EARLY ADVENTURES

Editor Frank’s lyrical musings about the qualities of his AJS Model 20 took me back to the summer of 1953 when, as a fifteen-year-old, my uncle Maurice took me for my first ever ride on a motor bike. When he and Joan married, they came over to our house. He had just bought a brand new 1953 AJS Model 20 and, with my parent’s permission, took me for a spin on the pillion.

I must have borrowed Joan’s goggles and I could only just see over Maurice’s shoulders. We turned onto the Western Avenue and headed west. We passed the roundabout at the Polish War Memorial and onto the ‘Mad Mile’, by Northolt aerodrome. This was a stretch of dual carriageway with no side roads, so he wound the bike up a bit.

I was bubbling with excitement and the wind nearly blew my hair off! We turned around at Hillingdon roundabout and headed back home. Little did I realise then that the Mad Mile and the Polish War Memorial would figure so frequently three years later at the start of my own motorcycling life. It was a weekend morning meeting point for many motorcycling friends when the Mad Mile was used to test and tune our bikes. By 1958 I was riding the Tiger Cub seen here.

Thanks, Frank, for reminding me of the very beginning of my involvement in our shared pastime. I wonder if your story has similarly reminded any other members? Mike Estall, member 6876

Very kind, Mike. Thanks! Frank W