43. Bremer 6-Tage-Rennen, Day 3

The Bremen Sixdays are officially half over. Today Bob Williams, Holger Lison, and Jörg Plaß were with me. I picked up Bob from the airport around 6pm local time. He had been on the road since the previous night, when he left Minneapolis on a flight to Amsterdam. We made a quick pit stop at our house, then headed over to the AWD Dome to watch the race.

The racing was much like last night, so I will not write too much about it. Of note: Kappes/Mohs once again won the flying lap. Especially exciting was the second chase of the night: 45 minutes of action-packed madison. The teams went crazy, and the race actually set a record for most laps ever gained in a 45-minute madison in Bremen: 51! You can imagine how it was exciting to watch. Nobody gains laps as fast as Team Milram, but in the end Keisse/Bartko won the race by a tire's width. Good stuff.

The derny races are still fun to watch, even if they are the most obviously planned events of all. "Always three wide," is what Bob Williams says of the finishes in those races. Planned or not, the crowd is excited to watch them, and so am I. When I grow up, I want to be a derny pacer:

Being a chick magnet is as easy as having a hot body and the right ride.

Special Coverage: Bonnie Tyler
We finally made it to Halle 5 tonight, and it was all I had hoped it could be. This lady needs no further introduction, so here she is:
Bonnie Tyler singing her greatest hit of all. With a little help from her friends.

Klaus und Klaus!
Klaus und Klaus are a northern German specialty, kind of like Matjes. Actually, Klaus und Klaus are now Claas und Klaus, as Klaus and Klaus broke up ten years ago, and after Klaus (Büchner) left, Klaus (Baumgart) formed the second Klaus und Klaus with Claas (Vogt). But here they are re-united, Klaus und Klaus, actually Klaus und Klaus und Klaus, or rather Klaus und Klaus und Claas, playing what is probably their biggest hit: An der Nordseeküste. Everyone knows the words around here (of not just this song), these guys really are a smash hit. And if you make it through enough of the video, you'll even see Bob Williams's excited face as he is taking it all in after about 36 hours of travel and fun. In case you were wondering, even at the point of falling asleep Bob is no less talkative than he might otherwise be.

Klaus and Klaus, an acquired taste to be sure.