Some people like to collect things and recently I was contacted by Michael Bondesen from Denmark. He appears to be a fellow motorcycle enthusiast and like all serious bikers, has his own obsessions. Michael asked me to send him one of our badges for his wall in his workshop, so I did. He sent me a photo of his workshop and the wall where he put my badge (see if you can spot it). He also informed me that he is working on a restoration of a BMW and will soon have his own blog about the project. I look forward to seeing your work Michael, be sure to send me a link. Thanks for sending the photos.

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The Royal Enfield Bullet is a classic beauty. This India built British bike traces it’s roots back to WWI and is very simple to maintain and is extremely fuel efficient. It makes a perfect city bike and is now available in Canada. check it out.

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A short tale by a volcanic refugee

On a recent business trip to London, I found myself trapped by a volcanic eruption. Iceland was spewing volcanic ash into the atmosphere and it was preventing me from returning home to my family. It was the first time I realized how much I took travel for granted, especially flight. Anyway, I became very restless and decided that I needed to get off the island.

So began my journey as a volcanic refugee. I tried desperately to order train tickets to Paris online but every time I got to the checkout screen their system would crash. So I packed up my computer and walked to Kings Cross station to find myself in the longest line (cue as they say in England) of my life. I waited three hours to get to the front of the line. Met a girl in line from Australia also trying to get to Paris so that she could continue her journey to Turkey where should would meet her boyfriend. I was able to get a ticket on the 5am train the day after next. From Paris, I would make my way to Rome through a series of connections that took me through rural France, Switzerland and Northern Italy to an overnight stay in Milan. It took 14 hours to get to Milan because one of the trains was the milk run and stopped every 20 minutes in Switzerland. What a beautiful place though, I have never seen the Alps before and they are definitely impressive. Worthy of a return trip for certain. Anyway, the next day I caught my train to Rome where I would eventually connect with my flight back to Toronto via Frankfurt.

I was only in Rome for 1 day so I decided to jump on the double decker tourist bus that gave me the 4 hour tour of Rome including the Vatican. St. Peters Basilica gave me an appreciation for why the Italians do the best stone work in the world. I have never seen so much opulence in my life. But somehow it made sense to be there. Anyway, to my point of being disappointed by a landmark that I had never seen in person - After seeing the movie Gladiator, the CGI special effects spoiled my visit to the Coliseum. I expected something more spectacular. I know it’s a ruin but I found it paled in comparison to my perception from the recreation in the film. Hollywood had screwed with my brain.

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I just love when someone takes something that is already perfect and makes it better. Australian Dave jennings, a former surfware business owner (he founded Mambo), started a new venture to combat the “soullessness” in modern motorcycle design. Jennings’ new company, Deus Ex Machina, takes retro bikes and modern bikes with retro styling (such as the Kawasaki W650, the Yamaha SR400, or even the Harley Sportster), breaks them down to the bare frame and then rebuilds them to custom specs. A chromed out tank here, drag handlebars there, monochrome black parts etc. Creating unique cafe racers, dirt bikes and street bikes.

Jennings company is now 5 years old and going strong, with locations in Australia, New Zealand and Bali. He’s now created quite a following and diversified into accessories, bicycles and his original love, surf gear. The company’s full name means “God from the machine” - interesting choice of names and those who ride would probably agree in the heavenly stature of Jennings motorcycles. Check out his gallery, absolutely fantastic!

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There’s nothing more embarrassing than opening your garage door and having your kids toys, bicycles, hockey equipment, gardening supplies, tools and whatever else you can’t find a home for scattered everywhere and on display for the whole world. Not many people take pride in the largest focal point of their home. The garage is where you store some of your most prized possessions. Think about it; your motorcycle, your classic car, convertible, snowmobile, thousands of dollars worth of tools and sports equipment, all stuffed into a rectangle box. Don’t they deserve better?

It’s time to show your garage some respect.

