Start your engines!

Gn !M yw n n the glorious sun and embracing all things old, smelly, oily and two-wheeled. As I scramble some words together for this preamble, our resident Scout master, Mr Alexander Boris de Pfeffel of Johnson, has had to make the tough choice of whether to let us great unwashed roam free or to continue restrictions to rid us of this dreadful virus – and he has chosen the later. This will affect shows, gatherings and events, but I'm hearing that resilient folk are working around the problems and so, while different, we should be able to be out enjoying our gatherings very soon.

Meanwhile, in the Motherland we know we've had a busy month when looking through the photographs on our phones (I use this function as a second memory, for my built-in one is somewhat ropey these days) and there are too many to take in. Most are from bike meets that have just restarted and are of some splendid rebuilt, restored or otherwise returned to working bikes – we have all been busy! This is backed up by chats with advertisers and dealers who cannot remember being so busy. It may be a peak after last year's trough, but it is a positive – and isn't that what old bike ownership is all about? If it doesn't make you smile, why do it?

I've been chatting to potential riders at meets who don't want a modern bike but are intrigued by a classic. Lack of depreciation, lack of bravado, and lack of weight and height are all reasons one may want the benefits of old bikes that new bikes just cannot match.

With their levers, handles and cables, with their fare on show, they are more visceral. This makes them – and therefore us – the coolest of cool – er – when they start. Which, if anyone is watching, they don't. Let us make any new converts welcome.

We're ashamed to say the workshop has been quiet this month thanks to the toilet needing to be reattached to the floor and various other domestic chores. Uncle Dee is still on the Benelli and got to the issue – it needed a new condenser, as well as some other small parts. But we've found a great supplier in Germany for Motobi, some Moto Guzzi and Benelli two-stroke parts (benelliparts.de), most helpful and well recommended. Neville bought some Roadholder forks from an autojumble to replace some girders in his off-road ES2, so something is going on there… But my Norton is gathering dust, I've forgotten where the CZ is, the BMW is gagging for love and Maria's Suzuki tank had become a salt-shaker – but for rust. Shaking it to rid the rust is great for arm muscles, though!

So it's all go here, which is just as well because you can't move up the coast. I did see a lovely two-up BSA A7 heading for the obligatory fish and chips the other evening. If that was you, I hope they were good and I'm most jealous.

Hope you manage to get out this month; if you're at the Stafford Show (you have to book tickets in advance now), I may see you there. For now, enjoy the mag and be good.