Link to the start of EuroVelo 2022 trip
2022.04.14 – 2022.04.20 – London
Flights from Ottawa to Toronto and Toronto to London were full. Except for having to wear masks on-board, the flights were quite enjoyable. After landing at the Gatwick airport, we were relieved to recover our two large equipment bags and our bicycle box. We encountered a bit of delay with our booked car pick-up service while we waited for a transport large enough to accept our bicycle box. The ride from the airport to Jessica and Rob’s flat took much longer than anticipated due to some unexpected traffic delays going through a tunnel under the Thames River. We managed to recover promptly from our jet lag after a deep sleep on our first night in London.
During our stay with Jessica and Rob, we enjoyed Rob’s excellent home evening meals. On Friday we were treated to sumptuous 4-course evening meal on a large canal docked
boat. We shared an Easter Sunday brunch with friends at a nearby restaurant. As most folks were back to work after the Easter holiday, the four of us made our way to London’s Chinatown for a pleasant dim sum lunch. We enjoyed a Uber boat ride on the Thames River on our return journey home. For our last evening in London we had a hot-pot meal with some other friends from Australia (Tanya and Hugo). We stayed at Tanya’s parents’ house for a week during our 2017/18 cycling trip . On most days, our mobile health application would reveal that we exceeded 10,000 steps as we walked extensively.
On the cycling front, we successfully re-assembled the tandem the day after our arrival. We did a number of morning rides (15-25 kms) throughout the week which followed, for the most part, bicycle paths. When not riding, the tandem was securely stored in the flat’s building bicycle parking facility.
We were blessed with good weather between 15-20C throughout our stay in London. And in case you are wondering, it seems like folks in London have clearly put Covid behind them. We estimate seeing fewer than 1% of people still wearing face masks – mostly on the public transit system.
