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I was there for the very first Paris-Darkar (then). in front of the Eiffel Tower. The Trocadero gardens where accessible by cars. What was great about the few first editions, is that just about anybody could participate. Over the years, the amateurish riders that first did the Dakar evolved to be what it is today. There is a "classic" section now in the Dakar, where you can race with an older vehicle. But you still need a strong finance support to do it. Sadly, there is no classic motorcycle section, but maybe in the future?

Since we are having a tire discussion, I thought you might be interested, if you did not already know, how tires came about, and why Michelin got to be behind a lot of innovations. I am posting this video, that you can get autotranslated in your preferred language if you watch it on YouTube, because sadly, Michelin is shutting down more plants in France and in Europe, because of the competition from countries where labor is a lot cheaper. There is a lot of interesting facts in this video. For your information "Les Echos" is a financial newspaper.

Does she want to have a theme for that Quilt? or rather a patchwork of anything goes? I have some T-shirts (I had to google what a Tee was by the way!) which I have obtained along my expatriation, but It may be good to have the T-shirts related to something?

Visiting, yes. Hopefully, none of my two Guzzi are going to require hospital works for a long time.

According to the media, Stefan Pierer has resigned from the KTM CEO position, although he will remain involved with the restructuring of the company. The total debt is more than previously announced. It is above 2 Billions Euros, not 1.8 Billions as said before. KTM has confirmed their participation to the 2025 MotoGP, in spite of everything. The plan is to pay 30% of the debt to the creditors within two years; that plan will be voted on February 25th, and will pretty much determine the future of the KTM brand. As posted elsewhere, KTM won the 2025 Dakar with Daniel Sanders.

@PJPR01 MPH has closed down the Park Ten Avenue location... I went today, and they were finishing the packing. I spoke to Davey, he does not know yet when they are going to be up and running at the new place. I am sad to have lost the convenience to have a garage working on Moto Guzzi 10 minutes from home. According to Mike, business will be unaffected, and I understand why. His customers get their bikes delivered by transporters, they don't really ride them. So it does not matter where.

I got confused because you used miles instead of km as the unit of distance... unless of course The Netherlands have replaced the metric system with the Imperial one since I left Europe?

Is it too much? I am not sure what you imply... In Texas, 70 miles is like next door...

Which name?

You know how much they wanted to charge me for a paint job on the 911? 50k!!! The guy said because it is very challenging on a convertible...

@PJPR01 I am certain you can A.I. this as well as I do, but just in case: Downsides to vinyl wrapping your car Wraps look great and can bring a quick pop of color or a unique pattern to your car, but they’re not always the best choice. You’ll need to consider the downsides of a vinyl wrap, which can be significant, depending on where you live and how you use your vehicle. Vinyl requires attention and care, and you can’t park for too long in direct sun or extremely hot areas. You’ll need to clean the surface regularly, especially if you see bird droppings, bugs, or salt/sand — but automatic or touchless car washes are a big no-no, and you can’t use a harsh abrasive cleaner. While wraps look and feel like regular paint, you should treat them like a sticker, which they are. The hassle might outweigh any benefits you get.

Why has it got to be wrap? Can it be powder coating of some sort? is wrap reliable long term? is it not going to start peeling like we see on some cars? I am told the peeling on cars is due to what manufacturers used to put on top of the paint job, to protect it, but it turns out like a snake sheding. Also, given the Texas weather and hamering sun, wouldn't the wrap be susceptible to degrade very fast?

You are more certainly correct. My experience with snow tires is a bit dated now. When I was in France, I was going to the ski stations for the winter hollidays, but also every other week-end. Before we got the fast trains. I always installed winter tires on my cars, and drove to Les Alpes. My winter tires would wear out very quickly when driving on the dry highways. Today's compounds are obviously a lot better than those in the 70's.

As long as you are aware of their limitations, if you use them all year round.

Also, remember that my native language was not English, and I am in the winter part of my life. I learned English in UK, during summer vacations; I always took it as a punishment since I was the only kid spending two months in miserable weather while all my friends were at the seashore in France. In my school days, we did not have English classes. My father always thought that in future, speaking English would be important. He was my Jules Verne... lol... he was in WWII, so I am guessing he had had to deal with multiple languages. Actually he spoke fluent Russian and German, strangely, no English. However, I discovered that learning UK English with British or Scottish accent did not prepare me well for working mainly with people from Louisiana or Texas, who I had a very hard time to understand. I remember that on my first job, on a rig named "The Texas Star", the company representative was from deep Louisiana, I asked what language he was speaking to me... If you combine the misinterpretation that always occur when you type, because you know what you mean, but you need to pass it on to the reader, and if your reader comes from a different world, he may not get the subtleties. So, Quiproquo...

My school was situated on the other side of Montmartre from where I lived. So I did have to walk uphill both ways. I walked uphill up to the tip, and downhill then. But to come back, I had to walk uphill again. You could have walked around if you had wanted to, but it was longer. I did not catch the underlying meaning for that reason.

As a matter of fact, I am born in Paris, IXth arrondissement, close to the Sacré Cœur Basilica, which is on a hill... so, yes. My school was rue Lepic, about 5 minutes walk, but in Paris, nothing is far away. That being said, we tend to forget that our parents, born in the 1900, mine in rural area, had no buses, and if they lived in farms, they had to walk quite a bit. In these days, few people had cars, roads were not like today's. My father had to walk one hour to, and from to school, including when it snowed. And back then, you had snow every winter. I don't know if we had it easy before, or is it easier now? but in Paris, you can always take the Metro if the weather is bad. Fact is, rural areas are having less and less population, thus, less kids; facilities are closing, so your next school, hospital, post-office, bank, grocery store, are getting futher and further. So much further, than soon, we will need helicopters to bring our kids to school!

There is also something that is maybe more common in Europe, especially in mountain regions. You always keep a set of winter tires for your car. They are usually studded, so you can still use them on non icy or snowed roads, at limited speed. They are actually required by traffic regulations. Obviously, you need to be living in a zone that gets snow every year. But still.

Houston town hall recommended to NOT go to work, and work from home for all those that could. All the schools are closed! I cannot remember a single time when schools were closed when I was in France and we had snow. We actually walked to school by ourselves. So maybe this is the difference with Houston. Most of the kids are driven or take buses to go to school. Tomorrow is going to be terrible, because all the snow is already melting, and once the temperatures go back down during the nice, it is going to be iced.

Absolutely! it is turning to sleet already, because the temperature went above 0 degC / 32 degF. They put a lot of chemical on the roads to melt the snow.

Nothing special, but for Houston, it is... Last snow was in 2021; news flash, yes, we have power shortages again...

They got AI translating in Maleysian...

Daniel Sanders won the Dakar 2025 for KTM! with panache! he won four of the early stages, including three de seguito, for a total stages won of 5. Can you believe this guy is a farmer, with a special interest in bees? ha, I understand now, bees give him wings, not the energy drink....