Feliz Navidad - December 25, 2011

Haha…Felis Navidad..it’s 2:00am and there is still fireworks!!  What a happy group of people…

Ok no sleeping in today......It’s Christmas!!  Merry Christmas everyone!!

Ok we’re off to the Malecon (boardwalk) again today…but it’s a very different day…..the streets are deserted, not many cars or people…well it is early and the parties went on quite late last night….there are signs of the fun all over the place…smoldering wood at the side of the road and singed scraps of paper all over, plactic cups and food wrappers.

Yeah Christmas!!

 Fire starters

 Empty Streets

 We have seen a lot of kids in santa outfits...here's one on a new bike..

 A Christmas walk on the Malecon.....

Oh and baby Jesus does not make an appearance in the nativity scene until today...cuz he was born today...of course....

Since it’s Christmas it was a great lazy day…swimming, reading and lots of music.

Just Chillin' - December 24th

Mike and I were up early for a walk on the Malacon, Breakfast at the restaurant Jardin…pancakes and fruit for Mike, a veggie omlet with tomatoes and beans for me…fresh orange juice and great coffee for both.

With full stomachs we hiked over to Walmart for a bit of last day Christmas shopping…..goofy gifts of course….

The pool was perfect around 3:00 so I had to take a dip….cold but refreshing….I made enough noise that the boys and the dogs ended up in with me!!

We had a wonderful dinner of pork roast, rice and green beans…a great bottle (or bottles) of wine all set up in front of the grande chim-in-e-a, on a Christmas table.

After dinner we brought out the goofy gifts and had a great laugh…more swimming before a final warm up by the fire…..

.....more swimming before a final warm up by the fire…...then off to bed…

not much sleep tonight as the locals celebrated most of the night with fire works….not the kind we have back home…these were big bang fireworks!!!!!!

The Boys Arrive - December 23, 2011

We started our day today just like we do in Canada…we had strong black coffee with a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast then were off to the gym.  The gym was just like most others in North America….lots of equipment, cubbies for your stuff, showers, a spin class, and a stretching room….the big difference was the 5 dollars a month fee.

Today is a big day as the boys (Ben and Rich) arrive tonight from Toronto…I think even the dogs know something big is going to happen and are on high alert.

We spent most of the day exploring the Town and walking the Malecon (boardwalk) along the Lake….which is a great place to meet fellow Gringo’s walking their dogs.

We had dinner at “Tango” Restaurant which we were going to do last February but ran out of time….It’s a Gringo favorite and the food reflected that…..hot rolls, great steaks and huge portions!  We met Paul and his gang here before trips to the airport to pick up “the kids”.

The boys plane was delayed just a bit but the reaction was as expected….happy people and crazy dogs!!

Oh, Think twice, cus it’s another day for you and me in Paradise.  Phil Collins

The Gringo's quest - December 22, 2011

Today we went on a quest to visit some Gringo friends in a neighboring town about 20km west of Ajicic.

Mike and I each rode out along the main lake road now newly tarred and chipped with fresh gooey tar and round ball bearing rocks…yikes what a mess.  The tar is thin in places so no stones stick but the middle of the lanes and the edges are deep with excess stones.  Then there is the problem of the rocks flying up off the passing cars, bouncing off arms, legs, bike and helmet.  It’s lie riding in a popcorn machine.

Aaron, Tim and Ron we miss riding with you…I’m on “my Orange bike” so yours are all available….it’s just not the same….Ok Coast to Coast is coming up in February…soooo….drink rum, drink rum, drink rum, drink rum and come along with us….

 So we did find our friends and spent a great afternoon visiting and catching up on old times.  We got a tour of the neighbourhood and even ran into a fellow biker.  We raided some of the fruit trees growing in the neighbouring yards of the empty Gringo houses.  Empty due to the Mexican fear up North, the economy and the Holidays.

One quest fullfiulled - we headed off to find a few bottles of wine for the night....wow cheap price but great tasting top wines...what could be better.....

Market Day - December 21

December 21, 2011

Wow today is our Anniversary…21 years ago today we were married in the Domician Republic in a City on the South side of the island named Boca Chica......on the beach.  Great to beack in a warm place to celebrate.

We walked the market today (held once a week in Ajicic).  Sellers have everything from cd’s and clothes to vegetables, nuts and chilies… It’s also a bit overwhelming....but fun....the smells, sounds the people.  We bought some fruit, a leather wallet and a cowboy hat for Mike…

We spent the rest of the day walking the boardwalk and checking out the Town and taking a short ride on the GS1200 (sorry Rich.....Mike is on you bike today).

Dinner was at GO restaurant on the north side of Town in the restaurant we ate in last year and loved.  The view is great and the food is superb...Shashimi, Arugula salad and coconut, lental and lime soup...Mike had a perfect steak!!

Oh yeah..and just a bit of alchol was consumed...

Ajicic Mexico!

December 19 and 20, 2011

We are very happy to be back in Aicic (on Lake Chapala) in central Mexico with John and Lynn, the dog pack Jackson, Willy and Ginny, and the roof cat, cha cha.  I’m sitting in “Our room” typing away and listening to the sounds of the Town waking up.  The roosters start crowing at around 6:00 that wakes up the rest of the birds, the dogs, and the people.  Ajicic is wide awake and full of life by 8:00… especially today, Wednesday, as it is market day in Town and the farmers and merchants come in from other Towns to sell their wares…..so there is a lot going on.

We flew out of Toronto on the 19^th (thanks for driving mom and dad), into Dallas Fort Worth where we had a very long layover to check out the truly amazing airport.  With 5 terminals in one, and a great monorail connecting them all together, we quickly used up our 6 hour layover with shopping, and eating before the short flight to Guadalaraja.

