Bike Shed began in 2011 as Anthony “Dutch” van Someren’s blog about custom motorcycles and their builders. Writing about café racers, scramblers and other individual machines drew readers who wanted to see the bikes and meet the people behind them away from a screen. That interest led to its first in-person London exhibition in 2013.
The first show displayed 55 selected motorcycles beneath two Shoreditch arches and attracted about 3,000 visitors. Art, photography and conversation sat alongside the machines. A motorcycle was more than transport or a racing tool here; it became a reason for people interested in design, craft and riding to meet.
In 2015, Bike Shed opened a permanent space under four renovated railway arches in Shoreditch. It brought motorcycles, food, exhibitions and events together, and visitors did not have to be club members or even own a bike. This journey from blog to open space shows that a motorcycle community is sustained not only by rides, but by places where people can share their ideas.