I believe that a lot of you were already aware that I was looking to spread my wings back into the technology sector. Well today I can tell you all that as of 1st of March 2007 I will be again working as European Group marketing manager for the mobile Device division of Microsoft.
I feel really excited to go back to the fast paced technology sector, but also feel very sad to leave behind me the motorcycle world. A world I have gotten to know as being very addictive, especially the motorsport environment has gotten under my skin. The thrill and excitement of the races is now here to stay. I promised my son and myself to make sure we keep following much closer than before Dunlop the exploits of the MotoGP racers and of course we will try to pick up one or two Grand Prixs in Europe.
But on to technology marketing again, I hardly can't wait to get back into the development of campaigns that rock the industry. Also it is a very crucial period for the industry with Microsoft focusing a lot of attention to make sure they can make their breakthrough in the mobile world. I'm thrilled to be part of this .. reminding me a bit of the start time at Sony Ericsson: building and working on something new and great.
For now I'm still trying to finish off as many projects as possible so I can leave the business with a good feeling. I do not want to let down some of my friends I found in this business.
I wish everybody a happy new year and let 2007 be full of travels
Toon
Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Our maiden trip
what to say about the following figures:
Total time : 35:12
Overall avg speed: 67.8
Max speed: 186km/h
Distance: 2388.9 km
That are the stats on our maiden trip. A trip that took us from:
Thursday : Valencia - Teruel
Friday: Teruel - Barcelona
Saturday: Barcelona - Carcassonne
Sunday: Carcassonne - Cleremont Ferrand
Monday: Cleremont Ferrand - Home
The trip as a whole was just wonderful. We enjoyed the new experience and I was so glad we did not really come across any obstacles such. Although Agnes never did a trip like this and that it was really the first really big and long trip for me as well: all went superbly well. Especially if you look like in the below picture you do not have a guarantee of success.
Ok I look smaller than the bike, but once I managed on to it I swear: I'm just flying
But the first day was all about taking in the scenery and getting used to ride the bike with the two of us. It is very strange to be so close to each other but for about hours not being able to talk sicken we do not have a communciation system in our helmets. So we took regular to enjoy the scenery both of us and at least be able to say what we were thinking, but in a way it was not necessary because the vibes filled the air.
The first night we stayed in a hostel in Teruel, more precise: a room in some sort of a elderly house for priests and nuns :-) .... Hope we did not disturb them too much. But I guess we did given the gazing stares we got in the morning at breakfast.
Day 2 brought us from Teruel to Barcelona. Again the scenery was just breathtaking and the stops in the small villages a lust for the eye and the mouth. The last part we were forced to go over highway since it was getting dark. First time lucky on that trip. With only fuel left for 10 km and no gas station in the neighborhood we took our changes to ride on the highway with a gas station about 15km away. With all our hopes we achieved the station with 0 km left on our on-board computer. In Barcelona we of course visited the tapas area around the cathedral and enjoyed the nice and warm weather of around 18 degrees.
Day three was a challenge: planning 451 km over small windy mountain roads from Barcelona to Andorra to Carcassonne. With a delay of two hours we left Barcelona around noon. I just wanted new tyres because the ones I had were worn out and I finally could throw the competitors onces away and have them replaced. Unfortunately with all the effort we could not find Dunlops in Barcelona, so we settled on something else .... hope my boss agrees with my philosophy of: to beat the competition you need to know them :-)
As said: the day trip was a challenge and we failed. We passed Andora and the Pyrenees already after 5 with still 3 hours to go in the dark and cold. It was about 0 degrees in the Pyrenees. I just enjoyed myself going down the small mountain roads and especially the joy of breaking the 11.111km barrier on the bike. The joy was not really shared by Agnes, but all the troubles were washed away once we got to Carcassonne.
but with swapping the rather rough nature from Spain with the more green from France we had to take on the flipside the change from a warm welcome every time we stopped in Spain by the typical French " friendliness" of what the @%&$ are you coming to do here .... The stay in themediaval town of Carcassonne was not going to be spoiled by that and we took the time to visit the place before taking of to Clermont Ferrand: another ambitious 513.1 km, but now with an earlier start.
