P.C. Hipsta

Following on from the Dan Walsh-prompted 'We've reached Peak Hipster' post, a Sideburn reader (who will remain anonymous, unless he wants to 'out' himself) has come up with a whole a series of funny strips playing on the single photo.

Here are a couple. See more at P.C. Hipsta

We have reached peak hipster

From occasional Sideburn contributor and good friend, Dan Walsh...

We have reached peak hipster. 

Moustache, tattooed fingers gripping a heat-wrapped truncheon. Tattoos he got in a non-touristy town in India you've probably never heard of. Staring into the distance, he imagines fitting drum brakes and knobblies to the riot van. 'It would be, like, totally authentic.'

This photo was taken yesterday at the EDL*/anti-EDL demo in Walthamstow, which delighted him, because a friend of his has opened a pop-up in the Stow called Pot Noodles and Palaver, and he can totally get his lunch there after. 'And you won't believe this, but they serve it in an old tin can and shit.'

*EDL - English Defence League. Far right, anti-immigration, anti-Islam street protest group.

Photo: Guy Smallman

This is Dirt Quake!

This is Dirt Quake! from SIDEBURN on Vimeo.

The much-requested film of the event.
This was made by Hayley Saull and Dan Walsh of Patteran Films, who also made the great Dirt Quake preview video and last year's Rollerburn doc. Dan wrote and performed (Spoke? Intoned? Delivered?) the voice over.
Thanks Patteran!
UPDATE: Thanks again to The Vicious Cycles for supplying the music.
If you like the look of this, there is UK Short Track going on this Saturday, 11-5 at King's Lynn Norfolk. G

Northern Soul

No stories yet on sand racing in Dubai, or ice racing in Antarctica, but we are covering a lot of territory. SB#10 has a story on chopper speedway in Finland. Photos by Finn Mikko Toiviainen, words by Mancunian globetrotter Dan Walsh.

If you are still wondering what the hell defines Sideburn? It's more about attitude. We don't care if you wear leather or lace.
"It's not what you ride, but how you ride it" is core. If your bike has knobblies or high bars, you're probably half way there. BP

Dan Walsh: Our man in Mablethorpe

Dan Walsh, one of the most original and readable talents to have written about motorcycles, has supplied an exclusive story for Sideburn 10. While his creative juices were flowing he wrote this about a recent visit to Mablethorpe. Thanks Dan (and Hayley for the photos).

Everyday is, like, Sandy....

Sunshone two-stroke smoke, salty north sea spray and sandy smiles for miles. Sunday's beach race at Mablethorpe was an English spring delight. Open pipes, open faces, wide the fuck open throttles closed the Golden Sands to dogs and walkers, opened them for thumpers and dirty scramblers.

Round and round, round after round, ran fluoro-dressed crossers, tartan-trousered kwackers and triumphant scrapyard knackers. No blink and you miss it one-hit wonder, like the sunday papers this shit goes on for happy hours. Time to watch, chuckle, stroll with ice creams, let on to passing aunties walking dogs and slinging swag - to some Mablethorpe's nowt but a chip wrapper, greasy old rubbish, but it's also a travelling showmen wintering ground, home away from home for our inlaws and outlaws.

Blow on a chip, pick a favourite. Old man(c) Lomas was the smoothest on his Conti'd Honda, and had the slickest set-up with his missus in her van-powered starter rollers. The grasstracker boys seemed to circle fastest, Barrie Gammidge's Dirty Thirty Triumph 900 seemed straight-line quickest, mid-corner slowest, carving curious over-shot spiraled lines. The elbows-out motocross kids were the most competitive, the balls out-unlimited roadsters the most joyous - for no good reason nor bad reason, we cheered loudest for prettiest twin-shocker Bonnie Number 22 and ugly bug Green Fifteen.

Open pits, open access - stand where you like, go where you want. Hang out behind the vans with the parents and partners leaking anxiety & pride, sit on the stone steps with the high-viz Sunday riders, sip in Sharky's bar with the old local soaks. Just remember this shit won't be there forever. Next rounds are on the 11th and 25th March. Support your local beach race!

Read more about Mablethorpe Beach Races (and Daytona, when it was still a beach race) in Sideburn 3. G

Rattle Rattle

Seeing as how Sideburn has moved into terrace culture merchandising with our new scarf, how about rattles anyone? This is Dan Walsh's Dad making a right racket on an away game back in the day. BP

Brightest star in the remedial class

I had a bit of a shocker at Buxton. Look, I know I'm not a very good racer, but I fell below my normal low standards. I crashed three (four?) times, stalled twice. I pushed the bike further than I rode it. I didn't make the Thunderbike A final, something I always really want to do, or the short track semis, but that meant I still had two B Finals. And that when I finally got my eye in. I was racing decent riders - the Co-Built guys, Wilky, big Trappy, people who beat me, but I got a win and a second. I love racing. You should give it a go. And Dan Walsh shot it from stupid raceface to chequered flag. Anthony came close, though. Blimey.
Thanks Dan. GI

Aciieeeed!

It's Tattoo Wednesday. Here Dan Walsh and Skooter Farm's Captain Highside indulge in a little male bonding. GI
PS Stevie Coles left a comment saying he didn't see Dan. Perhaps he wants to look further than the end of his nose.

Walt Whitman 1819 - 1892

'Whose Your Daddy?' is about as far as most people get when it comes to snappy messages written on the bottom of their number plate. Michael's Triumph scrambler 'These are the days that must happen to you', is a line from the Walt Whitman classic poem 'Song of the Open Road' from 1900. And it's the title of our's truely Dan Walsh's must-read road diary from 2008. Their paths all crossed in the pits at Stoke last Saturday. BP

more Dan snaps

UPDATE: 77 is Flynn Scott on the mini-framer his dad built for him.

And Jacapo Monti in a league of his own as usual (and racing every class; Thunderbike, Short Track and Minibike)

Dan Walsh Snaps Stoke

(below) #28 Steve Coles from #47 Anthony Co-Built, but look in the back of the shot to see GI totally crossed up trying to miss Geoff Co-Built having a little lie-down mid-corner.

(below) #65R is Chippy Wood and his home-built, rule-bending Thunderbike. He was flying.Terrific day, brothers.
Funny, friendly & ferocious, noisy nice nasty & keen.
Suerte, Dan

Dan's Indians

From Dan Walsh, on his way back from a few months riding and guiding in the sub-continent.

Heading back from India after a weird, wonderful three months. India dazzles & dismays, appalls & attracts. Spotted your Chai Racer post, thought you may dig these. Mumbai may rock post-modern retro, but Anjuna still easy oozes oily dusty pre-Apoc chic, yet also throws up the odd polished perfect aircooled RD. All good.
Suerte, Dan

Rouser Works V Goodluck Photos X Dan Walsh

Another teaser from SB#4... Now when we started Sideburn, we did zer0 market research, but you don't need a PHD in media studies to know there are a thousand-and-one; or more, chopper magazines out there (and about a zillion-and-one; at the last count, chopper blogs) . Hence we made a strict No Choppers door policy for the magazine (they do sneak in through the kitchen of the SBlog very occasionally). But then along comes Gary Griffin - Mr Goodluck Photos, with this knobbly-clad H-D going sideways on concrete, and you cant argue with that - or Mr Rouser's tattoo gun, can you now?
Funnily enough at that same moment we are thinking 'Hmm Respeck' a certain Dan Walsh is dragging 'A Way Out' - the self-same bike, out of his nets after a night's internet trawling, and thinking 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?' So when we contacted him out of the blue, to write the story, the coincidence was complete. BP