I had planned to do my annual day trip to Cornwall yesterday, but with heavy showers and lightning forecast for Hampshire and westward, I put that off for another time and headed east instead. Essex and Suffolk were due to be bathed in sunshine all day, and the forecast didn't disappoint. One of my non retired pals missed out on the trip to TTT Motorcycle Village the other month due to work commitments, so Sudbury was our destination.
Other than getting stuck behind horseboxes on a few occasions, the ride up was fairly uneventful and completed in good time. I was quite surprised by the number of bikes lined up outside, but was able to get a table in the cafe area. One slight disappointment was the suspension of their normal menu, so that on Sundays it's a flat 10 quid for an all you can eat buffet breakfast, which made scrambled egg on toast a tad expensive.
Quite a few of the classic bikes had been sold since my last visit, so there must be plenty of money about among the classic bike community. After brunch and a stroll around the bikes on offer, it was time to struggle back into leather jackets, and head south to Finchingfield for a few shandies on the village green. This village is quite a biking mecca in this part of northern Essex, and is certainly worth a visit.
The boring bit from Brentwood to the Dartford Crossing on the M25 was fortunately drama free, and rolled onto the drive as rain clouds threatened, with 187 of our lovely English miles on the trip meter.