A race from Paris to Vienna…dirt roads, mountain roads designed for horse-drawn traffic…huge cars with huge engines tuned to the edge of insanity…and plucky Englishmen manufacturing chassis members from hotel furniture. Do yourself a favour: brew up (coffee or beer will do if you really don’t have access to tea), turn to 1902 and open the feature ‘Paris-Vienna or Bust’. You’re in for a treat.

Having been otherwise engaged in the garage and on the road I’ve been busy again. So the melange picture gallery is about to pass the 300 mark; more pics and stories have been added to the early part of the 20th century (including a lovely contemporaneous report on the first Brighton speed trial in 1905) and I’m about to upload a car story. Yes…a car story that was simply to good to leave out.

I’m in the middle of loading another batch of pics to the melange but the sun’s out, rain is forecast for tomorrow so I’m taking one of the bikes our for a canter. Meanwhile, thanks again to Francois, you’ll find some smashing new illustrations at the end of the cartoons/humour page and at the end of the 1903 feature (accurately) titled ‘Dogs: shoot hang or poson?’. This is my favourite of all the yarns unearthed from the Blue ‘Un. It isn’t bylined but I’d bet a gallon of ethanol-free petrol that it’s by Ixion—if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and have a butchers.

Not least thanks to the continuing support of my chum Jean-Francois, I’ve been busy adding pics to the melange. There are now more than 200 assorted snaps of our motor cycling heritage on show. I enjoy browsing through them; I hope you will too.

My esteemed correspondent Francois has taken a detour down a motorcycling lovers’ lane in the latest instalment of his Yesteryear series. Drawing on his interest in postcards, Francois has combined a review of their evolution with a smashing selection of cards featuring happy couples and their bikes.

Just uploaded in the Yesteryear section, you’ll find a survey of the mid-1920s with more excellent illustrations courtesy of my esteemed correspondent Jean-Francois.

Expanding the Timeline’s coverage of the mid-1920s has been delayed while I concentrate on uploading material to the latest addition to this site which you’ll find under the heading Images of Yesteryear. This excellent series of pictorial articles was originally published in one of my favourite motor cycling websites, lpmcc.net, a cornucopia of rallying and touring produced by tghe Leicester Phoenic MCC. The series is being reproduced here courtesy of lpmcc.net editor Ben and their author Francois. My thanks go to them both. The third instalment, just uploaded, covers the Great War; the images really are first rate, as are Francois’ captions. More pics of the war to end wars can be found in the Illustrative Melange as well as in the main Timeline.

There’s always more to do. Just added, Signore Bernadini’s 1884 trike and 1893 motor cycle (he also patented an Otto-engine before Daimler). In 1900 you’ll find a befurred young lady in a Levasor & De Boise three-wheeler and the pre-AJS Stevens boys with the bike that Harry built. Forward to 1903 for the Stevens forecar and Wolvoe’s first woman motor cyclist (inevitably from the Stevens clan), with mention of her naughty little sister. Meanwhile some fab pics from the voluminous archive of mon ami Francois will be appearing in 1885, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1900…etc. Not to mention additions to the pic mix. No wonder it’s taking so long to revamp and illustrate 1925. But as my GS850 combo is no longer doing her Torrey Canyon impression (thanks Rick) I’m a happy bunny. And I hope you are too. Ride safe, be well.

Thanks to what I’m thinking of as the Archive de Francois more illustrations have been added to 1903, 1904 and 1905; an earlier pic led to some more research which led to a new date and more info for the Millet (the bike’s now in 1893, the trike remains in 1888). The melange has passed its century and now includes some great Great War images. Meanwhile I’m busy updating the 1925 listing (it was Wal Handley’s year in the TT) and spending time in the garage bringing my A10 back to life for the first time since 1974.

THE PLAN WAS to add some more yarns and a dollop of pics to 1925 and it will happen but I was distracted by the latest batch of illustrations to arrive from my chum Francois. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 you’ll find some fine studies of sporting bikes and their riders from pioneering events like the Paris-Madrid, Paris-Bordeaux-Paris and Coupe Internationale. Other pics have been added to the Melange and Cartoons pages and many more will be added soon in the years up to and including the Great War, not to mention the early 1920s. After which it’s back to 1925 when it was finally Wal Handley’s year at the TT. The obsession lives on.