bret

.... ich komme an mit LH783 und muss mit LH850 wieder weg. Das heisst ich habe ca. 4 Stunden freie Zeit. Meine Gedanken: - ein A2 vorm Ankunftsbereich, mit Verkehr drum, jemand wartet. - ein A2 im Parkhaus. Langzeitbelichtung, Auto auf, kofferraum auf und wieder zu, Menschen steigen ein. - A2 im Verkehr... z.B auf eine der Brücken. Ich wollte noch eine Sache machen, nämlich Globetrotter besuchen in der Hanauer Landstrasse neben Ostbahnhof. Der EZB ist um die Ecke und da gibt's auch noch die eine Brücke... könnte funktionieren, muss nicht. Ich denke in <4 Stunden schaffen wir einiges. - Bret

Moin, ich bin in FRA für einige Stunden am Morgen von 16.10. Hat jemand Zeit und Lust für einige Kalendarbilder? - Bret

updated. Durnesss, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Karat21, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paidUrlaub läuft... seinelektriker Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit A2magica deposit paid A2magica Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit seinelektriker deposit paid cmpbtb+DmdGt (Fr-Di, 2,5 Personen) deposit paid Ingo, Fr - Di, 1 Person, als Beifahrer bei Durnesss deposit paid HerrRumkugler, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Nupi, Fr-Di 1 Person, deposit paid Pater B, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid ndavid, Fr - So, A2OC / Finland, 1 Person deposit paid Pocoloco Fr-Di 1 Person, (Beifahrer bei Nupi) deposit paid AL2013, Fr-Di, 2 Personen, 2x deposit paid Istvan (Fr - Di, 1 Person) deposit paid herr_tichy (Fr-Di) (1Person) deposit paid McFly (Fr-Di) (1 Person) deposit paid Ein bekannter Member aus Westdeutschland mit ungeklärtem Urlaub (Platzhalter #1) Fr-Di 1 Person deposit paid HellSoldier Fr-Di (1 Personen)deposit paid Mikael (Fr-So, 2 Personen), Kollege deposit paid --- Hotstuff (2 Personen), A2OC UK ? --- Bret (Fr-Mo, 2,5 Personen)

almost final update for this round: Durnesss, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Karat21, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paidUrlaub läuft... seinelektriker Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit A2magica deposit paid A2magica Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit seinelektriker deposit paid cmpbtb+DmdGt (Fr-Di, 2,5 Personen) deposit paid Ingo, Fr - Di, 1 Person, als Beifahrer bei Durnesss deposit paid HerrRumkugler, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Nupi, Fr-Di 1 Person, deposit paid Pater B, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid ndavid, Fr - So, A2OC / Finland, 1 Person deposit paid Pocoloco Fr-Di 1 Person, (Beifahrer bei Nupi) deposit paid AL2013, Fr-Di, 2 Personen, 2x deposit paid Istvan (Fr - Di, 1 Person) deposit paid herr_tichy (Fr-Di) (1Person) deposit paid McFly (Fr-Di) (1 Person) deposit paid Ein bekannter Member aus Westdeutschland mit ungeklärtem Urlaub (Platzhalter #1) Fr-Di 1 Person deposit paid HellSoldier Fr-Di (1 Personen)deposit paid HellSoldiers Kollege Fr-Di (1 Person)deposit paid Mikael (Fr-So, 2 Personen), Kollege deposit paid --- Hotstuff (2 Personen), A2OC UK ? --- Bret (Fr-Mo, 2,5 Personen) - Bret

