After unsuccessful attempts to meet up with the elusive Epping Forest ride group, I made a plan to ride via the same forum with a guy named Rob. I knew it was going to be a good day when I made it to our meeting spot with no wrong turns and five minutes to spare. From there, we rode on upwards of 18 miles of heavenly singletrack. Rob is a mountain biker and moto-cross rider and knows the trails well. He would fit right in on one of our Sunday Sugarloaf rides. It was great to follow someone through the narrow, winding, well-packed trails with a canopy so thick it often seemed dark. After a couple hours of riding, we stopped at a café by a golf course for particularly good sandwich. Other than a couple tricky water ditches and large logs across the trail, the riding was perfect for the ‘cross bike! I’m glad to finally meet someone who likes the same kind of riding I do and look forward to getting out in Epping Forest again soon.

I hurried back to the flat for a quick shower and then off again to meet Shane, Caron, and her daughter for my first trip to the theatre to see Wicked. As can often be the case in London, getting there is half the experience. I knew something was wrong when there were a large number of people waiting on the platform and the next train was late. Unbeknownst to me, there as a strike on the tube as of Monday evening. I managed to squeeze on one of the last trains for the night to Victoria Station. It was packed - as in full-body-contact, face in someone's armpit, and sweating bullets. It is no wonder the English are so tolerant and polite! I got there a bit ahead of the other’s and did what all good Londoners do with a bit of time on their hands; grab a beer at the local pub.

Wicked was wonderfully entertaining. Our seats were in the nose-bleed section, but the theatre was pretty small and the theatrics easy to see. I suppose, not having much access to theatre in Colorado, I’m probably easy to please, but it was an impressive display of music, dancing, costumes, set design, and effects. I already have plans to see Mary Poppins with some classmates in a couple weeks, so now I’ll look forward to that even more!

Tuesday morning
With the tube strike in full swing, the bus ride to school took so long this morning, I missed most of my first class. I could have walked the three miles in less time. The tube strike is supposed to last until the end of the week… I noticed on my way home, that the bike shop was particularly busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Although I did not intend to use my bike to commute on, tomorrow I will ride my bike to class (and store it at my classmate’s flat during class.) For the next few days, it appears that riding will be the most reliable way to get anywhere (relatively) quickly.