Where in the world was David yesterday? Windsor and Balham

These blog posts seem to get later and later!

Yesterday was the warmest day yet - average 73.6F for the whole ride, maximum 86F! And I have the beginnings of a tan on the forearms. Today looks much duller, but maybe that's a good thing. It won't be cold, and hopefully it won't be wet. Yesterday morning Dave took a ride before I was even up and came back with the recommendation that I change my route and go through Windsor Great Park because the views were so lovely. I took him up on that suggestion and spent over an hour meandering through the park. Sadly, though he had reported seeing hundreds, I didn't see a single deer, but I had great views down to Windsor, caught photos of some magnificent trees, and enjoyed a stop by the Savill Garden and then Virginia Water.

From there it was a fast run in towards London past Thorpe, through Chertsey, Shepperton, and Lower Sunbury, then between Hampton Court and Bushy Park to Kingston. I spent a while just standing on Kingston Bridge and enjoying the river flowing past. Sadly from there it is pretty urban, with the centre of Kingston to negotiate first, the long drag hills up from Kingston and to Putney Vale Cemetery, and lots of traffic running on through Wandsworth on the South Circular into the Clapham/Balham area. After some miscounting of streets I found Pickets Street, and received a lovely warm welcome from Rhona O'Connell - another long-standing friend from student days.

What I hadn't realised was that Rhona's kitchen is in the middle of being completely refitted, meaning that the contents are in the lounge and even making a cup of tea is a challenge. I am being told not to feel guilty, but I do all the same. After meeting up with some of her local friends we enjoyed a long, leisurely snack lunch of smoked salmon and cheese in the garden while work on the kitchen proceeded. It was lovely to meet Rhona's partner, Mark, to enjoy some blues music - Buddy Guy, Miles Davis, Eric Bibb (who we had all, separately, seen recently) and Keb' Mo' - and to sample Persian cuisine at Dish Dash in Balham.

This morning the house is swarming with workmen - plasterers, Sky installers, people fitting worktops, etc. Roger, the project manager, reckons it will be possible to use the kitchen by the weekend, so Rhona is planning roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. I hope she isn't disappointed. As for me, as soon as I press 'save' I'm off on my way to Chatham - 45 miles today, finishing with a long, steep hill to Walderslade. On the way I plan to drop in at the Confraternity of St James in Blackfriars Road, where I may even pick up my first pilgrim stamp, and then call past St Paul's Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral before heading out to Greenwich and beyond. The CMS riders will be passing through central London today as well, but sadly I think it is unlikely we'll cross paths. I'll text them, but as they are coming all the way in from Guildford it seems improbable. Their ride is going well, however, and nearing its conclusion just as I draw close to crossing the English Channel. Just writing that makes my stomach do a little flip.