Moto GP Austin - COTA

[PJPR01]

Well, that was a fun race to watch in person at the track, and there were some good passes along the way.  Sitting at the top of the hill in Turn 1 afforded a wonderful view of the botched start, the furious speed down the straightaway in front of the grandstands to the crest of the hill and the wonderful lean angles as they make a 150 degree turn...all the while being able to see many of the other turns out over the horizon and a pretty decent view of turns 15/16, coming out of the long curve to 19 and part of 20.   Odd to have Moto 2, then Moto GP, then Moto 3 as a race order...I wonder if that's something they are adopting for future races.

It was a very blustery day ride up and more so on the way back to Houston, but any sunny day of riding is a good one.  At some points the wind reminded me of last year's Cedar Vale, Kansas rally when some of us went riding to Pawnee leaned over at 20 degrees and going straight.  Who knew that sailing and motorcycling could be done at the same time!  The wind did seem to be affecting some sections of the race track for the riders as they fought side blasts from time to time.

Gut feel, but attendance felt very down on Sunday compared to the last 5-6 years I have attended in person, Rossi merchandise was for sale at 50% off, while they were still charging $50 bucks for Marquez T-shirts (too much in my view).  Was great to see a few other Guzzis in the parking lot, one white Norge and a Black California.  Ducati island drew quite a large crowd

Was a fun day at the track all in all, and a nice ride to boot.  I thought about capturing one of the Great Tour of Texas points of interest nearby in Creedmor, but decided to do it in a few weeks when I can loop over to Hill country and capture a few more at a more leisurely pace.

On to the next race now!

[LowRyter]

I like the view from T1

[p6x]

4 hours ago, PJPR01 said:

On to the next race now!

Are you attending anything in Europe?

I recommend Le Mans if you have never been.

Do not try to purchase your tickets using the MotoGP.com site, tickets are sold out.

Go to the local website, to get your tickets: https://billetterie.gpfrancemoto.com/

You can get them DHL'ed to you.

See what you get for 88 Euros for the three days:

General access from Thursday until Sunday;

Priority access to the Motorcycle Parking

Access to the camping zones Moto or Auto

Free access to the natural stands on first come basis

Official program

Meet and great the pilots Friday and Saturday after practices (most likely French pilots only, sorry...)

Live music in the village on Friday and Saturday evening.

Show on Saturday evening.

You  can take a Moto Taxi to the train station and take the TGV to Le Mans.

https://passbike.com/aeroport-de-paris/

I recommend trying it. It is like being on a roller coaster. You will be weaving through the cars; it is legal in France.

Do you want to create one for Houston? we need to get Goldwings though. Do you think there is a market for that here?

 

[PJPR01]

Fantastic ideas P6X, however once I retire and put a limousine service to the airport, it will be with the Range Rover, probably not a Gold Wing.  Houston City traffic is a little too crazy for me to want to do it on a moto day in and day out! 

I hadn't planned on going to any Moto GP races in Europe this year but I would love to get to Le Mans one day to see the track and a race in person, and perhaps also a run around the Nurburgring in the Ring Taxi (pity that the wonderful Sabinet Schmitz is no longer with us), and a visit to the new Porsche Museum. 

Right now I'm contemplating heading to Vienna in July to see The Stones and Robert Cray and visit a good friend there as well as spend some time down in Klagenfurt.  If time permits, a trip to Mandello would be ideal in September for the 100+1 party...not sure I can do both yet.  Too many plans, not enough time yet while still working.  Ironically I would have seen The Stones at COTA late last year, but with Ticketmaster screwing up my refund from the original dates and voiding my tickets, I couldn't get it sorted and never got to see them.  I heard that traffic for the show was a nightmare, but the show was good nonetheless.

By the way...on my route back yesterday from COTA, between Fayetteville and Bellville on FM159, there were lots of fields of Blue bonnets and Indian paint brush...worthy of a drive in case you're still on the lookout for some pictures this year.  

Speaking of TGV,  I wonder if we'll ever see the high speed train between Houston and Dallas actually get built.

[p6x]

11 hours ago, PJPR01 said:

Fayetteville and Bellville on FM159

Found it! thanks.

I will check it out as soon as possible.

11 hours ago, PJPR01 said:

Speaking of TGV,  I wonder if we'll ever see the high speed train between Houston and Dallas actually get built.

Once you get a little taste of how practical fast trains are, you don't want to go back to the tin experience. Traffic between Houston, Austin and Dallas advocate having such a service.

When I was working in Europe, we would always privilege fast trains instead of flying. No extra security, no lines for check in, no extortion fees or haggling for luggage, no luggage carousel, all the space you need for your legs...

Besides, train stations always terminate inside the cities; you don't need to get miles out to go to the airport.

So why still no train between Dallas and Houston? I read that rural land owners don't want to be incommoded by a line running through their property. Same happened in Europe. But once the first line was running, then it became a clear winner.

[PJPR01]

Indeed...I haven't been on the TGV yet, we were moving slower on prior trips in France or by car so didn't have a need at the time, but many times on the fast Intercity trains in Germany/Austria and the Frecciabianca/Frecciarossa in Italy.  I agree, train travel is infinitely more enjoyable than flying in my view, room to walk around, stretch out, take a nap or even an overnighter (did many of these when backpacking around in prior trips).

I do hope that they find another vendor besides Amtrak to run the line, as their safety track record here is not great...if and when the rural land owners decide to sell.  Not sure if the State of Texas will expropriate the land...but it still feels years away from a practical reality.

[p6x]

On 4/11/2022 at 8:48 PM, PJPR01 said:

By the way...on my route back yesterday from COTA, between Fayetteville and Bellville on FM159, there were lots of fields of Blue bonnets and Indian paint brush...worthy of a drive in case you're still on the lookout for some pictures this year.  

Went there today in "reconnaissance", did see some, but not what I was really looking for, which I found later between Belleville and Brenham.

Unfortunately, the field is fenced. There are no posted sign "do not trespass", but I am hesitant to go over the wire. There are no animals.