In 1973 the Englishman Ted Simon jumps on a Triumph Tiger 500cc and starts off on a fantastic trip around the world that is to last many years. He rides from England across the Channel to Europe, then heads south to Africa and rides from the north of the continent all the way down to the southern tip. He jumps across the Atlantic over to South America where he rides northwards through Central America into the United States. From there he takes his machine to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia before riding back to Europe and England through Asia in 1977.

After returning home he writes his book Jupiter’s Travels based on the journals he kept during his long years of travel. It becomes the new cult book of bikers and travel aficionados.

Inspired by Ted Simon’s book, Jürgen Pesch of Neuss near Düsseldorf rides an Enfield Bullet 350cc through India between October 1995 and January 1996. While in India, Jürgen decides to open a garage once he gets back to Germany in which mainly old motorcycles are to be repaired and restored. In 1997 Jürgen’s dream comes true and he opens his garage in Neuss, giving it the name Jupiter Cycles in remembrance of Ted Simon’s and his own travels. The garage quickly develops into a hot spot for motorcycle lovers and their noisy machines. For a handful of friends it even becomes a popular hangout, where not only motorcycle parts are traded but also a quitting-time beer or two is shared.

During this period Jupiter Cycle get-togethers take place at a farm near Heinsberg with barbecues, cold drinks and rock ‘n’ roll. The highlights of these get-togethers are motorcycle trips that might end at a pub next to a motorcycle museum. In these days the idea of printing T-shirts with the garage logo is first hatched.

In March of 2001, after five years of hard, greasy work, Jürgen Pesch closes his shop, much to the disappointment of many motorcycle lover, and he moves on to Moto Guzzi and Aprilla.

In 2003 there is another party on the farm near Heinsberg which reunites Jürgen Pesch and his old friends from the Jupiter Cycles days. One of these friends had created the brand Mind-Expanding Species in spring 2001 in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Out of nostalgia for the good-old-motorcycles-times at the Jupiter Cycles-Garage, the friends decide to reissue the legendary garage-T-shirt logo under the Mind-Expanding Species label.

Finally - after we fans are privileged to hear a reading by Ted Simon from his latest motorcycle adventure in Africa in a pub while downing a few beers - in summer 2005 the first Jupiter Cycles T-shirts are printed. In addition, Jupiter Cycles parties are organized at which mainly Ruhr-region rock ‘n’ roll is blasted through the speakers.

In 2010 the Mind-Expanding Species brand changes hands. The business is taken over by good friends (Breitengrat) in Essen and Jupiter Cycles becomes an independent brand with its headquarters in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

With the support of Homeless Industries and Chuck Knox Berlin, more parties with the motto “Jupiter Cycles – Streets & Strokes & Rock ‘n’ Roll” are organized, more hell is raised, and of course, more Jupiter Cycles T-shirts are designed. Shirts not only for die-hard Jupiter Cycles fans from the old days, but also for anyone and everyone who likes to motor through landscapes near or far, glide over the asphalt or rip through rough terrain. Shirts for those who have oil instead of blood in their veins and who love bikes and madness!