Find me on the Road (or Trail)

November 18, 2010

Random ramblings

Getting all the wrong ideas for the right reasons. Or the other way round? Whatever... Don't mind the guys, of course I am talking about the new Triumph 800 / 800 XC. Any similarity with the BMW F650 is of course purely coincidental and unintended. But since I have a weak spot for the Triumph family I have to say I really, REALLY like it.

The weather at the We(s)t Coast is indeed WET. Big letters. Note to self: Need to buy rain coat (my winter coat is good in cold but fails under wet conditions).

Bad weather is good for making plans, to be more precise: travel plans.

Germany - visiting family is always great, you instantly recall why you left (Mom, JUST KIDDING!!!)

New Zealand - the annual pilgrimage to headquarters - strictly business of course (PAAARTY!)

Maui - A week of sand and surf, cocktails and handsome... hubby. (YES!)

It is great to have something to look forward to. Life is good!

November 15, 2010

Die Jagd nach dem verlorenen Tageslicht

Seit der Zeitumstellung bekommen wir vom Tag nicht mehr soviel mit. Es dämmert, wenn Sonja zur Arbeit fährt, und um halb fünf nachmittags verabschiedet sich das Tageslicht bereits wieder. Damit haben sich abendliche Spaziergänge durch den Park erst einmal erledigt. Das haben wir aber trotz grau-in-grauem Wetter am Wochenende nachgeholt.

Zum Frische-Luft-Schnappen bietet sich ja unser Shoreline Park mit seinen Trails an, hier kann man locker 8 bis 12km herumlaufen.

Regen und Stürme der letzten Tage haben inzwischen die meisten Bäume entblättert.

Die Wolken hängen tief und obwohl es erst drei Uhr nachmittags ist, schalten sich bereits die Strassenlaternen an.

Gerade zu dieser Jahreszeit kann man hervorragend Vögel beobachten. Unter anderem hatten wir das Glück, heute einen Blue Heron, unseren alten Bekannten Mr. Bald Eagle und, gerade frisch eingetroffen, die Familie Bufflehead begrüssen zu können. Leider war das Licht zum Fotografieren zu schlecht, so dass wir zur Illustration auf Wikimedia Bilder zurück greifen.

Bufflehead

Bald Eagle

Blue Heron

November 13, 2010

A Short History of Motorcycles (mine, that is...)

Taking up Geoff's challenge to find embarrassing motorcycle pictures I dug into my piles of old photos and memorabilia of my past... and came up with... nothing. Since childhood days there are not too many pictures of me. In fact I fiercely hated having my picture taken. Hence I can only contribute a picture of little me.

For photos with motorcycle related content it is pretty much the same. There is almost no visible evidence that I or my two-wheelers ever existed. I hold a motorcycle driver's license for almost twenty years, but alas, I didn't do a good job documenting this during the pre-digital era.

Other than Geoff, I had the good fortune of being born too late, and therefore the fashion of the 70's left me unscathed. My school uniform consisted of jeans, parka and sneakers. The attire hasn't changed much since, so instead of pictures taken in different decades, just imagine several younger me's dressed in exactly these.

I apologize to Geoff that I won't be able to return a few good chuckles on my account.

However, here is a complete list of my two-wheeled companions. You might notice, that at no time I have settled on a specific brand, model or style. See for yourself:

The first bunch: 1992 - 1998