Hi, also die "unbedingt mitbringen" liste.... oder auch nicht. Diese gilt für mein erwartete -10 bis -20. Etwas ist sicherlich im "Generelles Info" thread, hier aber alles zusammen. Kleidung bin ich schon mal durchgegangen. Sehr wichtig ist eine Mütze, wasserdichten Stiefel und Handschuhen. Für eine Kamera in irgendeine Art und Weise empfehle ich mehrere Akkus. Bei Kälte machen die sehr schnell schlapp; also ein Ersatz nah am Körper halten und die Camera für sich in die Jacke behalten wenn man nicht gerade knipst. Speicherkarten ist eine Frage für sich. Ich nehme normaleweise einiges mit; diesmal werde ich wohl noch eine Maschine im Haus haben für Backups. Diesen wird einiges an Platz haben, das ist auch klar... Jacke die dick genug ist.. oder auch mehreren dünneren. Zahnpasta ist hier teuer. Socken auch. Für Leben: - Wenn es irgendwas gibt auf den du nicht bereit bist zu verzichten - Dunkles ökö-sonnenblumenkernbrot, zum Beispiel - dann bring genug mit. Einiges findet man, anderes nicht ausserhalb von Helsinki, und wenn, dann wird's teuer. - Ansonsten? Ich wünsche mir schon dass jeder einiges zum trinken mitbringt. Letztes Jahr war etwas wenig Bier mit, und ich würde gerne noch einiges testen. Vor ein paar Jahren hatte ich zum ersten Mal Helles aus der Flasche, und genau sowas habe ich mir dann von Deutschland mitgebracht diesen Sommer. - Eigene Medis. Wenn etwas besonderes ist (z.B Zuckerkrankheit) wünsche ich mir schon die Information. - Wer eine Brille trägt sollte schon ein Ersatzmodell mithaben. Sonnenbrille ist sehr zu empfehlen; die Sonne wird lange nur knapp über den Horizont sein. - Kontaktlinsenträger können durchaus Probleme bekommen bei klirrende Kälte wegen trockenen Augen. Falls du dazu neigst, entsprechend vorbereiten. - Brille oder Sonnenbrille im Auto über Nacht lassen kann durchaus zu Probleme führen, genau so die massiven Temperaturwechsel von aussen nach innen. Einfach darauf vorbereitet sein müsste hier reichen. Für Häuschen: - Hausschuhen oder dicke Socken. Schuhe aus an der Tür ist die Regel. - bringe bitte deine eigene Tücher und Bettlaken. Geh' davon aus bei Pärchen dass es vielleicht ein Doppelbett ist und ansonsten eher ein 90cmx200. Schlafsack kann alles etwas einfacher machen, das ist aber dein Ding. Wenn du besonders picky bist über Kopfkissen, daran vorher noch denken.... - Badehose brauchst du für die Sauna nicht. Wir lassen die Frauen eine Sauna, denke ich, und die harten Jungs nehmen eine zweite. - Wer unbedingt die ganze Ruhe zum schlafen braucht sollte überlegen, sein Ohrstöpsel mitzunehmen. - ein Rechner zum Bilderhochladen bringe ich mit. Der wird mit mein eigenen Server synchronisiert, hoffe ich; da hoffe ich auch rege Teilnahme mit Bilder und Videos, sodass wir etwas schönes zusammenschneiden können. Für's Auto: - Geladene Akku. Wenn er schwächelt, vielleicht eher austauschen... - Abschleppöse + Seil / Towhook + Rope. Bitte lang genug, kürzen helfen nur bedingt wenn man 5m weg von der Strasse ist. Auch eher überdimensionieren als unterdimensionieren... und irgendwo erreichbar verstauen. - Schaufel kann nicht schaden. Eine kleine Kunststoff schaufel ist ganz nett wenn man vom Räumdienst eingekesselt wurde. - Schneebesen und Eiskratzer - Antifreeze auf ca. -40 einstellen. Ich erwarte nur -25 oder so, kälter ist aber durchaus möglich. - Ich habe schon im Treffenbereich um Nummernschilderabdeckungen gebeten. - Wer PMR hat die er mitbringen will, bitteschön. - Falls HotFrog oder DEFA installiert ist und es gewollt ist, den anzuschliessen, müssen wir mit Kabelverlängerungen hantieren. Mitbringen. Kann sein dass wir nicht allen anschliessen können wegen Strombedarf und wenige Steckdosen... schauen wir mal. Wegen Essen: - Ich werde schon kochen, auch mit etwas hilfe von mein kleiner. Sie kann ganz gut, sonst würde ich sie nicht in die Küche lassen. - Wie in früheren Jahren, wird's aufbackbrötchen geben zum frühstück. Mittagessen kläre ich in ein paar Wochen direkt vor Ort - ich wünsche mir ein festes Angebot von ein Restaurant in der Nähe mit mehreren Alternativen, inkl. Vegetarisch. Abends wird etwas komplizierter, aber mehrere speisen werden zubereitet, auch mindestens 1 x vegetarisch. - Kaffee, Tee und Saft holen wir schon. Andere Getränke bitte mitbringen. Das Wasser hier ist sehr, sehr gut. - Kaffee usw am See machen wir auch. Die Genauigkeiten dazu kläre ich auch vor Ort. - Die Frage nach Allergien war auch deswegen gestellt; "Ich mag x nicht" ist etwas anders als "ich ersticke wenn ich x esse". - Wenn Obst hier gegessen wird, kann ich nur empfehlen, z.B Apfel zu schälen. - Mit den €30 die ich vorsehe, wird versucht folgendes Abzudecken: Sa, So, Mo früh, Fr, Sa, So Abend. Tagsüber ist jeder für sich zuständig. Wenn essen übrig ist, lasse ich es da für euch am Montag / Dienstag (ich muss Montag zurück). Sonst? Die Woche habe ich vor mehrere Termine wahrzunehmen um Details festzuklopfen (wie oben genannt und dann noch ein paar dazu). Bis ich zurück von Koli bin in ca. zwei Wochen will ich das komplette Programm klar haben, genau so wie die Trackteile die wir bekommen. Anmerkung: Um 1800 *MUSS* das Eis wieder frei von Autos sein. Es ist eine gesetzliche Vorgabe und es gibt keine Ausnahmen. Tracktime endet deswegen um 1700, um 1730 sollten wir schon Richtung Ufer anfangen. Alles braucht zeit. Der See wird auch von Skidoos, Langläufer, Angler und spaziergänger benutzt und wir dürfen nicht ausserhalb den Bereich fahren die für uns gepflügt worden ist. Ausnahme: "offs" während Trackfahren. Der Eis kann durchaus dünner sein weg vom Track, also ist es auch in euer interesse korrekt zu fahren. The translation: Below is a quick listing of my "must bring" for a temperature - as currently expected - of -10 to -20. I already went through clothing. Important stuff: hat, waterproof boots in which you can drive and gloves. For a camera, I'd strongly recommend having multiple batteries or sets of batteries. Cold really gets to them, so it pays to keep them close to you and / or to have a spare battery in a warm pocket. I will not go into the "memory card" question. I personally carry around 256GB+ of SD cards - it's entirely up to you to understand how many you need. I will take a machine with me this time which can run in the house for backups during the weekend. Yes, that machine will have quite a bit of space, probably of the order of 2TB.. and I'll sync it with my home machine. Please also make sure you have a jacket with you which is warm enough. Oh, and both socks and toothpaste are expensive here. For Living: - if there's something you absolutely cannot live without, then it should go without saying that you must bring it with. Just in case that's not clear, I've written it down now. There's quite a few products that are hard to find outside of Helsinki, and even if you do find them, then they're expensive. - I would like you to bring a case of your favourite beverage with. Last year we didn't have too much beer with is and I'd like to give others the opportunity to test. A couple of years ago I first drank Helles from a bottle and that's exactly what I brought back from Budapest this year. - Don't forget your own medication (and bring the paperwork for it). If you have a specific sickness, I'd really appreciate the information (e.g. you're diabetic). - if you're a glasses-wearer, bring a spare. Your sunglasses are going to be useful, the sun is only just over the horizon for a long period of time. - those who wear contact lenses may have problems if it's seriously cold, generally due to dry eyes. If this is an issue for you, please prepare yourself (by for example bringing your glasses with you). - If you leave your glasses or sunglasses in the car overnight at -30, they will generally take quite a long time to defrost... and the de-mist time when coming in from outside is not insignificant. But you know that, it's just more extreme when the difference is 50C. For the house: - Slippers or thick socks. Shoes are taken off at the door. - bring your own towels and sheets. If you are a couple, assume you have a double bed, otherwise a 90x200 per person. A sleeping bag can make things easier, that's your choice. If you're picky about pillows, then think how you want to deal with it before leaving home... - you will not need a swimming costume for the sauna. We will leave one sauna for the women, another for the more extreme version... we have three to choose from. - if you need complete silence to sleep, consider bringing your earplugs with. - I will bring a computer to upload pictures to. I hope to have this synchronising with my own server, and I would very much like to see a selection of pictures and videos, so we can create something really worthwhile afterwards. For the car: - charged battery. If there is a question mark over it, maybe you should consider changing it now... - Tow hook and a rope. Long enough, please, because if you're 5m from the road, it needs to be long enough to get you back on to the road. Also preferably over- rather than under-sized and stored in an easily-reachable place. - A small plastic shovel is an excellent idea, especially if you're hemmed in by the snowploughs. - snow brush and ice scraper - antifreeze should be good down to -40. I expect only down to -25, but colder is possible. - I've already requested numberplate covers elsewhere - If you have a PMR / Personal Radio that you want to bring, feel free to do just that. - If you've a DEFA or HotFrog installed and want to use it, bring a cable along with you, because we'll need to work with them. About food: - I will be cooking again, this time with help from the little one. She is really quite good, otherwise she wouldn't be let into the kitchen. - as in previous years, breakfast will be part-cooked rolls brought to speed, with various toppings, sweet and savoury. Lunch will probably be a group offer at a local restaurant, including various options (e.g. vegetarian). Evenings we'll cook multiple dishes, with at least one vege option. - Coffee, Tea and Juice will be bought. Please bring with any other drink wishes. The water here is excellent. - Coffee etc. will also be made at the lake. I will clarify the details for this. - the question about allergies was made because I also need to; "I don't like x" is different to "I will choke if I eat x". - I can only strongly recommend peeling fruit before eating it here. - the €30 for food should allow us to cover: Friday, Saturday, Sunday night, and Sat, Sun and Monday breakfast. Any remains will be left up there. Other than this, I will be going up north in a couple of weeks and will be looking to clarify remaining details. I should be back from Koli in around two weeks and by the time I get back I hope to have the complete program clear including which track sections we get and when. Note that the time to be off the ice - 1800 - is *legally set* and not changeable. We must be off the ice, there can be no cars left, we must be done. No exceptions. Therefore track time ends at 1700, we aim to be leaving at 1730. It will take time to get off. The ice is also used by skiers, skidooers and walkers and we are not permitted to drive outside of the area which has been ploughed, with the only exception being issues while driving the track. The ice may well be thinner off the track, so it is in your interest to be driving in the correct places.. Please comment if something is unclear! - Bret

