Goodwood Breakfast Club

Last Sunday I successfully infiltrated Goodwood racecourse. I'd always thought it was far too posh for the likes of me but was in the area last weekend and was persuaded otherwise by local relatives. I'm glad the talked me into it. We registered on line and got a very nice message from Lord Marmalade himself saying how pleased he would be to see us. After that welcome it would have been churlish not to have gone.

The theme for that day's Breakfast Club was Everything but the car so what did we turn up in but my trusty old van (VT No.44). It still felt subversive to be there because there were so many smarter vehicles but Citroen C15Ds of this vintage are getting rarer. It didn't look so out of place as you might think parked against a Mimi pickup, even if said Mini pickup was immaculate and probably the result of an expensive restoration. A few cars had slipped in under the net but most of the exhibits were motorcycles with the occasional trike and a few commercial vehicles.

Favourite bike was this Moto Guzzi Le Mans. They always appealed to me and this one made me feel what modern bikes lack. It's long and low and lean and looks fantastic. They had an unhurried gait that disguised the ability to maintain high average speeds and a wonderful vee twin exhaust note.

Of course, the clutch is too heavy and the seat diabolical to sit on even if it looks great. But I've never actually ridden one so these legends about Moto Guzzis have never detracted from the bike's appeal. It looks great and I am prepared to keep an open mind about such things until then. I suspect it would be a blast to ride.

Usually I'm ambivalent about trikes but I liked this one. It looks like a souped up garden roller. I think the wheels are so close together they might be classified as one. This was the case in Britain with some microcars, which actually had four wheels but were classified as three wheelers for taxation purposes. As it's so narrow I reckon it would handle like an ATV trike - you know, deliberately lift the inside wheel and then steer.

But I like the way it looks.

All that mouth watering machinery almost made me forget how hungry I was.

Other nationalities have cuisine, the English have full breakfasts. And splendid table cloths.