Battle Mountain 2022 <== Note subject change!

[Tigerrr]

That is a vast pair of pistons on that chap. Very promising.

[Mr Larrington]

Guillaume notes:

By our side, François is training hard to be prepared exclusively for battle mountain.
As he is a quite known cyclist, he is doing some buzz as herebelow.
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sports/cyclisme/c-est-comme-si-je-doublais-les-voitures-sur-l-autoroute-avec-mon-velo-francois-pervis-vise-le-record-du-monde-de-vitesse-en-velo-couche-carene_5062474.html

[fd3]

Yup, they're squeezing him in to fit the existing machine.

[Mr Larrington]

I expect they can apply hockey tape or towels stolen from motels to stop his knees from being abraded away:


P9150510 by Mr Larrington, on Flickr

[McWheels]

I suppose it's really quite tricky to adjust that carefully moulded outside carcass rather than let knees self-replicate repair.

[Mr Larrington]

Right, so after months of procrastinating I have just got off the blower to the Super 8 in Battle Mountain and as a result have a place to lay my weary head from September 9-18   Now all I have to do is get a flight, a car, an ESTA, an IDP* and a negative plague test the day before I go and everything will be hunky dory.  No extended road trip this year so the Automatic Diary will only open for business shortly before the thing starts – first day of competition being Sunday 11th September which, as any fule kno, is significant in USAnia because it’s my grate frend Tom Amick's birthday.

Hurrah!

* another Brexit bonus

[Pingu]

Yay \o/

No extended road trip this year

Aw 

[Mr Larrington]

No road trips while the plague is still running amok, alas.  Hopefully by next year it will have been vanquished enow to make following the Lewis & Clark Trail a goer.

[fd3]

... IDP* ...

* another Brexit bonus

[LittleWheelsandBig]

International Driving Permit.

[Mr Larrington]

Opinion seems to vary as to whether one is actually required for USAnia but I don't want to rock up at Mr Budget's desk at SFO and be told to piss off.

[Lightning Phil]

... IDP* ...

* another Brexit bonus

As you will have surmised, nowt to do with leaving EU, but an international driving permit required in some states of USA.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I have collected a couple of IDPs for insurance purposes while driving work vehicles in various countries this year. Not something that had raised its ugly head previously but was also apparently necessary when I drove my parents’ car earlier this year in Oz.

[Mr Larrington]

... IDP* ...

* another Brexit bonus

As you will have surmised, nowt to do with leaving EU, but an international driving permit required in some states of USA.

No-one ever mentioned them pre-Brexit and the only state I haven't driven in is Hawaii; picked up rental cars in six different states¹ (plus Alberta) with nary an issue on production of my regular UK licence.  I therefore reserve the right to blame Niggles Fartrage/Bloody Stupid Johnson/Gammon-faced Pig-botherer Cameron (strike out twats wich do no aply)

1: and been stopped by the cops in a few more

[fd3]

Also you will need summat for covid.  I believe that they are scrapping the negative test for US travel, but you currently need proof of being jabbed, a letter from a gp, not your immunisation card.

[Mr Larrington]

According to BA* your Plague Jab records from the NHS app will suffice to placate Uncle Sam that you are not bringing Coronalurgi to their shores but yes, you still need a -ve test the day before getting on the æroplane.  I'm hoping the latter will be binned before September as my nearest testing operation is in Enfield, which is bloody miles away.  Though Professor Larrington tells me that you can do one under on-line observation coz some of her colleagues on a recent jaunt to conference in Iceland did so, on account of working in the test-depleted wasteland that is St Andrews.

* If I read their webby SCIENCE right.  Trying to understand all the umpteen information sources on the subj. is like trying to understand a Kim in full techo-flow

Edit: Seems USAnia is dropping their requirement for a pre-flight plague test from tomorrow.  w00t

Edit 2: The NYT reports that the CDC** will reëvalute the situation in 90 days which, iffen the Intertubes has done its sums right, is right on the day the event starts.  By which time noble BRITONS, pesky FOREIGNS and Barney Harle will all be in-country.

** No.  No, not that one, Roger.

[Mr Larrington]

Over on the BHPC forum, Russell Bridge writes:

Hi

Is anyone available to help please at Elvington airfield nr York in the afternoon of Monday 20th June (this coming Monday) for some streamliner testing?

We'll be using the service road that runs parallel to the main runway at Elvington for testing seventyseven. Mainly practicing 'launch' and 'catch'. We've already got myself, Barney and Andrew - ideally I'd like one more person at each end of the road because it's much easier to 'catch' with two people.

