Indy MotoGP

Our posse of ten in ages ranging from 40-something to 60-something met up in Indianapolis this weekend for the motorcycle races down there. Our group had to have won the cleanest bike award as the prep boys were hard at it during the rain Friday night (see picture below). Other than the Friday downpour though, the weather was dry, crisp, and enjoyable through the weekend. Thankfully Hurricane Ike didn't rear his ugly head like last year's race.

The race itself was like the majority of Super Bowls; a blowout. The two riders that were favored (I would quote names but don't know diddly in this arena) wiped out so the winner, Jorge Lorenzo (the Spaniard!) had a huge lead after they went down about mid way through. The whole scene is fun though, regardless of the race outcome. We got to park our motorcycles on the Indy racetrack again this year; no charge and rock star treatment coming and going. The booths had a little of everything. Yamaha had a band in theirs. They were all playing Yamaha instruments and playing them quite well. The Speed Channel had leather couches in theirs. You could see some serious slugs plopped down on the ten or so they had out. Those folks weren't going anywhere soon. It also seemed a requirement to have a poser at each booth. "So, what do you do for a living?" "I pose." It's a job though, eh? Their cheeks must hurt from putting on the fake smile all day. Lastly, I tried real hard not to add to my 200+ t-shirt collection but succumbed during a weak moment. My support group is going to give me the business tomorrow. "Hi, my name is Tim and I have too many t-shirts." "Hi, Tim."

Trail Head

Back in the Riding Saddle

It was a return to the bike tour Thursday evening after a two week vacation hiatus as my fellow riders enjoyed stops to the Keweenaw Peninsula and Delaware. What better place to lose those extra vacation calories than a leisurely ride at Highland Recreation Area? There is NOTHING leisurely about that trail and it kicked our back sides quite well. A many o groans were heard. We survived with only a few whimpers. While we were enjoying a cold beverage after the ride, Jim ran into one of his old neighbors. With that, we all got to relive Jim's dirt roads days (they had it all on the south side of Tipsico!) and attempted to put the Ehgotz family tree together. We didn't do very well with the latter.

Trail Head

Peru - Holy S*** We Are Up High!

When Nancy threw out the invitation last month to go to Peru, I immediately said "Peru, sure, " like I knew all about the Peru scene. After my "yeah" on the RSVP, I went to Google and found out exactly WHERE Peru actually was.

A great place it was. I tried to post various pictures but it will be easier just to say, come on over anytime for a cold beverage and the slide show. If you go, a guided tour covering the Cuzco/Machupiccu area will show you utopia and more. Having the flights, train rides, hostels (new one for me) all set up made it stress free. Be ready for some elevation adjustments though as 12,000 feet had my head thumping pretty well for a few hours there in Cuzco. The guides, Cynthia and Beto (gray coat & red coat pictured below), spoke pretty good English and had some personality to them. The airport in Cuzco is pretty much one runway nestled in the heart of the Andes Mountains. I was having flashes of the movie "Alive" on the flight from Lima. All was well though and the flight into Cuzco was quite a beautiful sight.

Cynthia whisked us away with driver Magno (yes, Magno) and off we went to the Inca world; rocks, rocks, and more rocks! The Incas sure weren't tall as everywhere I went, it was a ducking convention. They had to be some strong people though as seeing these ruins with the rock walls, I can't imagine how they did it. The peak of the tour was Machupicchu, an ancient Inca site rediscovered by an U.S. fella in the early 1900's. Some of the cliffs were 9,000 feet down and it took me a bit to adjust to these incredible views. Nancy on the other hand is fearless and was kicking some backside on the trails. The Inca Bridge Trail has you sign a book to say when you went to the bridge via the trail and sign back in when you return so they know you didn't fall off the cliffs. Serious. I was clutching the wall while Nancy wondered if she could do a handstand on one of the rocks.

The Lima scene was a people watching smorgasbord. Nancy, the travel agent of the year, set us up in a hostel in a very nice section of Lima called Miraflores. The hostel is the way to go if you don't care about hotel fanciness. We paid $90 TOTAL for lodging from Monday-Friday morning. We had a double bed, a shower, and a television with a great location. What else do you need? Having a Spanish speaking girlfriend, as Nancy is a high school Spanish teacher, is a bonus. It was a sight to see with locals seeing us tourists from afar and lighting up when they hear this American blonde rambling off some Spanish, accent included! These old dudes driving the cabs would just get this "no shit" look when she would talk to them. I loved every minute of it. Lima was the culture scene as we checked out a convent and learned more about the Spanish Inquisition. The most I knew about the Spanish Inquisition was from the song on the Mel Brooks movie, History of the World: Part 1. Some serious torture there if you weren't part of the club, eh?

Along with the culture scene, we got to experience Peruvian food. For picky Tim, it was an adventure as always. Having Nancy there to translate helped though when I needed the chicken sandwich without the mayonaise. Nancy enjoyed the Peruvian delicacy of Cuy (pictured), or as it's known here in the U.S., guinea pig. I had a taste. It wasn't too bad. We were on a mission the last day for a breakfast place that actually had maple syrup. They like their honey more than syrup around these parts I guess. We were successful in our mission and the waffles were quite enjoyable.

The traffic in Lima was a bear to say the least. Stop signs? Forget about it. Everybody is driving itty bitty cars and there is no two car cushion. The cabs are everywhere and quite inexpensive. I don't know how they make money. EVERY cab had the low gas and check engine lights on so it was amazing we didn't see a breakdown. We did, however, get to experience a protest in the streets of Lima right in front of our cab (fire picture below). These guys ran out in the street, threw some suitcases down, poured gasoline on them and lit them on fire. I was ready to run once the firecrackers in the suitcases went off. Wild. The driver said the locals aren't too happy with the government.

Fires aside, Peru is a beautiful country.