I had tried earlier this year to sell my Ducati 750SS, but admittedly it's a slow market and I was asking a premium. Fast-forward to June and the weather has finally turned to summer. Time to take the bike off the market and ride! Paul suggested the following route for this Sunday:
As you can tell, it's a good day trip. But especially long if it's your second ride of the year! My body is tired after this trip, but so worth it. Here are the pics (click for hi-res):
Yep, this is what the Oregon Coast looks like when it's 70 degrees and sunny outside!
13 hours 20 minutes later, we have arrived in Salt Lake City for the SBK racing at Miller Motorsports Park this weekend. I have to say that this is one of the longest road trips I've taken in some time, but the XC70 was a really comfortable and capable car for this journey.
Paul and I are here to enjoy the races as RareSportBikesForSale.com is now an official supporter of the Moto Forza Veloce Racing Aprilia team! Keep an eye on the RSBFS Facebook page for some live blogging and pictures from the pits.
Here are some snapshots from our long day on the road:
Decals applied the night before (new logo coming soon!)
Freaking cold over the pass!
A stop for lunch in the middle of nowhere
Lunch done right on the road
We were treated to beautiful vistas like this all day long
Lame self portrait in progress
Arrival at the hotel! If I was a little dumber I would've waited for 9:16
A proper unwinding after a long drive: Pokerstars, Heineken, and deli plate
And ready for tomorrow's action
The Moto Forza Veloce Racing team heads out early for qualifying tomorrow morning at 8:30 and we're going to make a serious effort to be there -- and hopefully see them positioned in the top 10 in a field of 45 (17/45 today).
Posted by Dan | Posted in motorcycles | Posted on 23-05-2010
Just a quick post with pictures from this years 2010 OVM vintage motorcycle show. Scott, Paul, Alex and I all came out to see our favorite local show of the year and the crazy weather we've been having didn't disappoint. Feels more like March as Brad mentioned with all the cold rain and hail we've had this week!
Here's a glimpse of all the enthusiasts that came out despite the wet conditions (click for full size pano):
And the complete and rather thin gallery (can't shoot in pouring rain):
Always a great show and a nice chance to catch up with like minded friends in the area. See you all next year!
dc
By the way -- what do you guys think of the new look of the website? I plan to rotate out the backgrounds with new pictures periodically.
Just a quick post to pimp out our new Soccer Mom ride, a 2002 Volvo XC70 Cross Country:
A quick side trip with Paul and his wife to Van Duzer Winery:
And the next day we hit Mary's Peak for a little hike in the snow with our St. Bernard:
As you can tell, we have fallen in love with this car! The e28 535 has been a great car to us, but it was time for my wife to get something nice considering how hard she works for it. Shana is so enamoured with the car that she's actually going to start her own blog based around our trips in that car. I'm really excited for her and eager to help her with her first blog!
Posted by Dan | Posted in Automotive | Posted on 27-01-2010
I've been meaning to make this post for a while. I spotted this scanned article on VWVortex over the holidays and it's been on my to-post list since then.
My Dad was always a Road & Track reader when I was growing up, and he used to bring home his latest issue after a business trip for me to read. I vividly remember this March 1991 issue because soon after I read it, I went down to Trump's Hobbies in town and placed a special order for the . I painted it black on black because I have no skills building models and it turned out awesome! I wish I had a picture.
Paul Frere was a fantastic writer and an accomplished race car driver. He was well respected in his field and here are some of his quotes from the article:
[...] but the 535i-based B10 Biturbo is surely the most impressive of them all: a comfortable 4-door that blends Rolls-Royce silence with Testarossa performance, with road manner to match.
The B10 reached a maximum speed of 181 mph. At such speeds, the car feels entirely stable, with no suggestion of the front end getting light or any tendency to wander.
Thanks to the low inertia of the two small turbo chargers and to the electronic wastegate control, response is nearly immediate n al most any circumstance.
Ever since reading that article I've wanted to have a real Alpina. I'm going to have to keep an even closer eye on the classifieds having reread that article again! Please feel free to leave a comment with your Alpina experiences!
Here are a few e34 Alpina videos for you to snack on tonight:
Paul and I are going to prep the Rabbit for sale soon. It's been a fantastic introduction to track days, auto-x, and hillclimbs, but it's time to move on to new endeavors.
That said, if I was going to be looking to get back in, I'd be looking for a used race car that was already built. And this little Datsun 1200 looks like a perfect way to get to the next level: amateur road racing. Making the step from track days to actual road racing is an expensive proposition, especially if the car you plan to campaign isn't prepped already. Think cage, fuel cell, fire suppression... not to mention the gear! Might as well start with a budget car that's ready to go considering. Hell, the DCOE's and Minilites have to be worth half of the asking!
If you're curious about budget racing, check out a new site I've set up for some friends that are going ChumpCar Racing: RoadToChumpCar.com Sounds like Leo and Gabe are guest driving a car late in January at Willow Springs. I'm really excited for them and looking forward to following their progress. Good luck guys!
