Almost ready...

A week has gone by since our last Blog update and it has flown past. We did receive quite a few reactions to that last one: several readers have offered themselves as web master. In the end we have decided on Annemiek’s sister, Nannet. She manages her own site and is familiar with our software. Many thanks to all who have offered their services. And to Nannet of course.

We also spend a day at the Yamaha Motor Europe Training centre. That turned out to be both fun and very informative. In no time a brand new XT was reduced to a heap of parts. After the course our teacher Wil Brugman wanted his bike back. It was amazing how fast your Criss CrOz team managed to produce a working XT out of this pile of assorted parts. This bike was definitely designed with easy servicing in mind. A reassuring thought.

Something totally different: we have received a lot of questions regarding our sweepstakes. Quite a few people have obviously taken our questions serious and spared no time and effort trying to figure out how often we are going to refuel. These folks were quite worried that the smaller tank would negate all their hard work, and rightly so. We discussed the subject at length and even considered dropping the question all together. But then our good friend at Yamaha Motor Australia, Ray Howard, found us a great solution. A plastic tank will be mounted on the back of our bikes, bringing the fuel capacity back up to the old 23 litre. So, no worries, the question stays the way it was and we probably won’t have to push.

While we are on the subject, please be aware that our sweepstakes will close September 1^st. Thereafter you will be able to still donate, but you will not be eligible for the one of the wonderful prizes. More info in the upcoming news letter.

Right, that leaves us with a reminder: don’t forget the farewell party at ten Kate Motors in Nieuwleusen. This coming Saturday August 15^th we will be officially seen off. The precise program is still a bit of a secret but music, food and drink will be present. And so should you. Party kicks off around 3 P.M., make sure you’re there!

See you Saturday!

No worries

Our last Blog caused quite some confusion. We had no idea so many people are already following our exploits. Boy, were we ever wrong, the number of concerned e-mails was staggering. So, to put everybody at ease: Yes, we are still going! This coming week we will get our luggage racks and the fuel issue will be solved by using jerry cans. Everybody can breathe easy, and we can too.

In the mean while we have received our HD video camera from our friends at VholdR. We messed about with it a bit and are really impressed with it. We are not quite sure how, be we intend to post a few video’s during our trip.

By the way, if anyone fancies managing our web site while we are travelling, please send us a mail at info@crisscroz.nl.

Other good digital news: we will be carrying a Spot with us. The nifty little gizmo will let everybody check out our location while we are traversing Australia. Also, the spot doubles as an emergency beacon. Now we got two…

So no worries folks, everything is moving along just fine and we will start our trip by the end of this month.

Stop the presses

Right, five weeks before our grand adventure is set to kick-off. Pretty much everything has been taken care of and we are putting the finishing touches on some details. But then… Then we are informed that our bikes won’t available! The Yamaha Ténéré is so popular in Asutralia that all have been sold and the next shipment is being held up in… the Netherlands!

Not that Yamaha-Motors Australia is deserting us, quite the opposite. As you are reading this, two Yamaha XT 660 R’s are being transported to Darwin and readied for our trip. No worries there. The change of bikes does have considerable consequences for us. Changing the pictures and descriptions on the site was really the least of our worries. The XT’s gas tank is 8 litres smaller than the one on the Ténéré. Eight litres (2 gallons) may not sound like much to the average motorist, but coming from 23 litres it’s a reduction of over 33%. In Kilometres (Miles) we’re talking a reduction of the range of about 150 Km (94 Miles). That’s a bit of a push, that is…

On top of that, we now have a bit of a luggage problem. The Ténéré has a small luggage rack and fairings over its exhausts. The XT has a very narrow rear end and big, fat mufflers that stick out. No way can we hang our saddle bags over them without damaging the bags and bikes. Needless to say we spend the last week looking for solutions that are both effective and affordable. With help of Yamaha-Motor Europe and Australia, we think we may have found them. Now let’s hope the racks will be delivered on time.

Almost forgot, the really snazzy tank bags we bought won’t fit the XT either. Fortunately our friends at ten Kate were kind enough to take them back. Thanks Jaap, you are a lifesaver.

Stay tuned, new developments are bound to follow!

Rossi takes his 100th victory!

The connection with our project may not be obvious to everybody, but we really do want to share this with the rest of you. Valentino Rossi took his 100^th GP victory during the 79^th Dutch TT in Assen. Your Criss CrOz team was on site to witness this historic event.

This edition of the Dutch TT was one for the books anyway as it featured the last showing of the 250cc two stroke class that will be replaced by the Moto 2 class next year (600 cc four stroke). Also, this year saw the premiere of a dedicated Valentino Rossi stand at the Assen track. Guess where we were seated…

A good time was had by all! (On our stand anyway…)

Time flies

Time flies when you’re having fun, but time flies really fast when you are really busy… In two months we will be getting on a plane destined for Singapore. Huub will have to do a hop to Amsterdam and back, but for Annemiek the long trip will have started. Only two months, it’s shorter than it sounds and it sounds short…

Fortunately, our preparations are moving along at good speed. Satellite telephone and emergency beacon have been ordered and we have picked up our flight case (which is huge!!!). We also had our first taste of dirt by completing our off-road training. Next week, we hope to pick up the last bits of our gear at Ten Kate and then we can start fitting our luggage.

Also, the number of supporters has been growing steadily. We are receiving quite a few gifts that had been promised, but occasionally we have some real surprises. Either way, a big thank you to all!

Because of all the donations, our site is updated at least once a week. But the supporters page isn’t the only one that keeps changing. Last week, each and every page was modified, corrected, updated or improved. New partners and links were added on their respective pages. Other changes are somewhat more subtle, sometimes designed to make it easier for us to modify pages in the future. So, stay informed by keeping an eye on our site!

More to follow shortly!

Celebrities in the making!

We warned you in the previous update: our first newsletter has been send! Over 250 subscribers all over the world received the one and only number 1. About a week earlier we had already send out a press release and not without consequences: we made the front page of one of the regional Sunday papers!

If you did not receive a copy of our news letter or press release and you would like to: send us a mail at info@crisscroz.nl and we'll send you one a.s.a.p.

In the mean while we  had an official photo shoot at Yamaha Motors Netherland, the results of which you will undoubtedly encounter in the media and on our site in the near future. Here a sneak preview. 

Photo by: Anita Riemersma

Interesting times

It’s been a while since our last update, you would almost think there is nothing to report. Not quite true…

Our site has been active for about a month now and the number of views is pretty good. However, we did receive some complaints about the screen size of the site. As everyone knows, we always listen very carefully to the people around us (…) and a new site will go live shortly.

With the visits, donations were of course unavoidable. The tally so far is €1326, with most donations still to come. This looks promising for the next few months. On the other hand, it better, the target is still far away.

The Motor trade fair has come and gone. This is the traditional start to the Dutch motorcycle season. We met a lot of people and new contacts were made. Hopefully this will help getting the word out. Also, there are some very exciting developments in Australia, more on that later.

Last but not least, we will be entering a new phase next week: our first press release and newsletter will be presented to the press and general public. Exciting stuff, for us anyway. Look for us in a publication near you!