National Motorcycle Race. From the LIFE archive.

 

National Motorcycle Race

 

National Motorcycle Race II.  Helmet optional.  Floppy felt hat - a must.

 

I love everything about this shot. The cast of characters lined-up on their stripped-down bikes getting ready to tear it up, and the guys behind them buying coffee from the food truck all huddled together in their jeans, pea coats (which were probably their own from when they were discharged) and engineer boots.  BTW- the term “pea coat” is derived from pilot cloth or P-cloth, a coarse type of blue twill cloth with a napped face from which they were made.  

I don’t see any gals around– must have been too cold.

One thought on “National Motorcycle Race. From the LIFE archive.

  1. These guys look awesome. The greatness of the photo is that even during the tough times they were living through, they appear not to have a care in the world other than being bad a’s. Great looks!!

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