Description

So, What is Six-day Racing, Anyway?

Six-day track racing originated in the 19th century as part of a fascination with novel endurance sporting events. The earliest six-day races were straightforward contests to see who could ride the most laps on a track over six days. The format soon evolved to feature two-man teams, with riders taking turns on the track and dividing up the 24-hour periods—they even ate meals while riding.

Modern six-day racing takes place over six nights on indoor tracks, typically from 6 pm to 2 am. The overall winner is the team that completes the most laps. In addition to the “chase” to gain laps over competitors, a typical six-day program includes time trials, motor-paced races, intermediate sprints, and elimination races.

In the “chase” or Madison events (named after Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the two-rider format was devised), both riders may be on the track simultaneously, taking turns racing and using a hand-sling technique to propel each other back into action.

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Quality: It’s all about the Press, Paper, Image, and Deboss/Emboss
This is, without a doubt, the highest quality print series we have ever produced. We have always tried our best to surpass the quality of our last project, and this time around, we are wondering how we will ever top the quality of this year’s prints. 

The Press
We were able to talk the print masters at AMP in Dublin, California, to print this otherwise micro-run on their end-of-the-rainbow Heidelberg Speedmaster press. The press itself is about 100 feet in length from where the blank paper enters to where it comes out in all its radiant printed glory.

The Paper
We used 140-pound Mohawk brand paper. This luxurious stock has a wonderful, toothy feel that exudes luxury.  If the paper were any thicker, we would have to ship the prints flat.

The Image(s)

All the Poster Art images are sourced from original posters in our collection. We reviewed hundreds of images to select five of our favorites, a task that proved to be no easy feat.

Deboss/Emboss
We had an excellent paper, stunning images, and a phenomenal press. We wanted more. We felt we were right at the precipice of perfection but needed to go a little further. At this point, we can’t recall exactly whose idea it was, but when the deboss/emboss idea emerged, we knew that was our missing link. An exorbitantly expensive process that includes multi-stage custom handmade dies, hyper-specialized machinery, and an ocean of patience to execute correctly, this alone is the pièce de résistance that elevated this endeavor to art. Take a look at the additional photos. Essentially, the deboss is a large die that precisely slams the paper onto the image line, leaving behind a striking beveled edge.

Embossing is the opposite of debossing. The emboss has the die coming from the bottom and pushing the paper up. We created a unique logo design specially for our prints.

The debossed and embossed print has a beautiful finished look, and it is ready to go straight into a frame. No mats needed. 

Another benefit of this process is the ease of distinguishing between the real product and a fake. Between the paper, the press, and especially the debossing/embossing process, counterfeiters are likely to move on to easier targets. What you will own is something that lies somewhere between extremely unique and absolutely never-before-seen quality in the cycling world. Can you tell we are proud of these?

Lithograph Size: 18 x 24 in  (46 x 61 cm)