Click the image above to see photos from this year’s Cafe Desmo hosted annually by Pro Italia Motorcycles in Glendale, CA.

Photos of bicycle racing are fairly redundant in some respects, usually focused on riders crossing the finish line in celebratory conquest, in a large group set against a backdrop of roadside fans or fields of flowers, or portraits of pain as riders wheez or grinding the pedals and dripping with sweat up a mountain climb. Years ago, I came across race photos by Caroline Yang, whose images told a more in-depth story of bicycle racing. Instead of capturing ubiquitous race moments as seen thousands of times before, her lense steals the in-between moments of bicycle racing; the moments only seen as a voyeur or from the point of view of the racers, other staff or even the fan who might have snuck under a barrier to get a closer glimpse at one of their cycling heroes. The photo shown here is from the 2005 Tour de France, but it looks as fresh today as it did then.

Caroline Yang Photography

Photo by Ted

Tasty stuff. See more incredible work by Ryan Feltman (aka Rhynodesign) at his gallery here.

Illustration by Ryan Feltman

I can’t count the times I’ve had the conversation with friends about how much we’d love to own a classic car like a 60s vintage VW Beetle or Porsche 911 Speedster with the authentically accurate exterior body and all-modern internal engineering and components; classic styling in chrome and steel on the outside; liquid-cooled fuel injection, disk brakes, A/C, power steering, variable valve-timing and iPod connectivity inside. Impossible? No, but certainly economically impractical enough to make it unreachable for those whose names don’t begin with “Sheik” or “King”. Continued >

There are simple truths to motorcycling; it should be entertaining; it should be exciting; it should elicit a unique emotional response not available from your everyday four-wheeled commuter box, just to name a few. For the motorcycling initiated and sometimes even for those looking in from the outside, a film or video that captures the essence of that experience can be almost as good as actually riding a motorcycle (almost…but not quite). Today’s example: the 2011 Kawasaki Z750R. Continued >

Cycle Canada magazine has given Harley Davidson’s Forty Eight model the secret sauce to perk up the typically bland taste that Harley Davidson marketers rely upon far too often. After seeing this feature, I’m convinced that HD marketing should think bigger, or perhaps, just more Canadian.

]]> http://pedalthrottlerepeat.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/roller-derby-harley-davidson-style/feed/ 0 pedalthrottlerepeat rollergirls_48 http://pedalthrottlerepeat.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/bellezza-bicicletta-abici-granturismo/ http://pedalthrottlerepeat.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/bellezza-bicicletta-abici-granturismo/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 17:58:29 +0000 pedalthrottlerepeat http://pedalthrottlerepeat.wordpress.com/?p=471 ]]>

When it comes to appliances, form should follow function.

Many successful designers accept this mantra as paramount. However, at some point in history, a designer/inventor/cobbler/craftsman realized that just because an appliance has to function, it doesn’t need to sacrifice beauty in its form. Bicycles, for example, were designed as transportation appliances. And for over more than a century, they’ve exceeded their basic functionality. They’re everything from recreational toys to professional sports equipment, yet all the while retain their original function as an appliance. Neat trick, eh? Continued >

Photo by Ted

Francisco on the Monster in front; me on the Street Triple bringing up the rear.

Photo by Duke