There’s a growing number of Catholics in the world who have grown fond of Pope Francis. The man many have called the People’s Pope has tackled one issue after another with the grace and aplomb befitting of someone who has ingratiated himself as a revered Vicar of Christ. One thing about Pope Francis that many have come to love is his willingness to get involved in issues he feels deserves his attention. Apparently, that now extends to motorcycle safety, specifically the Motomorphosis project.
I can’t blame you if you’re not familiar with the Motomorphosis project. I did a little background reading on it and found out that it’s essentially a campaign directed at improving road safety for motorcycle riders through education and increased awareness.
The issue of motorcycle safety is near and dear to the Pope. After all, this is a man who once owned a 2013 Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide. It’s unclear if he ever rode it after receiving the bike from Willie Davidson, a retired Harley-Davidson designer and a grandson of one of the two founders. What we do know is that the bike went for $327,000 at a Bonhams charity auction last February 2014.
In any case, the pontiff’s involvement in the Metamorphosis project gives the endeavor the cache it needs to be taken seriously. According to its originators, the project is already expected to involve “Italian schools, chosen between the country areas where the safety issues and the traffic laws are more relevant, in collaboration with State Police, European Police and other institutions.”
The project is even expected to be on hand at the world’s biggest motorcycle show, the EICMA, in 2015 and 2016, after already establishing its presence in 2014. The extra exposure and interaction attached to having it present at the EICMA will also go a long way in convincing a lot more people about the project’s existence and underlying purpose.
The campaign also has a charitable arm, represented by its enlistment of Pino Spagnolo. The renowned architect and designer will be responsible for designing a motorcycle specifically for the purpose of the campaign and this design will be used as a blank sheet to create artistic and graphic interpretations from people of all walks of life. The Motomorphosis project will then choose 50 of these designs and will create fiberglass models of the bikes, all of which will be auctioned off with the proceeds going directly to different associations that promote and support Motomorphosis’ objectives.
The project admittedly has a lot of things going for it right now. Its admirable objectives should be applauded, now more than ever since the pope himself is giving it his blessing.
Click past the jump to read more about the Motomorphosis Road Safety Project.
Pope Endorses Motomorphosis Road Safety Project originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 27 January 2015 16:00 EST.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/1JCYERu
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment