I'd been provisionally booked in to display Gloria at a small local show, dependent on me getting her running OK to make it there and back, and I finally had her running reliably (fingers crossed!) the day before.
Given the myriad of little gripes I've had to overcome to get to this stage, I half expected to try to kick her over in the morning and find that she wouldn't run, but she fired up first time and settled into a smooth steady idle 😀.
It was less than a 30 minute ride up to Hooton, but the sun was out and I was on quiet A roads all the way for a lovely ride in the Spring sun. All went well and I slowly got used to her individual character - things like getting to know the "sweet spots" and gear/speed combinations she doesn't much care for.
I pulled up and was parked up next to a beautiful old Vincent, so everyone ignored Gloria on the way past! There was a good mix of British, Japanese and American bikes there but it was fairly small - maybe 25 bikes and a similar amount of classic cars and buses.
Hooton Park itself is an important site and contains three remaining WW1 hangars on the former RAF airfield, which was subsequently built on by Vauxhall Motors. The three original, Belfast-trussed, hangars are Grade 2 listed and interesting to see this form of construction if you have had anything to do with construction, together with the historic aircraft collection inside.
Anyway, I stayed into the afternoon and then as things started to wind down, made my way back home with an equally uneventful return journey in the sun again. The whole thing was less than 30 miles, but these little first journeys are what helps to build up the trust for the longer ones.
So Gloria is back under her cover now, waiting for our next adventure, and I am moving back onto the long term restoration project - my Royal Enfield Crusader 250.
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