21 May 2014 (sun, cloud 20°C)

Woke early at 5 am even though we didn’t go to bed til 11.30pm.  Had a cup of tea and caught up with our correspondence and showering before heading down to breakfast at 6.30am.  Breakfast was delicious and we made the most of our free full English breakfast then packed up the bikes and manoeuvred them into the elevator to go check out of Jury’s Inn.  Can recommend this hotel for absolute quiet (didn’t hear one plane despite having runways less than a km away), very clean, big comfortable bed, great shower.

Cycled away in the wrong direction for a while before getting our bearings and making our way to Hounslow West train station where we caught a train to Ealing Common to go catch up with our mate Steve.  That went smoothly, but English stations, in many locations have a nasty habit of throwing in  couple of dozen stairs to get you from one platform to the next and when trying to haul a couple of fully laden bikes up and down the steps to the platforms, it certainly requires a bit of thought in ones lifting technique (keep knees bent and core tight and all that). So, it was not great fun, but we managed. One thing I did find quite amusing was how people on the trains are very zombie-fied, no eye contact and not a smile in sight. Was however impressed with the well maintained condition and appearance of the trains.

It was great to see Steve again and despite not seeing each other for fifteen years and only corresponding once a year at Christmas, we chatted continually all the way to Steve’s place which would have been a short walk if he hadn’t just got out of nine weeks in a cast due to a snapped Achilles. As it was it took about twenty or thirty mins and I was thankful it was such a beautiful day.

Parked the bikes at his place and went for lunch in Ealing.  It was delicious and the conversation flowed.  I think it was Bob Seger who has a line in one of his songs that goes “see some old friends, good for the soul” and how true that line is.

Wow there are a lot of sirens in Ealing.  While we sat and ate lunch we had seven police cars and five ambulances fly past at high speed with sirens blaring.  Steve says that’s a typical day and he doesn’t even notice the sirens anymore.  Yes it is a very busy place for sure. A lot of people walk and cycle round here and they don’t dilly dally either.  We were certainly eclipsed with our relaxed walkway cruising, take in the scenery style.  But there is a lot to take in and even though you are surrounded by buildings, people, traffic and noise, there is a lot of beauty here too.  Obviously the buildings are amazing and we have nothing like it in New Plymouth.  But I am amazed how many little pockets of natural beauty there are as well.  From the beautiful smelling laburnum tree outside of Jury’s Inn right next to the busy Great South West Road, to the four parakeet type birds I spotted in the middle of Ealing.  They looked like Eastern Rosellas only with longer tails and were quiet, unlike their antipodean relatives.

One of the parakeet type birds.

You don't scare the wildlife on a bike (until they notice the lycra!)

After lunch Steve gave us a tour of the fitness centre he works at which is very flash and then gave us instructions as to how to get to the hotel he had organised for us through his boss.  He managed to get us a room for two nights in this beautiful hotel for free!  Can’t believe our luck!  So while Steve went to work, we checked into this hotel and then went back to Steve’s flat to grab our bikes and go for a ride.  We just followed our noses and allowed ourselves to be tempted by every path through a park or alleyway we came across and ended up by the Grand Union Canal and followed the towpath into Brentford and around Syon Park Manor. Now, it has to be said that there are manor houses all over the countryside in Britain, but they are splendid and many are spectacular and the approach to this one was down a country lane with fields either side. Remember however, that you are in west London here. An amazing conglomeration of architecture and time spans.

 Our ride up the Grand Union Canal was a lovely little mini-adventure and we saw a great variety of scenery.  Perfect jigsaw puzzle scenes with canal boats, all with different names and colourful markings. Canadian geese and quaint riverside apartment buildings bursting with colour from the many potted flowers on their balconies. 

Cycling alongside the Grand Union Canal - nice and flat 

The canal itself was disappointingly dirty.  You would pick untold diseases if you happened to fall in it I’m sure. Yet, there is something quaint and distinctly British about these waterways, which over the years have transported a variety of products all over the country.

Our little excursion yesterday made me very glad that we didn’t have a map or GPS with us as if we felt we needed to check our bearings, there were plenty of people to ask and it meant we were able to blithely cycle wherever fancy took us and keep looking around us.  There is a lot to take in and I loved it!

We basically followed our noses back to Steve’s flat, going back a completely different way and just guessing our direction.  The suburban streets tend to all look the same in their own beautiful way.  All were tree-lined and lots of intricate brick and stone work with extra attention paid to the front door entrance. They don’t have a lot of room but they certainly make the most of the room they have with some lovely cottage gardens and climbing roses up the walls one minute and then a quite unkempt property two doors down.

We left our bikes at Steve’s and grabbed a pannier of gear each which we dropped off at our hotel before walking to Steve’s work and dropping the keys back to him.  Then we went for a pub dinner and took our computer as we couldn’t connect to the internet at the hotel for some reason.  Checked our messages over dinner and then headed back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.