https://michaelgougis.journoportfolio.comRSS Feed for Michael GougisenMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/68cb6478-561a-4d25-a576-6e52361058d8.pngThis image captures the runoff from the corrugated metal roof of a garbage and recycling corral. During a snowfall, the metal drops below the freezing point and snow accumulates. When the snow stops, the metal absorbs heat radiated from the ground below and melts the snow accumulation from the bottom up, leaving the top of the snow untouched. The water flows from the edge of the corrugated metal folds, drips over the edge and, in just the right circumstances, freezes back into icicles, creating the effect you see here. I like to think of this image as a reminder that, under a cold, frozen and bleak landscape, warmth and renewal can be just under the surfaceMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/68cb6478-561a-4d25-a576-6e52361058d8.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/fbac32b7-c12b-4b26-bcf1-f0d1b442fdc6.pngEngineering is the shotgun wedding of physics and economics. Outside of the specific world of styling, aesthetics play no role in the decisions that lead to constructions. No one cares what the inside of a blender looks like. And yet, there is symmetry, the interplay of angles, lines and curves, the contrast between surfaces, that carries a beauty all of its own. Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, PortugalMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/fbac32b7-c12b-4b26-bcf1-f0d1b442fdc6.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/67ab5565-1a54-41e4-8245-1e52e1deb31c.pngInstitutions are more than physical objects; they are ideas, concepts. The extent to which they serve us is the extent to which we are committed to carrying out those ideas. Warning signs are manifestations of institutional intentions. This was painted on an interior door in an apartment building in Vancouver. While it is designed to save lives, the effect is more like something out of a horror movie, an establishing visual warning you that the next 90 minutes are going to be terrifyingMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/67ab5565-1a54-41e4-8245-1e52e1deb31c.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/32ffc036-cb0e-4d0d-9257-e225e9b9c779.pngThe Haunting of Mt SAC - ChamberMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/32ffc036-cb0e-4d0d-9257-e225e9b9c779.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/f4db1cf5-2e32-42b5-bf97-452516da38f0.pngThe haunting continuedMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/f4db1cf5-2e32-42b5-bf97-452516da38f0.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/a7b5760a-de12-4570-bb0c-f10760cd9159.pngThe Haunting of Mt. SAC - YardMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/a7b5760a-de12-4570-bb0c-f10760cd9159.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/acbbeee3-4c8a-4a97-a634-ccbf71cd1e25.pngAt Mt. SAC College, you will hear rumors of hauntings. Perhaps the location's history as a military hospital serves as the foundation for the stories. When I taught there, I saw no evidence of paranormal activity. The physical structures had a stark, brutal nature, emphasized by the industrial feel of the lighting. They reminded me of something that evoked the pictures of stereotypical Soviet Union architecture in Western minds.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/acbbeee3-4c8a-4a97-a634-ccbf71cd1e25.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/8e3143e0-1731-4ea6-b893-cf6b16223cd0.pngThe Port of Vancouver was deepened by dredging, digging out the bottom of the harbor with massive steel buckets. As the buckets wore, they were repaired, and the repairs were repaired. That left the insides of these shells with these organic patterns of reconstruction, deliberate to the metal smiths who worked the materials for function, leaving a particular beauty to their form.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/8e3143e0-1731-4ea6-b893-cf6b16223cd0.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/f8fa7433-abf6-4b39-b601-ccd891034cea.pngAbandoned buildings always are unsettling. They are landmarks of failure, where something has gone wrong, someone's idea proven unworkable, a dream gone dark. In better days, these buildings near the center of Lisboa would glow from within. On this night, the light of the moon emphasizes the gloom from the black, lightless windows and the hope that the building actually is empty, because what would be happening within is darker still.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/f8fa7433-abf6-4b39-b601-ccd891034cea.