MotoBlog developments - digression from the mean

Just a quicky - because I know none of you are crash hot on commitment - I think I have decided the direction for the blogs breakdown. All travel stuff - including the motorcycling aspect - will be posted on 2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com. Only stuff specifically of interest to motorcyclists will be posted here. That means:

Discussions on technique, technique introspectives, and other aspects of rides that will only really resonate with the bikers among us. Stuff on the MotoGP. General bike things. Anything about riding that I don't want my mum to read...


Included in all that technique talk is implicit the idea of developing my ability to help other people with their riding. I am by no means an expert or a pro, and really I'm not that fast or otherwise extraodinarily skilled. Anyone with the right attitude could get to a similar point to me with a year or two of experience. But I am proud of the skills that I have developed, the mature approach I take to riding, and the level of safety and confidence with which I ride. Ultimately, these things I have learnt not through excessive experience (I have gained them mainly through about two years worth of riding, over the last four years), and certainly not through innate ability, but through an introspective and analytical perspective and approach to developing my riding.

This background should make me suitable for helping other people to work on their riding. Should - to be honest, while I like to talk to people about their riding, I don't know much about actually helping them to ride, and can think of few instances of having a concrete impact on anyone's riding.

I had approached James Spence a year or two ago about getting involved in the rider training they do at their race schools - ultimately I didn't have the time, so I didn't really progress down that avenue. Being on the road, it is obviously difficult for me to do anything along those lines, though when I settle down anything that I can work around fulltime work could be a good option.

In the meantime, there will be this blog. I don't know how much help I can offer, but I can certainly think out loud, and we can see where to go from there.


In the news, you might also have heard a couple of details: firstly, I will be leaving Sydney next Thursday - it has gotten to the point where I may as well hang around in Sydney till my sister gets back from overseas. I have also been offered a job with the Victorian Auditor General's Office (VAGO), as a Performance Audit officer/analyst. Their GRAD Scheme starts in February next year, in Melbourne of course. I haven't said yes, but I will, and as long as my second reference doesn't stab me in the back I will be fine.
So this trip, really is a departure - my return home won't be to the home I am departing. And it really is a holiday! Not just an extension of an uncertain future.

Chin chin - don't forget to nod.


--------
@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
www.jsbaxter.com.au

Researching, Learning, Procrastinating: MotoRacing Information Sources

Friday night on the net - tossing up between going out and doing the socially acceptable thing, or staying home to watch live-timing of MotoGP free practice 1 at Jerez. I assume all my readers are in a similar position.  Right?

If you're reading this in anticipation, having checked out last week's entry and wondering whether I have anything valid to say - I assume you are someone for whom MotoRacing is more than just a pretty race and occasional social event.  I assume, like me, that you have an interest in what is going on - the information as well as the spectacle.

If not, you're probably best tuning out for a few weeks.

As promised, I will gloss some of the sources I use for information on MotoGP - my knowledge of news sources and writers might not be special, but it is enough to satisfy me, and should be more than enough for most fans.

Anybody willing to share their information sources I would love the input -see the comments section below, or however else you might prefer.

MotoGP.com

This is the most obvious stop, and should usually be your first stop.  Please, though, don't make it your last stop.  As I wrote in my notes on these sources, it is 'so good, yet so bad'.

The site is dedicated to MotoGP (+125s and 250s - these last two seemingly becoming sidelined with the new site layout), carries reasonably timely news, has summaries and previews (quite general in nature), lots of interviews and articles on what people have said, extras like videos and articles on rider equipment and tracks etc (usually quite basic and uninteresting).

For the keener, the site maintains a live timing system which is simple but effective - when it works - and a pretty good database of results in various formats (e.g. lap-by-lap analysis - mainly in pdf).

For the richer, willing to subscribe to membership, there are a pretty good range of videos of interviews, on-track-laps, highlights and other footage, and of course live-streaming and replay-streaming of all races.

This all sounds pretty good, right?

Well - much of the site is geared towards encouraging you to take out a membership, and that which isn't is held together by a frustrating structure which is of use only to the casual netsurfer.  It is a real pain to navigate, exasserbated by the hugely image-, ad- and flash-heavy pages which take forever to load what will likely be a few sentences you want to read, a simple link or a single picture.

 Unfortunately, forking out for a membership does not solve these problems, more often than not adding 'unsatisfied expectations' to the list: having signed up in 2008, I never will again.  I found myself writing numerous complains letters about faulty videos and live timing (among other more minor irritants), requesting some sort of partial refund - never getting a response of course, and not really expecting one given the difficulty of contacting them at all - and using virtually none of the services I paid top dollar for.

I have heard of people happy with MotoGP.com, and if you spend a lot of time on YouTube watching random videos, are lucky enough for the site to work, and have some $$ to burn, then it might be for you.

Personally, I still download the pdfs of practice/qualifying lap-by-lap results and analysis (invaluable in determining the pace that riders are actually able to lap at), and the news articles I subscribe to via RSS.

There is a reason that many MotoGP news sources are more-or-less rewritten from this site, as passionate as I am about its shortcomings.

www.moto-live.com

An ESPN-run site (apparently), with a variety of general (apparently original) news stories, on both MotoGP and WSBK.  It is solidly MotoGP focussed, and I can't find any WSBK-specific sections (just the odd article).  I don't bother with the news as it generally covers little original ground, and the RSS feed never worked for me.  But that's not why you use moto-live.

When I get the shits with MotoGP.com's live timing (often), this is where I end up.  The system is a little archaic, frequently refreshing a page with basic rider details and order, but it has always been very reliable.

The site offers premium-memberships (quite cheaply, especially in comparison to MotoGP.com), and I think this is the site I have had recommended for coverage of GP races - when I get off my arse I will look into it and probably subscribe this year.  (Ping me if you want an update.)

Crash.net

A pretty good source of general MotoGP news, a worthy alternative first-stop over MotoGP.com - I unsubscribed from updates, however, as the general news seemed largely to double up on what was available at MotoGP.com

HighRevs.net

Quite a basic, unoriginal, infrequent (and poorly written) MotoGP news feed - I love the RSS, however, as the feed text is a proper summary, and is very convenient on the mobile phone when I'm away from real news.

MotoGPMatters

http://www.motogpmatters.com/

I love this blog, it is awesome.

The site is run by David Emmett, a journalist with a genuine passion, who writes his own summaries (based upon on-site or telecast action and other information - not rehashed motogp.com articles like many minor news services) and previews, and frequent genuinely insightful, provocative and well-considered articles.  He would not suffice as a primary news source, but as a primary point of discussion he should be your first stop.

His site contains a few other less-interesting sections, though also a seemingly decent forum (not yet having joined) for enthusiasts like us.

My only real complaint is that I haven't been reading it for long enough to make a proper comment on it.

MCN

Motorcycle News

British bike-mag's online presence - heaps of articles, all mixed together in news feeds, often of dubious quality and where not they are often mere placeholders for articles in their magazine.  People seem to read through these (the articles are linked to often enough), but don't set your sights on enlightenment.

Other Info

Australian Foxtel TV guide

https://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/tv-guide/default.htm

Because we can only dream of a day when MotoRacing is broadcast live on free-to-air.

Missing?

I just realised how little good WSBK (or any SBK) sources I refer to.  No wonder I'm so far out of the loop.

Well, only 35 minutes now until FP1 - I think my social life can deal with a little more postponement.

--------
@JohnSBaxter
2009-traveldiary.blogspot.com
2009-motorcyclist.blogspot.com
jsbaxter.com.au (coming soon!)