We’re getting ready to return to France, and resume our eastward cycling journey to the Black Sea. This leg of our train odyssey will get our bikes and us to the southern edge of England. There, we’ll hang out for a few days before boarding a ferry to take us back across the English Channel to France.

After an extended break on the outskirts of London, a change of plans had us headed due north towards Cambridge. A brush with the busy traffic near Stansted Airport made us happy to get back into the more rural parts of England. Cycling over rolling green hills, we arrived on the DNA Cycle Path, a fitting approach to a University town renowned for its scientific discoveries.

Biking from Windsor into the heart of London let us experience the many different sides of this great city. From royal parks with ancient trees, to the coronation site for early Anglo-Saxon kings, to a tiny ferry, a giant pedestrian tunnel, and some of the City’s most beloved icons (like, the Tower Bridge), we savored it all. As we watched people go about their business, and chatted with passers by about our journey, we looked forward to a week of R&R in the UK’s biggest city.