The only things tougher than the 49ers of the California Gold Rush were the leather boots, heavyweight denim jeans and other natural fibers they wore. What worked then works today for those headed to the hills, albeit at higher speeds on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, another tough American classic.
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- Clasic denim jeans made tougher by a space-age kevlar lining by Sliders.
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- Dick’s motorcycle jacket is made of hemp canvas by Joe Rocket.
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- A cobbler added a leather patch on his Ariat Roper boots for the bike’s shifter.
About Fashion Friday: Inspired by a 2011 Bike to Work Day challenge sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, this series highlights the broad range of “dress for the destination” bicycling fashions.
Erica B-W
March 18, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Ugh… Harley stuff on this delightful, wonderful, thoughtful blog. I’m so depressed. :-( It seems so nonsensical in contrast with the essence of this blog.. to me, a vivacious, fashionable, intelligent and beautiful feminine energy combined with the harmonious nature of cycling. Is it too much to ask to divert the oil burner/knucklehead material to another blog site, and remain consistent with the bicycle and fashion paired topics? Thank you kindly.
ladyfleur
March 18, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Never fear, the Harley is a rental and won’t become a regular feature on the blog. :)
But I’m a little surprised by your strong negative reaction. Riding the motorcycle allowed us to go places deep in the hills we couldn’t reach on a weekend trip without a motor vehicle. And at 40+ mpg it’s a lot more efficient than the other alternative, our car, which always makes me carsick on winding roads.
Margaret
March 21, 2013 at 7:34 pm
I was very surprised by the strong negative reaction.
Erica B-W
March 24, 2013 at 9:58 am
Okay, the reaction was negative granted. However, there is some reasoning behind it.
My spouse and I have “hobbied” with motorcycles for a few years and began looking deeper at the “facts” versus the “assumptions.” A very small example of corroborating statistical data should help illustrate my point… as follows:
Motorcycle safety/fatalities
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/11/tp-downey-motorcycle-death-trend-reverses-after/
Air borne emissions
The majority of motorcycles and scooters do not have emissions control devices, except for BMW.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/11/autos/hy-throttle11
http://www.sportrider.com/features/146_1008_motorcycle_emissions_standards/viewall.html
Noise emissions
A consideration in areas of natural habitat and preserves. Off road motorcycles may have spark arrest mufflers yet emit very significant decibels which are not considered friendly to wildlife in any stretch of the imagination
http://www.noiseoff.org/motorcycles.php
http://www.nonoise.org/library/fctsheet/wildlife.htm
Fuel Savings
A rough guess is that 2012 motorcycles on average display a 10 MPG advantage over the contemporary economy car in 2012
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/2012-MPG.htm
I’m sure if anyone wants to argue they can cherry pick statistics to suit their preferred position. My point here is to actually consider some factual data versus using intuition that serves an ego need.
Perhaps it would be more enlightened to consider another pleasure vehicle to enjoy a weekend. A convertible Smart Fortwo offers nearly the same MPG as a Harley full size, offers emissions controls for air and noise impact, and does not require much more space than the large motorcycle. Safety benefits of crash protection are also a consideration.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1060750_sun-sippers-6-convertibles-with-the-best-gas-mileage/page-2
Consider your footprint
As many of the themes in your blog focus on the societal benefit of bicycling, it seems a bit “unaware” not to consider the implications of the combustion engine motorcycle. My spouse and I have deliberated about this a great deal, and have concluded these vehicles are primarily entertainment and pleasure with very little compelling utility of lower environmental impact in the overall picture of noise, emissions, and safety.
I am not intentionally pressing a “holier than thou” message here, but rather, encourage you to take a thoughtful consideration of your recreational choices that is consistent with the typical thoughtfulness of your blogging focus.
Love the fashion focus by the way. More summer shoe stories if you can… I love the inspiration.
Be well,
E