Ace Cafe

The Ace Cafe has been the motorcycling mecca for much of Europe since the early sixties. That's when the Mods and the Rockers were often at odds on the streets of England.
I was there once, on the Northern Circular in London. By that time, it has settled down to a somewhat calm existence, not the nightly fights between the leather clad Rockers, and the stovepipe pants, blazer and skinny tie Vespa riding Mods. The Who's album "Quadropenia" was written by Pete Townsend and described the life of a Mod. The cover art showed a rider wearing a long car coat, and a Vespa like scooter festooned with lights, mirrors and the like that was for some reason popular at the time.

The book, "Ace Cafe,Then and Now," is an excellent history of the former truck stop. Doing the "Ton" where BSA, Norton, and Triump bikers would "drop a coin into the jukebox," run outside, jump on their bike, race down to a pre-designated point, and roar back before the song ended. There were many fatalities during this time, but it was and still is a badge of honor to "Do the Ton."