ok the trip is final and I'm leaving in 120 minute for twainharte...


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and hope to return there at the 6th of June 2010 in one piece...

23.05.2010	Sunday	Mason Valley
24.05.2010	Monday	Hickison Petroglyth Recreation Site
25.05.2010	Tuesday	Bonneville Salt Flats Statepark
26.05.2010	Wednesday	Salt Lake City
27.05.2010	Thursday	Salt Lake City
28.05.2010	Friday	Bryce Canyon
29.05.2010	Saturday	Bryce Canyon
30.05.2010	Sunday	Bryce Canyon
31.05.2010	Monday	Zion
01.06.2010	Tuesday	Zion
02.06.2010	Wednesday	Valley of Fire
03.06.2010	Thursday	Death Valley
04.06.2010	Friday	Death Valley
05.06.2010	Saturday	Twain Harte
06.06.2010	Sunday	Twain Harte

trip preparations,

time to plan what I have to pack so I don't forget half of it like always.

sleep:

• sleeping pad - x
• sleeping bag  - x - need to buy one which is warmer for the next trip...
• tent - x
• sleeping bag liner - x

cooking:

• stove - x
• knife - x
• spoon/fork - x
• 2 x gas - x
• water filter - x
• 2 x 750ml bottles - x 

clothing

• fleece pants - x
• fleece shirt  - x
• under armor shirt - x
• under armor pants - x 
• under armor socks - x
• ultra light zip off pants - x
• small hat - x
• light jacket or sweater

general

• 10 feet of rope - x
• hand warmers - x
• some bags
• head light - x
• camera -x
• memory card - x
• backup battery
• matches - x
• spare keys -x
• sun glases - x
• ear plugs - x
• latern - x
• knife sharpener - x
• backup knife - x

hygiene

• sun creme - x
• toilet paper - x
• towel - x
• tooth brush - x
• spare contact lenses - x
• contact solution
• allergy pills - x
• band aid - x

entertainment

• books
• ipod - x
• iphone - x
• headphones - x
• iPod charger - x

motorcycle

• backup gloves - x
• rain gear - x
• brush - x
• oil for chain - x

did I forget anything?

the preparations for my utah trip are slowly coming to an end and the wallet is close to be exhausted. Well I spend about 400$ more on the preparation than I wanted too, but better safe than 'skin surgery'.

Also thanks to a friend it looks like ashley is finally enjoying her on the back of the R6 and survived a bit over 60 miles last weekend none stop. Now I just need to find a way to feel comfortable my self with having her on the back at higher speeds. Just to worried that I loose her.

Guess we will add this to the stable next january if everything works out.

right now I'm trying to discover a new hobby, short making a chess set from firewood and learning to work with pine and alder wood.

Wedding time,

well yet another pair of friends decides to tie the knot and so It was a great possibility for me to grab my photo equipment and shoot this event. Running around, switching lenses forth and back. Trying to not interfere and avoiding the whole 'pose here' or 'smile there' disaster.

but I truly hope I never meet a groom with a white reflective tuxedo again...

Oh yeah I also had the chance to provide my delicious smoked tri tip. Which is rather simple to make:

ingredients:

• 3-4lbs tri tip
• salt/pepper/cardamon
• 5lbs charcoal
• 4 pieces of wood, hickory

preparation:

mix a handfull of pepper and salt with 2-3 teaspoons of cardamon. Rub it all over the meat and let rest for 2-4 hours, depending on desired taste.

prepare smoker and heat up to 220F and let the meat smoke for 30 minutes a pound. Remove around 160F internal temperature.

let rest over night and serve the next morning. TADA

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And another jacket...

Well after 2 month my latest (third!) motorcycle jacket broke now to during basic riding I gave up on the Tourmaster brand and returned it to the store. So I was looking around for a new jacket to replace it.

To say it short, they had to happen a Dainese perforated leather jacket in my size for sale. Can't mention the price, it was just to good to be true. But it was a lot less than Dainese normally sells for.

Now I have a bright jacket and finally not the 'Geek' look anymore as I had with bright yellow one.
Another nice side effect is that the jacket is a lot tighter and closer to the body so the wind pulls less on me.

(Sorry sunshine)

Now I still need to get a pair of pants to go with it.

Aventinus

last night I went shopping at my favorite grocery store to get all the ingredients for my by now famous cheese fondue. While I was desperately searching for a lager, which is required my eyes stumbled over a violet/purple bottle of beer, called Aventinus. Understandable I was incredible excited. Since I discovered this beer at a tiny bar in germany 2 years ago and managed to go there with Ashley last christmas and rediscover this beer. Which translated in her steeling my beer...

