cccvii) Turbo Mode.

I had a lot of free time today.

clxxxviii) Urgh.

Only pic I took today. It's awful. So awful.

lx) Shopping.

"Coz the Porsches aren't quite cutting it anymore."

xliv) Sunroofs Are Underrated.

Yup. Trying to grow an afro.

#357: I Use What's Given To Me.

My Dad bought the VW Touran in 2004.

Somewhere left or right of 2007 he gave it to my Uncle with around 30,000 miles on the clock.

In the three or four years since my Uncle had the car, he put an extra 3000 miles on the clock (Some advanced mathematical equations tell me that averages around 1000 miles a year).

They lent the car to me last Thursday with about 33000 miles on a six year old car.

In the one week since taking over the keys, I've brought the meter up to 34082 miles.

#282: The Anti-Scout.

So once more, I'm about to fly into a country I've done precisely zero research on.

Other than that a few years ago, my sister was in a club there two weeks before it got blown up - I don't actually know anything about Bali.

What exactly is there to do there?!?

#231: In The River of Darkness.

I don't function well when there is clutter on the mind.

Everyone needs a state in order to straighten things out.

Given that I neither drink reguarly nor can I smoke any kind of substance, I have a different kind of vice.

Nothing so uncommon, just an addiction to high speed corners and twisty bendy weavy turns.

Still found no better medidative release than a cruise through empty streets in a dead of the night.

Even cities that don't sleep have their witching hours.

#203: Great Tiddlies injected.

While I'm in town, my uncle has lent me his guilty little pleasure to use...

He's had the block under the bonnet fettered just a bit more than the fancy set of wheels might indicate... 0-60 in nigh on 5secs fettered...

While I can count on one hand the number of people who truly understand the deepness of this love of driving... I can count on the hand of a bomb-maker the number of people who share the love and have the means to indulge that passion.

I know just how incredibly lucky I am to have one of those people be my uncle. (^^)v

Excuse me, it's 1am. I'm gonna go for a drive.

#147: Momentum.

I live just south of the central part of Taipei, my workplace is out in the north eastern part of town, past other side of the river.

If I time it right, I'll only need to stop for red lights three times on my commute across the city. "Timing it right" means hammering it down from the first light outside my apartment and not letting the revs drop too low for any significant amount of time. My engine is a solid lil workhorse but having spent most of it's 15yr life as a rental bike means that it's not as spritely as it might've once been. It'll keep cruising speed quite readily - just takes a wee bit of time getting up there.

Most days this means I'll get to work in around 25mins door-to-door. If I get blocked by a swervy taxi or an overenthusiastic truck driver though this'll throw me out of sync with the lights and my journey time will easily increase to around 35mins. That's like a 40% increase in time taken!

Amazing what a single misstep can do. There's a lot I can accomplish in those 10minutes!

#134: That Windy Road Beckons.

Going on a proper bike trip with The Grandfather Mark II this weekend. Can't wait!

Ya know, for someone who couldn't really say he leads an inactive life. I'm actually kinda proud that I still find time to be incredibly lazy.

It's almost like a superpower...

#126: Seeking Everywhere.

When I'm go karting, I sometimes purposely slow down into the middle of the pack just so that I can have someone to tangle with.

I think that's one of the reasons why I find myself enjoying tearing through rush hour of Taipei traffic so much - it's one continuous melee to get to a front that doesn't exist.

#100: Running In

Been a while since I needed to run in an engine. It's a mental exercise of which I'm barely qualified for...

To have to keep your speed below a certain limit and not strain the engine during that first 300km?

To know that there's a whole barn of potentiality just sitting there behind a flick of the wrist... it would be so easy to give it that extra milimetre of torque...

Argh! This is the cruelest foreplay ever!

#96: Sleepy Grandpa.

The Grandfather is back from the shop with a completely rebuilt engine block, 20% increase in capacity, retooled heads, crankshaft, gears, brakes, suspension, the lot. Weight has been shaved whereever possible, parts have been strengthened where necessary.

The best part?

It looks exactly the same. You'd never know it from any other SR150.

It's finally the embodiment of both sides of my nobler generation...
The ever-present stoicism of Grandad Lau, the giddy-ballsiness of Grandad Lee.

Can't wait to take it out! (^^)

#91: I'll Even Have White Gloves On

I love driving.

I'm quite partial scaring my passengers a little.

I reckon I'd actually quite enjoy a being an inner-city taxi driver.

Maybe not fulltime, but in the offpeak twilight hours. Dusk to dawn.

Definitely not during rush-hour.

I'll be the one with the gleam in his eye and grinning like a maniac.

You'd get in my taxi...

Wouldn't you?

#35: Observations From Scootering Around Taipei.

Before Taipei, I had never ridden a motorbike before. In the past two years since I started riding around, I've come to learn a few things...

• Yes, that gap is absolutely wide enough.


• Rain, is an absolute bastard.


• When riding in said-rain plus freezing conditions, the exhaust fumes of the bus/truck in front are a precious source of heat and warmth. Plus a great exercise in lung capacity.


• Don't be fooled by that car who just indicated right, he's not going anywhere.


• Don't be fooled by that car who's not indicating anything, he's either turning left, right, or just stopping in the middle of the damn road.


• The average 125cc scooter, with its ability to simultaneously carry a family of five, the weekly groceries and the family dog, has just as much capacity as any standard full size people carrier, and with more headroom too.


• There are no speed limits, only speed suggestions.


• The baseball cap is only considered adequate head protection when used in conjunction with a plastic hard hat. Using either one by themselves is just plain dangerous.


• When riding behind a local, watch out for flying cigarette butts.


• When riding behind a coach, watch out for flying wing mirrors.