Terrot blog

Not to infer that my travels rate the same as doing it on a 1928 but I can relate to the way people do come up to you and ask Why are you here ? Where are you going ?
The look on their faces when you say - no reason and no idea - is priceless.
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Wonderful Terrot blog

Don't worry if you don't speak French just look at the great images and the story tells itself.
http://terrotenmontagne.canalblog.com/
Merci Claude mon ami
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The funeral of Marco Simoncelli - a very Italian affair

The funeral was streamed live via the web. I joined it as the clerics lined up at the front went through various stock rituals. In front of them were on either side Simoncelli's 250 Gilera and 800 Honda with the gray coffin bedecked with white flowers between. The Church was full as was a football pitch sized area outside which had relayed sound and a large screen. This event showed what a patrician society Italy still is as those present where overwhelmingly male. The great kind bear that is Paulo Simoncelli received a constant stream of male hugs whilst his mother and sister just seemed overlooked. The congregation included a large number of jockey sized blokes with regulation cropped hair and fuzzy half grown beards. The way the camera lingered on some of them they must be celebrities but most were lost on me. Not so Agostini, very elder statesman like, Rossi, the distraught Capirossi, Dovizioso, the neatly turned out Lorenzo, Vito Guareschi still with shocked 1000 yard stare and Dr Costa who gave a warmly received speech in which I think he said that Simoncelli was a champion and his life a victory.
A very nice and unexpected touch was the placing of the coffin on a carpet on the ground so people could simply come and sit around it for a while. Some Italian versions of rock music were played a couple of times and then the coffin was gently driven away.
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Wayne Hamilton

All the Tweets on the loss of Simoncelli brought back to mind the Manx 11 and another young rider, Wayne Hamilton.
Watching from the drive of the bungalow before Douglas Rd corner I could clearly see his face as he went by rushing into the bend. Then he did not appear as expected on the next lap. Fellow marshal Mit had been on the radio and turned to say - incident at Westwood, about 300 metres to our left but out of our sight. When the helicopter went over we feared the worst and tragically it was.
It was a numbing experience to be directly linked to such an event.
I can only send sympathies to the riders grief stricken Tweets following the loss of #58 SIC, the sudden brutality of such a way to die is hard to take.
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Marco Simoncelli

Was watching Grandson Tommy playing football this Sunday morning when a series of Tweets came up to announce that #58 Sic had been killed at Sepang. Later on I watched the recording to see that he had unfortunately been run over by others during the incident. He now joins Jarno Saarinen, Craig Jones and Ben Gaultrey in suffering this fate. It was spooky to see a Tweet from Leon Haslam ref the Dan Wheldon incident that when your number is up that's that and then this happened.
It brought to mind a link on a forum which was a report on the Monza incident about 40 years ago when both Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini lost their lives. This said that they collided and went off track when Pasolini's 2 stroke twin Harley badged Aermachi seized in front of Saarinen. Saarinen was sitting up when struck by some of the other 6 bikes that went down in the wreckage. It also said that the engine design made seizures inevitable as the top half was watercooled but the bottom was not thus creating 2 running temperatures in the same engine. Who knows.
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Flying Brick Treffen 2012

Woohoo ! The trip is on for the end of April. Even better Claude wants to come. He lives en route so great to meet up and go together. He has a spotless K1. Be great to see it on the road.
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My late father on his Rudge Sports Special outfit

Here is my late father taken in 1938. The Rudge Sports Special was the touring version of the Ulster but with conventional valve layout rather than the radial valves of the Ulster. I love the upswept pipes, huge headlight and monster pipe to the front wheel - did it have a hydraulic front brake ?
Shortly after this was taken my father signed up for the army, REME, and was posted to Eygpt for 5 1/2 years. In his absence his father sold the outfit without telling him ! My father was naturally upset about this when he finally got home but was more upset that his violin, which was in the sidecar, had gone with it.
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A wonderful 1950s nostalgia trip with history, illustrations and video

My friend Claude kindly sent me this link
http://www.go-faster.com/SS100.html
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Dijon Moto Legendes 26-27 May 12

Targeting this classic bike meet as a long weekend trip. For a literally cooler ride I am thinking of riding through the night. It will be a non toll road trip and camping too !
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