All preparations albeit: I ended in the water. During the day the weather was wonderful , we even tried to figure out who lived where, since the place is so deserted they put indicators on where everybody lived with the distance. We had the sun to keep us warm, but once past 3 o'clock the clouds came in: time for the rain suits ... In a storm we still had to go the Cleremont so we altered the route.
Day 4 was a straight on trip home from Cleremont to Mechelen: around 760 km highway in a rather hefty wind, but still manageable. Also the rain was not really there, we almost avoided it completely .... Apart from the like shower we got around 11 .... After having spent 3 day in the outskirts Paris confronted us with the term traffic jam and overcrowded stress again , luckily witht he bike we could jump the traffic jam in between lane 2 and 3 .
Back home we were so happy we did it .. not that it was such a difficult trip, but the fact we both really enjoyed being on the bike. Now the only that needs to be done is to get the drivers license for Agnes. I'm set to go to Morocco hopefully in February to take my first real adventure trip. With everything I learnt on the course and the experience with this maiden trip I guess I'm armed for an exciting adventure ....
I must admit I was already passionate about bikes with the sidecar, but now it is getting to me even deeper. How foolish it may sound, I even consider to enlarge the collection with a red stallion.
but first Morocco .....
Happy travels
Toon
Total time : 35:12
Overall avg speed: 67.8
Max speed: 186km/h
Distance: 2388.9 km
That are the stats on our maiden trip. A trip that took us from:
Thursday : Valencia - Teruel
Friday: Teruel - Barcelona
Saturday: Barcelona - Carcassonne
Sunday: Carcassonne - Cleremont Ferrand
Monday: Cleremont Ferrand - Home
The trip as a whole was just wonderful. We enjoyed the new experience and I was so glad we did not really come across any obstacles such. Although Agnes never did a trip like this and that it was really the first really big and long trip for me as well: all went superbly well. Especially if you look like in the below picture you do not have a guarantee of success.
Ok I look smaller than the bike, but once I managed on to it I swear: I'm just flying
But the first day was all about taking in the scenery and getting used to ride the bike with the two of us. It is very strange to be so close to each other but for about hours not being able to talk sicken we do not have a communciation system in our helmets. So we took regular to enjoy the scenery both of us and at least be able to say what we were thinking, but in a way it was not necessary because the vibes filled the air.
The first night we stayed in a hostel in Teruel, more precise: a room in some sort of a elderly house for priests and nuns :-) .... Hope we did not disturb them too much. But I guess we did given the gazing stares we got in the morning at breakfast.
Day 2 brought us from Teruel to Barcelona. Again the scenery was just breathtaking and the stops in the small villages a lust for the eye and the mouth. The last part we were forced to go over highway since it was getting dark. First time lucky on that trip. With only fuel left for 10 km and no gas station in the neighborhood we took our changes to ride on the highway with a gas station about 15km away. With all our hopes we achieved the station with 0 km left on our on-board computer. In Barcelona we of course visited the tapas area around the cathedral and enjoyed the nice and warm weather of around 18 degrees.
Day three was a challenge: planning 451 km over small windy mountain roads from Barcelona to Andorra to Carcassonne. With a delay of two hours we left Barcelona around noon. I just wanted new tyres because the ones I had were worn out and I finally could throw the competitors onces away and have them replaced. Unfortunately with all the effort we could not find Dunlops in Barcelona, so we settled on something else .... hope my boss agrees with my philosophy of: to beat the competition you need to know them :-)
As said: the day trip was a challenge and we failed. We passed Andora and the Pyrenees already after 5 with still 3 hours to go in the dark and cold. It was about 0 degrees in the Pyrenees. I just enjoyed myself going down the small mountain roads and especially the joy of breaking the 11.111km barrier on the bike. The joy was not really shared by Agnes, but all the troubles were washed away once we got to Carcassonne.
but with swapping the rather rough nature from Spain with the more green from France we had to take on the flipside the change from a warm welcome every time we stopped in Spain by the typical French " friendliness" of what the @%&$ are you coming to do here .... The stay in themediaval town of Carcassonne was not going to be spoiled by that and we took the time to visit the place before taking of to Clermont Ferrand: another ambitious 513.1 km, but now with an earlier start.
