Losing is gaining !

 . . . it will seem quite obvious to a physicist that E = mc2, however just how much weight should I lose to be at an optimum weight for my Bonneville bikes best (fastest) performance.
The bike can only produce energy (E) to a finite level which translates from internal combustion through the engine, then gear box, then chain and sprockets and finishing at the base of the back wheel through to a semi-static salt surface.
the speed achievable (c2) is therefore less the greater the volume of mass, (excluding drag factors).

So we start with E = mc²   

which on introduction of pressure and volume is 
M =

E₀ + pV₀/c²

In terms of relativistic energy the equation is       which basically means,   despite other contributory factors,  I need to loses some weight to go a little bit faster.

The real skill with this is to avoid diets at all costs, they don't work because bodies adapt to food restriction and go into 'preservation' mode of lethargy and cravings.

'Nutritional adjustment' is a far better policy with a collective of simple annoying processes replacing the outright anxiety of a traditional diet.

Nutritional adjustment strategies are -

1.  Eat sensible, nutritious meals and use a slightly smaller plate to eat the meals off so as to fractionally reduce portion size.

2. Cut out bread (savoury cake) sweets, chocolate, beer and wine which all contain non-productive calories.

3.  Do fifteen minutes of intense aerobic exercise every second morning before breakfast stimulate metabolism.

4. Imagine going faster weighing less,   think about it when tempted to cheat with sweets.

5. Drink green tea with lemon and a little honey.

6. On one day a week have a bottle of beer as a reward,    . . .  but two beers are a failure.

7. Think thin,  looking great tastes good all the time.

 /

Gaining by losing !

 . . . Team Boss Richard has recently taken some delight in informing riders Chris and myself that we have to lose half a stone (seven pounds or 3.17 kilo grams) in readiness for our Bonneville challenge.

    At only half a pound a week over the next 14 weeks this may appear relatively easy however I  am a bit fat even though I also happen to be quite fit and it is going to be difficult to shift because I have big bones, a slow metabolism and drink whisky.

"will the big-boned biker please stay off "

I have been reassured by friends involved with aerodynamics that the most aerodynamically efficient shape is an egg.   So if I can fatten my backside up a bit more over the next couple of months I will be a little heavier than desired, but more slip streamed a bit like an airship so the reduced air resistance on the salt flats will compensate for being allegedly over weight.

My formula for success will be fish and chips every Saturday, with sauce,  and beer on Sundays.
No biscuits or sweets though as that would be reckless and irresponsible and I will be encouraging ALL Team members to observe a voluntary ban on anything tasty and fun whilst in the workshop.

We will eat mini pickled onions and green tea tablets with cups of kelp stew and sushi nano-nibbles as a treat for good behaviour.

Anything more would be irresponsible.

Joey Dunlop Foundation Annual Dinner.

    . . . The Team are proud to continue an enthusiastic and positive association with the Joey Dunlop Foundation based on the Isle of Man at Braddan Bridge House.    The Foundation remembers and commemorates the greatest TT rider of all time, Joey Dunlop, by providing a unique accommodation service for anyone with special needs status who requires assisted-access apartments and interiors to make themselves comfortable.   Facilities at Braddan Bridge House include wheelchair access showers, height-adjust sinks and special elevators amongst other features.   The reputation the House has created for itself is very commendable and a great way for supporters to remember Joey.

With a final extension planned this year to complete the facility, our Team have been helping by raising awareness of the Foundation and by attending the recent Annual Dinner in Douglas, Isle of Man where T.T. stars including Dan Kneen, Dave Molyneux, Conor Cummins, Ian Hutchinson and Ivan Lintin were guests of honour adding add a bit of sparkle to the fund raising auction and raffles after the dinner.
It was a fun evening and good for the Team to mingle with other guests and get such positive encouragement for our Bonneville Mission this year, despite the various challenges we are facing.

John, Richard, Chris and Ralf.

Whilst at the Event the winner of the Bruce Anstey Motorcycle commissioned from Padgett Racing was announced and the 2016 bike was revealed, a Joey's Bar yellow machine which looked beautiful.  Someone somewhere will be a lucky winner of this rocket next January !

"Joey's Bar m.c.c." Prize Bike for 2017


 

salty water on the salty flats at Bonneville.

 . . . Bonneville Speed Week was cancelled last year caused by flooding of the salt due primarily to the lakes bed filling back up with some recent rain water descending from the surrounding hills.
   It used to be a sea-water lake which rose up over millions of years with the Rocky Mountains and over time lost it's water to evaporation leaving behind the salt all nice and flat and visually impressive.     We look forward to lots of sunshine evaporating off the flood water as it has done so rapidly in the past so that Speed Week will proceed as scheduled in 2016,   and our own team preparations continue as they must !       . . . and bike build is coming along very well thanks to the expertise of Chris, experience of Richard and supervision of John.

I help out too with the less-skilled stuff which is probably just as well for all involved.

Bonneville Film which tells a good story.

One of the classic films about Bonneville is "The World's Fastest Indian" starring Anthony Hopkins.  This is an endearing and pleasently sentimental film which features a 'fairy tale' perspective on the achievements of ranked outsider Burt Munro from Invergargill, New Zealand as he heads over to America to naively compete at Speed Week at Bonneville salt flats on his trusty old Indian motorcycle.    




The film successfully captures some of the intense atmosphere of the event and features an array of the sort of astounding machines that one is only likely ever to see at Bonneville.

I rate this film quite highly although it does sugar-coat Burt's character and infact he was an altogether more complex individual than comes over in the film,   this is understandable for the context of a feel-good story, however a more in depth view of Burt is found in the book "One Good Run" by Tim Hanna

Starting with the rule book

the must-have book for Bonneville

. . .   Rules and Regulations for participation in Bonneville Speed Week are numerous, comprehensive and generally make sense.
   All machines participating require to undergo a complete technical inspection to ensure that safety concerns are satisfied and that machines are fit for purpose,   that proper protective clothing is worn by participants,  that rider/drivers have the ability to control their machines at speed parameters,  and that there will be minimal danger to spectators and event volunteers due to participant behaviour.
   All new rider/drivers must attend a 'Rookie Orienteering Meeting' prior to a competitive run on the Course.   No one may participate in the event without first receiving a 'licence' confirming that Event organisers consider a participant fit and able to take part.    Medical Information forms must be completed,  and of course a participation fee is paid.     There we are,   simple !

   Interestingly, in the Special Recreation Permit Stipulations, the very FIRST rule is  " No person shall discharge firearms, fireworks or other dangerous weapons".   This may seem surreal to British people, but to Americans this is normality.

More about the rules later !

All bikes need bits, . . . lots of bits.

   My motorcycle which will be used to attempt World Records in 2016 at Bonneville, Utah is made up of two donated engines from Murray's Motorcycle Museum on the Isle Of Man, and a foraged-frame pulled from a pile of discarded 'futures'.   Other parts have been brought together quite skillfully by the build Team of Chris, Ron, Richard and John with a little help from myself.    To start with it looked like a pile of feasible salvage but over time and many committed hours work in several workshops a real-contender motorcycle is now taking shape.

  Part of the success of this bike-build has a lot to do with the excellent parts resource that is the leading Royal Enfield dealership called Hitchcocks.       Parts availability and speed of service are excellent and with both my engines being originally Royal Enfield 250 Continental GT's, having a reliable source for vintage parts and spares is invaluable for Bonneville-standard preparation of a motorcycle.

Here's a video of what they are all about,   it's quite old-fashioned in all the right ways and free of the veneer increasingly noticeable in the modern bike scene.