I’ve had a couple of lovely afternoons this weekend showing visitors around the wonderful Drapers Windmill in Margate. The people I work with there and the people that I showed around were all wonderful. New visitors are always amazed at the mill, far more than one would expect! The mill’s last open day this year will be next Sunday, 28th September.

Today I rode my 1950 LE Velocette on its first proper trip out. It was a 20 mile round trip to Sandwich Waterside Café, and, although not problem free, it was a success! As a safety net I had packed my collapsible trailer into the Polo, so Jane followed me there and back.
So, what happened? Well, the battery auto-disconnected on the way there, but, as I hadn’t sussed that possibility, I just thought it had gone flat, so I put it into emergency ignition mode and that kept it running. But the fact it wouldn’t tick over made stopping at junctions and traffic lights problematic, leading to interesting juggling of the controls. A steep learning curve ensued!
The brakes are quite pathetic, the front being very poor, the back only just adequate. That takes a very special way of driving and will need addressing.
At the café I found and fixed the battery disconnection, then set a tick-over level that felt about right. A cup of coffee and a piece of cake later and we were on our way again.
On the way back things went a lot better until a loss of power and misfiring led to a stop at the Viking ship. A quick spark plug check showed it was running very rich and sooting them up. A change to a fresh set of plugs and off we went again, still occasionally misfiring, but despite my concerns, it flew up Madeira Walk beautifully! That was a pleasant surprise and put a big smile on my face – the worst was over! A short cruise home and my LE was tucked into the garage and wished sweet long journey dreams. My six year job was done at long last. I like to think my dad saw it all happen and approved. 😊

But now I wish I hadn’t, and maybe waited for when I do a respoke, or something. What a mess. Lesson learned. It may pass muster as I’m riding past, but it certainly doesn’t warrant a close look. Bad job.