Second only to my love affair with Ural Motorcycles and Sidecars is the one that has been going on since the early 1990s with Enfield Bullets.

Way back then, in the mists of time, there was a programme on TV about how Enfield Bullets were still being made in India and had just started being imported into the UK.

Back then I romanticised about buying one from the factory and riding it back to the UK, but that dream has yet to become a reality and has been superseded, in originality anyway, by various motorcyclists riding to and fro as well as motorcycling holidays around India by Enfield.

Nevertheless I have been content to own first a 1988 model and now a (barely) lighter 1996 model.

It is well documented on this site that I enjoy reading the odd motorcycle travel book or two, indeed I have another two on the go currently, as well as the one I will get round to talking about in a minute, which is a record even for me.

Anyhow, I had read about Gordon May’s trip in 2008 called Overland To India sometime before it had taken place and then subsequently the book of the same name, in several magazines and had stored it in the grey matter as one to buy.

The opportunity fortuitously presented itself at the first Gaydon Autojumble a couple of weeks ago, when there, large as life, was Gordon himself selling his books and generally chatting to folks, and what a very nice man he is too.

The purchase was made and I settled myself down to indulge two of my favourite pastimes over a cup of tea and a choccie biccy… bliss.

I’m always quite sad to finish a good book and Gordon’s account of his 8,390 mile 48 day trip on his 1953 bullet was no exception.

There was a lot to like and enjoy about this book.

I loved hearing all the details of the preparation of man and motorcycle before the trip.

The account of the journey itself has just the right mix of information about the Bullet and the few breakdowns and how they were resolved, the countryside and scenery and the people Gordon met en route.

I loved hearing how friendly and helpful the people were in every country visited without exception, which for someone who has the ambition to go further afield than our immediate European neighbours was reassuring to read.

One thing that Gordon covered in enough detail to almost put me off wanting to ride in India was the heirarchy on the roads and how it is literally every man for himself.

I also liked the fact that Gordon had sought out, from travel books he had read, various places to stay based on the recommendations in those books and certainly I will seek out some of the places he stayed when I find myself on the same route.

One of the highlights of the book for me was to read about the Royal Enfield factory in Chennai (formerly Madras), how the motorcycles are constructed and how they value their staff.

I can certainly recommend Gordon’s book to you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

You can buy the book from Gordon’s website at www.overlandtoindia.co.uk