I love the work of Carl Giles, simply known as “Giles”. He added topical visual fun to the Daily and Sunday Express from 1943 to ‘89-‘91. His annual collections were a regular Christmas present for my father. Though left leaning in politics he said he earned a good income from the right wing Express. As well as the contents of my weekly comic 2000ad, I also drew the scenes and characters in his strips.
Picked up this great reference book of Triumph motorcycles from the last eighty odd years. All models and variations discussed in depth from the legendary Meriden examples to the current Hinckley offerings. Lots of photos and masses of written information.
The Complete Book of Classic and Modern Triumph Motorcycles 1937-Today https://www.amazon.com/dp/0760366012/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EIw8EbMGGRAH3
For the reader rider. A motorcycle saddle and tank shelf system for your book perusing pleasure.
Ten Years
– as GeordieBiker nears its 10 years I’ve been looking into a way of memorializing the over 3,300 posts that have accumulated over its lifetime. I had a PDF document prepared which contains all 1,707 pages of blog posts (to date). It’s nice to skim through and reminisce on past rides, or musings, or image finds.
It means buying books and letting them pile up unread. The word dates back to the very beginning of modern Japan, the Meiji era (1868-1912) and has its origins in a pun. Tsundoku, which literally means reading pile, is written in Japanese as 積ん読.
– Library Classification was a much needed skill to understand until fairly recently. For university research; expanding reading interest; broadening hobby knowledge. Here’s part of my motorcycle section in our home library.
Mayhem | This is what can happen if you drive around with a cat on your head. It may startle, dug it’s claws into your scalp, causing you to careen across the road and the ongoing calamity spreads to all other roadway and path users. Remember: don’t drive around with a cat on your head, no matter how cool you might think it seems!
Comic Art | a compilation by motorcycle journalist Gary Inman of biker imagery. Dynamic cover!
Book Week | one of the publications I managed to acquire from our vacation as proprietors of The Open Book was this glossy tome by legendary Moto-writer Mick Walker. Now added to my small library of all things two wheeled.
Bookish | A perfect week in Wigtown Scotland running a second hand bookshop. Some lads Triumph Tiger parking along the High Street reminded me that the hills and coast of Galloway would be stunning riding country.
The Duke | A different kind of horse for John Wayne. Comic book adventures chasing hoodlums around a mountainside hairpin bend.
Safety First | I must now wear my noggin lid for the day-to-day chores around the house and for relaxation activities.
‘Zines | Whatever your interest there is a magazine for it. And, in the specialist topic of motorcycling, there are sub genres covering everything from custom, classic/vintage, off road, on road, Day-to-day riding, travel & adventure. We have a great magazine store in Evanston with a great selection.
Oily hands and a 10mm socket – just read about the passing of the creator of the global mechanics phenomenon, known as the Haynes Workshop Manual, John Haynes (1938-2019) aged 80. The step-by-step photographic and illustrative descriptions of dismantling and reassembly was conceived whilst he was a public schoolboy recording the renovation of an Austin Seven into an Austin Seven ‘Special’. The first published book in ’66 was for an Austin Healey Sprite. Hundreds of manuals for cars and motorcycles later the library stretched from the Solo’s Millennium Falcon, Kirk’s Enterprise to NASA’s Space Shuttle, and Apollo.
D-I-Y Sometimes you need some ken to be familiar with your interest. A ubiquitous Haynes Service & Repair Manual is an essential reference tome for any self respecting biker.
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