Closing a chapter.

As of today it's official that I'll give up motorcycling....for a while :).

"Suzi" is up for sale and kept parked until a new owner is found.
I'm not that happy with this particular decision, but I believe it's better this way. It's common for people to care less about the object that is being sold, as they don't perceive it to be theirs anymore. So, I wish to transmit exactly the opposite and I also want the buyer to have it in perfect conditions.

One year and half of pure passion, adrenaline, risks.....and a farewell with mixed feelings.
I was amazed to discover that Andra also shared my second thoughts :); it seems she enjoyed riding the motorcycle more than I imagined.
Beside just riding Suzi, we'll probably miss meeting new motorcyclists, getting out of town with people sharing the same hobby, taking risks and enjoying the adrenaline rush felt every single the speed increased rapidly; when leaning in corners, or when hitting the brakes in case of emergency.. Ok..I should stop now before I change my mind about selling the bike :).

I would like to take some time and mention a few people here, people that we enjoyed meeting and we'd love keeping in touch with:
- Andu and Iona: the first couple we went out with on a motorcycle trip. And not just anywhere, but in the neighboring country Bulgaria. Also, Andu took good care of my motorcycle, as I had ZERO technical knowledge in the beginning. Most of the maintenance we done together served as a lesson for me as well, so I'm still in debt to this guy :D.
- Mihai and Flori: Mihai was the one that kept us united through weekly meetings.
Funny dude.., you never know when he's joking or being serious. Flori is going to be a mom soon! I'm still having a hard time imagining Mihai as a dad, but I'm sure Flori will teach him that :).
- Cata(nk155), Paul(kassu), Marius(mdvd), Mihnea, Andrei & Alina, Fane - we had some really nice trips together; especially the one in Bulgaria where some of us got lost and drove 100km towards Turkey :D.

Well, the decision to buy a motorcycle was a darn good one, despite the risks. It was actually an investment, as we received back quite a lot: friends, knowledge and good times.
But, it was also costly - and not just money - but in terms of time, because I spent a lot of it with learning about motorcycling, maintenance and troubleshooting. Also it was costly for the other hobbies, as I hardly found any time for guitar, photography and reading. I'm not even going to talk about the entrepreneurship learning process which was postponed for quite a while.
So, after one year and a half I decided that it was enough and a break would be really really useful.
It's time to move on and focus on other stuff. We're actually looking forward to the new adventures :)



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Motorcycle - Oil Change

Monday - rain and cold. Tuesday - rain, wind and even colder.. Darn, the motorcycle season can't end so soon.
The oil change had to be postponed, but today we finally managed to do it.

Of course, it didn't go exactly as planned, but when does it..? ;)
First bump: we realized that one wrench was missing from the tools case. Ironically, it was the one that I needed to open the oil drain :). I had to go to the nearest market and buy a new one.
Second bump: because of the drain screw positioning, the wrench barely got some grip on it; an extension would have been ideal. Anyway, we managed to open it, and Andra's help proved essential in this case.

After the hard part was over, we remembered about the photo camera:


I don't really know how she did it, but Andra didn't really get her hands dirty this time. I'll make sure next time she releases the drain screw, that should do it :).

Please ignore Suzi's looks - it rained, got dirty and I didn't get chance to wash it. Also, because of a small incident, the plastic fairing got cracked and I'm waiting for the insurance to solve it soon.


In the end, considering it was a first for us, we did a good job and learned quite a few things from this experience.

Night riders.

With this post I'll finish the "motorcycle" topic (for now), and switch to other things.

So, one of our friends, Mihai, called us one evening and asked if we wanted to get out.
It was the "pleiades night", and we had the chance to watch plenty meteorites falling through the atmosphere.

Mihai waited for us at the usual meeting place, and we hurried away from the city where the light pollution makes the sky observation almost impossible.
Unfortunately, the sky was very cloudy at that time, and after 20 minutes of staring upwards (and getting some neck pains :) ) we decided to do something else: watch the airplanes that were landing or taking off in the airport near Bucharest.
At the airport there were some guards that kept whistling at us to leave the area (although we were on the public domain...); so we moved somewhere else they couldn't say anything :).
Waited for one airplane to pass above us while landing (nice experience), and then headed home.

In another night the experience repeated, but this time without the meteorites :) and with Mihai and his girlfriend Flori waiting for us.
We stopped at the gas station near the airport, left the bikes there and went near the landing strip.
The "cool" sensation was felt again :) as two planes passed roaring above us; and then we went to Baneasa forest.




Test drive with Mihai's motorcycle:


Andra, just loves to catch me in all kind of strange states (no head this time):



Both these small trips were quite fun, and different in the way that it is very quiet at night and there's a sense of serenity just outside the city, away from the crowds, traffic and noise.

Brasov "Aventura" park (motorcycle ride).

This year we visited Aventura park, at the suggestion of two colleagues from work.

We left from Bucharest in a chilly Saturday, around 7.00 o'clock.
Unfortunately we underestimated the morning cold and dressed with summer clothing :). You can imagine the rest..
The fingers froze first, and we had to stop - in the first two hours - at every gas station to wash our hands with hot water.
We have no funny pictures from those first hours, as no one gave a penny on taking photos; and most likely we couldn't had been able to hold the camera, even if we tried :D.

