The weather is good. The wind not too strong. Today’s sortie is almost twice the length of my any previous sortie and will take me very close to Heathrow. Once on the road, I move down through Wandsworth again and up the hill and then down hill towards Richmond Park. Lots of other cyclists are out today, racing down the hills of the park and up again on their fancy carbon fibre bikes.

Within half an hour I reach my first waypoint, which overlooks most of west London. There is a clear view of Heathrow in the far distance. A family walks past. A couple of guys are sitting on a nearby bench enjoying the view. From here I can just about make out the new Heathrow control tower. A 747 is taking off, climbing slowly out and making a sharp right turn, probably following a detling departure from runway 9L, crossing some of the waypoints that I am photographing today.

To get to those I end up following in the slow footsteps of families on Sunday outings. I cross the Thames to reach the next waypoint, located in another park. I rest there next to waypoint vaton, looking up at the sky – the wind is calm. On my way out of there, a brother and sister (I presume) on rollerblades crash right in front of me, with their parents running towards them. I ask whether everyone’s ok – “They are just a bit tired”, the mom answers.

I continue towards my next two waypoints, both located in the heart of Hounslow. Wherever you are in Hounslow, no matter the particular wind conditions of the day, there is always the constant rumbling noise of airplanes. Taking-off or landing. Property prices must be cheap. I remember once talking to a nice Indian guy who’d been living next to runway 27L for 20 odd years. The noise of the engines didn’t seem to bother him the slightest. He had a great smile.

I finish photographing the waypoints fairly quickly and with no surprises as they are both located on residential streets. I make my way out and towards the final waypoint of the trip, ill04, which I locate nearby, just next to a parked trailer with the words “Live racing pigeons” stuck on it. The sun is shining directly at me and my camera as I take the picture.