I almost cant face looking at these photos because after 3 weeks of sh!t weather summer is back in full force! Maybe it is roasting where you are though, so the cool weather might be appealing.

Drowning in debt, the OECD did have one little nest egg tucked away in the form of strategic petroleum reserves (SPR). Yesterday the International Energy Agency (IEA), an OECD organisation, decided to raid these meager savings in order to try and keep the global growth party alive. The recognition that high oil and energy prices were threatening a weak and faltering recovery is an admission by the OECD that high oil prices were threatening recession.

The decision yesterday to release 60 million barrels from strategic reserves over a 30 day period sent already weak and falling oil prices through the floor with Brent futures down 8% at one point. This represents 4% of total OECD public stocks of crude oil and refined products that totals 1547 million barrels.

Many believe that the $900 billion of quantitative easing in the USA has underpinned the most recent commodities spike. Ask the question where the global economy would be right now without QE? Rising demand colliding with inelastic supply is the technical cause of high and volatile oil prices. The logical solution is to boost supply and reduce demand. Yesterday’s action by the IEA is designed to do the exact opposite of that since the aim is to reduce price. This will boost demand and hurt high cost oil producers in the OECD.

My own view on the OECD economies is that anemic growth in many countries has likely already turned negative mirrored by already falling oil prices. Higher taxes, reduced public spending and the burden of high energy prices lie at the heart of this problem. But there seems no way out. Countries like the UK require strong economic growth to repair their public balance sheets to avoid the risk of default. This growth requires growing supplies of cheap energy. 60 million barrels of oil, 18 hours of global consumption, is the latest sticking plaster to be rolled out.

Interesting thread continued here with lots of good comments.

There is another good write up about it here too.
Once the oil price starts getting high (over $85 is high, over $110 is very high), the high oil prices start causing recessionary influences, because citizens have to cut back on other goods. Oil and food prices usually rise and fall together, because a lot of oil is used in food production.

Unfortunately, if high cost oil is what sinks the economy, high cost green energy is of very little help. We have been misled in this regard. It doesn’t even matter if the government provides a subsidy for expensive green energy–it still comes back around to sink the economy, because higher taxes are needed–either that, or it adds to the overly burdensome debt situation. Once citizens are charged higher taxes, the effect is very much the same as if citizens had paid the high prices to begin with–it reduces their discretionary income, and thus tends to be recessionary.

Maaaan, nice photos at Vurb.

WTF??

No photos from today, just riding. Just me and my bike. And the mountains, and sun and the winding roads. Hot, jacket open. Visor down. Leaning into the wind. Smooth and easy. And fast, tricky not to go fast on the duke. But it feels safe. Slowing fast with the brakes too. Sitting up close on the tank on the tight bends it’s so quick from side to side. Generally aiming to brake early and accelerate early. With a little gas to balance the weight on the wheels around the bends. Empty roads, river’s, lakes. But no photos.
My wife said, “my god that’s cheesy, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
One of these older pics popped up on my screensaver so thought I would post a couple more with it from up on Rossfeld a few months ago. A few straights between the bends.

Delivering one of the most impressive performances at this year’s event Husaberg’s Graham Jarvis came agonizingly close to winning. Reaching the finish ahead of all other riders Jarvis found himself out of the results, many think unfairly, having missed the 16th route check-point by a matter of 5 meters.

Factory rider Taddy Blazusiak writes Erzberg history with his fifth victory. Difficult conditions means only nine riders make it to the finish, including seven KTMs.

It was the 17th storming on the mighty Iron Mountain in the heart of the Austrian province of Styria. And it was the fifth year of the Blazusiak Extreme-Enduro era. The 28 year-old Polish rider has again underlined just what he is good at in this latest win in the Red bull Hare Scramble, the hardest one day Enduro race in the world, both loved by the fans and hated by the riders in roughly the same dimensions. But for this and every other win in the past, Taddy had to fight hard in the saddle of his 250 EXC – to be exact, for two hours 12 minutes and three seconds long. No other rider, also in 2011, was faster through all the checkpoints on the ultra-selective course in the middle of this legendary mining area.

Taddy Blazusiak following his fifth consecutive win: “I’m certainly very happy that I could win again today. First because it seems like the course is more difficult every year and second because we also had to fight with the weather.

J.Edmunds photos.

Seriously, this must be the worst June ever, it has been raining and cold for weeks. Getting well sick of it.
Today it (partly) dried out and I got the go ahead to have a ride. Was still cold, grey and raining occasionally but it felt good to be out for a ride anyway.

iPhone photos.

coolerthanbefore.tumblr.com

My sis posted it.

Wrong color bike, but my buddy did a good job with his GFX.