Though our guide, Jordi, did not understand my reference to Gilligan’s Island, he still handled the four American’s sassy comments with ease.  Not advertised as such, Alex and I showed up at The London Bicycle Tour Company at 10:10am at 56 Upper Ground thinking we would have a nice 1-2 hr tour.  We almost missed it since 56 Upper Ground is a communal lot filled with little art, clothing, food and special interest shops… and when I say little, I am talking 6×10 shops…

So, it was 3 hours… I hadn’t ridden a bike in 20 years, but by the time I was done (thighs shaking from a workout only biking can do), I was riding like a pro.  Note to self, when buying a bike, buy one with a cushy seat!  Jordi was really knowledgeable and told us the history of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square… oh, we did see a little of the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace… after Trafalgar Square, we kind of lost our focus since the food smells were driving the hungry bunch crazy.  Our Malaysian compatriots weren’t keeping up very well due to picture-taking and food-buying  excursions… and we lost one to a leg cramp… hence the 34 minutes.

So, all’s well that ends well.  I was having a bad camera time since my small Pentax digital camera lied about its battery life and my phone after 3hrs+ of Nexercise counting and using it for photos, that I am waiting for a picture of all of us with Jordi to arrive from one of the Malaysian group who was nice enough to take my email so he could forward.  Thank you!!

For my short stay in London… if you are up to the 3 hour bike ride, a few small hills and traffic, but with a great tour guide… I was able to see a more up-close London than if I would have taken the bus tour.  I definitely think this was the best way to get a feel for future excursion.