James Dean and the Curse of the Little Bastard
«Racing is the only time I feel whole.» James Dean's passion for fast cars and bikes is almost as legendary as the man himself. His first real motorcycle, a 1947 CZ 125-cc, was a gift from his uncle Marcus Winslow when he was just 15 years old. The CZ was lightweight and easily maneuverable, giving Jimmy a sense of freedom that was inaccessible to most teenagers in the small farming town of Fairmount, Indiana. In 1948, the Fairmount High School principal, Roland Dubois, asked students to compose a short autobiography and Jimmy proudly wrote, «My hobby, or what I do in my spare time, is motor cycle. I know a lot about mechanically and I love to ride. I have been in a few races, and I have done well. I own a small cycle myself.» Marvin Carter, the man who sold Marcus the CZ, later remembered: «Jimmy was really a pistol. They called him 'One Speed Dean.' One speed: wide open.» Teenage Jimmy often raced his bike on an improvised track behind Carter's motorcycle shop and qu...