Little Bits of Style

As I'm learning from my niece, these days there is not one style, but lots of different styles. For example, you can be goth, emo, punk, hippy, etc. I don't know what its called, but there is a little slice of the style wheel that has elements of the late 40's, early 50's. For example, women wear short shorts, big puffy skirts, and have a flip in their hair.

In about the same era, there were a bunch of young men running around England on their motorcycles. They would remove every unnecessary part to make it lighter and faster. They would cut the handlebars so that they could lean over on the tank for better aerodynamics. Then, in the middle of the night, they would race from cafe' to cafe' to see who was bravest or had the fastest bike. Bikes in this style became known as cafe' racers.

Recently, a business opened up in the Depot Town section of Ypsilanti that celebrates both the 40's clothing and cafe' racer bikes. Naturally, its called, Cafe' Racer. Up front, they serve coffee and tea to make up the Cafe' part of the name. They also sell unique components to help you convert your bike to a cafe' racer. In back, they work on vintage motorcycles, both repair and special projects. Overall, a very cool idea. I hope they are successful.



They did an interesting thing to help promote themselves. They have made a pin up calendar, combining the bikes and local girls in a common style. This pic is from their calendar and is my favorite. Doesn't that make you want to come visit Ypsilanti? The bike is nice too.



Now those of you who know me know that I enjoy taking an idea as far as it will go. I found this picture along with the shots of weird bicycles. I think it makes the ultimate cafe' racer. In this case, they've even deleted one of the wheels in an effort to make it lighter.