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Travel

WIDE REWIND
BY 05/13

MOTOGEO: ON A MOTO GUZZI V7 RACER
IN CALIFORNIA’S BIG SUR

A weekend away on one of California's best biking roads on a magnificent cafe-racer, the Moto Guzzi V7, what more could you ask for? In a video, MotoGeo’s Jamie Robinson recounts his motorcycling adventure up Big Sur, when he called in to see old friends and watch the Laguna Seca MotoGP event. The photos in the video are by the very talented Kevin Warren from Digital Press Images.Images.

Big Sur - Moto Guzzi V7 Racer - MotoGeo

This is how the MotoGeo crew describe their project: “Motorbike adventures, fun and style; getting more people to ride motorbikes; motorcycle adventures around the world with Jamie Robinson; having adventures on motorbikes with like-minded people. Venturing off to different lands, eating the local foods, documenting rebuilds of beloved two-wheelers, and of course testing awesome new & old bikes. MotoGeo is simply about promoting motorcycling around the world via our films, photographs and editorial features. We see motorcycles as a necessity in everyday life, not just as a simple means of transport, but as an expression of one’s individuality and sense of freedom. Focusing on the positives and the real reason why people ride, MotoGeo is all about trying to encourage safe motorcycling and promote motorbikes, while having fun and enjoying life on two wheels.” (www.motogeo.com).

MotoGeo founder, director, rider Jamie Robinson was born into the 2-wheeled world in July 1975 and brought up by a motorcycle obsessed father, who chopped up an old Garelli moped to teach his son to ride at 3½. After growing up watching his Dad Phil compete at race tracks like Cadwell Park and Mallory on his BSA Gold Star, Jamie swapped his dirt bike gear for leathers and joined his father racing the asphalt tracks in 1992.
After enjoying an eventful and challenging time racing the British and world circuits (also on an Aprilia 250cc in 1995), and then finally the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, Jamie hung up his racing leathers for adventure gear in 2008 and started MotoGeo. He’s been traveling around the world and making short motorcycle documentaries ever since.
Jamie’s philosophy: “Get a motorbike, some gear and learn to ride. Once you have done that, dream your adventure and let your bike take you there”.

Cameraman, editor, rider: Nik Wogen was born in February 1982 with an upbringing learning to race anything that was fast. Growing up in the Southern California mountains, motocross and trail riding were essential. Nik began with a ’80 XR80, then made a big jump up to a ’79 KDX400 to learn what speed was all about. His credentials and experience as a cameraman/editor, paired with his passion for adventure in motorcycling and film, led to his collaboration with Jamie in producing films about motorbikes and where they can take you. In a word, everywhere.
Nik quote: “Hear, smell, touch, see, and feel the adventure then twist the throttle to amplify.”

JACK KEROUAC’S
BIG SUR

THE BOOK. Big Sur is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, published in 1962. It recounts the events surrounding Kerouac’s three brief sojourns in a cabin owned by his friend, Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, in Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, in central California. In the novel, Kerouac gives all the characters an alias; his own alter-ego is Jack Duluoz. Unlike his previous novels, the Kerouac character is not presented as a Bohemian traveller, but as a popular published author.


THE PLACE. Big Sur is a coastal region of central California, where the Santa Lucia mountains rise up abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The result is a breath-taking panorama, which attracts visitors from all over the world. Although Big Sur has no specific boundaries, most definitions describe it as a 150 km stretch of coastline between the Carmel river and the San Carpoforo Creek, extending about 32 km inland to the Santa Lucia foothills.
Big Sur’s Cone Peak is the highest coastal mountain of the 48 contiguous states, rising 1600 m above sea level just 4.8 km from the ocean. The mountains retain much of the water vapour in the clouds, often in the form of morning fogs, creating a favourable environment for forests, including the southernmost habitat of the coast redwood or sequoia. Further inland, the conifer forest gives way to oak woods.

The Thrills - Big Sur

BEAUTY SPOTS. The Bixby Bridge over the eponymous river is the starting point of the path to the cabin where Jack Kerouac lived for a while at the end of the 1950s, and about which he wrote. Rocky Point is one of many parking areas from where the coast and Big Sur can be viewed. The Nepenthe restaurant on the California 1 highway, 25 km south of the Bixby Bridge, near Lucia, is a required stopping place, particularly at sunset. The dense Big Sur fogs have been immortalised by countless photographers.

CELEBRITIES LOVE BIG SUR.Henry Miller went to live in Big Sur on his return from Europe. Here he wrote many books, including Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch. Orson Welles and his wife Rita Hayworth made an impulsive purchase of a log cabin in Big Sur during a trip down the coast in 1944, which is now a popular restaurant. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton filmed The Sandpiper in Big Sur in 1965, with a scene of dancing on the restaurant terrace. The Beach Boys dedicated a song to Big Sur in their 1973 album Holland, and two other tracks on the same album refer to the area. The Irish band The Thrills included a track entitled "Big Sur" in their debut album in 2003, So Much for the City. The Red Hot Chili Peppers mention Big Sur in their 1999 single Road Trippin. Actress Anne Hathaway’s wedding to Adam Shulman was held in the beautiful scenery of Big Sur, as was Natalie Portman’s wedding to Benjamin Millepied on 4 August 2012.