Moin, letztes Mal zum Flughafen hab' ich bemerkt der Bremstrommel hinten Fahrerseite war wirklich ziemlich warm. 100km @ 120km/h ist es von zuhause zum Flughafen. Auf dem Weg nach Hause eine Woche später merkte ich wieder garnichts: Handbremse hatte sich gelöst ohne Probleme, gerollt bin ich im Parkhaus, also... nur was soll ich denn jetzt tun? Welche Teile brauche ich? Muss bald wieder für einige Tage weg, da muss was kurzfristiges leider passieren. Kommentare? - Bret

Ecotaster. Oder auch ein 13x19 wippschalter... die passen auch mit etwas arbeit. - Bret

I would personally trust us, but hey. Is this dependent on your VIN? - Bret

sag' mal, bitte, welche Leitung du kappst und ich werde es auch gleich testen.... - Bret

Der Preis wäre also von Krümmer bis Endtopf in Edelstahl? - Bret

try 63.285045, 27.980048 this is the lake: Google Maps that's the bridge; we drive under the bridge to get to the track. You don't really see it on the tripup video, but at around 5:30 where there's the action with the Audis on track, the track is behind the bridge. this place here: Google Maps That's where we get to drive on to the ice, probably, depending on how it's done. If the carpark is open, we probably drive through that, maybe. I will find this out (and it's why I have my translators with me). Does this help? - Bret

yep, at home. they are not on osm. - Bret

if you want trees, I am sure we can find trees. from balcony to tree is pretty good, balcony to balcony prob also possible. balcony - tree is across the valley, balcony - balcony along it. - Bret

ja, genau das. - Bret

ahyes, a link from earlier (but it's not cheap!): Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos - Rovaniemi, Lapland Finland - Bret

