Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Cult Classic
Set in post-World War II Rome, The Bicycle Thief tells a simple story well, relying for its impact on gritty realism and emotional verity. There are no subplots, there are just a few key characters, the dialogue is the day-to-day talk of poor people struggling to survive - not the ingredients for heady debate over coffee after the movie.
Still, it is a film one will not quickly forget. Director Vittorio de Sica pioneered a lean, stark presentation with nonprofessional actors. The style, with its subject matter based on hard postwar life, epitomizes Italian neorealism. Here we follow the fortune of Antonio, a family man whose wife pawns their household linens so that they can reclaim from the same pawnshop a bicycle that is required for a job he has been offered. Jobs are scarce and the family is poor; much depends on possession of the bike.
The bicycle is stolen on Antonio's first day at work and he and his young son search the streets of Rome in hopes of recovering it. A series of frustrating episodes mark the day, tension and desperation growing as chances for recovering the bicycle, and with it, their dashed hopes, fade. The events of the day, from a confrontation with a suspect and his neighbors, to a respite with an ill afforded restaurant meal, to a visit to a fortune teller have a cumulative effect, deepening our understanding of, and feelings for, father and young son. Their humanity glows, even through their misery, and their despair becomes ours.
Freestyler
Not a replica, the Original Freestyler is an update of the original 1970s BMX bike ridden by BMX legend Bob Haro.
The new version of the 1978 cult classic features a throwback Haro Freestyle Division frame, Skyway Tuff Wheels with Haro MS4 tyres, tubular 4130 three-piece cranks, 44/16 gearing with ACS Mainline freewheel and as befits a limited edition, chrome aplenty.
If you're into your BMX, all of that will no doubt mean something to you. if it doesn't let's just say it's a bike that's both fun to ride and cool to be seen with. The Original Freestyler sells for around the £355 mark.
http://www.harofreestyler.com/
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Bill Phelps
Brooklyn photographer Bill Phelps'images blew us away. They’re surreal, sensual, and often feature motorbikes. Bill’s style is unusual: sometimes there’s a dusty sepia look, and sometimes a hint of Victoriana. Often, there’s a heady, almost French Polynesian sexuality. I don’t know what camera Bill uses, but he sure knows his way around it. The bike in the picture, by the way, is a 1953 Norton Featherbed followed by a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow pictured above.
http://www.billphelps.com/
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sweet Beauty!
We’ve only just finished salivating over the Wrenchmonkees’ 1976 BMW R80. And now the boys from Copenhagen have come up with a Japanese café racer that’s just killer. The new bike is called 'Gorilla Punch', and it’s based on the classic air-cooled, inline four Honda CB750. More delectable images on the Wrenchmonkees website, or if you're residing in bicycle utopia, you can see it at Kunst Industri Museet, the Danish Museum of Art & Design. The price on the sticker? Cheaper than a run-of-the-mill US chopper: USD$30,000.
http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/
Yao's custom 80cm!
West U. Cycles, Inc., owner Jeff Nielsen presents Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (7'6") with a custom-made Gunnar Rockhound 29" wheeled mountain bike.
http://gunnarbikes.com/newsletters/10-29-04.htm
.jpg)
Friday, March 6, 2009
Poetry in motion
There were cathedrals falling out of your eyes
And your arms were the handlebars
I held in an abbreviated dream of crushed petals
Strewn across the limpid avenues.
I said, “I have poems for you”
But my words were lost in the wind.
I said, “I love you”
And you drifted into sleep.
And so I said nothing and rode you in and out of the rooms
Where we had stretched the boundaries of the soul
Like an endless sheet
And I felt you waking up between my legs.
“Bicycle Poem”
by Noelle Kocot
Georg Jensen
Georg Jensen is best known for its eye-catching designer jewellery, but the company has taken something of a strange departure and gone into the bicycle business.
And this Georg Jensen bicycle is the first product. A classic bike made in conjunction with a classic bike maker - Sogreni of Denmark - with detailing courtesy of vintage British leather firm Brooks. For the not-inconsiderable price tag you get a single-speed, brushed steel bike hand-finished with the same level of attention as any of the company's bling, plus a handmade silver-plated bell, premium leather seat and grips and some chrome mud guards.
