Lunch time 14er

 

14 miles at 14 mph late lunch ride on the 1998 Porsche Bike S. Spring is in the air (and trees). Time to get into some serious riding!

Suburban assault ride

Fast 20 neighborhood miles today on the 1998 Porsche Bike S. I am enjoying switching back and forth on the Bike X and Bike S. Today’s ride averaged over 15 mph and included a stop at 7-Eleven for a Diet Mountain Dew. 

Sebring Sim Sadness

 

I qualified P12 out of 22 at tonight’s PCA Sim Racing Zone Group Challenge race a Sebring. I had a good start, stayed out of trouble, moved up to P11 and then my Internet dropped at about the halfway point. Unable to drive, I ended up finishing second to last. Apparently, mechanical issues do happen in sim racing. I felt like I had a good shot at another top ten finish. Not the best way to wrap up the Zone Group Challenge. I wonder if all the wind today played a part in this!?!

Celebrating an all Porsche day

 

Today turned out to be another great all Porsche day. Drove the 2006 Porsche Cayenne S hauling the 2004 Porsche Bike X. Then rode the Bike X 40 miles on the Baltimore to Annapolis trail. Drove the 2001 Boxster to get German bier to celebrate a day off. And then later this evening I have a PCA Sim Racing event driving the Porsche 911 RSR at Sebring. Good times. 

Longest ride of the year, so far

 

A very windy and very buggy 40 miles today on the 2004 Porsche bike X. With the weather warming to nearly 80° for the first time in 2021, I just knew I had to get out and go for a long ride. However, what worked against me was the high winds and lots of little flies. It was a weird combination of high gusts of wind, mixed in with little spells of no wind which was filled in by hundreds of little bugs, that I had to ride straight through on the trail.

The craziest part of the ride, was the high winds knocked over a tree across the trail just after I left that spot. I heard a very loud crash and I could tell it was a tree. It had fallen across the trail into some powerlines. I just kept riding down to my turnaround spot and when I came back I found the tree across the paved path.

Regardless of eating a few bugs and getting blown around, I had an incredible ride.

Bike S again

Quick 12-mile neighborhood late lunch ride on the 1998 Porsche Bike S today. 60s and low wind, but the cloud cover made it feel cooler. Great spirited little ride.

Sebring Sim

 

Just ran an incident free (0x) 30-minute practice session preparing for Friday's PCA Sim Racing Zone Group Challenge race at Sebring. I averaged two-minute laps, which is better than my race at Sebring last year. Hoping for another fun race, staying out of the way of any crashes and finishing well.

Back on the Bike S

Attempting a late lunch ride, I had several stops and starts. Life gets in the way sometimes. But I did get 11 miles in on the 1998 Porsche Bike S around my neighborhood. Weather was fantastic. Just loving spring time!

Magic hour

I remember last year in early spring when the same thing happened ... the weather was optimal for about one hour between 2 and 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Temperatures got just into the 60s and if I waited for a day with little wind, the riding conditions were quite pleasant. But try to ride any earlier or later in the day, it was a little too chilly. So I’m back to that again, with a 13 mile ride on the 2004 Porsche Bike X around my neighborhood today.

Spring is here!

First long ride and first spring ride of the new year. 34 mile out and back on the Baltimore to Annapolis Trail. Temps were in the low 60s with low wind ... great early spring riding weather! The 2004 Porsche Bike X preformed well and the new Continental SpeedRide tires felt great. 

Porsche wins Sebring

Porsche won both GT classes today at the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The WeatherTech 911 RSR won the GTLM class and the Pfaff 911 GT3 R won the GT Daytona class, with the Wright Motorsports 911 GT3 R in second. A great race for Porsche today ... and of course I watched almost all of it on TV and my laptop.

P9 at Road America!

Avoiding some first lap carnage, I moved up from my P19 qualifying spot into the top 10, ultimately finishing in 9th place, in the Round 3 PCA Sim Racing Zone Group Challenge at Road America. Crazy and stressful race! But what a fun ride. I got some serious live broadcast coverage. I needed a little Sagamore Double Oak Rye whiskey in my new Prost Porsche whiskey rocks glass to calm my nerves after the race.

Sonoma Sim P13

 

Finished P13 tonight in the PCA Sim Racing Zone Group Challenge race at Sonoma Raceway! Started P14 and ran a completely clean race. So much fun!

986 half cover

 

New half cover for the 2001 Boxster 986. Now I can leave the top down all the time!

Bike S & Bike X ride

Very rarely I’ve had two of my three Porsche bikes on a ride together. My son flew into the area so we rode the Baltimore to Annapolis trail to the Severna Park Taphouse on the 1998 Bike S and 2004 Bike X. Another great pre-spring ride!

Sonoma Sim

I’m practicing this week at Sonoma raceway in the RSR since I’m hoping to join the PCA Sim Racing Zone Group 30-minute qualifying race this Friday night. This is my old home track as I drove on this in my early 20s and was my first track experience. I know the track layout well but I’m still not as quick as I’d like to be. This lap was a decent 1:28. 

Testing new tires

Quick little 13-miler around the neighborhood testing the new Continental SpeedRide 700x42 tires. I like to ride around my house for a first ride to make sure I have installed the tires properly and didn't pinch the tubes. This was also the first ride for the new SKS Smart Explorer phone bag. Both the tires and phone bag are changes to the 2004 Porsche Bike X in preparation for the 340-mile C&O/GAP ride this fall. And both changes performed incredibly today. The SpeedRide tires are smooth and corner well. But I can tell there is enough grip for the dirt trails I'll be riding. Great weather and great little ride. I look forward to amping up the miles as the weather continues to improve.

Spring is here!

 

I needed a haircut so badly, I decided a top down drive in the 986 Boxster was perfect on this near perfect 70 degree day. Now I'll fit in my bicycle helmet again. Looking forward to more spring drives!

New tires for the Porsche Bike X

New tires for the 2004 Porsche Bike X. Decided to go with the Continental SpeedRide 700x42 for the 340 mile C&O/GAP ride this fall. I wanted folding tires that were easier to fix a flat than the wire bead Continental TourRides I had on the bike previously. Those were a bear to get on and off. I’ll do a few test rides as the weather improves later this week. 

1996 Porsche Bike FS

This blog received an emailed sharing a Bike FS someone is selling. This is the earliest Bike FS I have ever seen for sale. First generation shocks (like the 1996 Bike S) and Sachs brakes (changed to Formula Italy in 1997). The shocks are completely collapsed and need rebuilding. Would need about $100 in parts and some hours of labor. Other than that, the Bike FS looks like it's in very good condition and includes manuals. If you're interested, contact me.