Paul sent me an IM tonight with this link and it's too good a deal not to share. If you're in the Pacific Northwest and looking for a modern-classic Alfa Romeo, this could be your car:
For sale is a very good condition GTV6 with 78k miles. I have owned it for about 10 years. Runs and drives great but has the usual fragile 2nd gear synchro. Tires are nearly new on period correct 15 inch OZ wheels. Windows work great, all gauges work as they should, as does all lights and signals. AC system is intact but missing the belt. Leather interior in good shape. Paint is shiny with minor defects here and there, no major dents or dings. Surface rust in spare tire well only. No leaks of any kind. I just had the timing belt, tensioner, water pump and all seals at the front of the engine replaced so I can drive it around for the summer. Always passes DEQ with ease. Sale includes original Campy wheels with tires.
Being a 1984 and 25 years old, this car qualifies for all kinds of 'classic' category events. It's been on my mind recently when thinking about shows, vintage racing, etc... For $3500, this looks like it'd be a great entry into that arena.
I've been meaning to attend the DesmoNorthwest BBQ for at least two years in a row and this year I had no excuse not to. Naturally I hit my buddy Paul up to join me; he can't say no to rides over 100 miles, let alone nearly 650 miles. In two days total! Yep, we decided to ride up and back on Saturday and Sunday.
But the leg up on Saturday was the real meat of the trip. We rode back roads from Corvallis to Edgefield in Troutdale for a late breakfast. We both had the bacon scramble with fresh baby red tomatoes and smothered in freshly grated Parmesan. Delicious!
From there we hit I-84 for a quick blast to Hood River, where we took the bridge across the Columbia to Washington, and headed North for Mt. St. Helens. Turns out this area is a meca for sportbike riders as we must have seen nearly 100 riders in this area. Most of the roads are fantastic and the vistas are even more amazing.
We continued on past Randle through the Mt. Rainier area, past Mt. Adams, through Enumclaw, and then on to Issaquah. All in all, I think we were on the freeway less than an hour and half all day. Here is our route:
Unfortunately when you're behind on your day long back roads trip, you don't stop for pictures. But luckily lots of other Flickr users have. Here is what you can expect from the area:
After riding some of the best, and some of the worst, that SW Washington had to offer, we were beat. Ten and a half hours later, we were hurting to say the least! Paul being the saint he is, and having water-tight hard bags on the VFR, went and got us some refreshments to unwind with after our journey:
The next day we cleaned up the bikes and headed for the BBQ. After supporting the Ducati website for nearly 2 years, I was able to connect names and faces. I already knew the club was full of great people and it was a really nice gathering of like minded enthusiasts. Here are some pics of the rides that showed up:
The worst part of the trip was definitely the last leg, from Issaquah to home via I-5. A record heat wave started that afternoon and we rode home in some seriously hot air on the blacktop for over 5 hours. It was like being blasted from all angles with heat guns no matter how fast or slow we managed. So we ended up stopping about every hour to rehydrate and recharge. Not much choice as we both had to be at work on time the next day.
All that said, I'm really glad we did this trip. Not only did I finally get to meet some great Ducatisti, I proved to myself I'm still capable of a big trip. I can't wait to go again!
The VFR750 and 750SS attack the Willamette Valley again, but this time the VFR is being piloted by Blake in a very generous loaner agreement with Paul. What can I say, the man is the shit for extending such an offer!
We took the back roads on Thursday for a killer ride up to Portland to visit with our SEO and PPC Vendor, Anvil Media Inc., on official OSU business. The weather on the way up was spectacular and we were treated to the best the valley has to offer while passing up all the various crops Oregon is known for: grass seed, wheat, filberts, strawberries, hops, grapes, green beans, corn, and many other types of organic produce. A ride like this reminds me why we live where we do!
Here are a couple pics from the Wheatland Ferry where we crossed the Willamette, and the current Anvil Media headquarters:
Here is the Google Map of our route up and pictures from the trip:
To follow up our trip, we assaulted Mary's Peak on Saturday morning via back roads again of course! Highway 20 leading to the peak has recently been repaved at the base of the mountain and the road to the summit is still one of the best hillclimbs out there in terms of corners per mile and scenic views. Here are the pics from the Peak:
Many thanks to Paul for loaning out the bike to Blake, the best in SEO and Social Media for hosting us: Anvil Media, and rural Oregon for best and most scenic roads anywhere!
Long story short, it has been my day. I tied my fastest time up the hill today -- although Paul is right behind me with his best time ever at the 'rock and is only 6 tenths behind me with a matching 2:13! But best of all, I just won the 50-50 raffle drawing for $310! The other $310 goes to the Oakridge Volunteer Fire Department, who did a amazing job today, on the 4th of July, but especially considering the kick ass job they did responding to a Ford Focus that met a Douglas fir at speed. The driver walked away and even attended the pizza dinner afterwards!
In other news, Ed's time still stands even though we we're wearing slicks on the car now. But we have one day left and we both feel confident now that we've felt the incredible difference between street and race tires.
And of course no Rabbit Track Day car post would be complete without a huge shout out to Paul Breen who built the most solid and reliable vehicle we could've wished for with the budget we started out with 6 years ago. Thank you Paul!
Here is my 2009 Larison Rock Hillclimb gallery so far:
