Charlie hated with a passion anything that needed petrol to power it.  He writes endlessly about the petrolised roads, the roadside garages for the sale of petrol, of the many cars on the more major routes (what on earth would he make of the roads today) and their sometimes bizarre and lazy occupants.

He took great delight and comfort in describing the various shortcomings – as he saw it – of these early motorists and the ‘high’ speeds many of them drove at.  For those motorists who had the temerity to venture off the surfaced roads and who then got stuck somewhere, Charlie would be in his seventh heaven, leaving them marooned and helpless in some inhospitable landscape but not before they were subjected to a passionate harangue about their foolish actions in venturing off road in the first place.

His other pet hate was the café or Bed and Breakfast owner who sought to ration his intake of food.  Many were the tussles over the amount of food presented to him at various establishments leading to his two articles in 1926 about the ongoing war between cyclists and the many catering venue proprietors.

He also, in his living at home years, hated his Dad’s motorbike – his Dad would on occasion invite himself to accompany Charlie on a run somewhere, Charlie on his bike and Dad on the motor bike, which was always breaking down, and Charlie was expected to help with the repairs.

And in the early 1920’s Charlie was not allowed to leave the house on his bike if it was raining heavily, no matter what arrangements he may have made with friends, so of course he finished up hating his parents at times as well !

Funnily enough, Charlie’s Dad gets the occasional mention, and his younger brother Norman less frequently, but never, ever in his writings does he even once refer to his Mother.