Motorcycle Misadventures

The Motorcycle Book: Design, Identity, Images, Asthetics

I just got news of a new book: MOTORCYCLE: Design, Identity, Images, Asthetics, that promises to explore  the roots of "the rebel’s ultimate ride."  The biker intellectual scholars who authored this book are Steven E. Alford and Suzanne Ferriss, editors of the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies, which is a publication I very much look forward to reading every quarter, so I ordered within five minutes of getting the email. Here's the sales pitch:

Few books chronicle how and when this legendary vehicle began to roar down the open road, and these authors, longtime scholars and riders, discuss the history of the motorcycle as a popular form of transportation, for military use,  and tracks the symbolic role it has played in literature, art and film. They  also discuss the international subcultures that center on the motorcycle and the scooter. They chart the emergence of American biker culture in the 1950s, when decommissioned soldiers sought new ways to satisfy their desire for thrills and danger, and explore how the motorcycle came to represent the untamed individualism of the American West, and to symbolize youthful rebellion in Japan and Great Britain. In contrast, smaller scooters, such as the Vespa and moped, became the utilitarian economy vehicle of choice in space-starved metropolises across Europe and Asia. Ultimately, the authors argue, the motorcycle is the exemplary Modernist object, designed to unify rider and machine in perfect balance.

The authors, Steven E. Alford and Suzanne Ferriss, have been involved in the study of the intersection of motorcycles and culture for a number of years, lecturing on diverse topics such as biker fashion, New Zealand motorcyclists Burt Munro and John Britten, and the psychological effects of riding.  Their work has appeared in Harley-Davidson and Philosophy, The Literature of Travel and Exploration, Motorcycle Consumer News, and elsewhere.  They can be reached at themotorcyclebook@gmail.com.

New Motorcycle Misadventures Store

Happy Holidays! I wanted to let you know that I finally created a store so that you can get the cool Motorcycle Misadventures yin yang compass logo you've been asking for on everything from coffee mugs to messenger bags to shirts and hats and even a Journal for Journeys that you can use to record your own Motorcycle Misadventures.

And if you order a copy of my book, American Borders, from the Motorcycle Misadventures website, I'll automatically send it autographed. If you want a special dedication, let me know in the comments field when you're ordering your book. Maybe someone on your holiday gift list would like a messenger bag with an autographed copy of American Borders and a journal or a shirt tucked inside?

Be inspired. Be inspiring. Here are just a few of the items offered in the Motorcycle Misadventures Store:

Men's and women's shirts	Tank tops	Bags	Mugs & Cups

I hope you enjoy the holiday season whether you're just dreaming of your next Motorcycle Misadventure, or living it.

Carla

Outstandingly Classy Sara Dean Couture Motorcycle Jackets 40% off!

Ooh ooh ooh! I just found out that Sara Dean is having a 40% off holiday sale on her amazingly gorgeous motorcycle jackets. I tried on a buttery golden leather jacket at one of the big motorcycle shows last year, and absolutely fell in love. Her stuff is made for real motorcycling women but it's also undeniably fashionable -- true couture. The cuts are unique and  flattering beyond compare, the trims just so too too special: Chinese buttons, leopard-stenciled cowhide, removable satin vest. I am not normally one to ooze over fashion, but these are just irresistible -- all elegance, not brash or bling, but outstandingly classy. Now's the time: Visit the site.

Online Motorcycle Media Auction Benefits India Street Kids Project

Sure, you can buy American Borders on MotorcycleMisadventures.com, but today you can get the read you want and participate in the HELMET HAIR MOTO ARTS AUCTION TO BENEFIT INDIA STREET KIDS PROJECT. It's almost over. Start your bidding now! Helmet Hair Magazine.com is sponsoring an online charity eBay Moto Arts Auction to benefit the WIMA India Street Kids Project (ISKP). The Helmet Hair Moto Arts Auction consists of motorcycle-themed artwork, books and videos created by well known talents in the female motorcycle community including Lory Lockwood, Christina Shook, Carla King, and Christine Firehock. All auction proceeds will go directly to the ISKP organization. Winning bidders will have their names added to the ISKP scroll that is traveling around the globe in show of support. Visit the site.

Motorcycle Misadventures in China: October 31

I'm coming home from China tomorrow and here is where you can read about the motorcycle misadventure on a Chang Jiang sidecar bike from the beginning.

I'm still in Beijing--I was blogging for a tech conference for Sun Microsystems downtown and am now back at my friend Teresa's. During the conference I was trying to refer to Wikipedia, and I couldn't get to it because it's blocked here as is YouTube, and now they're methodically blocking RSS feeds. All of them. Critics like to laugh and say that the Chinese government is trying to build the "Great Firewall of China."

It is very interesting to see firsthand a country that is so very desperately striving to catch up to the first world, with all its positives and negatives, and then to try to manage . . . rather "control" something as complicated as the Internet. Do they really think that the people of China don't know that they're trying to cover up sites that might be critical of the government? I wonder. It's such a diverse place, with vast, sophisticated cities, but there is also vast countryside where people live in primitive huts, even caves.

In one small town the owner of an Internet shop went to get the police when we showed up, because he was sure it was illegal for foreigners to get online. It's kind of telling that he didn't have a phone--landline or cell phone--but had to literally run down the (dirt) alleyway giving us time to "escape." Meanwhile, the fifty teenage boys glued to their terminals were not at all distracted and not at all interested in us or the ordeal. Kind of scary, really. Our usual experience in small towns was to be surrounded by a passel of young people curious to look at their first foreigners, and maybe even get a "hello" in return. In this same town the police showed up to examine our passports just a few minutes after we appeared in the hotel lobby. The existence of an incurious young people disturbs me. I wonder how they'll turn out? I fear, xenophobic. Later I found out that there is an attempted ban on youth entering Internet cafes, and that many Internet cafes are speakeasy-type businesses.

It's a funny place. But then, I suppose, so is America.