Author: admin

No comments

Authenticity Roundtable – Authenticity Through Solo Motorcycle Travel

Jason Wragg

  By ,

Building upon the other two papers, this autoethnographic narrative delves into the lived experiences of embarking on solo adventure travel by motorcycle. Departing from conventional academic discourse, this narrative offers a personal and evocative exploration of the captivating world of solo adventure motorcycle travel. The purpose of this autoethnographic narrative is not to present a definitive thesis or unwavering conclusion … Continue reading

No comments

Authenticity Roundtable – Two-wheeled Authenticity, or: Existentialism on a Motorcycle?

Mathew Humphrey

  By ,

In 2018, cultural historian Maiken Umbach and I published a book on ‘authenticity’ as an ideological concept. We explored the ideological appropriation of the idea of authenticity across discourse about the natural world, about industrial society, in leadership, and in the field of consumption. We had a few pages in there on authenticity and motorcycle subculture, and that potential connection between motorcycling and authenticity … Continue reading

One Comment

Authenticity Roundtable – Authenticity in Motorcycling

Steven E. Alford

  By ,

Significantly, motorized transport is often an element in an owner’s identity formation, from Ford Mustangs to Teslas, from Vespas to Harleys. What one drives or rides reflects the owner’s character, suggesting that there’s no small identity anxiety involved in the purchase and use of a motorized vehicle. Groups form around them, and then further distinctions are made among owners. In the world of motorcycling, distinctions are often made … Continue reading

One Comment

Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s

Book Review By Sheila Malone

  By

The story of Louise Scherbyn, the founder of the Women’s International Motorcycle Association (WIMA) is strikingly rendered in the forthcoming book Iron Horse Cowgirls: Louise Scherbyn and the Women Motorcyclists of the 1930s and 1940s by Linda Back McKay and Kate St. Vincent Vogl, McFarland Publishers (Fall 2023). The authors overlay the acts of writing with riding (driving) motorcycles … Continue reading

One Comment

Identifying the barriers to a wider uptake of motorcycles as a primary mode of transport for commuting in the UK

Alex Parsons-Hulse

  By

A growing body of research indicates numerus benefits could be achieved from a modal shift in personalised transport from cars to motorcycles, or other forms of powered two-wheelers (PTWs). Benefits include a potential 40% reduction in congestion for all road users coupled with a 6% reduction in the emission cost of pollutants (Yperman, 2011). In most vehicle “use case scenarios” a reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions … Continue reading

No comments

Remembering Geoff Crowther

Steven Alford, Suzanne Ferriss, Christian Pierce & IJMS Friends

  By

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Geoff Crowther, one of the founding board members of The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies and the driving force behind our first international conference, held on the Isle of Man in 2007 to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the TT races … Continue reading

7 Comments

“The Constant is that Governments Regard Motorcyclists as a Problem”: Riders’ Rights Activists in the United Kingdom on Threats, Political Mobilization, and Freedom

Mathew Humphrey & Jessica Andersson-Hudson

  By

In terms of transport choice, it is quite exceptional to be a motorcyclist. Around 0.8% of United Kingdom (UK) road journeys in 2019 were by powered-two-wheeler (PTW) (UK Department of Transport, n.d.).  The 3.0 billion vehicle miles (bvm) covered by motorcycles in that year in the UK is less than the total mileage of pedal cycles at 3.5bvm. Like pedal cyclists, motorcyclists are classed as “vulnerable” road users … Continue reading