Jen and I compare maps to find our next destination in Rome on our family "vacation" . Photo by Tracy Emde.

acation? Who has time to take a vacation? Well, anyone reading this probably has a similar business situation that would force the same answer if you were asked to tell about your vacation. What we have found in our 24/7 world of motorcycling is that there is never really an open time, so you have to get creative and sneak in a little “R&R” along the way. Here’s how we did it this summer.
     We had invitations from three of Parts Unlimited’s suppliers in Europe to come see them at their factories. As my wife Tracy, daughter Jen (our Editor) and I were figuring out how to tie these stops together, we started seeing some great places like Rome and Venice that we could visit along the way. So as you will see in our reports that starts on page 54, yes, it’s possible to work in a vacation as you travel if you can just take a extra day or so here and there. It worked for us.
     Vacation aside, we really enjoyed the business aspect of our trip too. We were really impressed by the high-tech approach to exhaust pipe manufacturing at the Akrapovic factory in the charming little country of Slovenia. When we visited Acerbis in northern Italy, it was so enjoyable to hear Franco’s story of how he didn’t really plan to be a manufacturer when he started in business back in the early 1970s, and then to see the great company that he has built from there. And then we were at Alpinestars and witnessed first hand their commitment to high quality, with products being tested and proven out daily in their test lab. It seems that every little buckle and pull tab has its own special durability test. Impressive!
     When we returned from Europe we still had a lot of summer left. Next up was the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Yamaha invited me to again be a part of their Yamaha Weekend of Champions activities that weekend, and we obviously needed to cover the action for the magazine, so with a double duty schedule, we were very busy all weekend. Be sure to check out our report on that great event on page 16.
     I took a side trip in early August to check out the 2006 Sturgis Rally for our Drag Specialties Magazine, and then in late August we were off to Wisconsin for the Parts Unlimited/Drag Specialties Showcase and National Vendor Presentations. That is really the kickoff of “next year” as far as we are concerned and everything we do from here on relates to 2007. See page 32 for that report.
     Lastly, congratulations to Chris Carr, Denis Manning and the whole BUB Enterprises organization. They have been building, testing, developing and traveling the world for the past few years in search of the right place, the right conditions, the right pilot and the right setup on Manning’s streamliner to set a new world’s motorcycle land speed record. In early September it all came together, ironically at the speed meet that Manning himself created so others could come run their motorcycles at Bonneville. We’ve got a pictorial in this issue on that event as well.
Whew. After all that traveling, I need a vacation!