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Hi All,

Thanks for taking a look at Handlebar Highlights London & East Anglia Edition.

London 

Arrival into London went off without any challenges, and I soon found myself trying to navigate the London Mass Transit System; with a 75lb bike case no less. After one slight mix up (okay wrong train) I was at my final destination. Orientation to London was a breeze think of a Boston/DC mix of course with a slightly different accent. The main challenge in London was that my derailleur broke in transport and I had to find a bike shop to fix it a day later & 5 bike shops I came to the conclusion that since no one could do it in less than 4 days buying the part and doing it myself was the best option 2 hours later I was set. Maybe I should become a bike mechanic in London.

The Route 

After some touring in London I set out on my first bike day. I took a train to Brentwood and biked from there to Colchester.  The bike ride out of Brentwood started out great passing some cricket practice and other scenery that you definitely think of when you think of rural England.  The great start was awesome since I had not worked out the route in great detail but I had a good idea of what I thought would be a great route. That good idea was just that until I approached Colchester and the good idea turned bad as fast as a banana on the bottom of a grocery bag. I made one wrong turn in search of the campground and soon I found myself on a major road (Think LA interstate) with no shoulder. Let's just say I learned how to off road bike with 75lbs worth of gear strapped to the bike, and I'm a better man for it.

Harwich 

My route to Harwich was much improved and I found some lovely England country side to bike through. The main challenge for the day was that a screw on my rear rack decided to strip out. I now know how to fix a rack with zip ties & electrical tape. As far as Harwich goes let's just say I thought it would be bigger. I mean when I ask one person for directions and they say oh that's in town you need to go this way. I bike for 5 minutes and when I can't find it and ask again they say oh that's in town you need to go this way and they point in the opposite direction.

In summary London was a nice place to start, and Colchester a beautiful place to camp, but I am thinking the best is ahead of me.

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of Handlebar Highlights.

Cheers,
DUKE

Date	From	To	Miles
6/23 AM	Earl's Court	LiverPool Station	8.52
6/23 PM	Brentwood	Colchester	44.74
6/24	Colchester	Harwich	30.4
6/25	Harwich	New Harwich Ferry Dock	4.47

Comments or for letters to the editor email me at duke@systemscoach.com