So not too many photographs from me from this meeting, for two reasons, the first being a bit of a gripe of mine of an otherwise awesome meeting – The Grandstand.
I paid for a seat in the Grandstand just after the Start / Finish and had a cracking view up the road, until they over filled it and then everyone stood in front of the seats so this is the view I had from the Grandstand…
Tandragee 100 – The Grandstand – But where is the track?
Just by way of comparison here is the view I should have had, the view I did have before they decided to put more people in and not put them on a seat in the Grandstand – it surely to goodness defeats the purpose!
Please Tandragee 100 – if you read this regulate the Grandstand – make it fair for everyone, it was the only negative I could mention from an otherwise great event – and I wasn’t the only one it affected.
On January 27 & 28th 2017 the ArenaCross UK Tour graced Belfast’s Odyssey Arena for two rounds of the UK Competition. With everyone from 7 year old kids to Europe’s finest indoor Motorcross Racers and a ridiculously skilled Freestyle Team this really is a high octane, completely flat out show from start to finish – and it’s a format that works and this is its fifth year on the bounce in Belfast – and my second.
Check out the official website here for all the results, upcoming events, news and photos… http://www.arenacrossuk.com
Everyone loves a nice watch. Let’s admit it. Every time you walk past a jewellers that sells watches you will always have a look in the window and their will always be a watch or a brand that catches your eye.
For me that brand is Breitling. They are big and bold, with a modern, and if you look back over history, a reasonably timeless design. There are a few examples to that rule of course, for example the Breitling Emergency II with yellow dial. Coming in past the £12,000 mark this watch comes with the added piece of mind that if you get into a bit of bother any where on this planet the GPS tracking on the watch with dispatch rescuers to you, hopefully saving the day and you…
Breitling Emergency II – Yellow Dial
That is not the watch I bought – however it is so damn cool! If you are reading this, enjoying it and thinking, ‘that guy needs one of these’ I’ll be all to happy to accept!
With the imminent release of ticket sales for Motorcycle Live 2016 at the NEC Birmingham I thought I would upload my Gallery from 2015.
MCL 2016 will run from Saturday 19 November 2016 – Sunday 27 November 2016 at the NEC, Birmingham so get those dates in your diary now, and if you are travelling by air, get the tickets booked sooner rather than later to make use of the cheapest fares!
MCL is a show that I make an annual trip to from Northern Ireland, personally I think it is a great show with loads to see and do, which is hopefully reflected in the photos. In 2015 there was a demo from ArenaCross, which was outstanding given the space these guys were working with, enough that I came straight out of the show and booked tickets for the Belfast show.
Time for something just a little different, although different doesn’t necessarily mean bad! In this case different definitely means cool!
Having been a fan of Undead Teds for quite a while I recently bit the bullet and purchased one.
Why ‘bit the bullet’ you may ask? That’s easy, these guys are pretty expensive. By the time you pay for postage and the bear you won’t have much change out of £90 GBP, you may even surpass that mark, the custom bears will put you over £125.
So yeah that definitely is a lot of money for a teddy bear, ‘horrifically cute’ or not, but here’s the thing, when your Undead Ted arrives you will understand the price tag. These guys are supremely well made. Taking the bear itself in account, you can tell before (s)he got infected with whatever zombie virus / fungus got them, s(he) was a quality, plush well put together teddy bear. These guys aren’t some cheap bear, bought on mass, cheaply customised a little and sold for a vast profit. They have started their zombified lives as a quality item and the quality continues through, leaving you with a zombie teddy bear that is exceptionally well put together.
There are alternatives out there, have a look at them, it does become clear quickly that if you are looking for quality this is the bear you need.
Take then the customisation – the blood is horrendous, and blood being horrendous is good! It looks like blood, it has been applied so it looks like the ‘injuries’ the bear has have actually occurred, the blood is coming from all the right places, running and dripping where you would expect, clotting as it should and matting the bear’s fur as it would. It’s pretty gross to be honest, but it’s meant to be. Considering the other injuries the bear may have (as they vary with each hand made bear) they too are graphic! My bear for example is a ‘Tongue Dangler,’ his bottom jaw has been ripped off, no doubt by some other psychotic teddy bear, as a result his tongue is hanging out of his jaw…
Undead Teds – Tongue Dangler
As you can see, its a pretty horrific injury, but look a little closer, look at the tongue, the detail and look are of flesh, although in reality it is a hard plastic tongue it has a proper look of moist meat.
The official line from Arai pretty much says it all…
Adventure, grand touring or off road, no matter the riding conditions, the Tour-X4 motorcycle helmet is ready for anything. The Tour-X4 has a complete new outer shell. Redesigned to be tougher, stronger and stiffer than ever. As the Tour-X4 may be used under extreme conditions, the ventilation system has been redeveloped for maximum efficiency. The new Facial Contour System (FCS) offers more support and comfort to the lower jaw and creates a tighter fit. For an even better personal fit, there is a removable 5 mm surface foam layer on the cheek pads and temple pad from the headliner. Wear the Tour-X4 with or without peak, with or without visor and combinations of these two. The large visor opening offers plenty of room for motocross-style goggles when riding without visor.
As you should now I have a few instagram account, my own main ‘random’ one being @TomBoyNI, I have also just started up another few, the first I will mention is :
It is dedicated to the new Honda CRF1000L – Africa Twin and some epic photographs from all over the world. It has easily sailed past its first 1000 followers so get over there and check it out and click the nice little ‘Follow’ button! Thanks!
@hondaafricatwincrf1000l Instagram Page – Follow Me please
With the imminent (UK) release of the new Honda Africa Twin (CRF1000L) I thought it only fitting to throw together a little gallery to wet your appitite towards what is one of the most highly anticipated adventure style / dual sport motorcycles to be released in a decade.
As an owner of a 2002 RD07a Africa Twin I am excited, but will it be enough to draw me away from my excellent BMW F800 GSA Travel Edition? Who knows!
In the meantime and on the run up to release here is a little teaser…
2015 marks the second year of Air Waves, the rebranded Northern Ireland International Air Show. 2014 was an excellent year for this show with quality aircraft and outstanding displays so this year has a lot to live up to. With in my opinion even more pressure on its shoulders because of a rather disappointing airshow earlier this year in Newcastle, Co. Down.
So Airwaves 2015 can you do it?
Yes you can. Everything was in favour of the airshow this year most importantly the weather, over the weekend we experienced a little wind on the Saturday but it settled itself, Sunday started off a little wet and grey but as you will see from the gallery as the day went on, the weather also started to thankfully behave itself!
After a great Thursday night racing and the weather being exceptionally kind, Saturday rolled up. When I left the house it was glorious! So sunny it was almost hazy. I had to stop half way there to put my waterproofs on as it looked like it was going to chuck it down, and by the time I arrived although it hadn’t rained it looked like it was going to, big time! It was dark and there was some proper big ass black clouds floating menacingly over head. It did not take long for them to burst! And so began the theme for the day, sunny, windy, cloudy, raining, heavy ass raining, sunny, warm, windy, cloudy… and repeat!
The first race of the day had to be cancelled after a couple of restarts but from about 1.30 -2.00PM we did get some more continuous according to plan racing, it even looked like, for a short while, that the road closure contingencies would be used to get the final race in however as the winds had picked up again the riders and management decided against that.
So all in all it was a great days racing and thankfully, ultimately no one was fatally injured. A rider was critically injured as was a spectator when a bike left the track and hit her in a garden, a tragic freak accident, however thankfully and mercifully all involved and injured people are now well on the mend, and all are expected to make a full recovery.
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