Quotes

It is not known why motorists, who sing the joys of the open road, spend so much petrol every week-end grinding their way to Southend and Brighton and Margate, in the stench of each other’s exhausts, one hand on the horn and one foot on the brake, their eyes starting from their orbits in the nerve-racking search for cops, corners, blind turnings, and cross-road suicides. They ride in a baffled fury, hating each other. They arrive with shattered nerves and fight for parking spaces. They return, blinded by the headlights of fresh arrivals, whom they hate even worse than they hate each other. (52)

"The Fantastic Horror
of the Cat in the Bag"

The page numbers are from "Lord Peter" published by Harper & Row. The excerpts are copyrighted 1972 by Harper & Row.

52 ~ o.h.v. Norton
Abbreviation for overhead valves, a modification of a motorcycle's engine proposed by James Norton and produced in 1922. Note that on page 54, when the Scott man says "I suppose that overhead gear of yours makes so much noise, you can't hear anything else," he's throwing a jibe against the o.h.v.

And here's the 1926 Norton.

Scott Flying-Squirrel
Yes, there is such a bike. Since Sayers' story appeared in 1928, let's have a look at the 1927 Squirrel.

Motorcycles were a recent invention, and its development proceeded in much the same way that Apple, IBM, Commodore and Atari battled it out in the 1980s. It was a time when nothing was standardized, which gave ample scope for racing competitions and "feuds" between cyclists arguing with a passion seen today between Macs and PC users (or between "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" fans).

charabanc
An early form of truck. From the French, meaning literally wagon with benches.

53 ~ R.A.C. post
The Royal Automobile Club.
(Contributed by Marc van der Poel)

A.A. man
Short for the Auto Association, a group which is still in operation today. A history of the group can be found at their Web site. Judging by the reference to the "swift glance over the two sets of handlebars to assure himself that the black sheep were not of his flock," I would assume that members of the AA would have their identifying badges there.

traction-engine
An example of one can be found here.

Brooklands
Brooklands: A motor racing track that was used for races and to test cars.

56 ~ Eaton Socon
A parish

57 ~ Finsbury Park
A neighborhood in the Islington section of London.

58 ~ it wasn't a Douglas
A brand of motorcycle.

59 ~ forward the Light Brigade
From Tennyson's poem, "The Charge of the Light Brigade"