imuk update no. 1

well, after a mind-numbing 23 hour flight, i'm here in britain, and now settled down with my homestay family in sherborne. getting through heathrow was efficient. drove into london, that was scary and challenging. spent a night with lynn's friend josette and her husband mike and their almost 2-year-old max. max is a born entertainer. will post pictures at some point, very cute.

brits drive fast. unless i'm mistaken, there are no posted speed limits on the dual carriageways and big A roads, so fast just works. that made the trip fairly speedy and should hopefully allow me to get back to heathrow for the big waits for my monday flight.

sherborne is beautiful. roads are very small, mostly old buildings. it's not uncommon to have roads where only one vehicle can get by. and, everybody is patient. imagine that.

went for a quick 30min swim in sherborne lake, adjacent to the 'new' castle. water temperature is posted at 60 degrees (thats about 16), but it was very comfortable. no need for a double swim cap. transition is literally 50 metres from the swim exit, so transition times should be pretty good. drove the bike course and it appears VERY hilly, as the posted profile would suggest. but, the good thing is that you are either climbing or descending so it may in fact be possible to get in a good rhythm. not gonna be a mind-blower, time-wise though. definitely very beautiful countryside.

time to go bike the run course. more later.