Small update - see frank for details

As the title says, this is going to be short. Frank wrote a fairly detailed entry so I don't need to retype that with internet time so expensive (50p for 30 min here, which converts to about US$1). Things are ok overall, some small mishaps, a few misdirections and wrong turns made the day interesting. A nice touristy couple gave us an extra map they had 2 days ago which has been amazingly helpful at finding our way. Streets here are poorly labeled, have multiple names [similar to rt45/york road back home, but usually labeled as one in directions, another by signs, and sometimes (if we are lucky) by both on the map] , change names many times, and have crazy intersections. We are getting used to the riding on the left well enough, but once a day or so I have to yell at Frank to stay left... :-0

We have stayed at 2 hostels so far, Hostel 639 for Frank's first and second (his second was my first), then at the Globetrotter Inn London for a night (639 was booked up) but back here (at the 639) last night and maybe tonite...They both have been good, I like the 639 a little better (better price, similar atmospheres, plus we've become friends with a few of the staff/long term people here and been hanging out with them alot.

It is a small world. Yesterday we met people from Frederick being touristy in London, then last night when we were hanging out in one of the staff's rooms, one of the other roommates, "the american one" came back, and we found out she (Erin Baxter) just graduated from Maryland in December, as a technical theatre major. She not only knew my older sister (Maribeth), but she was the one who got her into stage managing. Then this morning at breakfast, one of the kids next to us was wearing a Maryland Day shirt and we found out the group of 3 guys just graduated from Maryland and lived 2 streets over from Frank. Sometimes I forget how far from home I really am.

Sorry to everyone I said I would email, I am working on it still, too much to do in such limited time. Leave a comment if you want a postcard from somewhere!

That's all for now, read up on Frank's for touristy details.

Long day!

So today began over the Atlantic Ocean on my flight here. Flight was uneventful, made small talk with the girl sitting next to me, slept some, etc. Customs/immigration was no problem, picked up my bag/box, and headed to the first outside door and started assembling all the pieces. After a while of doing that, I went on a search for water and an internet cafe. After getting my net fix and filling up, I started asking for directions to get out of Heathrow and onto the hostel (in Kensington). Eventually I was directed to the M4 as my google map directions showed I should go. However, M stands for Motorway, the equivalent of a US interstate. Biking down 95 at home isn't so smart, and its the same here. The police pulled me over before I even got on M4, told me I was retarded, and then helped me get over to the A4, a road that has a convienent bike path and much slower traffic. At this point I decided to use the gas station across the street to top up my tyres, since I had deflated them slightly for the flight. Bad idea, the pump didn't work quite right and ended up deflating my tyres to a dangerous level. I went inside to see what I could do and all they had was a air compressor that runs off a cigarette adaptor in any car...so I was able to borrow some power from a guy at the gas station and fill up. On to A4! After an hour or so of smooth riding on the convienient bike path that is between the road and sidewalk, I felt something wierd. Stopping to check it out, I realized one of the tires on my trailer had popped. With no spare for the small tire, I had to take it off, find the hole, patch, and reinflate. My problem was in the fact that my 'pump' was an air compressor that needed a car to operate. So I did what I could to borrow power from cars taking the side street I had stopped next to, and eventually got it filled up enough to find the hole, patched it, and stopped someone else to refill the tire altogether. Back to the road again! The rest of the ride wasn't too bad, just slightly confusing directions, which was worsened by the fact that streets aren't labeled nearly as clearly here as in the US, and no one seems to know the roads too well anyway. Finally heard from frank on the radio, close to arriving at the hostel, and had a story to tell. Spent the rest of the night here at the hostel with Frank and some new friends, most of them from Canada. Today is supposed to be filled with frisbee and hackey sack, along with some touristy stuff. A little late start, so we will see what happens.