All preparations albeit: I ended in the water. During the day the weather was wonderful , we even tried to figure out who lived where, since the place is so deserted they put indicators on where everybody lived with the distance. We had the sun to keep us warm, but once past 3 o'clock the clouds came in: time for the rain suits ... In a storm we still had to go the Cleremont so we altered the route. Day 4 was a straight on trip home from Cleremont to Mechelen: around 760 km highway in a rather hefty wind, but still manageable. Also the rain was not really there, we almost avoided it completely .... Apart from the like shower we got around 11 .... After having spent 3 day in the outskirts Paris confronted us with the term traffic jam and overcrowded stress again , luckily witht he bike we could jump the traffic jam in between lane 2 and 3 .
Back home we were so happy we did it .. not that it was such a difficult trip, but the fact we both really enjoyed being on the bike. Now the only that needs to be done is to get the drivers license for Agnes. I'm set to go to Morocco hopefully in February to take my first real adventure trip. With everything I learnt on the course and the experience with this maiden trip I guess I'm armed for an exciting adventure ....
I must admit I was already passionate about bikes with the sidecar, but now it is getting to me even deeper. How foolish it may sound, I even consider to enlarge the collection with a red stallion.
but first Morocco .....
Happy travels
Toon
Monday, December 11, 2006
... Preparation for the big thing .....
Well it finally happened, I got my enduro adventure training in Spain: Aras de los Olmos, about 90 km west from Valencia. I left Belgium on Thursday 23rd of November with the bike from Mechelen to Montlucon where Dunlop has it's factory.
A straight trip in the pouring rain for about 6 to 7 hours to attend some meeting in the afternoon and on Friday. The very positive thing about the meetings was that I was already something like 3/5 down of the way to Valencia :-). It was just a thrilling feeling to be able to go down fully packed in the rain. The rain never bothered me to be honest, only the wind was a bit of a hassle.
On Saturday I took myself from Montlucon to Barcelona and maybe some of you recognize the picture below; as you can see I indulged myself into the tapas culture of Barcelona. In between I added some more accessories to my GS: a genuine tankbag so that I at least did not have to step of at every toll station.
On Sunday I took the trip from Barcelona to Aras de los Olmos, about 90km west from Valencia. After some speed on the highway I considered to ask the GPS the shortest route to the destination along the small routes. It was a magnificent experience. Going up to the mountains along curly roads, but of course the shortest road is not always the surfaced roads. There was a crash course off road riding for the last 15 km with a little tumble as a consequence .. my god that bike is heavy , thank god a farmer was close by to help me getting the bike out of the ditch :-)
Sunday evening I got to meet the other participants. All were German speaking but one: Ben Chu Schott from Canada. I was immediately promoted to the translator of duty. The others were from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The fact of translating was nice since I improved my German rapidly and I always had to repeat everything twice which made it stick even better . The instructor Michael could not be more fit for the job: German and a police driving instructor :-), Thomas the second instructor and Gert "megafix" mechanic were way more Latin in their thinking and acting.
The course started on Monday with some training in the enduro park to learn to get used to the turning and standing on the bike , for warm-up we were even riding the bike in amazone way .. It is amazing how fast you learn to control the bike with their tips and tricks, even doing a circle with the bike was no longer a problem. In the afternoon the first "steady"off road was a fact.
Wonderfull scenery was our part. It is amazing how wonderful it feels to combine the steady pace and the scenery ... your mind is really getting empty and you can only admire the view and the things you learn on the bike .. no more deadlines .. no more office .. no more troubles , just the tremendous feeling of freedom and adventure. And the desire to go out and about ...
Tuesday was the slimming down of our group. Before noon we learned to ride without ABS, but Toon took this a bit to serious. On a steady piece of the track I tested the limits of rear wheel breaking without abs with of course a slide as a consequence. Leo who was following me a bit too close could not avoid me nor the bike and fell down. Consequence: a broken ankle. So we were down to 5 inour group. In the afternoon another slide of an insecure Michael made him loose control in a curve and hurted his shoulder. He still finished the day but thought that day 3 was too demanding.
Day 3 was magnificent. The terrain they selected for us was getting technically more and more demanding and I just loved it. Going steep hills and rocky paths down was just so satisfying once you achieved. Our group with the couple Lucia and Herbet, Ben and myself with our instructor Thomas was a very jolly gang stressing the aspect of having fun and taking the time to admire the scenery.
