50cc Astor Super Sport 1969 /Itom (1948–73), Turin, Italy / Courtesy of Stewart Ingram
During the Second World War many of Italy’s motorcycle and automobile manufacturing facilities were destroyed by allied bombing. To aid in the post-war economic recovery of these industries, the Italian government revised a highway code which reduced the minimum driving age to fourteen. With this, motorcycle manufacturers could create a new class of vehicles aimed at the younger generation. What these bikes lacked in power, they easily made up in style.
In 2012, SFO curated a small collection of these motorcycles for an installation in their international terminal. Included in the display were pieces by Itom, Benelli and MV August - all of which are scarcely seen on the roadways of Europe let alone the U.S. Although these vehicles have long ceased production, their legacy lives on through their iconic design.
50cc Giulietta Super Sport 1959
Fratelli Peripoli (1957–80), Vicenza, Italy
125cc Competition SS 52 “Gobbetto” 1952
Moto Rumi (1950–63), Bergamo, Italy
48cc Record Sport 1968
FB Mondial (1948–79), Milan, Italy
Images via SFO
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Also worth viewing:
Citroen Brochure
Monaco 1975 poster
Vintage Porsche Posters
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Crazyman has finished his Iron Butt Motorcycle Rally and returned home. He's red as a beet, with bad sunburns on his wrists, and strange pock marks all over from things that flew at him on the road. But mostly, he's OKAY, except for a few adventures... His foot hit a road reflector on day 3 apparently and is (thankfully) "not black anymore" (I quote - hm.). His ears are swollen from 20+ days of ear plugs. And a tumbleweed actually penetrated his kevlar riding suit head on at some point. (He says his mechanics will be pulling tumbleweed out of the engine for years.) Gads. But what an expression, eh? This is his first step off the bike.
(Click to get a better look at the sunburned mug.)
Be prepared to be blown away - here is his ENTIRE route over the last month - starting from Atlanta...
I'm so glad to have him home safe. :)
Yesterday (Saturday) was a big riding day for Stan. The Iron Butt Rally announced the course requirements for Stage 2 at 4:00 am, so hubbie was on the road by 5! And since the goal is to hit all 48 states, he covered most of New England before ending his ride about 9:00 pm last night. Of course, that included New York City, which he decided to ride straight through. Apparently he received lots of strange looks "Are you a cop? Are you an alien?" and the cabbies didn't know what to make of him. He even got hit on by a woman in Queens, "Nice bike." (That's the way I heard it anyhow. The saying around here is "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.") Here was his amazing route:
I just returned from Seattle, WA where I saw off the hubs on his first Iron Butt Motorcycle Rally. This is no small affair - 11,000 miles in 11 days. They began in Seattle, will tour the entire country and end up in Los Angeles. Of course, hubbie rode out to Seattle first and will ride home from LA because he's crazy like that. Anyhow - here's the video of some of them (and Stan) taking off:
From Rawlins, Wyoming to...? Well, I can tell you there aren't many cities, towns, or junctions in much of the area he's traveling today! Hubbie called me from Utah just in case we'll lose coverage, which I'm guessing we will.
Want to know what I'm talking about? CLICK HERE.
Update: He ended up in Baker City, Oregon!
Sunday the hubs rode from Atlanta to Columbia, Missouri. Monday, from Missouri to Rawlins, Wyoming! Woosie.
Every now and then I mention that my hubbie is a long-distance motorcyclist. Well, he's off on the grandest long distance motorcycle adventure of them all - the Iron Butt Rally.
I know, I know. But it's a well-earned title. Here's why they call it that... every other year, 100 motorcyclists circle the country - doing 11,000 miles in 11 days (each). Thing is, this year it starts in Seattle, Washington. So the hubs left Sunday morning (from Atlanta, Georgia) to ride to Seattle. Then he'll begin the actual ride - all the way around the USA, ending in Los Angeles, California. Then he'll ride home.
Needless to say, this is a huge, big honkin' deal and we've been breathing nothing but motorcycles around here since January. He can't post much from the road (rally rules), so I'll be doing my own little update here.
Day 1: Atlanta to Nashville, to St. Louis, to Kansas City (not sure where he's planning on stopping yet, but he was crossing the Mississippi River when I last spoke to him via blue tooth in his helmet).
Here's Stan on his monster beast...
The world itself has become hectic and life a fast-forward motion picture. Wherever one goes, everything must be done speedily. This is because nowadays, almost in all families, both parents go to work, departing early and arriving late. The indoors work is thus kept pending. Beforehand, the speed of life was not so emphasized upon. Only the husband was the bread-winner and so the housewife had all the time to cook, clean and complete the household chores. Today, the parents, after a hard day’s work, must speed up and prepare something to eat for their children. People, therefore, have to follow the new trend and adjust to a new lifestyle.
Image via Wikipedia
The on-the-move lifestyle includes the eating of fast food among others. But even if “fast food” as we call it, people do not have time to eat a rounder properly; they either gulp it behind the driving wheel or eat it watching the television at the same time. To speed themselves up and save time, people make use of sophisticated machines such as microwaves to cook food quickly, portable computers to complete office work…. After a speedy week, to supposedly relax themselves, people listen to music now – quick, hasty music. It is the hard rock and technos. This music is a great contrast to the old ones that were the real relaxing music.
These small factors contribute to big inventions, speeding the transport rate. Long ago, there were ox carts and slow trains as means of transport. With the evolution of science and technology and due to the speed revolution, buses, cars, motorcycles, aeroplanes as well as super-jet trains travelling at two hundred kilometres per hour were introduced. Their need of fast transport then was satisfied. As their burden of work grew heavier, the need of a quick means of communication was also felt.
Scientists and inventors put their heads together. To support the level of speed of life and promote development, they abolished the hand-over of letters on horse-backs and established the links between one place and the whole world. Speed developed the fax, email methods. Through speed, the distance between the countries of the world is now lessened and so this helps the economic development of countries.
Speed may prove to be dangerous also. The speed of a car, an aeroplane, a ship can endanger the lives of many people, if not properly controlled. Cases of accidents where people had died are numerous. For instance, the well-known ship “Titanic” sank as a result of sailing at full speed and thus inevitably crash into an iceberg. How rightly has one stated that “haste makes waste”.
Image via Wikipedia
Woo Hoo! What an accomplishment! Congratulations!!!
Three cheers for Stan and Elizabeth...Stan for the llllllong way traveled/sore butt and Elizabeth (course less strenuous) for the worrying! WAY TO GO STAN, you are rocking!
Indeed! Thanks Debbi! :)