The urban garage deserves better. Your possessions deserve better. The garage is rapidly evolving from a once dusty and neglected space into an exciting focal point of the home. No longer simply just a place to park your car, the garage provides a unique opportunity for homeowners to add additional functional space to their home while dramatically enhancing the comfort and convenience of everyday life. One of the best places to start is with the garage flooring.

Eat off your garage floors?

Well maybe not eat off them, but you no longer need to settle for grey concrete floors in your garage. There are some great polymers available on the market that protect your floor from spills and stains and are not only delightful to look at but have been proven to stand the test of time. The folks at Global Garage Flooring understand this completely. Their G2 Polymers™ Floor Coatings are durable and they offer a full line of beautiful simulated granite flooring and solid color coating options that are sure to suit the needs of any project.

Some of the benefits of G2 Polymers™ Floor Coatings:

• Three times more resistant to abrasion than conventional epoxy systems
• UV stable resins: No fading, yellowing or peeling due to sunlight exposure
• Year-Round application
• No Hot-Tire Pickup
• Resistant to a wide range of chemicals – including oil and grease!
• One-Day installation that can be driven on in a matter of hours not days

Everything in its place

I think the red and black combination works for me

Imagine having everything at your fingertips. No more hunting for your tools, knowing exactly how many Xmas lights you have and where the extension cords are. Sounds like heaven doesn’t it? Whether you’re looking to transform your garage into a modern day workshop or simply looking for an effective storage solution, having a garage makeover will improve the resale value of your home, relieve your anxiety every time you open your garage, and will make working on your motorcycle a more enjoyable experience. The folks at Global work with their clients to develop customized plans suited to their tastes that will help dramatically enhance their garage and provide them with years of enjoyment. All of Global’s storage systems are constructed with pride using only the highest quality materials available. Get in touch with them and get your dream garage. Definitely Lily Approved!

Now this is more like it. Labelled and ready to go.

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If you’re a motorcycle touring enthusiast or just simply love the romantic idea of traveling solo by motorcycle through foreign lands, meeting new people and experiencing life on their terms then you’ll love this book - One More Day Everywhere: Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding. I recently discovered Glen Heggstad, a former Hells Angels member and martial arts champion who decided to pick up and tour the world on a 650cc BMW Dakar.

I really enjoyed his book and find his writing style very lucid and fluid. He seems very genuinely concerned about the preconceived notions that people develop through the media. He set out on his latest journey with the intentions of meeting the inhabitants of earth face-to-face, look them in the eye, and shake their hand. He proves that although governments don’t get along, people do.

Glen’s odyssey took 2 years and 80,000 kms to complete and takes him from Vladivostok on the edge of the Russian Far East to the heart of Africa and back to California and just about everywhere in between. A well documented trip with lots of detail and some hairy moments. A definite must for the adventure travel enthusiast. Check out his web site and follow some of his other pursuits.

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I am a big fan of classic British motorcycles. However, they are not machines that are easy to keep unless you have a good mechanic, are mechanically inclined or know someone that restores, modifies and improves such classics as Falcon Motorcycles of LA. Founded by Ian Barry & Amaryllis Knight in 2007, Falcon sources vintage British motorcycle frames & parts and rebuilds them from the ground up while adding their own design modifications to improve and enhance them and even reinventing them without sacrificing the integrity of the original design. The Bullet Falcon was conceived in this vane, inspired by the idea of what a Triumph board track racer would have looked like, if indeed Triumph had ever created one. It is simply gorgeous and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Future Falcon Motorcycles will include the following British marques: Norton, Velocette, Ariel, BSA, Matchless, Rudge, and Brough Superior.

The Bullet is a custom Triumph motorcycle, that started as the derelict frame and engine of a 1950 pre-unit Triumph Thunderbird — the bike Marlon Brando rode in “The Wild One”. The concept was inspired by what a Triumph board track racer would have looked like, if indeed Triumph had ever created one. Check out the gallery on their web site. The photos and web site are stunning. This is definitely Lily approved!

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