I’m not sure where this phrase comes from , but this is a place which probably suits me well , but unfortunately the past keep coming up , and this weekend was like a trip back in time………………..
Thus - with the bikes fully fuelled up it was time for riding…………1920’s style :).
Now on a modern bike you basically just “twist and go “ - bar changing gear , but old bikes have no electronics , brakes or lights for that matter :) ……so its all completely manual ……………………………
This of course made my own personal learning curve was the size of Mt Everest , as it was on live roads complete with impatient - 90 mph idiots on their mobile (cell) phones – marvellous :)
Pardon the lapse in to reminiscing - but this experience actually brought back the exhilaration of me riding my Suzuki on the road for the first time at the tender age of 17 . I knew the principle of riding but putting it in to practice was the key . Although saying this , it did differ slightly in the fact that , riding old bikes requires an absolute load of forethought, that you simply do not have to have when - driving or riding any kind of modern vehicle.
The show we were going to was a historic vehicle gathering , and by the time we had got there at our amazing top speed of 40mph , it was of course - absolutely throwing it down with rain , and we were met by the incredible sight of the local cricket team still playing on ………………mad dogs and Englishmen …………..huh :) ……
…………..and they were probably thinking the same about us :)
I’ll gloss over the intricacies of the show as I know they are of very limited if any , interest , on here ……………… but I will say we met some characters……………….
…….like the 11yr old lecturing Leo about steam engines ……and the fact I nearly bought a 1943 Chevy pick up ………may still ……:)
Moving on - Sunday was a trip to a historic vehicle run - this time on our modern Harley’s although Leo did mention entering on his Triumph next year…….we’ll see ….: ……and as for a certain other person on a Levi’s …….i think not …………:)
We always go to a place called Stanhope Ford , which as the name suggests is a ford through the river and which all the old vehicles pass through. I’m not sure if people gather here purely to see an old car stall in the river and its occupants have to get out and push , or an errant biker hitting a pothole and turning his bike in to a submarine :) but the crowds are always large - here .
We basically sit on the grass , eat ice cream and watch both the modern and nostalgic world roll by , and in my case get sun burnt , and yes I’ve got the white stripe across my forehead where my baseball cap was on backwards - as per usual :)
Out of all the various vehicle and people in the run we were honoured by a cousin of the queen in his Bentley , which had apparently cost more money to restore than buying a new one !!! , we gave him the royal wave and surprisingly not the old - Agincourt salute , as he went by …………. paper Union Jack stuck to the back of his car ………….. flying in the breeze …………… :)
Apologies for the very edited versions of the above , as I’d be here all day , and as I say – limited interest :)
