Lawrence of Arabia

[Bryn1203]

....was riding along the Jurassic coast road this afternoon and decided to check out last resting place of T E Lawrence.

For those not familiar with the man check this out

The man was a war hero and into motorbikes - The Brough Superior in particular



I think he would of liked my Buell Ulysses, so I rode down to his last resting place - here are a few pics

[Waldo308]

Thanks for posting this.

I first became interested in T. E. Lawrence when I saw the movie as a twelve year old in 1962. I read his Seven Pillars of Wisdom while in high school, again while serving in the US Army and again while working in England a decade ago.

He is, for me, one of the most fascinating, enigmatic individuals about whom I've ever read. Wish I'd gotten to see this while I was in the UK.

Regards,

[bajaburro]

sad,really.most on this site would'nt even know who he was.

[BELSTAFF]

Just us ol' farts
but ol guys rule!!!

[Statdawg]

Originally Posted by Waldo308

He is, for me, one of the most fascinating, enigmatic individuals about whom I've ever read. Wish I'd gotten to see this while I was in the UK.

Regards,

Me too, he rode the best bike in the world, still IMO, and he rode 500 mile days on English countryside roads. Plus his life was remarkable.

I also read Hero : The Life & Legend of Lawrence of Arabia.

Thank you for the report.

[MrBob]

I keep this on my desktop because it perfectly explains some aspects of riding:

The burble of my exhaust unwound like a long cord behind me. Soon my speed snapped it, and I heard only the cry of the wind which my battering head split and fended aside. The cry rose with my speed to a shriek while the air’s coldness streamed like two jets of iced water into my dissolving eyes. I screwed them to slits and focused my sight two hundred yards ahead of me on the empty mosaic of the tar’s gravelled undulations.

T.E. Lawrence 1936

[RedDogAlberta]

"A skittish motorbike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth".

T.E. Lawrence


Thank you very much for this thread. I've been a huge fan for much of my life and this is obviously not someplace I can just go to matter-of-factly as I feel like it. It's greatly appreciated.

[Bryn1203]

Originally Posted by RedDogAlberta

"A skittish motorbike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth".

T.E. Lawrence


Thank you very much for this thread. I've been a huge fan for much of my life and this is obviously not someplace I can just go to matter-of-factly as I feel like it. It's greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all the replies. I must admit to have not read any of his books - this will change.

The village where he is buried is in a quiet wooded part of Dorset with some long straights and challenging twisty bits. I'll go back & check out his cottage later.

p.s. RedDogAlberta- I'll take the liberty of borrowing the above quote for another thread 'do Jap bikes have souls'. Thanks

[RedDogAlberta]

Please feel free. A great quote and his words, not mine. Lord knows he certainly put in a few miles on camels and horses so one must assume he knew what he was talking about. There are Lawrence fans the world over. I'm thinking that today he would ride a Buell.

[leafman60]

Interesting. Thanks for the pictures. I am very familiar with T.E. Lawrence and his Brough Superiors. I had read in recent years that his last (?) bike had been restored. I did not know they had it on display.

Lawrence was an enigmatic dude. Rumors regarding his personal life and his penchant for publicity (with help from Lowell Thomas) swirl among historians to this day.

A great account of his military exploits are presented in "A Peace to End All Peace" by David Fromkin that deals with middle-eastern history during the WWI years. Other works abound.

Lawrence basically worked with various Arab tribes in an effort to create an insurrection among them against their Ottoman rulers who opposed Britain and her allied powers. Though heroic in the movies, a great deal of the support received by Lawrence and the Brits from these guys was due to large amounts of cash paid to the tribal leaders by Lawrence ! Sounds like the US in Iraq and Afghanistan today, doesnt it ?

[exoff-roadgoat]

One of the few movies I can see over and over again.

[Taranis]

Awesome destination! I just got my 1963 edition of "The Mint" (a series of sketches including the piece about riding the Brough) in the mail yesterday. It was kind of interesting that the Brough has the same rated power and similar straight-line, on-road performance as a TE610.

"Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is a great book. For someone who was raised Christian in a rainy place but has come to deeply love the desert, there are some truly enlightening chapters. For anyone interested in Middle Eastern politics, it's an invaluable education. The fundamentals really haven't changed, and the local situations are much more complex than any news reporting will tell you.

I'd watch the movie before the book. It's stunningly beautiful. After you've read the book, the portrayal of some of the Arabs in the movie is offensive compared to their characters as related by Lawrence.

[USAIR]

Good photography and good story thanks for posting.


Fred

[Taranis]

Some interesting links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence

http://www.broughsuperiorclub.com/pa...tel_brough.htm

[cleanair]

Have enjoyed the movie a couple times and enjoyed reading the post here.