Friday Feline – another fine outfit set-up for fun with a capital F and that rhymes with S and that stands for sidecar. We’ve surely got fun right here in Chi-town City…
Baby you can drive my ‘car
Thursday Hack – a trifecta of combinations. Top is the utilitarian Dnepr; a Soviet vehicle built like a tractor with two-wheel drive. Center a jovial Pannonia from 60’s Hungary, the Duna sidecar is aeronautical in style. And last, but not least, at the bottom is a mercurial Vespa scooter and bomb nosed sidecar – a loop around the Colosseum and whizz back to the Trevi Fountain…
Army
Industrial – A brick wall of the vintage commercial building that houses the Moto Museum is an appropriate backdrop for this 1936 CZ pre War Czechoslovakia military tool.
There are definite hints of period BMW’s in its frame lines and the somber color scheme would look in place along the cobbled streets of Prague.
Euro Effort
More Moto Museum moments – another selection of offerings from the weekend visit. The German Böhmerland and Soviet IZh ИЖ are a couple of the outstanding examples.
Badge
Moto Museum Marques – a few of the European makes on show at the St Louis motorcycle museum. A varied collection of owner Steve Smith they represent a wide assortment of 7 decades of motorcycles. All in immaculate condition and room to wander around and get close up to them. More photos to show through the week!
Shop
Eye Candy – the dealer here at Hotel Ignacio is a Triumph Ducati KTM outlet called Moto Europa. Their showroom floor has plenty to look at from the newest Bonnie’s and Monsters, to the Daytona’s and Scramblers.
Continental Collector
Curate! A selection of the ‘special’ collection at the moto museum here in St Louis. All European marques from countries such as Germany, Holland, France, Spain, Belgium & Switzerland. We were given a private peek at them!
Riding on the Ceiling
St Louis – a road trip down State sees us in the Gateway City on the banks of the Mississippi. Our hotel has a restaurant off its lobby called the Triumph Grill. And yes, its theme is motorcycles. Did I also mention the motorcycle museum is part of it and a Triumph/Ducati dealership too?
“I’m as excited as a terribly excited person who has a really good reason for being terribly excited.”
Egg Plant ‘n’ Turkey
Thanksgiving- I found this super sketch vignette of a purple tank’d Triumph. Couldn’t have taken the artist more than 60 seconds to accomplish; but it works!
Clowning around
Big Top Boy – here’s one from the memory banks. My early adventures in unicycling. I was keen on juggling and added this skill to my circus repertoire. In later years I added fire breathing to it too. It came in handy in making my early curriculum vitae noteworthy…
Breakers
Life is a Beach – I’ve always enjoyed a trip to the seaside. Here in Illinois it’s the lakefront, which, though not as dramatic, can still have a changing mood. Next year I’ll look for a quiet stretch of sand to spin the Tiger on; whilst Lake Michigan rolls by.
Signage
Lean Left Lean Right Repeat – another photae from yesterday’s afternoon spin. Forest Way is a nice section of road that winds its way through the Forest Preserve that flanks the Skokie Lagoons.
In the Round
Fish-Eye: I grabbed a quick ride today as the sun was setting under a crisp autumnal sky. Roads were quiet and dry. A chill air numbed exposed cheeks and the occasional whiff of woodsmoke curled across my path from some warm hearth. I spied this convex mirror on the so took a fun selfie to memorialize the ride.
VIII
Straight Eight – what makes a great make is the diverse range of bikes. Back in the sixties Triumph had models ranging from the cute 200cc Cub to the sporty 650cc Bonneville.
Look at that clear motorway…
Cornerin’
The Leaning Lady- not much beats a sweeping corner on a motorcycle. As the tires grip the road a fine balance between verticality and the gyroscopic effect of the wheel as you push into the inner grip is needed. It’s as if defying gravity is an effortless exercise…. which on a bike is very true!