Of course I created tremendous excitement, and I felt very proud of my new toy. Then, in an evil moment, an omnibus pulled in front of me and I had to jump off to save myself being thrown off. I walked some distance with the machine before I ventured to get on again, and then seeing a friendly lamp-post I thought this might afford me sufficient support in order to get into the saddle and start off again. I was fortunate enough to succeed in this, and, extraordinary to relate, I got through this ride without either breaking my neck or smashing up the machine.
After this, I had long rides, but never alone, only in the company of other motor cyclists who could be relied upon to give me assistance when it became necessary. To give an idea of the weight of the machine, I may say it was impossible for one man to lift it when it was lying on its side on the ground. Of course, so long as the machine could be kept going all was well, but directly it was allowed to slacken speed the motor gradually became more feeble and then stopped with a jerk, and I had to be very nimble in getting out of the saddle to prevent it falling on me. On one occasion I was reduced to such a state of exhaustion that when the machine stopped I simply fell off and the machine fell on top of me. There I lay, helpless and unable to move, not caring whether I pro�ceeded further or remained where I was. Eventually my friends found me lying on the grass by the side of the road; four of us pushed the machine to the top of a hill, but it was a terrible effort.
The joy of that machine was tasted when it was really going well. The smoothness with which it travelled over the road in comparison with a motor tricycle was very marked, and the assistance one could give the motor by pedalling made a great difference to its speed. I was able to gauge what the delights of motor bicycling would be, provided the machine was fairly light, easily controlled, and reasonably powerful.
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