(we're tagging on to Straightliner's 'Top Speed Monday' event so there'll likely be some very fast/silly machines on the main runway - last time we were there Guy Martin was trying to do 300mph on a Hayabusa, there was a chap on/in a monowheel trying to top 75mph, lots of other interesting stuff to nosey at...)

Thanks
Russ

[DaveJ]

CDC Rescinds Order Requiring Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Prior to Flight to the US

[fd3]

^This, though you need a COVID pass, apply via the NHS

[Mr Larrington]

^This, though you need a COVID pass, apply via the NHS

Already got one o' they, because belt and braces.  Some sources say the one on your phone will suffice but I don’t trust:

• The Man to accept it, and/or
• My phone to work properly in USAnia

[Mr Larrington]

Hurrah! Seems that we shall have a fully-functional Wind!^* meter!  Professor Sir Lord Chief Marshal of the Fleet Timelord Jun Nogami reckoned the old one was dying on its arse but spotted the exact same model being flogged for a mere thirty of the BRITONS' pounds on Fleabay by some bloke in Doncaster.  Sadly Doncaster man declined to ship it to exotic Canuckistan, where the BEARS live, hence it’s had to go via me and the useless workshy twats of UPS.  Hopefully Canadian Customs don’t mistake it for an Infernal Device set to irradiate/infect with Plague/destroy with fire and brimstone the fair city of Toronto and blow it up in a controlled explosion or pitch it into the icy depths of Lake Ontario.  I did take the batteries out before sending it.

* Spelling officially endorsed by TV's *** & Super D

[Mr Larrington]

Anemometer appears to have been admitted to Canada

[Beardy]

So y;I’ve proved to be useful for the production of completion over the flats of Battle Mountain then! You don’t want to be making a habit of that, otherwise they won’t be letting you back into good ol’ blighty.

[Mr Larrington]

Now that LEL is mostly behind us, my grate frend Mr Woolrich has just drawn my attention to the entry list for the 2022 WHPSC, wot I reproduce here to save RSI of the Clicking Finger:

Team	Vehicle	Rider(s)	Nationality	Category
Policumbent	Phoenix	Andrea Gallo*	I	Men's Single Rider
Policumbent	TaurusX	Martina Stirano, Matilde Vitillo	I	Women's Single Rider
Policumbent	Cerberus	Diego Colombari	I	Men's Single Rider, Arms Only
Bike SeventySeven	Seventy-Seven	Russell Bridge*	UK	Men's Single Rider
University of Toronto	TITAN	Calvin Moes*/Bill Kong*	CDN	Men's Multiple Rider
Larry Lem	Wahoo	Adam Hari*	USA/AUS	Men's Single Rider
Wild Bill Thornton	Milan Velomobile	Bill Thornton*, Helge Herrmann*	USA/D	Men's Single Rider, Multitrack
London South Bank University	Aim93	Noah No Last Name Supplied	UK	Men's Single Rider
Team 60@60	DF Velomobile	Peter Borenstadt*	USA	Men's Single Rider, Multitrack
Annecy University Institute of Technology	Altair 6	François Pervis	F	Men's Single Rider
Taem Teardrop	Teardrop	Alyssa Miller	USA	Women's Single Rider, Multitrack, Junior (11 or under age group)

* = repeat offender

Edit 1: Aussie Adam Hari will be riding Larry Lem's Wahoo, previously piloted by Larry and Denise Mueller-Korenek, rather than any fresh product from the Lem garage in LA.
Edit 2: Denise got divorced.
Edit 3: Added Team Teardrop, wot is a production of long-time event supporter and drag race organisator Robert Barnett from Oklahoma.
Edit 4: LSBU's rider named in communiqué from Russ Bridge as “Noah”, who was there in 2019 but didn’t ride.  However, he has a dodgy knee so they’re said to be not bringing LSBU's Jonathan Shubert as a backup any more, coz he's got some kind of Lurgi.

First time since dog knows when that the van Vugts are going to be absent not competing* but the new bike for Ellen (and Matthias König) isn't going to be finished in time in spite of the Plague Years.

* just learned that Hans and Ellen are still coming, just bikeless.

[Mr Larrington]

Latest Laibach* Bike Report has a lengthy feature on the genesis of Russell Bridge's weapon for BM 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEzGECgVCNg  Warning: contains more than just trace amounts of Barney Harle

* ToBAGO