The weather through England and Wales was better than one should expect for June. Of course, it was windy and rainy on the Salisbury Plain, which I expected when I got to see Stonehenge. The off and on showers quit for my visit. Since it was the Summer Solstice, the Druids were having ceremonies at the site of Britain's most famous ancient monument.
Three days earlier, Britain's most famous structure was directly above me when I emerged from the London Tube (subway). I had to walk part-way across a bridge on the River Thames for a photographable view of the tower of Big Bend. No picture I've seen does justice to the shimmering gold outlining the clock whose large bell, not the tower, is really Big Ben. Across the river there's a giant year 2000 ferris wheel and a HUGE line. People say they can't see the ferris wheel move 'cause it's so slow. The line is even slower.
I toured London's sights from the top of one of those ubiquitous open top double decker buses. I was able to work on my tan while hearing the usual stupid jokes told by tour guides when there's nothing worth looking at while stuck in London traffic. I happily saw St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London (which is actually a small castle and tourist site), Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, and a view from the river on the included river boat trip. I walked from the Parliament Buildings, to see Westminster Abbey, St James' Park and Buckingham Palace. For some reason, the Queen doesn't want tour buses passing in sight of Buckingham Palace. It was a delightful day in a London heat wave (which meant the temperature got into the 80's).
Other layover days have been spent recuperating from riding. I've pedaled up and coasted down every hill on our route in England and Wales. Because of my low gearing, I was able to pedal up one hill in Wales so steep and long that I saw a dozen people walking and none riding. The view from the top is one of the best in Wales. Our midday checkpoint overlooked a lake behind a dam with rolling sheep filled hills rising in green mounds with white dots all around. Sheep are a constant in Wales. While I didn't see enough agriculture in England to feed London, lamb must be the national food of Wales. Wales, by the way, does indeed have its own unintelligible language with town names containing twelve letters and one vowel.
Wales also has lots of country lanes that aren't wide enough for a '72 Lincoln Continental (remember the BIG ones) to pass without scraping bushes on both sides. One of the things I learned in Northern France was to keep my mouth shut while cycling because of the gnats. The country lanes of England and Wales are even more invested with flying protein. They especially like to land on my glasses. Fortunately, they don't bite.
The other thing about the narrow country lanes is that it's much cheaper to build them without switchbacks so they go straight up and down some very steep hills. Because of the limited sight distance and the threat of vehicles coming the other way on a one-lane road, I had to use my brakes on every downhill. On one 25% drop through the darkest section of the woods, I was braking as hard as I could, without skidding, to try to slow as a car, taking up all but a few feet of pavement, was coming up. I barely made it past the car and had continued to squeeze the brakes as a sharp turn was at the bottom. My right arm (which is MUCH better, thank you) hurt from all the exertion.
I don't have the speed I had when I left South Africa. It will take a while and a lot of recovery time to rebuild my legs to what they were. Sunsets will be as late as 11pm so I've been wearing eyeshades in my tent so I could go to sleep before 9pm. I'd like to be in bed by 8 or 8:30 but dinners are too late & I need to shower after riding EVERYDAY!
Happy Trails,
Bruce