To avoid this happening again I bought the complete stock of this beer at the store. A whopping 4 bottles. I think someone is going to be very happy wednesday night.

The Streets of San Francisco


The weather is finally getting nicer here in california and so I started to extend my rides from the Davis/Sacramento/Auburn area to the Bay Area.

First stop was my favorite american city, San Francisco and I have to say it's quite different to drive there by motorcycle and not by car.

First of all, you need about 45-50 minutes from Davis to SF, instead of two hours. If you take the bay bridge. Basically traffic jams don't exist anymore, thanks to the california law of splitting lanes. Now if you take the Golden Gate Bridge, you can't split lines anymore. The roads are to narrow and so the way back was more like 2.5 hours and my left hand was killing me after being for 1 hour stuck on the bridge in the traffic jam. Pull clutch in, Pull clutch out, Pull clutch in, Pull clutch out...

Reason of being there?

Now why did I actually go to SF? There is this great store, called Johnson Leathers, which provides custom made armor protection for you and your bike. Obviously I'm not rich enough to spend 1500$ on a custom made outfit. But I did get some underpants, so I can ride in jeans/cargo pants and have impact protection, but sadly barley any abrasion.

They did offer me to make a pair of perforated Leather Pants till the next weekend for 500$ to go with the underpants, but I had to decline. Maybe at the end of the year when my wallet recovered from the trip preparations.

For now I hope to be able to find some mesh pants or leather pants at a motorcycle outlet store for 50-100$ to help with the abrasion.

It is funny, you spend all this money on stuff you never hope to use.

Let's see

200$ 3 Season Jacket, which ripped again. So I have to return them. Maybe tomorrow...
100$ Summer Jacket ( which I already wear, whenever I ride in davis. 80F are already to hot)
230$ Back/Chest protector
180$ Winter/Fall pants
120$ Leather Gloves
400$ Helmet
200$ Protective underpants

Sadly my favorite 'motorcycle' headphones broke last week and I don't really want to spend another 200$ on them to buy them again. I mean they only lasted 8 Month, which does not speak of the quality. But they did have great noise isolation.

Maybe I give a Scala G4 or Blueant F4 a shot next? I just don't like to be forced to connect my IPhone/IPod over Bluetooth. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer good old wires for music transfer. I tried to use my old Sennheiser CX300 today, but they don't isolate the wind noise and so are useless. Guess I have to give up on music and use foam ear plugs again to filter these frequencies.

Another reason for going to San Francisco is because I really love to ride the motorcycle and to explore parts of california I would never see by car. Why would you ever take back roads in a car?

On a funny note, I had no problems starting the bike at all at the steep hills in San Francisco. Sure it was a bit noisy and whiny, but I did not stall it and it had more than enough power to keep going. Now If I could avoid to get my legs roasted by the engine heat in stop and go traffic . This would be a plus...

The scotch tasting experience.

For some reason a lot of people around me like scotch, mostly single malts and so I thought I need to test this sometimes to see what this all is about. Also after my last vodka experience I just can't go near to vodka anymore :(

So after reading up a bit, I found out that there are basically 6 types of whiskey

• bourbon
• canadian
• irish
• scotch
• single malt
• blended
• blended malt

this seems to be all quite pricey and so I decided to stick to scotch for now...

Since I always try to keep an open mind my first approach was 45 days ago trying to get a collection of some cheap too medium priced whiskeys to cover each of the regions with 2 bottes. Why 2? So that I have a comparison and give each region a fair chance. The statistical correct way would be 7 different bottles, but neither my liver nor wallet permits this.

The Regions

Lowland:

nothing in the collection so far, need to find one of these: Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie

Highland:

Glenmorangie Original

Islay:

Bowmore 12
Laguvilan 16, I only tried a glas of it at a party, but it was incredible smooth and tasty. Defiantly my preferred whiskey right now. Now I just need to find a bottle somewhere for under 80$.

Campeltown:

nothing in the collection so far, need to find one of these Glen Scotia, Glengyle and Springbank,

Speyside:

The Maccallan 12

The Glenlivet 12

The Islands:

nothing in the collections yet, but people highly recommend Highland Park.
I did try a tallisker 12 from the Island of Skye and was not a fan of it at all, way to sprity for my taste.

The other whiskeys?

