Well I had an enjoyable two days in London
I experienced London on a number of levels; as a tourist, as a commuter and of course, as a tube challenger!
Many thanks to Sam and Matt for letting me stay over
Well I arrived in London on the thursday for the much needed research. I already had a circular route planned in my head and on paper so all I needed was the door positions. So I arrived in London and started wandering around at Victoria.
Hours Later I was done. I actually did the Zone 1 challenge but only during walking pace. I didnt see how long I took but it was around 3 and a half hours which wasnt bad. On my travels I was called a good smaritan by a nice Indian guy and helped a few people with luggage and prams and telling people where to go. On my way up to Euston, I got chatting to this guy who was interested with the challenge and we had a chat about it and stuff. I invited him to Zone 1 but he had an exhibition to open.
In the evening, I went over to Sam and Matt's house in South London. The journey was strange as it was like going to see my ex girlfriend on the train lol. I arrived and we spoke about a number of things...mostly about the tube..like we do
Now..Friday..
I got up at 6.30AM which I was actually suprised I managed to do easily lol. The three of us got a bus to Morden and then the Underground to Swiss cottage where we had breakfast. I dont know if it was because I did not want cheese in my Bacon and Egg McMuffin, or no sauce on my Bacon Roll, but the woman who served me didnt seem to have a clue what she was doing. After a decade of waiting, I find that my Bacon and Egg McMuffin had no Bacon! So after clearing up that lil incident, as I was about to start my Bacon Roll, I was presented with another McMuffin. How cool was that?
After saying goodbye to Matt and Sam, I was getting ready to leave when I had a call off Sam, saying that her workshop was cancelled and had nothing to so. So we met back up and decided to hunt down a certain, famous Tube geek, sorry, challenger!
. After a mad dash to a certain station, only to miss him by 10 seconds, we met up with Moley at Finchley Road where Sam had a rather interesting conversation with some weird guy... We eventually met up with Geoff at Canons Park and stayed with him until around 12.45 where me and Sam went to meet up with you all at Shoreditch. At this point, it was already very hot and I was already starting to feel tired.
At Shoreditch, after saying hello to everyone, the starting station was drawn: Waterloo. After an enjoyable ride on a nice, new Class 378, and a change at Canada Water, we arrived at Waterloo. At 1pm, most of us started on the eastbound Jubilee platform. I went to my door I needed for London Bridge and waited. At London bridge, all you could see was 30 people make a mad dash from the train and up the stairs. I didnt go at full pace on this run but we had a few mins wait for a train (if I recall correctly). After going down to Elephant and Castle, and changing there, we all went up to Waterloo. At this stage, after changing at Waterloo, me and Kevin and his group were wondering if we had similar routes..However, at Euston, we parted company. This was when I was truly on my own.
At Euston, I went to see if there was a southbound train coming, so I could change at Warren Street, a run which I researched the previous day. Nope, 5 minutes...bugger that I thought, I ran from Euston, to Euston Square relying purely on memory from last year, chasing after Andi. I got to Euston Square and I had another 3 min wait for a train. After going to Paddington (H&C), I ran to Paddington (Bakerloo) but I walked half of the way. This was one of the better connections as a train pulled in like 30 seconds after I got there. A short hop down to Oxford Circus where I missed a train, but!! As I could see the train going away in the tunnel, I could see the next train coming. I've never seen two trains so close together before!
Now...I know Queensway only had one lift working the day before...well today..there was none! So what did I do? Yep, I ran round and round and round up those stairs and down to Bayswater. I took a minute out on this run to get a drink and have a sit down for like 20 seconds. It didnt cost me as a train pulled in straight away. Down to Earls Court where the doors of the Piccadilly line train closed right infront of me. Now, unlike some..I didnt swear at the top of my voice and..well you know the rest
After a 3 min wait, I went to Kings Cross where I changed to the Northern Line. I got a little bit lost here but soon found my way. I tell you, the new way to the Northern Line from the Piccadilly is like twice/three times as longer as the old way. I wouldnt recommend it, but I had to do it. After 2 mins, a train pulled in and off I went to Bank.
Now at bank, as I was running to the Central Line, I heard a train pulling in. Since it was above me, I didnt know if it was going west or east, so I made a dash for it. Luckily, it was going west and I got on it. Probably the best connection of the day. I went to Chancery Lane and ran to Farringdon. It was boiling hot and I was sweating loads. I had a 5 minute wait for a train to Aldgate. There, as I was going through the barriers, I noticed a group of people running behind me. Upon looking, I saw it was Kevin and his crew. We all ran to Aldgate East, where I let them run on ahead. Again, it didnt cost me because as I was going through the barriers, I saw a train pulling in. Perfect. We went to Tower Hill which cost us all as someone pulled the emergency alarm. After standing by both trains, seeing which one left first, we got on the other train and left.
Now on our way to Sloane Square, we had a bit of a disagreement about door positions. Needless to say, I had the advantage as I was right by the escalator and Kevin was in the next carriage down. After a mad dash up and over, an eastbound train was pulling in and I rushed to the second carriage while Kevin and Co went to the one infront. At Victoria, we both went down to the Victoria Line and had a 1 min wait for a train. We went to Vauxhall where the four of us finished, with a time of
03:03:05 and to the sight of Al and Sam on the platform waiting for us (I presume). After saying goodbye to them, we proceeded to the pub...or did we?
You think that was it, but no! Something totally unexpected happened. On the southbound platform, a 2009 stock train pulled in. Wow! We joked about getting on it. I made a mad dash for it (because I'm such a geek
). I was followed by the others and we went down to Brixton. One thing I would say, is that the seats are really comfy and the trains, really fast! Anyway, at Brixton, we all went to the pub. After meeting up with the others, the results were read out. I came joint 4th with Kevin and his group (I forgot their team name) and then it was the traditional round of darts where me and Al lost
I left around 7.50 to go on another adventure. Needless to say, that was truly "
Fi, fy-hyn a fi"