08-03 Day 25 (Moto GP Qualifying)

It’s time to talk MotoGP

Mileage

Getting to the track

To be honest, I feel that with each day, I’m getting better and better at navigating in this global world of ours. Even though the conventions and language will vary from country to country, by simply dealing with all of the challenges, obstructions, real-time problems, you start to anticipate them, and you get better at solving them.

Case in point, this morning, I made it from the door of the hotel, to the door of the track in less than 1 hour. Now, that time includes walking to the Tram, waiting for and then boarding the tram, transferring to the bus, arriving at the track, and clearing the security. This same process took about 2 hours the other day, so I’ve cut my time in half.

Arriving at the track

I support Valentino

I made my way to the hillside, across from T1, the same place I was yesterday. I watched Free Practice 3 for MotoGP, and then thought about moving to another place, from which I might watch the bikes.

Arrived at Hill 2, and I’m now able to see the bikes as they are exiting the stadium section, headed back towards home on the 2nd half of the track.

Raise your hand, if you have not watched MotoGP

For anyone that has not watched MotoGP, or doesn’t really know what I”m talking about, I’ve put together a short video of how a MotoGP bike takes a turn. The best riders lean the bike past 72degrees of lean, not only dragging their knee, but also their elbow. It seems almost a miracle to me that a human being can perform like this, but these guys now consider this level of ability to be common, and especially needed to win championships.

Helmet Charging problems

How did I get to this point

Prior to starting this trip, I replaced my other helmet, with a mew, state-of-the-art helmet from Sena. The new helmet has a communication system, HD camera, Music Player, and Noise Cancelling capabilities. So, by using this helmet, I would be integrating everything into a single device, thereby greatly simplifying the integration and charging problems.

Did you think about the risks?

But, this all-in-one approach comes with one very significant risk. What if the system fails? Then, I will be stuck with a helmet, which can’t listen to GPS commands, or music, nor film anything that might be memorable, with the helmet cam. So, in not so few words; I’d be screwed.

So, imagine how bummed out I was when I plugged in the headset this morning, getting the helmet charged for departure on Monday, when I noticed that the red light that indicates that the helmet is charging, did not come on. So, I tried different outlets, USB chargers, cables, but nothing worked. It looked like the helmet has failed, and that’s a big problem!

I’ll be back…

But, I had to go to the track; MotoGP awaits. So, I left for the track, always thinking about dilemma of what to do about the helmet. At the end of the day, I came back to the hotel, and I thought I’d see if I can figure out the issue. I took the helmet in my hands and started looking closely. I noticed that one of the indicator lights was blinking GREEN. So, I downloaded the user manual, searched and found that a green flashing light, indicating that the unit was trying to pair itself. But, since it was not actually sending out a pairing signal, it seemed to me that the unit was stuck, and in some sort of unexpected state, for which it does not know how to return.

Reset

So, when all else fails, you’ve got to hit the reset button. But, as it turns out, you need to insert a paperclip, into a small hole, and that should reset the Bluetooth services. But, where was this hole?

Decomposing a helmet

I guess that Sena thinks that it has to hide the reset button in a real good place. I mean, that must be why they put this hole where they in fact put it. It turns out that you have to take a good part of the lining apart, in order to get to the hole. I eventually found it, and since I did not have a paper-clip, I walked to the front desk. A minute later, I was back in the room, paper-clip in hand. Except the paper-clip that I had in my hand was too big, and I was going to need the smaller model. So, one more trip to the front desk, and back to the room, for another try.

I can’t see

Although I now had access to the hole, it was pretty hard to see. So, I had to put a flashlight between my teeth, hold it over the helmet, locate the hole, insert and press the paperclip, and then, just like that, the helmet should be reset.

Long story short

OK, to make a long story short (yeh, right), I plugged in the helmet to the charger again, and this time, the charging indicator light illuminated in red, and began to charge. Some time later, the light turned to Blue, indicating a full charge.

OH, yeah right, crisis averted

And so, here we are again right at the boundary of a crisis, and we manage to avoid it, just in a nick of time.

So, what will tomorrow bring

I’ve checked the weather forecast, and tomorrow is supposed to be 79 degrees, and sunny. So, the race should be a dry race, and it’s likely to get a bit hot sitting out in the sun. But, no matter, Dennis, Arthur and I are going out for Pho tomorrow night.