We must say a big thank-you to the 2 wonderful Mexican ladies who helped us fill in our immigration cards (as the airline ran out of English forms).  Customs was no big deal in either the US or Mexico, the Mexican officers were very welcoming while the Americans were gruff and bored.  We got to push the lottery button…you know the one where green means you go through…and red means that your bags get hand searched….we got green!!  There were a TONS of people at the airport, waiting for friends and family or just curious on a Monday night…so it was a bit intimidating when we first came out of the security area….wondering if we are going to get harassed by locals…or targeted for a mugging…..but of course no way.  We were left alone to do our own thing…which was to grab a Taxi to Ajicic.

Here's some pictures of where were staying....Beautiful!

Yesterday we went with John and Lynne to pick up one of the bikes from the BMW dealership in Guadaljara and a chiminea (outdoor fireplace) from a section of Town known for it’s pottery.  John drove the truck and trailer through the City like an expert…not an easy feat with the traffic, pedestrians and narrow streets.  It was a great way to see the City.

Backyard Motocross

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evxDj_mchng

Backyard Motocross

After riding... lets face it, across North America, including Canada, the US and Mexico, racing fast racecars at tracks from here to Virginia, crossing 12,000+ ft mountain passes in crazy conditions on Adventure Touring motorcycles - what did we do this weekend?  We had an entirely entertaining time in our very own backyard!  We like to call it Backyard Motocross.  Thanks to our buddies Ben and Rich on their 250 and 450's we did some fall landscaping.
Check it out!
MnM

VIR

Saturday September 17, 2011

V.I.R. Virginia International Raceway…a private “Country Club” for car racers…..wow what a dream.

On board with Mike heading into the esses at 120mph

Mike and I are here on an invite from Mark, driver extraordinaire and Marketing and Sales Manager for TMI Autotech, Inc.  TMI builds, sells and maintains the Arial Atom open wheeled car.  Virginia is their home track and we are racing in the spec series with 19 other drivers.  All these other drivers bought the car for the series….TMI’s job is to maintain the cars and have them ready for the drivers on the Saturday practice session.

I’m sitting here in the driver’s hospitality tent, which is a 60 x 40 foot tent off the side of a transport truck race hauler.  The tent is equipped with lights, speakers, lots of ceiling fans and a tiled floor.  At one end of the tent is the garage where the TMI guys prep 3 cars at a time for the next event (practice, qualifying or a race) and at the other end we’ve got a number of tables and chairs placed for the drivers meeting, lunch and general hanging around.  It’s here where the drivers are standing around in groups talking about their last few laps on the track and how they can improve their next few laps.  There are drivers from all over: the east coast, Connecticut, and Delaware; west coast California, and the locale boys, Ohio and Virginia.  Dr’s, Lawyers, developers and successful businessmen, these guys range in age from 18 to their late 50’s with a common thread of all wanting to be the top dog at the end of the day.  Being a spec series the only real difference between the cars is the driver. So there ARE a lot of bragging rights on the line.

Oversteer through Turn 1 = Fun.  Keep y'r foot in'r boy! Get'm

The weekend, Saturday and Sunday, is broken into 2 separate events with each beginning with 3 - 10 minuet practice sessions, one qualifier and a race at the end of each day.  Lots of track time.

Pre event, there is a lot of activity around both the cars and drivers; mirrors are being adjusted, tire pressures set and drivers buckled in.   The smell of race fuel and adrenalin is in the air.

Mike had a lot of learning to do for this weekend, with both the car anf=d the track to figure out..  It was off to a slow start for the entire field as the weather was cold and overcast.  Improving every lap, Mike did manage to figure out the track and the car, talking to other drivers about gearing and the lines of the track….he was 4^th fastest in the rain but ended up only qualifying 10^th in the dry.

The cars are equipped with telemetry so every lap is filmed from a cameras mounted on the car pointed at both the track and the drivers. …G-force, speed, shift points and a few other things are recorded on a chip that can be downloaded to a laptop. All the times are posted live on various televisions throughout the padock area so you can see who is doing what.

Mike did a great job moving up to finish 4^th overall.

Looking forward to a great day tomorrow.

Mike is all smiles during debriefing with his favourite engineer Janson

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Wow it’s a great day already....the sun is out and it’s a bit closer to “normal” temperature in the low 20’s.

We have just completed the first practice and to me the best part of any race event is the huge smiles on the drivers faces when they take their helmets off.  And you should see this group…ear to ear smiles.

Looking along the Grid for Sunday's race.  Mike's #65 car in the foreground.

Like yesterday there were a few practices qualifying and the final race of the weekend….wow I have never seen anything like this…..guys were spinning off all over the track, smoke constantly coming from locked tires in the corners we could see (1 to 5).

Included in the spinfest was Mike as he touched the grass on the outside of turn 3 trying to pass the guy in front of him in 3rd and spun off the track….and then again in turn 4 on cold grass covered tires (but not loosing a position).  What Mike did not know was the guy in second had also spun out and was now back in the pack.

Mike made it up to 4^th position but finished in 6^th. 

We had a great weekend of new and old friends and great racing on one amazing facility.  If you ever get the chance you have to drive one of these fast, great sounding cars! 

Thanks Mark, Dave and the TMI boys!!!

Riding with Harleys

Ok to make the Harley ride perfect…ride a Harley…..hahaha…..this was the first time in four years that Mike and I have ridden Ron and Deb’s ride both on Harley’s.  Usually it’s the BMW and the Kawasawki both with the square luggage boxes and the knobbie tires…

It’s not the kind of riding I would want to do every weekend, but riding in formation with a bunch of bikes is pretty cool….riding with a bunch of Harleys is cooler….

Check out the pictures!