Overland To Egypt

The Rider - Gordon G. May

My love of classic motorcycles began in 1985 when I bought a 1963 Royal Enfield Crusader Sport. Since then I have been the owner of a plethora of different Royal Enfield models as well as a couple of Triumphs, an AJS and a 1957 mist green BSA D1 Bantam.

I bought that Bantam, 66 TNU, in 1996. For the following 3 years I used it as my regular transport around the hilly streets of my home in Wellington, New Zealand. It proved to be an ideal machine for whizzing around the city and its surrounding twisty harbour roads.

I shipped the bike to the UK when I moved here in 1999, but struggled to use it around Manchester, where the traffic was much faster and far less accommodating than in New Zealand. I regretfully sold it in 2005.

In 2008 I rode my 1953 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet from Manchester to Chennai, India. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and resulted in me writing my first motorcycle travel book, Overland To India. The positive response I have had to the book and my strong desire to ride more classics on long journeys, which keeps me awake at night, has led me to this new project, Overland To Egypt.

The Bantam I will be riding, AS 2187, has spent most of its life in Scotland and has been bought specifically for the journey. Kicking it over for the first time and hearing that familiar rrrap-pap-pap-pap-pap... exhaust note has brought back so many happy memories and I can't wait for the ride to begin.

Books by Gordon G. May

Made In India (2002)
Made In Redditch (2003)
By Miles The Best (2004)
The Legend Rides On (2005)
Overland To India (2008)

DVDs

The Johnny Brittain Story (2008)