The ACU’s open hill-climb was a major event in the motor cycling season; in 1908 competitors tried theior bikes and their skill on Sutton Bank in what our Yorkshire friends insist is God’s Own County.

In those pre-Tarmac days a ride from London to Edinburgh was not to be taken lightly. But by 1908 some hardy souls were entering the MCC’s London-Edinburgh Trial for fun; a few even hardier souls were also completing the round trip against the clock. Read all about it!

The world’s first motor racing circuit opened in 1907; in 1908 bikes joined the fun. It all started with a head-to-head race for a bet. Just posted in the 1908 features section you’ll find details of the action, some sniffy letters from the competitors, an uptight local suing the organisers and a world speed record. The pics are pretty good too.

In a handful of years the run from Land’s End to John o’Groats evolved from a voyage into the unknown to a route for the ACU Six Days’ Trial. But it was a trial that put bikes and their riders to the test. Check out this contemporary account of foul weather, foul roads and endurance.

The latest additions are a couple of features from 1908. You’ll find a lot of background to the TT and a collection of touring yarns, roadtests, tales of plucky endurance and rather a lot more. Go on, treat yourself.

Before expanding the material already posted for the twenties and thirties I’m catching up on some features. The latest of these cover the MCC’s London-Edinburgh trial and the Stanley Show, both from 1907. Bikes were appearing in all shapes and sizes: here’s a taster.

It was a busy year. New marques, new models, new technol;ogy, new challenges and a surge in demand from enthusiasts who had caught the motor cycling bug in uniform. There’s more than 90,000 words and stack of pictures to get through, so you’d better get started (and the Christmas story by Ixion is a doozy).

The war finally ended, petrol trickled back onto the market, Britain was producing millions of gallons of fuel. Peacetime models were being snapped up, clubs were reforming and mourning their losses. You’ll find a lot of material from 1919 on site and there’s much more to come. Watch this space.

The review of 1918 is complete, at least until more material comes my way, and I’m working on 1919. There is already a lot of material on-site covering the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s but that’s still a work in progress. The motor cycling story is now  covered in some depth from the Big Bang to the end of the Great War. So let’s get on to 1919 and roar into the ‘twenties.

I’ve uploaded a lot of text and some fascinating pics from 1918. The war’s nearing its bloody end and, despite a virtual cessation of motor cycling for pleasure, there’s lots going on in preparation for a return to peace and, for the survivors, the joy of the open road.