Canals, parks and Wimbledon

Last Monday we had a beautiful day in London so I thought I'd explore a little. I had cycled east from Alperton into and through central London to the Thames so I went west this time on the Grand Union Canal east down through Southall to the Thames at Brentwood. The canal was scenic until i came to Southall, where it looked like a dump. They've been raising funds to clean it out with little support. (see pice with yellow sign).

After reaching the Thames I cycled down to Sion Park hoping to see the Butterfly House, but was disappointed to find out that it was moved. I cycled to Kew Gardens but didn't go inside, that will be another day. I went on down to Richmond Park, the main cycling hangout in London due to the nice pavement, open roads, rolling hills and scenery. I sat down for a bit, broke out a map and decided to explore the Wimbledon area and go by the stadium. There were some beautiful parks with trails and the occasional horse trotting past. Wimbledon stadium was packed. I had some friends who were inside watching for the first time. They were leaving the country the next day, so it was a nice sendoff.

I found out the first major difference between Seattle and London: humidity. I could not believe how much I was sweating! I stopped for lunch at a pub to watch Wimbledon, since I couldn't find a good vantage point around the stadium. I must have had 5 glasses of water! As I watched the players run all around the court I felt very lazy. I played tennis about 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it but definitely could use some lessons. I'd be happy if I even got my racket on a 143mph serve! (I watched some of the men's final on Sunday. It was amazing to see those two guys play for almost 5 hrs! it was a battle, definitely the best match I've ever seen.) I watched the girls and guys' matches until around 3, filled up my water bottle, crossed the Thames at Hammersmith and rode up to Kenton. It was a good day's ride.