If you live in a crime-free area, you can pick up this limited edition bike in the very near future in 'selected' Georg Jensen stores, priced at £2,800.
http://www.wallpaper.com/interiors/wheels-by-georg-jensen/2864
Métisse Desert Racer
This is a replica of the bike owned and used by Steve McQueen for competitive racing, faithfully reproduced by hand and fully authorised by the McQueen estate.
In terms of technical details, it offers up a fully-reconditioned period Triumph TR6 engine (complete with single Amal carburettor), styled footrests, 35mm Ceriani forks, a Mk III chrome-moly, nickel plated, oil bearing frame and authentic colour coded tank, seat and panels.
Just 300 are being made, all sold with a framed and embossed certificate of authenticity and McQueen signature on the tank badge. You can order now, with a price around $32,000.
http://www.metisse-motorcycles.com/stevemcqueen.htm
Classics
If the kit you wear is as important as the bike you ride, you might want to check out the Dromarti vintage-style leather cycling shoes. A classic look that sits somewhere between formal footwear and a pair of vintage football boots, the shoes are available in three styles - Sportivo, Race, and Storica - all with a similar look, handmade in Italy and with a leather upper and options to fit most pedal systems.
http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10_14&products_id=16
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Bermondsey Bike Storage
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/16/bermondsey-bike-store-by-sarah-wigglesworth/
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
mile a minute Murphy
“The signal was passed on to Sam Booth in the engine cab and I was off for the famous ride. I soon settled down to business. I was determined to win. I bent over and gripped the handlebars as I never did before. The train gained impetus surprisingly fast. Sam Booth pulled the locomotive and car up to the mile-a-minute speed . . . With eyes glued on the vertical strip on the back of the car, with each push of the pedal I was putting every ounce of energy into the ride . . Although I was riding perfectly, still in dead air and going strong, I could not understand the violent vibration in the track, as though the boards were rapping the bottom of my wheel, the effect being as though I was riding over an undulation instead of level track; feeling hot missiles striking my face and body. I learned afterwards it was burning rubber from under the car.
Within five seconds, the rate of speed was terrific; I was riding in a maelstrom of swirling dust & hot cinders. I heard the cheers from the officials and spectators as I rode and they had a fine effect on me. I was riding against hope; I expected the worst. The first quarter-mile was reached in 15 seconds.
I then observed that the hearty cheers of the officials had given place to appeals to "Come on, don't give up.'' They realized that something was wrong because I was losing ground. Fred Burns asked through the megaphone “what was the matter?” I raised my head from the bent position on the handlebars to reply to “Burns”. Quick as a flash I fell back fifty feet. With all the energy and power at my command I tried to regain the lost ground. It was no use, I was doomed to failure. I could feel myself getting weaker every second. As I looked up, I saw the agonized faces, yelling, holding out stretched hands as if they would like to get hold of, or assist me somehow. They sent the thrill of determination through me. I felt better and stronger. I could see myself gaining lost ground. The half was passed in 29 seconds. . . The car was crowded with men who had been used to seeing any and all things that were dangerous, but the howling and screaming of sturdy officials and newspaper men from all over the United States that stood on the platform put all on edge.
In the midst of nervous pressure, the moment that was half minute seemed an hour down there behind the platform; I kept a terrific pace. Suddenly, three-quarters was passed in 43 seconds. My eyes were glued upon Hal Fullerton, my friend who had made my dream to revolutionize railroading and cycling possible. Second by second I crept back into view. Phew, what a relief! Signal of the American flag signifying the finish, the joy in my heart of success.
As Sam Booth passed the mile he shut off the steam. The locomotive slowed too suddenly; on I came, and crashed head on into the rear of the train. The front wheel recoiled while the back wheel rebounded and continued to revolve in the air. I pitched head forward. A frantic yell of despair went up from the officials on the rear platform. They expected me to be dashed to pieces and surely dead. The men on the back of the platform reached out in sheer nervousness and gradually drew me close. The pleasure and glory of this long cherished idea was not to be taken from me by death. I reached forward and grabbed an upright on the rear of the car. Simultaneously, Hal Fullerton caught me by one arm and Joseph H. Cummin by the other and pulled both bicycle and myself upon the platform of the rear car.”
Murphy's time for the measured mile: 57.8 seconds. On that victorious note, he ended his cycling career and became a New York City policeman on a motorcycle.
Taken from arts-arrchives.com/mmm.html
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)