sodele, es sieht besser aus mit den Zahlungen, nur eine wo ich nicht ganz weiss was los ist, und selbst da sehe ich (höchstwarscheinlich) den Mensch am Wochenend. Ja, ich bin mal wieder unterwegs. A comment and observation: I know that the weather has previously been very kind to us, either with stupidly cold or way too warm. We have not yet experienced "bad" conditions as defined by the traffic authorities. It's generally been pretty good, to be honest. Don't assume it will be that way this winter. If you are planning to go somewhere else and have a deadline, it always pays to check the "warnings" page on Ilmatieteenlaitos (Finnish weather service) here just so you can understand what to expect. Green is generally good. Yellow is where the traffic would generally grind to a halt in Central Europe. Significant snow, ice patches and general "slow down a little" conditions here. Red is generally truly bad. 60km/h bad, maybe less. Serious snow, maybe the wet stuff, maybe fluff which is whipped up by every single vehicle so you can't see a damned thing. Those were the conditions a few years ago along with some ice rain and - bam - that was it; too close, too fast for the conditions and 80+ cars on all of the main roads into Helsinki ran into one another. Noone could stop.... I've also been caught out on the motorway at 80km/h putting my foot down and wheels spinning because it's complete sheet ice. And last year on the 88 from Tahko to Oulu after the Audi trackday, I was down to 60 km/h in some areas because the driving tracks were pure ice and compact snow with minimal grip. When the back starts dancing, you have an issue.... I will check the weather rules for the track. Do not assume we can go skidooing at below -20 or so; I even leave my bike at home when it's colder than -16, because that's when it's painful to ride with any form of exposed skin. If you are not sure if something is going to happen, call ahead and ask; if you cannot do it because someone does not speak English, then ask and I will try to help. The TL;DR version: check the weather before you leave and make sure you have more than enough time to get where you need to be. - Bret

moar update Durnesss, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Karat21, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paidUrlaub läuft... seinelektriker Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit A2magica deposit paid A2magica Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit seinelektriker deposit paid cmpbtb+DmdGt (Fr-Di, 2,5 Personen) deposit paid Ingo, Fr - Di, 1 Person, als Beifahrer bei Durnesss deposit paid HerrRumkugler, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Nupi, Fr-Di 1 Person, deposit paid Pater B, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid ndavid, Fr - So, A2OC / Finland, 1 Person deposit paid Pocoloco Fr-Di 1 Person, (Beifahrer bei Nupi) deposit paid AL2013, Fr-Di, 2 Personen, 2x deposit paid Istvan (Fr - Di, 1 Person) deposit paid herr_tichy (Fr-Di) (1Person) deposit paid McFly (Fr-Di) (1 Person) deposit paid Ein bekannter Member aus Westdeutschland mit ungeklärtem Urlaub (Platzhalter #1) Fr-Di 1 Person deposit paid HellSoldier Fr-Di (1 Personen)deposit paid HellSoldiers Kollege Fr-Di (1 Person)deposit paid --- Hotstuff (2 Personen), A2OC UK deposit on the way per PP Mikael (Fr-So, 2 Personen), Kollege deposit on the way --- Bret (Fr-Mo, 2,5 Personen) - Bret

B8 + Eibach = nom nom

Wie gross soll eigentlich die Auflage sein? 250? 500? "first edition" von 100 Kopien mit sonderzugaben? - Bret

updated Durnesss, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Karat21, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paidUrlaub läuft... seinelektriker Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit A2magica deposit paid A2magica Fr-Di, 1 Pers., Zimmer mit seinelektriker deposit paid cmpbtb+DmdGt (Fr-Di, 2,5 Personen) deposit paid Ingo, Fr - Di, 1 Person, als Beifahrer bei Durnesss deposit paid HerrRumkugler, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid Nupi, Fr-Di 1 Person, deposit paid Pater B, Fr-Di, 1 Person deposit paid ndavid, Fr - So, A2OC / Finland, 1 Person deposit paid Pocoloco Fr-Di 1 Person, (Beifahrer bei Nupi) deposit paid AL2013, Fr-Di, 2 Personen, 2x deposit paid Istvan (Fr - Di, 1 Person) deposit paid herr_tichy (Fr-Di) (1Person) deposit paid McFly (Fr-Di) (1 Person) deposit paid Ein bekannter Member aus Westdeutschland mit ungeklärtem Urlaub (Platzhalter #1) Fr-Di 1 Person deposit paid --- Hotstuff (2 Personen), A2OC UK deposit on the way per PP HellSoldier Fr-Di (1 Personen)deposit on the way HellSoldiers Kollege Fr-Di (1 Person)deposit on the way Mikael (Fr-So, 2 Personen), Kollege deposit on the way --- Bret (Fr-Mo, 2,5 Personen)