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/bf053e58-baae-4ef6-883f-7f35e687f7ab.pngThe sculpted hedges are a main feature of Passeio Publico, a park built in the 1800s for the noble class of Lisbon. Members of the nobility had a stunning view through the park built for their pleasure, over the center of the city and down to the Tagus River. It is a visible manifestation of something that often tries to hide itself - privilege and the power that flows from itMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/bf053e58-baae-4ef6-883f-7f35e687f7ab.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/6a74975d-f7ff-4e68-9739-b0d34c64dbb9.pngBy now, my wife's journey of recovery from breast cancer has spanned more than a decade. Her cosmetic surgeon allows me to stay in the room with her during the routine procedures she undergoes to manage her reconstruction. Sometimes it takes an image like this from her latest procedure, the carefully arranged set of instruments, the blood stain, to remind me of how I have adapted to the utterly abnormal. Or vice-versa ...Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/6a74975d-f7ff-4e68-9739-b0d34c64dbb9.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/a149733f-b33f-4c98-963b-e76c81fff41f.pngJehan Izhar runs The Stage Global. She shared a space with my wife, who ran a yoga studio in Pomona. During a publicity shoot, Jehan struck a pose on a motorcycle I was evaluating for a motorcycle magazine, and I was struck by the intensity of her interaction with the camera of the official event photographer. The sheer physicality of her ability is undeniable, but the real energy of this instant is in the look in her eyes.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/a149733f-b33f-4c98-963b-e76c81fff41f.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/96a03923-2a11-40e3-98a4-9a5ae21676e1.jpgLunar New Year celebration at a Buddhist temple in Surrey, British Columbia.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/96a03923-2a11-40e3-98a4-9a5ae21676e1.jpghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/1ea9ac5b-ce5d-42ba-aaa1-59e2c3f85be8.pngIn places along the Lost Coast, the ground consists of a thin layer of topsoil covering hard, compacted clay. Tree roots are diverted when they hit the hard pack, and they twist and turn on themselves. The exposed roots are an abstract construction, allowing viewers to see what they wish to see. I don't want to think too much about what it says about me that the first thing I saw clearly in this Rorschach test was the serpent ...Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/1ea9ac5b-ce5d-42ba-aaa1-59e2c3f85be8.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/da1f2866-2fac-492c-adbc-30fd28b812b8.pngOne of the benefits of road racing motorcycles is that you tend to find yourself awake and out of the van long before the sun comes up, and you tend to be in the middle of nowhere. Looking to the east from Sunrise Corner at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Central California, the scale of the features in the sky completely dwarf the man-made structures of power.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/da1f2866-2fac-492c-adbc-30fd28b812b8.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/2b4f344a-73e1-4301-af75-c85c734dbd63.pngThis experimental photo was nearly deleted, but my wife, Sandy, provided a new reason to keep it. She noted that the image evoked the classic style of a 1950s graphic novel, with its themes of terror, invasion, and destruction.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/2b4f344a-73e1-4301-af75-c85c734dbd63.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/64e1b97d-b13c-4402-8495-977d9b998c34.pngBritish Columbia acknowledges that it exists on the unceded territories of Indigenous peoples. I appreciate the use of "nation" over "tribe," which gives these civilizations the status they deserve. The local incorporation of indigenous artwork and themes into everyday objects, such as sewer covers, feels more like a homage than an appropriation.Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/64e1b97d-b13c-4402-8495-977d9b998c34.pnghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/70a05794-f083-479a-ba0c-5468c63790a5.jpegMon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/70a05794-f083-479a-ba0c-5468c63790a5.jpeghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/be67f264-5864-415c-a31c-a611ed67471e.jpgA shallow pool and sculptures in a park originally built for Portuguese nobility. The looming cloud cover completely inverts the sense one would normally get from such an image. Tranquility and warmth are driven out by a sense of incursion, of threat, and one feels a sudden need for shelterSun, 31 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/be67f264-5864-415c-a31c-a611ed67471e.jpghttps://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/9c66960b-60e0-42a7-8f20-4509baff2e25.pngIn 1957, the Turia River flooded, devastating large parts of Valencia. The Spanish government planned to use the old riverbed for highways. Residents objected to the highway plan and the riverbed became one of Spain's largest urban parks. These