WHO AM I ?

This is hopefully a none too vain page, I write it because when I  read many of the travel books that I love, I often wonder where the authors have come from, for me, all is below.

A name is as good as any place to start, so I shall introduce myself as Jonathan Summerfield, although everyone calls me Joff which I much prefer. I was born in Essex, and grew up just outside Southend on Sea at a place called Sutton, amid the arable farmland that so characterises this part of the county. My early years were spent on Horses which probably helped give me the "legs" for the bicycle riding in latter life, with time though my passions turned and followed the family vein of motor racing. My father had been racing with the Vintage sports car Club ever since I could remember, and many a happy day has been spent at one of the many racing circuits of England throughout my childhood. On 2 April 1982, coincidentally the same day the Falklands war started, we acquired the standard rolling chassis of a 1932 Riley 9 car. The following years were spent in the all time consuming passion of building a vintage racing special, the first admittedly ugly body which I built was squashed when the barn I kept the car in collapsed on it when the hurricane passed over the South east in October 1987. I had left school at the age of 16years in 1984 and gone to work for a kit car company based adjacent to Southend Airport, here I stayed for a year until they went bust, so I then joined the family firm run by my father. Restoring pre war Rolls Royce and Bentleys was the trade in hand, and I worked with my father here until the end of 1988. Before being squashed, I had managed to accomplish an ambition by racing my Riley at Silverstone, although the car was very slow at this time, I was just happy to be there. In 1989 I moved out to Toronto in Canada to live with my Aunt and cousin, I had previously acquired a job with a racing engine company outside of the city, from whom I ended up learning a great deal. I also bought my first Morris Minor when I was in Toronto, the story of which comes under "Previous Trips" on another page.  Returning to England in 1990 I spent a year working for Mountune racing engines in the lovely Essex town of Maldon, from here I graduated to building Formula 1 engines for Brian Harts in Harlow for the next five years. At this time I had built a new body for the Riley and made it perform as it should, I won a few races and spun off on quite a few more, but if ever anything could be described as an extension of your character then this car was it for me.

At the end of 1996 I became self employed within the racing industry specialising in the development and modification of cylinder heads. By the end of the decade though I had become disillusioned with my work, what had been an all consuming passion while working on my own car, had become a stressful and unenjoyable occupation while working for customers. Just before this time I had discovered Greenwich Craft Market, and I started selling frosted and painted glass from a stall in the Market, this place for me was a revelation. I made friends with people from all over the world, who came from backgrounds equally as diverse as their countries. I had started cycling again to save money on petrol around town, and realised that this would be the way to see the countries of the world of which my friends spoke. The story from here ends in April 2000, one year before I set off around the world on my Penny Farthing, we shall see what awaits....