Last year was the first edition of the annual Snow Quake deep in the Italian Mountains. Making the trip with Amaury Cibot was awesome, but for the second edition I convinced my two usual team mates - Max aka Little Breakfast and Old mate Oliver - to make it too. And after that, we would go to the World Rally championship of Monte Carlo on the Saturday.
First step - Choose the bike and make some ice tyres
Of course Max choose is small black weapon and Oliver his BIG white Rocket: a 1982 KTM 500 two-stroke. For me, like at last Dirt Quake, my 1978 SR500. I asked Belmondo Garage in Zurich, another Dirt Quaker, what stud he uses. 'Kold Kutter'
Let's order 2000. Oliver you can do it? Max? OK I will. One week... Two weeks... Three weeks... Oh shit, the race is in eight days! I order it tonight. We spend the whole week looking at the tracking number. Thank God it arrived. I open it and only 1000 is inside the Parcel. Arrgghh, I call the guy from Kold Kutter. So efficient, they post an International UPS 15 minutes after my call. Thanks a lot to them again. I spent the day making my ice tyres at Clutch Custom, Paris. We would mount Ollie and Max's studs on the track. Olivier took the SR (studded), the Vespa without wheels, and his KTM (without studs) and he spent four days skiing in La Plagne with the bikes on his Van while Max and I were working.
First Step: 50% done.
Second Step - Go to the track on Time
Its Wednesday, Max is working (welding school) till 8pm. The are taking the last train to Geneva, Switzerland and meet Old Mate there. Max luggage was his wheels. We spent the whole trip with a motorcycle addict who wouldn't believe that Max was going to race a Vespa on ice. Fun.
Old Mate is there, everything is OK. It's 1am lets cross the Swiss/French/Italian Alps. The Mont Blanc Tunnel is open. Yes! It's not snowing we arrived at the hotel at 4AM. Yes! Blah, blah, blah oh it's six in the morning, we got to go guys.
Arrived at the track at 9. Let's put 1000 studs before the race. And mount 2 Vespa studded Wheels.
its 10 AM.
Second step 100% Done.
Third Step - Enjoying another awesome event
Lots of cool people as usual on every Sideburn event. They come from Italy, Swizerland, UK, Germany... We are the only Froggies on track, let's show them how we ride on Ice ! First time on ice for Max et Olie, by the way.
Max loose all his studs on the first lap, he was saved by Italian Vespa Rider, they got spares wheels. Thanks a looot to them. I broke my chain tensioner on the last lap of the first heat. Olie's KTM was revving on its own... The scariest thing in the world but he was enjoying that too, ah ah! We all three enjoy a lot racing on ice, The track is great.
Max won the B final in Inappropriate.
Got third place by 1in side by side with Mr Inman, the Road Warrior that came for England to the track by the road. Crazy.
Max also enjoy a Ride on a 4WD Subaru after the race.
No big crashes but big glasses of Vin Brulé. Thanks Deus for that.
Third Step: 200% DONE
After that we spend the night at the Deus Store in Milano: great fun, motorcycle blablabla, racing blabla you pass me twice blablabla. Awesome Party, so cool to see the photos of the races right after, especially with a fresh beer in the right hand. We woke up at three in the same hotel room. Thanks To Deus and Sideburn it was AWESOME! We will be back.
We spend the morning chilling on Milano and then make the road to the south. We spend the two next days with the Teil Family, a family where racing Cars/bikes/Motorcycles are everything.
Now let's have a walk at 6am to find a good spot to see the fastest guys on earth. Looooots of people in the middle of nowhere.
We saw 30 cars in two different spot. Damn that Speed and That Sound BRROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAPPP BRAOOOPPP. Unreal, especially with the mountain’s echo.
Back at home, our friend's Helian's Dad ask us to try our bikes on the wet Grass. So we spend the rest of the day making circles of the garden with studs on grass. The grip was so gooood.
It's already time to go back to Paris. It was marvelous.
Next Race is Sand Racing in 2 weeks.
HB89