... und der Text hat zu viele ungereimtheiten, fliesst nicht so gut wie es soll. Ist aber trotzdem ein Anfang. cer, ist das die Länge die du dir wünscht? Mehr Details, weniger, kürzer, länger? Das Buch wird nur deutsche Texte beinhalten oder wird es zweisprachig? - Bret

in die Grösse? Mit Eintragungsspass? - Bret

Danke. Ich warte jetzt auf insgesamt 7 Geldeingänge; 2 haben um Aufschub gebeten bis ende des Monats. Die anderen sind auch schon versprochen. Im Moment sind wir also voll. Wenn ich kein Geld gesehen habe bis close-of-business am 2.10.2015 gebe ich die unbezahlten Plätzen wieder frei. - Bret

Ich bin aussenstehender - es war auch nur ein Anfang. Plus: ich denke so ein Text darf nicht so "WIE GEIL IST DAS DENN!!!!" sein. Wegen Icetrack: A story; it is New Year's Eve 1998. I am in Finland for the first time with my girlfriend of three months. We have just moved in together and I have already met her parents. I have been for my first sauna. Her sister has an opportunity to celebrate New Year's, somewhere in southern Finland, so off we go. With her then boyfriend, we go to the supermarket and stock up before heading off up the road. I'd got a vague inkling of the size of the country on the train on the way back from Kuopio. It was a four hour plus journey, the majority of which is through "industrial Finland" as my wife called it - forest. So we drive in this battered old silver car out of town. Slowly the roads get smaller and then we stop in the forest. We're here. We have to park in the forest as apparently the ice isn't thick enough for us to park on the lake. This doesn't really compute, doesn't really register at this point. Then we hear that we will be picked up. A skidoo emerges. With a sled behind it on a piece of string. On this I am carted across the lake, which I will later plunge myself into. The water will be used in the sauna. The ladies will go first, then the guys. I have never met these people before. I do not speak the language. We are laughing, singing, drinking (drink quickly, the beer gets hot otherwise), telling jokes in bad English..... The hut has no running water but electricity. Plunging into the lake in the hole they've made - around 1m square, with the all-important wood on the sides, so you have something to grip on - is an experience I won't forget in a hurry. The next morning, the experience is completely surreal. Mildly hung-over, the world is white. White sky blends in to white landscape and the whole thing is very strange. It's difficult to explain Finland to those who have never been here. There's nothing like it in Germany, anywhere, with the possible exception of the Mecklenburger Seenplatte. Even then, there are too many people around. We're at 17 people per km/2, and two thirds of those live south of a line drawn between Pori, Jyväskylä and Savonlinna. The possibility of driving a main road on the way home from Oulu at 11pm on a work night and having to dip main beams maybe twice in the last hour is a reality. As is the idea that you'd drive the entirety of that trip in darkness - six and a half hours - and don't really have to hang around behind any vehicle for more than a few minutes, despite the fact that of the 500km around 70km are motorway or dual carriageway. Add to this the tremendous size of the trucks at 25,25m and the massive distances in the country and I think some things become clearer. One thing I always miss when I'm elsewhere is the ease with which I can achieve silence here. Add to this the complete darkness which is achievable here - just how bright starlight can be is astounding! - and you have an experience which you can take and leave with relative ease. But at the same time, the spectacular scenery has its own attraction. It's something which is simply not seen in Central Europe and I really appreciate the opportunity to show it off. The fascination with driving on ice was exacerbated by a colleague who joined the company I still work for in early 2007. At the time he drove a Subaru Impreza and invited me on to a couple of track days which would be happening at Hyvinkää Airfield with the Subaru Club Finland. The first would be in Porvoo and after that, Hyvinkää. At the time I'd just bought my new K10D, but that was with my wife in Germany. So I went over to the first meeting with a friend's K100D, and got hooked. So many opportunities to shoot! Over that winter and the following one, I took several thousand shots and improved my technique no end on tracking and panning, following fast-moving cars through snow and ice, getting covered in snow to my waist, understanding that clips on tripods are awful when they were warm and get covered in snow. I understood to take gear on a sled rather than on my back. I wanted to expose this to a larger audience. The shot from the calendar on "motion" with the light trails- that is from my first session at Hyvinkää. The forum seemed like an ideal place. So I thought about it; the inital posts are from 2009. I wondered about pricing and accommodation, and chose somewhere I had reasonable reports about, which conveniently was just around the corner from the track. End February 2010 we were that far. The weather was awful; + degrees normally mean no track time, but we got a dispensation to drive anyway. The day was a complete success, with time spent Sunday morning meeting a guy and a couple of people going skidooing. 