Back in Barcelona, time to get a move on!

Ok, after travelling on planes for the better part of two days, I made it back to Barcelona in one piece - and my luggage made it, too! I was a little worried because when I was transferring flights in Rome the checkout counter couldn't tell me if my bags were also going to make the flight swtich - or even where they were!

I got home by taxi and prompty hit the sack. It felt like I must have slept for a day straight, and I probably did. When I awoke, I found my two roomates were busy packing up the household because we'd been approved to move apartments into a larger place in the Poble Sec area of Barcelona. The rent is marginally cheaper, but the space is bigger, so it appears to be a win-win situation. The only drawback is the timing of the move, because we're switching places mid-month. That means I'll be in Portugal for the Estoril race and the day I get back to BCN we begin our move. Then, a few days later I'll be headed to Valencia for the final round of the MotoGP World Championship. I guess it's not such a bad thing to be moving, but coming up with rent money a couple weeks early, deposit money, truck rental money, and utility start-up costs, is going to be a little tricky. It just weird to be thinking so much about the place because I hardly spend any time there. Since the Sachsenring round (early July), it feels like I've only been in Spain for a couple weeks. Oh well, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans, haha.

I'll handle the move and see about getting something for next season lined up. That's my priority right now, because to be honest, I could be living anywhere. What matters is the racing. Second priority is the travelling. How sweet is it to smell the air on different continents, to breath in the life of different cultures? To eat the food?!? It's a blessing that comes with a price, as many of the GP paddock can attest to. To spend so much time on the road, away from friends, family, and loved ones, is a tough road to hoe. What makes it slightly more complicated for me is that I don't have a family in Europe, I don't have anyone to come home to. It is this reason that makes finding the right place for myself so critical. My team must become my family, because we all need to take care of one another when we're travelling and far from what we know and love. I know the future is undecided at the moment, but I have my fingers crossed that everything will work out - it usually does, for one reason or another. All I can say is that it's been a long time since a World Championship has come down to the last race, like it's looking to do this season. And next season? Well, you've all seen the new 800's that I posted about here , and it's looking like everyone is getting ready for a phenomenal year of racing. I honestly can't wait to get it started. But, before then, it's time to get this season wrapped up.

Here are a few entries from Japan, before the Motegi round. I am in the process of back-updating the website with photos and stories from the Asia fly-away races, starting with Japan. After that, expect to see coverage from Phillip Island, and then Sepang, Malaysia.

Click on the photo to be taken to that entry.

Japan, part 1

Japan, part 2

Japan, part 3

Japan, part 4

Next up? Tons more from Japan, then we'll delve into Phillip Island and wrap up in Malaysia. The problem I'm facing right now is the incredible amount of photos of the beautiful cars and motorcycles from Honda's Museum at Motegi. How can you sort a couple hundred photos? Phew!

Posted by Liam on October 3, 2006 02:19 PM | Permalink