Day1

July 25th 1909 Louis Blériot crosses the English channel in a home built Air plane with a 3 cylinder engine outputting 25 horsepower.
2009 the feat is recreated by Pilot Edmond Salis flying a replica of the aircraft.
I'm mentioning this becuse a Royal Enfield Motorcycle with a 500cc Engine has about 22 brake horsepower.

6 A.M. Catching the train to Chelmsford to pick up the Bike.
At the station get a cup of tea and a jelly doughnut £4.50.
Almost spit out my tea when the server said that.

The tube and the train is great early in the morning on a weekend.
Not a lot of people but too short a journey to take a nap.
I'll never sleep on a train again though.
Once I caught a train from Wigan to London. 4 hour trip, no changes, no problem, headphones in, Nap time.
Woke up at a station and noticed people rushing around. Suddenly the doors close and the train starts to leave the station. But now the train seems to be going North instead of South.
Asked the cute stewardess "Uh where is this train going?"
"Why it's going to Glasgow" She smiles
"I thought it was the train to London?"
"Oh it was but we had a small mix up" she smiles again.
The word “mix” up and trains should never go in the same sentence.
"Uh how do I get to London then?"
"Oh you can get off at the next station and wait for the next train going to London" Smile.
The next station was platform in an industrial wasteland with a broken vending machine. Next train came along 2 1/2 hours later. A trip that should have take 4 hours became 8.

Back to the present, get to my destination and notice a sign
"General rail drivers strike planned for July 31"
mmm Wonder if that that might ruin my holiday plans in East Anglia?...if I had any.

The gentleman that's selling me the bike is kind enough to pick me up at the station.
He's in a bit of a rush because he's leaving for a holiday in Scotland.
We get to his place and he shows me the bike.
He takes the time to tell me how reluctant he is to see the Bike go.
It starts up, with a kick.
I put my helmet on to take it for a drive around the block.
The Royal Enfield is surprisingly light.
I'm used to a V-twin Virago 1100. Shifting gears takes a bit getting used to.
The gear shift is on the right hand side and it's 1st up, and down is neutral, 2, 3, 4. The rear brake is under the left foot. I go around the block fumbling gears and getting used to the bike which seems to do well. The bike seems to have more controls than a WW1 fighter. Throttle, choke, decompression lever, front and back brakes, clutch, speedometer, No fuel gauge or neural indicator. The headlight is on....I think.
The bike is in good condition and for what I'm paying for it and what other Royal Enfields are going for on-line, £2,000 to £3,000 pounds, I cannot complain. Plus the MOT is current and everything seems to work.
We exchange the money and sign all the paper work. I go through the procedure of starting the bike,
I try to kick start it seating on the seat with my right foot. After almost breaking my leg I decide that's not going to work. OK, bike on centrer stand, fuel, choke, standing on the right of the bike, Put all my weight on my left foot and the bike starts up.
Almost want to yell “Contact!!!” when I start the bike.
I shake hands with the gentleman and ride off.
As I'm riding way I notice the man wiping a tear from his eye.
When, and if I leave England, and I cannot take this bike with me, he will be the first person I call to see if he wants it back.