轉活動公告。我支持訴求，與主辦單位沒有利益關係，會以典藏紀錄的角度和車友的身分出席，就如去年兩次的摩托車遊行一樣。
集合時間：3月3日下午1：33
集合地點：財政部愛國西路大門口
訴求：重車牌照稅應比照「自用小客車牌照稅」/重車保險費率應比照「自用小客車保險費」 始符合公平對等正義原則
原文：重車地平線
預計二月十五日開始 test ride，準備 formosa/motomosa 路跑實戰之第一階段。所 cover 的工作和進度，待來日補上。本次 test ride 活動之代號為「Tango Alpha India One」，簡稱「TAI1」，路線為台一線全段。
Dean 的網路小額捐款，不是在短時間內創了紀錄，甚至讓黨內競選對手起而效尤嗎？半年內網路聲勢大起，儼然已有確立與布希競選的態勢。傳統媒體開始盯梢。Wired.com 甚至為書作讚，趕緊搶標 credit 的龍頭。「網路發明了 Howard Dean」一論，甚囂塵上。然則在眾人殷切期盼，新網路時代政治教主降臨之屆，民主黨內第一輪初選的結果，卻狠狠甩了所有人一個巴掌。
Clay Shirky 力作，Howard Dean 在初選慘敗的觀察：《Exiting Deanspace》。
奧地利越野摩托車大廠 KTM 的官方影像資料庫，有大圖 eps/tiff 可下載。三大廠隊(國際/西班牙/法國)的參賽或是車測 photos 也可尋得。看完後，準備好開始踏入山車的世界了嗎？:)
最近英國的這個越野摩托車的請願活動引起不少迴響。這個請願活動目前已取得成立於 1970 年的 The Trail Riders Fellowship 的支援。
Reasons to Ban Trailriding
I’ve listed below the reasons usually given for wanting to ban trailriding, whether nationally or on specific lanes. None of these reasons stand up to scrutiny and in each case I’ve given examples of arguments that can be used to counter those reasons. Further examples can be found in the FAQ.
Trailbikes damage the ground on which they ride.
Untrue. They can of course be made to damage the ground by irresponsible riding, in the same way that irresponsible ramblers leave litter. Somehow I can’t see the Ramblers Association being too impressed if there were calls to ban walking because some people leave litter behind.
Even if this claim were true, to use it as a reason to ban trailriding is yet further proof of the hypocrisy involved. You only need to visit any National Park to see the damage caused by walkers. The Brecon Beacons National Park are embarking on a £90,000 project to repair some of this damage. This will involve using 250 tonnes of stone, flown in using 300 helicopter airlifts (http://www.breconbeacons.org/pressrel/). £6 million to helicopter in stone for the Pennine Way in the Pen-y-Ghent area. £1 million to repair footpaths in the lake district. If our opponents are so worried about the damage they claim we cause, why aren’t they calling for a ban on walking in the Brecon Beacons, and other similarly scarred National Parks?
One of the most significant pieces of evidence to use when countering the damage claim is provided by the British Ecological Society. They made a study of Green Lanes in Cheshire in 2000/2001. Of the 46 lanes they studied, off-road motorcyling was considered a threat on only one, putting it on a par with cattle and garden refuse dumping as a “threatening process”. Conversely, walkers and horseriders were the sole threat on three lanes, neglect on six lanes, and farm vehicles on eleven lanes.
The report concludes that off-road driving activities “do not appear to be a significant factor in green lane condition in the Cheshire lanes surveyed, with farming activities more likely to cause churning of the track. Recreational activities whether caused by vehicles, horse-riding or walking affected only 9% of the green lanes examined.” Motorbikes only affected 2%.
Trailbikes are excessively noisy.
Untrue. Trailbikes fitted with the original road legal factory silencers are very quiet. I frequently get within 30 yards of walkers before they even know I’m there. Some people do fit louder, illegal silencers for whatever reason. These people are breaking the law, and are very much frowned upon by responsible trail riders and organisations such as the TRF. They are breaking the law, and it is up to the Police to enforce that law.
Trail riders are a hazard to horses.
Untrue. The vast majority of trail riders always stop and switch off their engines when they encounter horses. Of all the other groups of people we meet out on the trails, horse riders are generally the friendliest, and most likely to stop for a chat. Many trail riding clubs help out at horse cross country events, by marking the course and marshalling. See the “Assisting at horse events” section of the TRF website for further details.
