Change of Plans - Now in Devon, England

I arrived in London on Tuesday morning after an uneventful, although largely sleepless flight. The first order of business was to figure out how to navigate the tube and bus system to reach my friend Ned and Connie's house. I must have been a sight: a dazed traveler with a huge bike box, two red panniers, and a large wheeled suitcase taking a deep breath and then flinging the bike box on to the top of an escalator, myself a step behind (and above), and my luggage a step or two behind me. Fortunately, uniformed attendants were kind enough to help me get my luggage off the escalator at the bottom. In all, five people helped me with my luggage, unasked, on the trip from Heathrow to the neighborhood I was staying at. One woman insisted on taking my panniers and then grabbed one end of the bike box to help me haul it up the stairs out of a tube stop.

I spent Tuesday with Ned and Connie Wakeman and their ten month old son, Sam. I had spent a couple of weeks with Ned in the summer of 2005. That was the summer he met Connie. Since then they married (in Maine) and of course now have a beautiful son. It was great to catch up with Ned again and to meet Connie for the first time. Below are pictures of me and Connie, and me and Ned.




Tuesday morning brought torrential downpours and the forecast of three more days of rain. With my bike still unpacked, I decided the sensible thing would be to take a bus to my aunt in uncle's house in Devon and set up the bike there. No London cycling in the rain for me!

The landscape of Devon is spectacular; I can't wait to get out on the bike. Below is a picture of the village of Bere Alston where my aunt Pam and uncle Pete live. Their house is painted pink on the right side of the street. It is called the Angler's Rest and at one time was the local village pub. The other photo was taken from the room I am staying in and looks out over the back garden.