Believe it or not

This was the main road out of London to the West country in the 50s and that's me and me missus ahead on the way to Devon.
No motorways,no double white lines,no 50,60,70 speed restrictions only the 30 mph ones through towns and villages,the freedom of no crash helmets(but plenty of broken heads)no traffic wardens,no double or single yellow lines,very little no parking and very few one way systems,no speed cameras or speeding tickets in the post and no traffic jams to speak of.
Traffic was much slower than today but as one had hardly any brakes and even the main roads were about the same width(see above) as today's B roads motorcyling could be well hair raising at times but there were plenty of roadside cafes to stop in and do a bit of line spinning while having your mug of tea and a sticky bun. Garages were also in every town and village so no searching for supermarket petrol. The only enemy was the policeman on his Triumph twin but if you had a decent bike it was even possible to get away as most of them were without radios.Not me officer,honestly.
To keep warm I had a sidcot flying suit (warm but not waterproof) a pair of Mark 8 goggles and a woolly army cap comforter and a wife or other to stop the drafts round my back.
It was fun,motorcycles were different in those days,not so fast as todays maybe but just as as exciting to ride,with the advantage that you could repair them or repair a puncture on the side of the road without having to phone for assistance.
I consider myself very lucky to have had all that in my lifetime,but a bit gloomy when I am in my Ford Ka shopping trolley on the way to Sainsburys and get overtaken by bikes swinging on their way out to the open countryside. Next life perhaps?that is if we could go backwards in time!