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Cindy's biking adventure

Subj: U.K. Day 1

Date: 7/20/04

Greetings from Yelvertoft , U.K. ! C.A. and I arrived on-time, via British Airways, at Heathrow last night. The even better news is that our baggage, (saddle bags (panniers) wrapped in huge bags with United Airlines written all over them), and our bikes did too!! Our friend Mick and his daughter Emily were there to greet us and whisk us off to our accommodations. They live in a very cute village. We enjoyed a beer and some food while visiting with wife Christine and son Adam before retiring. This AM, Mick had to wake us up at 11:30 !!!! We had a great brunch and put our bikes together while watching The Tour. Unfortunately, my bike was missing the seat post clamp. Lord only knows how that happened! We hopped in the car for a trip to the bike store in Rugby . We were able to find the part and all is well! We passed the location of where the world clock is located. Cool! Of course Mick pointed out that it is German, so it might not be right! Now it is time to settle in with a beer to celebrate the hard work accomplished. We will start on our way tomorrow. Mick's friend Mark will join us. It turns out that the second night we will be spending the night where William Penn is buried. For those that might not know, we are related to him through marriage. Small world! Well, that's it for now from beautiful England !
Cheers!
Cindy
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U.K. Day 1

7/22/04

Good afternoon,
I just got off the phone with Cindy, and here's the short update:
Day 1 - fell down; Day 2 - flat tire

And now for the expanded version: they biked 39 miles in the rain from Yelvertoft to Blisworth (I'm probably going to get most of these names wrong, so any of you from the UK will think I'm an idiot.  I took quick notes as she was describing the trip, so bear with me).  She didn't say if it rained the entire way or not, but it sounds like it was pretty
wet.  She fell during the ride and got a little scraped up, but she said she's fine.  They spent the night at a hostel, so at least they didn't have to worry about sleeping in the rain.  She said they are riding along a series of canals and are seeing a lot of canal boats.

The second day they rode to Milton Keynes .  It wasn't raining during the ride, but had started misting after they arrived.  Cindy had a flat tire in Horton - not a sudden flat, just a slow leak that they noticed when they stopped because CA had a bug in her eye (at least everything isn't happening to Cindy :) ).  Mick's friend Mark was happy to be able to try out his new tire pump and they got the tire changed in no time. Apparently William Penn is buried near where they are setting up camp tonight, so Cindy was going to try and find the gravesite and take a picture since her family is descended from the Penn family.

So far she said the riding hasn't been too bad, just a couple of big hills today that took a little extra effort.  It's been cool, which is certainly helping her - especially considering that it's been in the mid-90s in good old St. Louis the past three days.

That's about it for now.  They're in the middle of nowhere, so she probably won't be checking email for a few more days.  I'll update you as soon as I hear any more.

Bruce
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Europe Bike Tour 2004 Update 3

7/25/04

Here's an update from Cindy , CA , Mick and Mark.  Cindy called twice yesterday to check in.  They made it to Windsor Castle and even timed it so that they got to see the changing of the guard.  They had an interesting encounter with security there, as they were told that if they left their bikes unattended they (the bikes) would either be destroyed with a controlled explosion or the saddle bags would all be cut open and the contents spilled on the ground.  But it's not a reaction to the current terrorism situation, it's a remnant of the Northern Irish hostilities.  They've also been treated to several low flyovers of military aircraft as they stopped for a drink at a pub south of London near where an air show was taking place.  They also rode on Royal Windsor Park , which apparently could have gotten them arrested had they been caught.  It's a restricted road through the Castle grounds that the Royal family uses - Mick neglected to tell them that it was illegal to travel on it until they had already done so. They stayed in Holmbury, St. Mary Friday night.  Mick and Mark stayed at a hostel, but Cindy and CA camped on the grounds to save money.  They ran into some bikers from the Netherlands who told them the hills through France aren't nearly as bad as those they are encountering in England - Cindy said some of them were really steep.  They had fish and chips for the first time for lunch on Friday.  They have typically had to walk about a mile from their campsites to their dinner locations, but it's probably good to stretch out after biking all day.

When she called the first time, they were headed to Hever Castle , then had a long climb into Kernsing, just outside of Seven Oaks, where they were going to spend the night.  Today they are headed into Canterbury , then on into Dover on Monday, where they will leave Mick and Mark and take the hovercraft into France .  Tuesday through Thursday they will get as far as they can towards Paris , then they will catch a train the rest of the way to meet me Thursday afternoon.

When she called me back the second time, she reported that she had decided to even out her scratches and had fallen on her other side during the day Saturday.  No significant damage, just hurt ego!  She also wanted me to emphasize that there are a LOT of steep hills, but they are getting through nicely.  The had to do at least one extra hill, because Mick got them lost one time and they had to tack on a little extra riding to find their hostel. They are seeing a lot of Mini Coopers (mostly black or grey) and a lot of small cars.  It makes sense, because gas is approximately $5.00 per gallon.  The weather has been perfect the last two days.

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I'll let you know when she checks back in.

Bruce

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