Just for the sake of comparison, I added

blends:

chivas regal 12 - I really don't like it, but it's great for BBQ sauces. I need to get a bottle Johnie Walker Green sometime.

ireland:

Jamison 12

Drinking it?

Since I know from past experiences I neither like whisky in mix drinks (except manhattans, but this is canadian whiskey) or neat or on the rocks. Which means I have to water it down. After a bit of testing It turned out to be the most tasteful with 10-15% water from norway on a glas of scotch. Yes I actually did test water from different countries in different combinations.

Enjoying it?

It is really impressive how much the flavors varies between a highland and an Islay scotch for example. I tried Glenmorangie now several times and I just dont like it for some reasons, except with 40-50% of water and after standing for 10-15 minutes. Than it's quite enjoyable, but not nearly as enjoyable as an Islay.
I can't really say this about all Highland Whiskeys, since I did not try enough to make a statement on this. But most defiantly I like to continue the exploration to Speyside and Islay.

..sometimes I think I just need the right motivation to write...

since it's the end of the month and I'm running out of cash, after all the expenses of this month, I decided to put some more miles on the little honda. Since it shouldn't just sit in the garage and collect dust. Also the tank is full and the tank on the R6 is empty.

It runs great and is fun to ride, even if it's way to small for me. I think I should officially rename it from 'daisy' to clown bike/

I also did the slight mistake and took it on the freeway to see how it performs at 65-75 mph. After all it's supposed to hit 85mph. Well to say short I was scared for my live and happy to get of the freeway at the next exit. The bike is just powerful enough (don't attempt to pass anything) , but just to light at 158kg/350 lbs to withstand the wind from passing cars and trucks. Also the skinny front tire is not helping much either and gets stuck in every potluck pothole.
Short It will not see the freeway again and stay in town and in parking spots for ashley to practice.

On the bright side, Rebels in this price range are selling currently for 2800$, so I should be able to sell it for what I bought it for + registration once the time comes.

I also think it shrunk in the rain...

last night I encountered the first snatch with my upcoming road trip.

I was not able to pack all my stuff on the bike and don't even have enough space to take the camera with me with more than a single lens. This is just unfair.

The I ordered two bungee nets to see If i can use them to tie down my tent/sleeping pad/sleeping bag on top of the tail-bag. It's somehow the only chance to move it.

On the bright side my seat upgrade arrived and after getting used to it, it works quite well. It insulates me a bit more from the engine heat and dampens quite nice, while even raising me about half an inch - an inch. (1.3 - 2.6 cm) higher. Which relaxes the riding position a bit and decreases my knee angle. Actually while writing this I notice that my legs are not totally cramped up right now, which is normally the case.

The disappointing part is that it removes a bit of feedbag from the bike and you feel like you 'float' on the bike. I know it's the purpose of the pad, just strange. After 200 miles I was still being happy on the bike and was able to take the curves a bit more aggressively, to see how it behaves there. And it works quite well. I do need to push the bike a bit more to counter the floating on the pad to the right or the left, but overall I easily double the distance I can ride and will see how much I can push the bike tomorrow. I really need to get some pants next. At 80F+ my current pants just cling to me and are incredible uncomfortable. I hope to get this fixed at the first of the may weekend, once I got money again, now if I just could raise the handle bars an inch and move the controls an inch back I would be in heaven. But I think they call this a yamaha FJR and it would make more sense to trade the bike instead of investing money in it.

I also managed to submit my abstract for the conference in amsterdam and paid for the registration. Short I will be there soonish, but now my credit card is maxed out with the tire purchase, hotel costs and registration fee for 2 conferences, well I should be reimbursed in june-july.

One another note, I'm riding the R6 now since 5000 miles + without any major technical issues. I even managed yesterday to replace the brake fluid, which only took an hour for all 3 brakes, after my practice run on the Rebel. (This did take about 3 hours for one brake and spilled fluid all over the floor)

Last, but not least. I managed to sign the lease for a townhouse in north davis for the next year. It's a bit early, but I hope all works out with the visa. In the worst case I have to sublease it to someone.

My vacation is now roughly one month away and the whole setup for the 'Expedition' falls into place, more or less, but got more expensive than expected.

