I've spent the past eight weeks -- time I had planned on using to get in shape for this ride -- hobbling around with a bad back. Fortunately, the back healed shortly before I left for Britain, but I'm in abysmal shape.

But the guys with Westpoint Adventures are great in this respect. They never push me to try things I'm not comfortable with and they're always checking to make sure I'm OK. I've only known these guys for a matter of hours, but we hit it off in a big way.

<furthur>