At the end of the training I can say it was wonderful and I have some trips to make: to Canada. By the way Ben and his wife Mel were at the beginning point of their world trip. They are traveling till next March 2007 around the world. Their tour will take them from Ottawa to Spain to Turkey to Greece to Egypt to Dubai to India to Hong Kong to Thailand to Singapore to Australia to New Zealand and back to Ottawa, returning on March 10, 2007. I already hooked him up with Brenda in New Zealand.
In the meantime we write Thursday 30th of November. Agnes is getting on a plane to Valencia in full motorcycle gear to join me for the trip back home. But that part of the trip deserves a separate section which I will be writing tomorrow.
Happy travels and that your dreams may take you there.
Toon
A straight trip in the pouring rain for about 6 to 7 hours to attend some meeting in the afternoon and on Friday. The very positive thing about the meetings was that I was already something like 3/5 down of the way to Valencia :-). It was just a thrilling feeling to be able to go down fully packed in the rain. The rain never bothered me to be honest, only the wind was a bit of a hassle.
On Saturday I took myself from Montlucon to Barcelona and maybe some of you recognize the picture below; as you can see I indulged myself into the tapas culture of Barcelona. In between I added some more accessories to my GS: a genuine tankbag so that I at least did not have to step of at every toll station.
On Sunday I took the trip from Barcelona to Aras de los Olmos, about 90km west from Valencia. After some speed on the highway I considered to ask the GPS the shortest route to the destination along the small routes. It was a magnificent experience. Going up to the mountains along curly roads, but of course the shortest road is not always the surfaced roads. There was a crash course off road riding for the last 15 km with a little tumble as a consequence .. my god that bike is heavy , thank god a farmer was close by to help me getting the bike out of the ditch :-)
Sunday evening I got to meet the other participants. All were German speaking but one: Ben Chu Schott from Canada. I was immediately promoted to the translator of duty. The others were from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The fact of translating was nice since I improved my German rapidly and I always had to repeat everything twice which made it stick even better . The instructor Michael could not be more fit for the job: German and a police driving instructor :-), Thomas the second instructor and Gert "megafix" mechanic were way more Latin in their thinking and acting.
The course started on Monday with some training in the enduro park to learn to get used to the turning and standing on the bike , for warm-up we were even riding the bike in amazone way .. It is amazing how fast you learn to control the bike with their tips and tricks, even doing a circle with the bike was no longer a problem. In the afternoon the first "steady"off road was a fact.
Wonderfull scenery was our part. It is amazing how wonderful it feels to combine the steady pace and the scenery ... your mind is really getting empty and you can only admire the view and the things you learn on the bike .. no more deadlines .. no more office .. no more troubles , just the tremendous feeling of freedom and adventure. And the desire to go out and about ...Tuesday was the slimming down of our group. Before noon we learned to ride without ABS, but Toon took this a bit to serious. On a steady piece of the track I tested the limits of rear wheel breaking without abs with of course a slide as a consequence. Leo who was following me a bit too close could not avoid me nor the bike and fell down. Consequence: a broken ankle. So we were down to 5 inour group. In the afternoon another slide of an insecure Michael made him loose control in a curve and hurted his shoulder. He still finished the day but thought that day 3 was too demanding.
Day 3 was magnificent. The terrain they selected for us was getting technically more and more demanding and I just loved it. Going steep hills and rocky paths down was just so satisfying once you achieved. Our group with the couple Lucia and Herbet, Ben and myself with our instructor Thomas was a very jolly gang stressing the aspect of having fun and taking the time to admire the scenery.
At the end of the training I can say it was wonderful and I have some trips to make: to Canada. By the way Ben and his wife Mel were at the beginning point of their world trip. They are traveling till next March 2007 around the world. Their tour will take them from Ottawa to Spain to Turkey to Greece to Egypt to Dubai to India to Hong Kong to Thailand to Singapore to Australia to New Zealand and back to Ottawa, returning on March 10, 2007. I already hooked him up with Brenda in New Zealand.
In the meantime we write Thursday 30th of November. Agnes is getting on a plane to Valencia in full motorcycle gear to join me for the trip back home. But that part of the trip deserves a separate section which I will be writing tomorrow.
Happy travels and that your dreams may take you there.
Toon
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