Widelux FV at "Blessing of the Bikes"

[doug grosjean]

Attended the annual "Blessing of the Bikes" with my 13 y/o son aboard our BMW

GS motorcycle, at a Harley-Davidson dealer in Tecumseh, Michigan this past

Saturday.

 

Took a few pics while there ,with the Widelux FV. Pics presented below in

chronological order, starting with an overview of the event, progressing to

riders shooting the breeze, and ending with folks heading out after the

blessing.

 

Enjoy.<div></div>

[doug grosjean]

Overview #2, another angle...<div></div>

[doug grosjean]

A HD couple near (I assume) their bike...<div></div>

[doug grosjean]

Shooting the breeze....<div></div>

[doug grosjean]

Departing, event over.<div></div>

[harry_zet]

great pictures. now if only there were real motorcycles...

[Rob_the_waste]

Nice pics. They are a good inspiration to get myself back into the wind. It's been too long.

[JDMvW]

We had a local "blessing of the bikes" too. What's the occasion? I tried the liturgical calendar and it's the "sixth day of Easter" and St. Louis Mary de Montfort's feast day. Neither of these seem connected to biking, especially. Is it the day of a patron saint of motorcycles not especially recognized any longer by the church? St. Christopher of the Spoked Wheel?

 

Just curious.

[doug grosjean]

Sigh. Been here before...

 

Harry: there were American, British, German, Italian, and Japanese machines at the event. I take it from your post that you're only a fan of Austrian, Brazillian, Chinese, French, or Korean machinery?

 

Actually, the best definition I've ever seen of a "real" motorcycle was by Peter Egan, an editor at Cycle World magazine, as well as an excellent writer. He wrote that it was hard to put a finger on the definition of "real motorcycle", but it should have some air space around the engine, so you can see through it. It should have some saddlebags, so it's a bit utilitarian. Should start easy and be reliable. Relatively low maintenance, decent on fuel, and fun to ride. If you have a bunch of motorcycles in the garage, the "real" one is probably the one you actually use to run errands, in all sorts of weather. If that definition's correct, then the only thing that kept most of those bikes from being "real" is the way the riders use them.

 

Funny, but this is a conversation I never have face-to-face when out riding. People, whether other riders or not, look at the paint scratched off my bike's fuel tank from my knees. They see scratches and dents on the skidplate underneath, from taking the thing down Jeep trails in various states on both sides of the Mississippi, and gosh knows where else before I bought it. Then the worn grips, which have already been replaced once anyway.... Then they look at the odometer, pushing close to 90,000; and it may well hit 100,000 before this season is done. Then they ask, and I'm a little embarassed to admit I've only put 47,000 of those miles on it - but that's been in just the past 3 years. Those miles include a trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway with my then 10 y/o son, my first documented 1000 mile day, and rides over Tincup Pass and similar places in Colorado...

 

About that time, it seems pretty real to most folks.

 

If curious, my bike is in the 4th shot, the red BMW dual-purpose bike with the tripod on the ground on the right side, and book cover on the RH saddlebag.

 

Rob Holz: thanks! I'm still learning, even though I've been shooting for 25 years. The Widelux is focused at a rather close distance, maybe 10', and relies on small apertures to take depth of field to infinity. As a result, the best pics with that camera are not landscapes, but something a bit closer. And if you can include something really close in the foreground, so much the better.

 

JDM von Weinberg: I think it's just the first weekend that's reliably decent weather, and somebody somewhere figured that was a good excuse for a party / blessing. Entire religions have sprung up over stuff even more trivial....

[tony_lockerbie]

Always great to see your panos Doug. Must have been a helluva blessing to cover that lot!

 

Tony

[patrick j dempsey]

Very cool! Def a Cirkut camera style event! Any electric bikes? That's my current fascination... (Not that I have money for one... but it sounds fun!)

[doug grosjean]

Tony - thanks! I like your description of the blessing.... :)

 

Patrick - no, no eletric bikes. Would have been interesting.... while the Harley guys as a group have become tolerant over the years of foreign bikes (I think they've gotten old), I'm not sure they're ready for electric ones. ;)

[minhnguyen9113]

Doug

 

I've been in one of them in Orange county last couple years, but not that big. Must be several hundreds of Bikes . The pictures would be really nice if they are in larger file. Thanks for sharing, Minh

[gene m]

Great stuff with a great camera. Now, stop.

[doug grosjean]

Minh - I'd post larger, but I tend to forget what the limit is for size on here, so I go small to be very safe.

 

Gene - I'm practicing composition for when I grow up and get a Cirkut. Planning on shooting some family reunions and the like this summer, with *everybody*, using the Widelux and my Panoram, to get group composition and crowd control.