The road was partially ok.
In Ploiesti we had some trafic and very bad road; and near Brasov the asphalt had been cut in some locations in order to be prepared for repairing. Most of these holes were not too deep, but had very sharp edges and were dangerous for the small motorcycle tires. We dodged some, but other ones took us by surprise (especially in turnings).
We were prepared for a flat tire situation (had some special gel spray), but luckily nothing bad happened.

Long story short, we reached Brasov one hour later than planned.
The guys knew a nice mall, so we went there for a quick snack and for staring at the statues :).



oh, I forgot to mention: back then my head had more hair :D.


After leaving the mall, we went straight to the park.
Here started the real adventure, as the park proved to be more than what we expected.
The first tracks we took looked really easy; and of course they were - because were designed for children :) - at roughly 2-3 meters from the ground.
After we got the hang of it, we took more daring and demanding tracks (blue and black).
It was awesome! We weren't expecting it to be so difficult (but pleasant in the same time).
The blue path had various obstacles that required a different approach each time for completion. You had to constantly adapt, as it required most of the time unnatural moves and some also changed halfway.
The cables and ropes that sustained the logs, stairs etc - were tough to anticipate and they were influenced by each move you made.
Balance was the key.




The photos from above are from the black track.
This track was...well...black means deadly :).
Sure you have safety gear, but everything is in hour hands (there are no outside backups).

Most of the exercises were placed at dangerous heights, especially the first ones which were conceived to determine the weaker people to give up in case they felt they couldn't make it (I was very close to call it off, but changed my mind after completing the first two obstacles).




One thing that we did not anticipate, was that the adrenaline rush gave us extra strength for a short period of time, and in the same time drained us of energy.
As the exercises used most of our muscles (especially in the hands), close to the end of the black track we could barely hold anything with our hands (much less the whole body, as the "saucers" obstacle required).
We had to take an exit with two or three obstacles before the finish.

It took us approximately 30 minutes to recover and have enough strength to pilot the motorcycles to the nearest tavern :).

On the way back to Bucharest, the night fell after making 3/4 of the total distance.
The problem was that it caught us while passing through a bad road region, and it wasn't that pleasant :).

Overall it was a very interesting experience that everyone should try. It helps you understand your limits, forces you to stay very calm in situations where the adrenaline and other factors tell otherwise.
Bottom line, this experience can teach one to find balance both mental and physical.

Right now, we're making plans for a comeback to that place.
Care to join? :)

Doftana Valley (motorcycle ride).

Since I've already started documenting motorcycle rides from this year, I'll continue with these and then talk about other, more "conventional" trips.

So, this summer we went to Prahova - Doftana area, in a one day get away - together with a few friends.
We had a very good, sunny weather, fair trafic and partially good roads.

Andra was in charge with the photos, and she surprised me by taking pictures in situations I would have been more conformable with her properly anchored to the motorcycle.












A quick break was taken at a hill peek, from where we could see the entire region.























We stopped near the Paltinu lake and relaxed in the meadow for a while.
With all the barbecue smell from the area, we got corrupted and decided to search for a place to eat something.






















After a last short break and a delicious meal, we returned relaxed and with enough energy for a new full week.

Visiting Bulgaria - Veliko

We recently returned from a trip to Bulgaria - Veliko Tarnovo.
It's the second time we've been to this city this summer, and I have to admit that one of the reasons for going there again is the food they serve at Tempo Pizza :).

Of course it is not just about the food; the city is very nice, small and cozy; the sight is great, there are plenty of things to see and tourist attractions to visit and last but not least there is also the motorcycle ride.
This time was special, as the whole group numbered more motorcycles (7) and people (11) comparing to the previous trip.

Here is our first stop before crossing the border.



















Before going to Veliko, we'd decided to make a detour and visit two monuments 90 km away from the city.
The road we took passed through a mountain area, had many turnings that required low speed and lots of torque, so it was really nice for both pilots and passengers.













A small accident happened: a motorcycle fell, a passenger foot peg broke and we replaced it with what we found in the nature :).






















Finally at the destination:

On the way back, three of us managed to get lost from the group and a new adventure started.
Before mounting the GPS, we drove 100km in the wrong direction - towards Turkey :).
The twilight caught us in mountains and then the darkness fell, fortunately after reaching more normal driving conditions on a national road.
No pictures were taken during this time, as we were all concentrated on to the matter at hand: reaching safe and as fast as possible the Veliko city.
Although we were all very tired because most of the day was spent driving, we still enjoyed the detour and - in the end - none of us regretted getting lost.
I also discovered that driving at night can be really nice, granted that you have a proper road and reasonable traffic.

At the end of the day, we finally had a good meal :) and went to sleep exhausted.
The following day it rained for a couple of hours, so we spent this time visiting the city, shopping (well, the girls did most of the shopping) and talking to locals.













The way home was easy and uneventful.
Because the sky was cloudy and there were chances for rain, we preferred to go straight home, with little stops along the way.

Here are some more random pictures from this trip.