There are undoubtedly some horse riders who would like to see motorcycle trail riding banned, but they are very few and far between. I have never had so much as a dirty look from a horse rider in over 30 years of trail riding; it’s a shame I can’t say the same about ramblers.
Trailbikes scare animals.
Maybe they do, but certainly not as much as people on foot do. Animals are used to vehicles in the country; farmers with tractors and quadbikes abound. People are the natural predator, not vehicles. Indeed one of the ‘hazards’ when trail riding in Wales is being mobbed by sheep who mistake you for the farmer.
Trail riders also tend to spend less time in any given place than other users, thus ensuring the duration of any disturbance to animals is reduced.
If motorcyclists want to ride off-road, there are plenty of dedicated areas for them to use.
This suggestion is so absurd, it’s laughable. There are some dedicated areas, mainly motocross practice tracks. Telling trail riders to use those is akin to banning horse riders from bridleways, and telling them to use Cheltenham race course during practice days. How about banning walking in the country, and telling ramblers to walk in circles around the track at their local athletics stadium? I’m sure that would go down very well.
Trail riding is NOT about trying to ride as fast as possible over rough ground. It’s about enjoying the countryside, spending time with friends, keeping fit, learning new skills, and generally just enjoying yourself. Sadly this government seem determined to outlaw anyone who gets any kind of enjoyment out of vehicles, thus making us a very politically incorrect group.
Vehicles should be banned to stop illegal use of Rights of Way.
Fly tipping and abandonment of burnt out cars are frequently given as the reason for applying a TRO (Traffic Restriction Order) to a particular lane to stop vehicles from using it. Another absurd piece of ‘reasoning’. If people are already using Green Lanes illegally, why on earth would anyone think introducing another law will stop them? It’s not unlike creating a new law banning people from walking on carpets which don’t belong to them, in the hope that it will stop burglary.
People who steal cars, drive them down Green Lanes, then set fire to them, are not going to stop doing so just because vehicles are banned from that lane. People who ride stolen motorbikes, or illegal motocross bikes on Green Lanes are not going to stop just because the trail has a TRO. The only people who will stop using those lanes are the ones who currently use them legally i.e. responsible trail riders and four wheel drivers.
In some cases, barriers can be erected to stop vehicles accessing a particular lane. This may stop the fly tippers and car thieves, at least until they break them down, but it’s hard to imagine how illegal motorcycle users could be physically barred without also blocking horse riders.
Kuro5hin 上難得看到切身議題的文章：Referendum, from Taiwan’s perspective。而 Forumosa 上也有相關長的討論串。
本來沒打算參觀書展，但還是去了一趟。只逛了國際區和政府出版品區。茫茫間無意相中六本意外的摩托好書，分別是五本法文繪本外加一本捷克的汽機車發展工業史料(別忘了 Brno 跑道)。大收穫哉。捷克文的那一本(非漫畫)實乃天降好禮，我和 Svět knihy 攤位的 Dana 詢問了一下後，她二話不說，大方相贈。這著實讓我高興了好一會。她目前是 bookworld.cz 的 managing director，本次來台似乎是準備為五月六日至九日的布拉格(Prague)當地國際書展做些宣傳。
以下開始為書目資料：Když začal vonět benzín aneb Obrázky z dějin motorizmu v Českých zemích od roku 1918, Jan Králík, nakladatelství MILPO, 144 stran A4, vázané 
Calagan – Rallye raid
Tome 1
Fane (Dessinateur)
Jean-Pierre Fontenay (Scénariste)
Patrice Perna (Scénariste)
Collection Humour
Format : 298 mn x 225 mn
48 pages
Paru en novembre 2000
ISBN : 2869678967
