London; final day.

Today I wanted to go see the natural history museum and the British museum here in London but something more important turned up. My good friend, Christopher Davis, is serving a mission for the LDS church here in London. I was going to meet him in downtown but that didn't work out, he had to wait for furniture for his new flat. The moving company conveniently told him that they would come between noon and 6. As such, I went out to him instead, he resides in Romford. I took him and his companion out for lunch and then we walked around a park in the town.

Christopher and me

Christopher and his new companion.

I hung out with them all afternoon. After Romford I went to Westminster to see the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. These were all very neat to see. Unfortunately it was too dark to get pictures. Now I have to fly home in the morning :(.

Cambridge and London Day 1

This week I have been in England for a developer's workshop and some fun in London. The first part of the week I was up in Cambridge working hard at the semi-annual Phenix developer's workshop. The first impressions of Great Britain : the full English breakfast is great, driving on the lef-hand side of the road is strange, and everyone rides a bike... AWESOME!

The real story from Cambridge is the food, the rest of it was 'boring' scientific software programming. We stayed at a bed and breakfast where I took advantage of the full English breakfast each morning. The dinners were pretty awesome too. The first night we went to a Turkish restaurant with plenty of yummy kabobs. The Second night we went to an Indian restaurant, very good food! But I didn't enjoy it because there was coriander in my dish, as such that was all I tasted...yuk!! The third night we had dinner in old Cambridge library in Sidney Sussex College, which is where Oliver Cromwell's head is buried. (The Royalist dug up his corpse and beheaded him after they re-took power.) We had a very fancy dinner there consisting of duck and potatoes. The final night in Cambridge we went to a local restaurant, The Backstreet Bistro, where I had a very good Pimm's lamb.

Yesterday we took the train to London where my lab mates and I went out for Tapas. This was by far the best dinner of the entire trip! This was real Tapas. We tried about eight different dishes and they were all of excellent quality. My favorite dishes were TXIGORKI and PIMIENTOS DE PADRÓN, look it up. So next time you are going by King's Cross Station be sure to hit up Camino! After that I went my  own way leaving my lab mates to fly back to the States. I found a place to stay with some local members of the Mormon church.

So today I spent time at the Tower of London and Regent's Park. The majority of the day was spent at the Tower, I got there at 9 and left at 3. It was awesome! I then spent the rest of the day at the gorgeous Regent's Park. I'll let the pictures tell the story. Sorry that some are not straight, I took most of the pictures ;).

Going into the Tower grounds, looking at the outer wall. The grassy area was the moat.

Just inside the inner wall looking at Wakefield Tower.

Waterloo lock, where they keep the Crown Jewels. Also, where the olympic medals were for safe keeping.

The White Tower.

Me in fron of the White Tower.

Tutor buildings east of the White Tower

Me in front of Tower Bridge.

Regent's Park

Regent's Park

Me at Regent's Park

One Day More

Tomorrow is the day I ride in the 'Rid Without Limits' event here in NC. I even was able to promote the ride on TV:

I want to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to my ride. So far I have raised exactly $3,000. Still haven't donated? There is still time! To help you gauge how much you should donate I'll chronicle my logged rides thus far in 2012 (thank you Garmin!). You can see how much work I put in to training for this ride and then you can try to match my effort, monetarily speaking of course.

Count:	63 Activities
Distance:	1,442.04 miles
Time:	88:01:01 h:m:s
Average Speed:	16.4 mph
Average Heart Rate:	162 bpm
Average Cadence:	81 rpm
Calories:	93,963 Calories

For example, you can donate the following: $1 for every training ride ($63),  $1 for every 100 miles ridden ($14), $1 for every minute I've spent in the saddle ($5,280) or every second ($316,800). You get the idea :). In all seriousness, whatever you can contribute would be great! Here is why you should donate:

Thank you all so much! United Cerebral Palsy could not do the inspiring work that they do.

Last Push

Just 50 years ago many people with disabilities were institutionalized only because they were unable to communicate. Luckily society has progressed and we don't see this happening often. The progress has come as society learns how to respond and assist people with disabilities. This work is difficult because each different person has their very unique set of challenges. The Easter Seals is a charitable organization that takes on this work and provides the needed specialized services to many in our community. Like any charity they rely on donations to do their important work. Their largest charity event is a cycling event, Ride Without Limits, which I am participating.

As a rider I am to ask for monetary donations. So far I have had a great response, raising nearly my goal of $3,000; however, I am not quite there yet. I am making one last effort to not only meet but exceed my goal. So if you can donate push this button:

If you can't donate please share this link via email, facebook, twitter, etc.

Thank You!!!