TE Lawrence

Interesting article on TE Lawrence (once of Arabia),  Most people are unaware of his great passion for motorcycles;
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His read on speed from a letter to his life long friend Liddell Hart;
"To explain the lure of speed you would have to explain human nature; but it is easier understood than explained. All men in all ages have beggared themselves for fast horses or camels or ships or cars or bikes or aeroplanes: all men have strained themselves dry to run or walk or swim faster. Speed is the second oldest animal craving in our nature, and our generation is fortunate in being able to indulge it more cheaply and generally than our ancestors. Every natural man cultivates the speed that appeals to him. I have a motor-bike income." TELTHB Liddell Hart p.160

And on a sporting motorcycle ( Brough Superior was his brand of choice),
"A skittish motor-bike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on earth, because of its logical extension of our faculties, and the hint, the provocation, to excess conferred by its honeyed untiring smoothness. Because Boa loves me, he gives me five more miles of speed than a stranger would get from him.” ED: Lawrence named all his motorcycles, Boa (short for Boanerges) was he name of one of his bikes.

Lawrence died in 1932 on a Borough (GW2275 license) his eighth Brough he named George VII.  The machine was recovered and rebuilt after the crash and now resides in the Imperial War Museum in England.   The circumstances of his death are still mired in rumors and theories, he was not liked or trusted by members of the government because of his contact with the Arabs.