TRAIL ZONE

TRAIL BOSS BLOG:

WHEN THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

Don't ya hate coppin' a filthy dose of cold and flu?

Yep, I sure do. I've been spitting up oysters for just over a week – and now the missus has copped it as well.

So TZ HQ has become a sea of cold and flu tablets, expectorant mixtures and nasal sprays ... yet none of the rotten things seem to work. We’re still hucking up our lungs every time we have to try and talk to someone on the phone -- so apologies to all the TZ subscribers and advertisers who've rung in over the past few days. Just be thankful you're not here where we can breathe on you.

Of course being crook does give you an excuse for backing off the main jet and trying to slow down and give the dreaded lurgy a chance to run its course.

So the other day I downed tools and decided to kick back and curl up with a few good books and chill.

Now, one man's definition of 'a few good books' is obviously different to another's.

Me, I grabbed my laptop and caught up on a stack of RacerX digital issues and followed that up with the latest hard copy issues of VMX (onya Ajay!) and Rapid Bikes (onya Jeff!).

After that I cracked open 'the bible' to study a few more chapters of the good book: my very dog-eared copy the 1983 Yamaha XT600ZL Tenere Owner's Manual ... what a read! Trust me, you won't be able to put it down until the very last chapter.

Then, in between reaching for another Chemist's Own cold and flu tablet and a box of tissues, I decided to take a look at the latest offering from Whitehorse Press that had just arrived in the TRAIL ZONE mail box.

Titled 'The Upper Half of the Motorcycle: on the unity of rider and machine', my curiosity was piqued from the moment I peeled open the package ... but 60 seconds later I felt like I'd been belted over the head by a Mitchell Library staffer for speaking out loud in the public reading room.

Fair dinkum, this book is heavy work. Too heavy for this flu ridden correspondent.

The work of German behavioural psychologist, Bernt Spiegel, the promo flyer for this weighty tomb decrees: "This book brings a unique perspective to the subject of motorcycling, drawing on related topics in the fields of anthropology, biology, physics, and numerous other disciplines to tease out the underpinnings of an accomplished motorcyclist's integration with his machine, a relationship that, when fully realised, approaches virtuosity."

Say what?

I'm sure it's all deep and meaningful, but I just can't see this one reaching top-seller status at the www.offroadexplorer.com bookshop.

Pass me the Sudafed, would you?

-- Clubby, www.trailzone.com.au