2011 I repeated the process. The accommodation was the same, the weather excellent, with Friday seeing us drop to -30 overnight. Saturday morning, 3 from 6 cars wouldn't start first time. We saw -32 on the drive down to the track. The track itself was awesome with beautiful sunshine, in which it was "warm" (-13) and otherwise it was an outstanding weekend. With a hiatus in 2012, I've run this every year since. 2014 we couldn't drive; the weather was too warm the week before and then it went back to -16 the week after. In 2015 we moved up north, and yet still the weather was suboptimal, with potholes developing really quickly in the ice. To compensate, 2016 was moved forward several weeks to give us the possibility of good weather for our purposes. At the same time it's late enough to ensure the ice on the lake is thick enough for us. Pricing is always near-to-impossible; track has costs, but with a certain number of cars you can break even. Put the price too high and no-one will come, too low and you pay for it yourself. Accommodation another issue; finding quality cottages that are close and yet not too expensive is not easy. It's a fine line to tread and one which has been exceptionally hard to find. I'm at the point where I am no longer interested in chancing weather and bringing people halfway across Europe for a session which may or may not happen. As I write this, I'm reading the thread for the latest iteration of track and realize the size and organisation has come a long way since the beginning. This year, there's a couple along who have never been anywhere this cold before. Traditionally, they are the ones who overdo it mildly on clothing but forget basics like gloves. The ethos, though, has remained: this is about an entertaining weekend away which allows the opportunity to seriously expand horizons. Last year there were questions about picking up a train to go "up north" afterwards; I ended up drawing a map with some distances marked in hours. This is a concept many find difficult at first - it doesn't matter how far it is, there's a speed limit and no traffic, so it's always going to take x, plus minus issues. Issues have remained, happily, minimal, though we had two "offs" last year, one for a lack of attention and the other because someone didn't realise the lack of difference between the road and the ditch until it was too late. Both are frequent occurrences - I've seen taxi drivers do the former and it's all-too-easy to do the second. What was also clear was that the minimal sessions we did get through on Saturday last year have directly contributed to on-road safety. The remarks and comments make much of the effort worthwhile. There are a couple of people who've made it to all of the track sessions and I need to thank them for doing that. Without such support, there is no way this could have gone on this long. As it currently stands, IceTrack VII really will be the last episode, because the time and effort it takes to organize a €5k project alone are becoming too much when combined with my own expectations and workplace workload. I'll be sad to see it go, but happy to lose the hectic, hectic weekend in the winter. But over that weekend: that's when the effort is worth it, when everything is right with the world and I'm surrounded by people who share an appreciation of the car and who want to grasp the opportunity to see the horizon being lost in the space between ice and sun. - Bret

Ich denke wir brauchen ein Text für Verbraucherberatung der ungefähr das hier beinhaltet. Schön geschrieben, wäre es auch für's Buch gut. - Der 1,2 ist nicht einfach - Der ist günstig zu bewegen, aber verdammt kompliziert und jemand wird in diesen Zügen verdammt, dat ding zu verstehen, sei es Eigentümer oder Mechaniker - Wer nicht selbst schrauben will, der darf für das lernen eines Mechanikers warscheinlich bezahlen - Der hat viele Spezialteile, inkl. Reifen und Felgen und die können schon ziemlich ins Geldbeutel fressen im Vergleich mit z.B ein Polo Bluemotion - Wer ein billigen Weg von A nach B zu kommen sucht ist warscheinlich mit ein 1,2 schlecht beraten. Wer eher ein Statement machen will und ein komplement zu sein Lebensstil sucht - der ist eher mit ein 1,2er gut aufgehoben. Meinungen? - Bret