FEATURE
P34
O
n a warm Saturday evening outside
Pappy & Harriets,' a legendary road-
house way, way out in the California
desert, rows and rows of Harley-Davidsons
are lined up, their chrome and leather shining
in the sun, a testament to the enduring popu-
larity of that most American of bikes. As the
winds whip off the desert, settling a fine layer
of sand on the hogs, a lone rider on a Honda
CL350, dressed like Mick Jagger circa 1969,
pulls up beside them, parks, stops his engine,
dismounts and casts a cursory glance over the
bikes. Then he says to no one in particular, as
if just thinking out loud, "I'd buy one of those,
but I don't think my ass is wide enough yet."
You join us at the second-ever Hooligan
Hoedown in Pioneertown, California. It's a
camp out for café racers of all types, the
Hoedown, organized by two ultra fashionable
clothing/lifestyle purveyors - Iron & Resin and
Seaweed & Gravel - brings riders from all over
Southern California and beyond. Some come
to burn up the desert, others to show off their
bikes and drink beer, but all come to look cool.
As one attendee says, while clutching a can of
Pabst Blue Ribbon lager, "People might call us
hipster bikers, but if that means looking good,
riding a good-looking bike and being good
enough to look after it properly, then you can
call us hipsters anytime"
There has long been a small but intense café
racer scene in Southern California, but in the
last few years the number of riders has grown
quickly. While not an everyday sight on the
freeways of Los Angeles, Triumphs, BSAs and
Nortons aren't as rare as a snowy day. Cynics
have put the popularity of cafés down to them
being the latest fashion accessory, after all
Lisbeth, the hacker star of the movie "The Girl
With The Dragon Tattoo," was seen speeding
around on a Honda CL-350 and, well, she was
cool wasn't she?
HIPSTERS AND BIKES
BY JAMES CHEADLE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIN PASHLEY
Yet another side of motorcycling
HOOLIGAN
HOEDOWN