Hachette : 7389646
EAN : 9782869678965
Prix : 8.99 €
Joe Bar Team
Tome 1
Bar2
Collection Humour
Format : 297 mn x 225 mn
48 pages
Paru en mai 2003
ISBN : 2749300568
Hachette : 7340979
EAN : 9782749300566
Prix : 8.99 €
Joe Bar Team
Tome 2
Fane
Bar2
Collection Humour
Format : 297 mn x 225 mn
48 pages
Paru en mai 2003
ISBN : 2749300576
Hachette : 7340987
EAN : 9782749300573
Prix : 8.99 €
Joe Bar Team
Tome 3
Fane
Collection Humour
Format : 297 mn x 225 mn
48 pages
Paru en septembre 2003
ISBN : 2749300584
Hachette : 7340995
EAN : 9782749300580
Prix : 8.99 €
Joe Bar Team
Tome 4
Fane
Collection Humour
Format : 297 mn x 225 mn
48 pages
Paru en septembre 2003
ISBN : 2749300592
Hachette : 7341019
EAN : 9782749300597
Prix : 8.99 €
Joe Bar Team
L’Encyclopédie imbécile de la moto
Bidault
Bar2
Collection Humour
Format : 238 mn x 150 mn
192 pages
Paru en octobre 1998
ISBN : 2869677464
Hachette : 7361876
EAN : 9782869677463
Prix : 10.55 €
我不看漫畫的。但得知除了英國的 Ogri 外，還有人專走這條路線，這倒也新奇。眼尖的車友可能會注意到那一本《Calagan – Rallye raid》的故事腳本有達卡拉力賽老手 John-Pierre Fontenay 的痕跡。我稍微翻了一下所有的書，感覺這些漫畫很能「體現」法國人玩摩托車的調調。
延伸一：部分書籍的照片
延伸二：www.motorjournal.cz
懸而未決，工程奇蹟。不可思議斷頭去尾的橋樑工程。 
愛蘭橋上游南港溪河面的人造毒瘤。更妙的是，橋樑繼續若往道路延伸建築，那麼一般路過四輪房車肯定會直接撞擊橋面下緣。這種扯蛋但人見搖頭直說無奈又能如何，但是只好忍氣吞聲接受的工程，在埔里已經不是第一次發生了。台灣其他各地一定有類似的弊案。
禍延後代。
延伸：所有的照片
隨手快速做了一個簡單的舊曆新年 moblogging album。一個多月來因維修而退居幕後，慘遭冷落的 Nokia 3650，當然也要在新年的圍爐中湊上一腳。:)
用 Drupal 架了一個 Events.schee.info，作為個人 NPO 活動和事件的交換中心。事件預定以發布我有興趣，圍繞 NPO 新聞為主。拿來單純作為單位或系所發布 events/seminar/conference 的平台，相信是很有潛力。每則 event 有延續討論的功能，或是可以 disable comment；若加裝 trackback(trackback.module)/ping，每則 event 也允許和其他網路上支援 trackback/ping 的文件做對等的交換動作。若要在每個 event 下附加檔案，目前有 filestore.module 可以用。假以時日(今年二月份的 4.4.0 release)當 filestore.module 進入 official module list 後，可以期待更好用的介面。或者，Deanspace 上的 document.module(沒試過)。Event 排版可以使用外掛的 textile.module 來快速完成(you don’t need fancy layout, do you?)。
事件可以預定發佈(publish)和拿下(unpublish)的日期，這些動作可在同一個管理介面完成。至於 localization，因為對我而言不是很重要，所以就沒試了。 Event(Module) 日曆瀏覽介面，最下方的 search 欄位鍵入繁體中文會有問題，但是使用 side wide 的 searh 功能(畫面最右上角)，無論是 event title 或內文都可以正確無誤的檢索到：
單則 Event(Module) 發布/管理介面：
Full searh 功能可以搜尋到 event 的所有筆數，這即使鍵入繁體中文也然。我不知道它是怎麼運作的。
另外 drupal 之前在使用 import.module 閱讀 utf-8 的問題也莫名其妙的在 4.3.2 版解決了(GB2312碼無法處理)。我找不到有 Big5 的 RSS 可以試用，因此狀況不知。請續看下面：
RSS 閱讀介面部分：
RSS 管理：
RSS 閱讀(news by source)：
RSS 閱讀(latest news)，主頁所顯現的 RSS 筆數可以使用下拉式選單從後端管理介面去更動：
如果使用者有權限，也可以直接對每一個 feed 去做 blog 的動作。這和 zonble 之前介紹的 WordPress 有異曲同工之妙。
我覺得單位或組織在佈局 drupal 時可能會遇到的問題以 至於 taxonomy.module 觀念最難突破。技術基礎薄弱的管理者(像我一樣)可能要花一點時間了解或是看看實際的後端操作情形。其他在發佈事件/活動通告時所可以運用到的功能，族繁不及備載，Events.schee.info 上的簡單 deployment 只是途徑中的一種。
更新：所有本篇文章的 screenshots
更新二：Event Calendar 部分，使用 Nokia 3650 和 Webviewer 瀏覽器可以檢閱無誤。Accessibility 不錯。我相信若是用 Nokia 6600 以六萬五千色來看會更好。:)
相當「經典」。中時讀者投書時論一篇，轉部分過來作見證。 2004.01.16 中國時報
創造無機車環境 減少傷亡
王國新/日本（醫學博士）
第二段部分：
第四段部分：
160公分，53公斤，31歲，日本東京人，本次達卡唯一抵達第九站終點的女性車手。達卡拉力賽第九站後，已經超過半數以上的職業或私人參賽的男性車手們陣亡退場。兩則後續新聞。From Gen Kenai:
Riding along was also a small woman with a great potential. Yuki Tanaka is the only woman on a motorbike who has made it so far. The 31-year-old Japanese woman participates for the first time at the Dakar rally. For the giant task she chose a KTM and also booked the support-package with the manufacturer from Mattighofen. If you watch Yuki, you can’t help but marvel about her. The woman is 1.60 meter tall, weighs 53 kg and just loves the challenge. For example, she took on the task to cross the desert on a KTM 660 Rally. “I like the desert and I love motorbikes,” explains Yuki, who looks scarred and bruised from her crashes. “I suppose that has got to do with my job as a journalist for several motorcycle magazines.”
