66 Motor Palace

The Deus Bike Build-Off, Venice The Boundless Enthusiasm Bike Build Off America sounds pretty simple. Below is a description of the competition: THE RULES JUDGING CRITERIA MAKING THE MOST WITH THE LEAST THE ENTRY MUST RUN  (I.E. KICK OVER AND IDLE) MUST BE RIDEABLE  (I.E. ROLL UNDER OWN POWER) DISPLAY CREATIVITY IN DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION DISPLAY INGENUITY IN DESIGN OR FUNCTION Oh...and the local winners from Sydney, Milan, Bali, and L.A. compete for the overall title! The outcome of the L.A. (Venice) event was determined by esteemed Judges; Yoshi Kosaka, Shinya Kimura, Michael Woolaway, Mike (Relief Judge), and our very own Lori Bentley-Law! Orange County was covered in thick fog and that broke around Seal Beach, traffic was light for the 405. We were greeted with hot coffee at Deus and Lori was soon whisked away with the other Judges by Julian and Hiroshi. While they were busy Daniella and I tried to figure out a way to sneak Yoshi's bike out of...

I did a 300 mile loop through Joshua Tree for New Year's. It was a perfect day with crisp clear skies, light traffic in the AM, and a hot thermos of coffee. The temperature ranged from the high 30s to mid 50s...mostly in the 40s so it was a great opportunity to wear a heavy jacket and winter gloves. Not many pictures today because it was too cold to take the gloves and helmet off!  Lori worked. We had a nice dinner of blackened pork chops and Black Eyed peas for good luck.  The guys on the CVOs and baggers were all smiles when they rode up.  Stopped here for coffee break. I stayed on the sidewalk. The coffee stayed hot...until about 30 seconds after I poured it in the cup! That's a Joshua Tree A warm jacket! The quality of this B-3 is why we're a  Schott  dealer. Thanks everyone for making 2012 great. Let's do it a gain in 2013! Bonus shots from the end of 2012 Christmas shopping at Deuss Ex Machina . Go...

I saw a guy shooting with a Leica M8 at last month's  Deus Sunday Mass  and since I've had Lust for Leica (get it?) most of my adult life I took advantage of the opportunity to speak to it's owner. The Photographers name is Peter Heck and it turns out he likes it. He spent considerable time teaching me about it and making lens recommendations. He never said so, but over the course of our conversation I got the idea he wasn't just taking snapshots for his Facebook page. As usual our conversation drifted to motorcycles and motorcycle things, (he rides a modified/lightened/hot rodded BMW R90/6). As we wrapped our conversation we exchanged cards confirming my suspicion, Peter's a professional photographer. We've stayed in touch since returned to Germany and he's been kind enough to share more photos of his motorcycle, these taken on a ride through the French Alps. Anyway the point here is you should go to Deus Sunday Mass. "For sure" they...