Got

• new tires
• tire patch kit
• saddle bags
• tail bag
• tank bag
• tent
• sleeping bag
• camping kitchen (mini stove)
• ultra light gear for different temperatures
• Airhawk seat for the bike
• touring windscreen
• gps mount
• digital camera - D80
• digital video camera
• 16GB + 8GB SD Card
• wired charging system for GPS and Phone into the bike
• tripod
• water filter
• sun lotion
• my standard hiking hat
• bungee cords

Needed:

• a pair of motorcycle pant's, since my over pants are getting way to hot and won't keep the protectors in place
• small can of chain wax to carry with me
• 1 gallon fuel tank for worst case scenarios
• camel back for water

ah it happened again, I missed the death valley 'flower show' again. It only happens for a week or two a year

I'm slowly making progress with my vacation plans and it all starts to come together. My main goal is to keep it between 2-4h of riding each day and camp as much as possible while doing it. So this is the current route.

Now I just have to find a way to strap a gallon of gas and a gallon of water to the bike. Next to the tent, laptop, conference outfit, hiking outfit and liners.


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the perfect crepe recipe

I think since close to 5 years I try now to create the perfect crepe recipe and I think today I succeded!

Current recipe for sweet crepes

ingredients

3 large eggs
2 table spoons melted butter
2 cups of flour
3 cups of 1% milk
1/2 table spoon vanilla extract
2 table spoon white cane sugar
1 zest of an orange

directions

put the flour into a bowl
add the butter
add the milk
add the orange zest
mix this all together till it’s smooth
add the eggs
mix it all together
add the vanilla extract
add the sugar
mix it all together

slightly grease a pan with some butter over medium heat and start making the crepes.

They will be thin and delicious. Perfect to be served with some vanilla ice cream and apple sauce.

upcoming project for April, checking the valve clearance before my bike trip:

http://www.r6messagenet.com/forums/r6-how-guides/14272-how-valve-clearance-check-adjustment.html

and no it's not a joke, but I'm not going to pay 1200-1500$ for the adjustment. I also need new brake pads.

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Mein april projekt wird das messen und justieren des Ventil Spielraums an der R6 sein. Ja ich koennte zum Mechaniker meines Vertrauens gehen, aber der will dann gleich wieder 1200-1500$ fuer das justieren.

Ich glaube das koennte ich noch hinkriegen. Ich muss sowiso einen Oelwechsel machen. Und die meisten Werkzeuge habe ich eh herumzuliegen.

Achso ich brauche auch mal wieder neue bremsbelaege.

yay my second attempt at cutting a movie is done...



the picture is also much more stable and clearer now. I have to say I'm really impressed by this little camera.

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endlich ist mein Computer fertig mit dem berechnen des zweiten Videos vom Sontag. Und ich bin ziemlich beindruckt von der Bildqulitatet dieser Streichholzschachtel grossen Kamera.

after spending the morning riding the bike all over auburn and forest hill (a touch over 200 mils) I just don't want to sit on the motorcycle anymore, so I spend the evening having a quick photo shoot with 2 young woman for there massage and therapy salon. Pictures coming as soon as the client made there pic. So most likely by the end of the tomorrow or Wednesday.

Now I just need to sort 800 pictures and cut 5 hours movies together to like 3-5 minutes. Not that much fun...

today I finally managed to find the courage to join a local group of riders for my first group ride with 25 other motorcycles. A random mix of Harley's, vulcans, gold-wings and the odd BMW or SuperSport (Like me).

5 hours later or 120 miles I was finally home again. Yes it was a pretty uncomfortable ride, since we were going backroads (which were fun!) at a pace which was frustrating(about 15-20mph mostly), since the cruiser were not able to take the corners faster...

Well tomorrow is another ride and I'm looking forward to it. Video uploads come later, but here is a picture!

surprise surprise a bug promptly killed itself on my camera lenses and smugdes 800 of the 900 pictures...

oh my, my definatly favorite webpage is right now

http://www.ram-mount.com/


I think the right term would be that I could go gaga about all these different mounting solutions. I wish I had known about this when I still had the pickup truck.

Now were can I find a store to play with all these things. I have no idea what I actually could use of this, but the self leveling cupholder is an act of genius.

cupholder

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eine meiner beliebtesten Webseiten ist momentan

http://www.ram-mount.com/


da ich das Konzept einfach nur toll finde und wuenschte nur ich haette die Webseite gefunden als ich noch den Pickup hatte. Nun muss ich nur noch einen Laden finden, welcher die ganzen Module verfuegbar hat, so das ich damit herumspielen kann.

Besonderst den Selbstausrichtenen Becherhalter finde ich einfach nur toll.

Becherhalter

my pathetic shaky first attempt with a way to high compression ratio...


and what is possible with this little camera, once you figure out where to mount it, how to mount it and have quite a good idea how you have to edit movies