gargoyles overlook the park today. I like to think they are defending it, whether from natural disaster or from anyone who would destroy the beauty and community that arose from the catastropheSun, 31 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0100https://media.journoportfolio.com/users/470878/images/9c66960b-60e0-42a7-8f20-4509baff2e25.pnghttps://youtu.be/-py-5I6U1SURoadracing World Editor-at-Large Michael Gougis is in southern France for the global press launch of Suzuki's new 2023 GSX-8S parallel-twin-powered naked sportbike. After riding the machine for 200 kilometers, Michael offers a quick first impression of the all-new machine ahead of his full review in an upcoming issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology magazine.Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0100https://youtu.be/-py-5I6U1SUhttps://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2022-triumph-speed-triple-1200-rr-includes-video/COPYRIGHT 2021, ROADRACING WORLD PUBLISHING, INC. Riding The 2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR: A (Super) Sportbike For The Street Story by Michael Gougis Video produced by Sandra Gougis At a few new model intros, I’ve felt as though the company men are just going through the motions, and sometimes it’s hard to blame them. They may have been forced to design a bike to too low a price point, or the corporate office has demanded that the U.S. subsidiary offer a model that Americans likely won’t be...Thu, 02 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2022-triumph-speed-triple-1200-rr-includes-video/https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2022-triumph-speed-triple-1200-rr-includes-video/COPYRIGHT 2021, ROADRACING WORLD PUBLISHING, INC. Riding The 2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR: A (Super) Sportbike For The Street Story by Michael GougisThu, 02 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2022-triumph-speed-triple-1200-rr-includes-video/https://youtu.be/ppgHM3VjMuoRoadracing World's Michael Gougis offers his first impressions of Triumph's 2022 Speed Triple 1200 RR café racer after riding the stylish and powerful new machine on the street and on a half-wet/half-dry racetrack in Spain.Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://youtu.be/ppgHM3VjMuohttps://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2021-yamaha-tracer-9-gt-rapid-transit-includes-video/Copyright 2021, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By Michael Gougis Quick, light for its market segment, comfortable, and balanced, Yamaha’s Tracer 9 GT always has been on-target for the rider who really does want a 50-50 balance between speed and comfort in their motorcycle. It’s always been an excellent choice for a rider who wants one motorcycle that can perform a wide range of duties, with style but without pretense. For 2021, Yamaha changed the recipe for the popular sport-tourer, adding fu...Wed, 08 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2021-yamaha-tracer-9-gt-rapid-transit-includes-video/https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2021-aprilia-tuono-v4-v4-factory-more-beauty-more-beast/Copyright 2021, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. By Michael Gougis When I first rode the new Aprilia 660 RS last year, my first thought was, “There’s no way this thing is only a 660.” When I first twisted the throttle on the 2021 Tuono V4 Factory, my first thought expressed the same sentiment, just from a different direction. I thought, “This is absolutely an 1100! Woo-hoo!” It’s a winning formula for Aprilia — take a powerful engine from a sportbike and stick it into a chassis that has a sligh...Wed, 11 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0100https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/intro-2021-aprilia-tuono-v4-v4-factory-more-beauty-more-beast/https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/video-2020-kawasaki-ninja-1000sx-ride-review-preview/Bike Test by Michael Gougis of the 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000SXTue, 23 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0100https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/video-2020-kawasaki-ninja-1000sx-ride-review-preview/https://www.badwater.com/blog/dead-run/Every ultramarathon is hard. Badwater, however, has heat unlike anywhere else on the planet. A few years back, four Navy SEALs had applied to run the race, but were rejected because they didn’t have experience in running ultras. As race official Phil Marchant put it, “Just running a marathon doesn’t qualify you to do this.”Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0100https://www.badwater.com/blog/dead-run/https://archive.org/details/biker-boyz-pdf_202502Longform article later turned into the Dream Works movie of the same name.Thu, 13 Apr 2000 00:00:00 +0100https://archive.org/details/biker-boyz-pdf_202502