to reel in the two top Ducatisti. 53 points difference with Jorge Martin and 7 more GP left, Marc can easily come back.

I’d say that while yes, it is a ‘Western World’ phenomenon it is generally more of an anglophone western phenomenon, certainly my experiences in non-English speaking cultures in the last couple of decades have generally been more favourable. There is also the simple matter of history. History and sums! For the last half millenium at least western culture has been, both geographically and politically dominant. The historical narrative, at least the one most people absorb, is western and Eurocentric. Now other countries and cultures are becoming wealthier a proportion of their citizens will want to travel and when you are looking at countries like China and India with populations of over a billion a piece it doesn’t take many as a percentage to mean that their chosen destinations will become overwhelmed. Throw in ‘Our’ own boomers who have retired and want to see a bit of the world, often in a cocooned and ‘Safe’, ie, familiar environment that never takes them out of their comfort zone and it all turns into a rapidly evolving train wreck! I don’t think that the majority of these people are bad or unpleasant. Just boorish impatient and demanding. The way Jude and I tackle it is probably a bit unusual in that we try to avoid big ticket ‘Name’ destinations like the plague and if we do want to go somewhere where you know it’s always going to be insanely busy we go, as we do in most places, in the depths of winter as this tends to thin the tourists out a bit. On top of this we like to go to, and actively prefer, to stay in poorer, less developed and smaller towns and villages. Apart from the fact locals in bars and restaurants are always fascinated by WHY these strange, little old white haired pensioner people have come all the way from Australia to their little turdpoke village in Abruzzo or wherever! Then they want to know if you are on first name terms with their cousin in Griffith in the Riverina in NSW or their son Claudio who is a waiter in Adelaide etc etc ! In the UK we only drop down below the imaginary line we’ve drawn between the Bristol Channel and the Wash to visit relatives as anywhere below that line is an overpriced zoo with far, far too many people, most of whom think they are terribly special and are crying out for a good ‘Throat Punch’! Above the line things are infinitely better. There are still pockets of asshattery and some of the cities are really grim after 45 years of almost uninterrupted Tory destruction but the population density is way lower, it’s cheaper and the locals, (Outside the grim cities.) are friendly and helpful. It is also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution with history and museums to die for. The countryside, even in mid winter when it can be pretty bleak, is beautiful and once you get into Northumbria and Northumberland and thence on to Scotland the geography and landscapes are simply breathtaking. There is plenty of interesting Roman history to tickle my fancy in the borderlands areas and once into the highlands the austere magnificence is hard to beat although the lack of trees in the far north can cause issues! In January on one trip we were travelling around the A9 across the top of Scotland and had picked up some picnic vittles in Wick. After nearly getting stuck when it stated snowing the weather cleared and we continued but Jude got a bee in her bonnet about finding a picnic table and eating out of the car. Somewhere just west of Thurso she spotted a side road with a sign depicting a picnic spot so we hung a right and went down to the small rest area on the coast. It had a beautiful little beach, (Surprisingly devoid of naked Germans because as you know wherever you go in the world if you find a nice beach it will have some ageing banker from Düsseldorf and his hausfrau lying around with their kit off! Even in Scotland in January!) The absence of trees though belied the fact that it was in fact blowing about a force five gale! As we gathered up our meal of some cold cuts and proper English Cheddar the sun broke through the clouds and shafts of sunlight speared down onto the snow covered Orkney islands to the north, it was like the dawn of the world and stunning to behold! When we got out of the car though the gale was all too apparent but my darling helpmeet insisted we go and sit at the table, which we duly did and I set about hacking up the Baguette I’d bought in Wick. Jude unwrapped the 1/2 Kg of delicious cloth wrapped cheddar and sat it down on the table just as a particularly strong gust of wind hit, picked it up and sent it whistling off in the direction of Stromness never to be seen again! One assumes some lucky guillemot or puffin probably dined well that day! Anyway, after that even Jude thought discretion was the better part of valour and we retreated back to the car! And continued our trip! Sure, in the summer it would have been warmer, the wind would probably of been gentler and we might of got to eat some cheese! But at the same time the A9 across the top of Scotland is in some places only a single lane road with passing pull-offs. In summer it would be gridlocked with morons towing caravans and other assorted mouth breathers! We were probably lucky to see two cars an hour! Anyway! Enough. My main message is pick the ‘Wrong’ time to travel and you’ll find it’s likely to be the ‘Right’ time!