田中頗活躍於日本的兩輪車雜誌界。去年舉辦的第二屆 Tour de Nippon 中，她得到總排名第三位的成績。
From Lundmark(編號006):
There are hard people, like my former colleague Göte Jonsson, shredder driver for Sveaskog timber. I have seen him bend a crowbar, OK? Then there are other tough persons, like the Japanese girl Yuki Tanaka, the only woman left in the race. She looks small and fragile, but this is just a front.
Yesterday we shared a tent and when she undressed to go to bed I saw that her arms and what I could see of her legs had a deep blue colour. Now, I don’t know what colour they usually are, but blue didn’t seem right, even if I don’t get to see lightly clad Japanese every day. I asked what bike she was riding and she answered a KTM 660 and I asked if she had crashed.
She answered: “Many, many, many times”, and then added with tears in her voice that she had missed a control point and was afraid to be disqualified. When I told her she would already have got a three hour penalty for it, she looked as if she’d won in the lottery. I was impressed by this tiny little power package, with the right will and attitude. And she must be able to ride as well, otherwise she wouldn’t have got this far, like the Swedish rider Maria Sandell who was the only female to finish here in 2002.
她的網站。田中在第九站錯過的CP2(control point 2)，因此在休兵三天後遭到大會決議，取消參賽資格。日本所有八位的參賽車手中，只剩下 Hotta(編號148，堀田修)仍在奮戰未完成的四千公里。今年的達卡拉力難度是在太高…
真女人。本次比賽另一位的 Patsy Quick(編號100)已經先行退賽。Dakar Rallye 舉辦二十六屆以來，尚未有女性摩托車主完賽。田中友紀若明後年再挑戰，很有機會成為史上第一，驚艷世人。誠心祝福田中。
奇緣。一年前網路上沒什麼人寫 motorcycle 主題 blog 時，Mike Werner 是少數這方面的 dedicated blogger。我去信打個招呼後，沒多久就忘了這件事情。沒想到因為最近達卡拉力賽的觀戰風潮，我又不小心寄了一封信給他。他提醒我，他就是當年的那一位(哈)。
Motorbiker.org 是目前比較有完整摩托車電影資料的網站，參與狀況還不錯。他另外架了一個 blogs.motorbiker.org，深度解析，訊息快速且完整，RSS值得訂閱。
義務幫他打廣告。:)
遺憾的是，透過他的網站 refer 到 Amazon 去買 movies 和 books 的人數比為 100:1。真慘，我又走錯行了。
官方說帖：
2 million Americans x $100 = George W. Bush out of office
四種捐款方法：
Or contribute using the toll-free number: 1-866-DEAN-4-US
科技救贖的魅力？持續混入 Dean 聲援者的論壇以理解。
達卡拉力賽，來自前線，私人參賽車主(privateers)在休兵日上傳分享的照片集錦：摩托車和卡車。
汽車組部分因為長久以來 enjoy 不少的 media coverage ，所以我就不代為整理。車友們可能會對照片中一些機械細節、車子的少見 setup，或是後勤支援卡車的完善度(例如 logistics 部分)有興趣。
不定期更新。
參賽卡車延伸：Team Gauloises de Rooy
國家地理的 TOPO! 使用介面。非常羨幕。 車友的使用心得：
At $99 per state, it’s not cheap. What you get are perfectly matched 7.5’ maps with digitally recognized contours. What this means is that the program can provide vertical profiles and do percentage slope analysis on overlaid route segments. Very cool stuff!
Using an add on called Topo Sync, it can read and write GPS routes from Garmin (and many other) receivers. One minor issue is that it does use a proprietary file type to save route data and does not read or write Garmin (.mps), .gpx or any other GPS file types. Therefore, the only practical way to use GPS data is directly though a receiver. So what I do is leave my GPS unit connected through the serial port and transfer routes from Mapsource to Topo! that way, kind of slow, but not unmanageable.
因為西非動盪的政治情勢有危及參人選手生命安全之虞，達卡拉力賽官方在法國和茅利塔尼亞軍方的建議下，將第十和第十一站全段路線改為 liaison，所有參賽人一起協隊出發，並且有官方的護航(escort)。
原本 NEMA 到 MOPTI(stage 10) 和 MOPTI 到 BOB DILOULASSO(stage 11) 的比賽取消。兩輪騎士的第十一站部分，可以免費得到飛機載運的協助。汽車和卡車組的兩站都要自行驅車隨隊通過。
剛才在某論壇看到有車友問起 Isle of Man TT 比賽的兩三事，於是我就快速的寫下這一點感想了。
這個東西可以有系統的簡單介紹，舉凡賽事舉辦的歷史面、車手傳記、各組成績演進、曼島政治和 TT 賽事的牽連(因為曼島有自己的議會/憲章，不屬於英國，但卻是英聯邦的一份子)、日本人的參賽史、當地酒吧/觀光/旅遊產業和曼島 TT 賽事的「寄生」關係、賽道解析… 等等，從社會經濟取向/競技取向/機械取向都可以寫(哈，但不一定會寫的好)。可是寫這些東西非常花時間，而我也不知道有多少華文圈的車友對於從這種角度來看待一場將近百年的比賽會有多少的興趣。之前大概沒有人從這些角度來介紹過吧(華文圈子)？有沒有「討論的市場」也是個大問題。考慮到時間成本，很遺憾，我無法提供協助。請原諒。但我們可以交換心得互相聊一聊。
另外，今年雅典奧運時，我可以試試看來大量書寫 blog(只介紹田徑部分的比賽)。有沒有人要贊助呢？我對田徑運動的了解應該比對摩托運動來得多一些。:) 或是說，對於不同分項有興趣的 blog 使用者可以怎麼樣地來為雅典奧運作串連書寫的準備呢？
二十九歲，來自法國的私人參賽車手 David Casteu 和達卡拉力賽大師 Fabrizio Meoni 間的感人故事。運動家精神完美的詮釋。原文待譯。
新聞來源：DUST Digest 2629 期 David Casteu, 29 year old privateer, 30th overall, stopped to help Fabrizio Meoni yesterday, on stage 7. Meoni had been waiting 1h15 for someone to give him a tyre tube at km 580.
Casteau: “As a biker, I can’t imagine not stopping. I hate the idea that many didn’t. I saw him far ahead and at first I thought he had fell, then I saw pieces of bib mousse and immediately understood. Meoni told me to carry on and not lose time. But I couldn’t do that. He was devastated. In 5 minutes and with the help of Cyril Raynal who also stopped, the problem was solved. Too bad I didn’t get there earlier”.
For many on the Dakar, Meoni is more than just a top rider. “I would have done it for any other biker but Fabrizio is really a master, my hero. He started as a privateer, like me. He has a bike shop, like me. But most of all, he is very human. He’s the only one that comes to see the privateers after a stage and talks to us. We never see the others”.
This state of mind is one of the reasons that push Casteu to ride the Dakar. “When I go to the Morocco or Tunisia rallies, it’s to win it (winner in Tunisia in 2003). Here it’s for the adventure”. This year he even bought a special bike for the Dakar. “First of all it’s a Cagiva because I didn’t want to have a KTM like the others. But most of all, it’s the bike that belonged to Edi Orioli when he won the 95 rally. I payed 30 000 francs for it and then added 20 000 to restore things. It’s a 900cc that is perfect for the race because it’s solid. When you have no assistance it helps”.
來自義大利，
