Olympic Women's Road Race

What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday nothing but sunshine, and today rain rain and more rain.  So glad I wasn't out at Box Hill today as it would have been miserable.  The race actually ran about 3 blocks from our flat, within 2km of the start and finish, so ran down the road to watch it come by and then got to watch the rest on TV.  Much more comfortable than standing in the rain the whole time.  Even worse it was real rain, even heard some thunder which is really abnormal here.

I guess the women took note of what happened yesterday and didn't really let anything go up the road.  Watching the race again last night is seemed like 30 seconds of extra effort on the climb when the last 15 or so people bridged would have gotten everyone to the finish together.  But what do I know?  Cancellara was complaining that the fans were too close to the road and the riders.  Sad to see him crash but don't really think the crowd had anything to do with it.

Since they released the course everyone thought that Box Hill would have been the deciding factor, boy were we wrong.  Who would have guessed the downhill, downwind, run back into London would be the decider?  Either way it was pretty exciting.

The Brits were doing the wave waiting for the race to come by.  I am not sure they could have been more excited that one of their own was going to win.

Light rain and a bit of sun at the start

This bike cop was warming up the crowd giving
high 5s.

Pouring rain at the finish

BMW is sponsoring the Olympics and supplying
all cars.  Something like 4,000 cars.

Olympic Road Race

Wow what an awesome day!  Something about routing for you country that makes everything more exciting. Was so cool to see the pros race over the same roads that I ride on all the time (and yeah they were going much faster)

Box Hill was super packed, not because there were too many people, but because it is a national trust site and the had it very limited as where you could and could not go.  It did however make for some excitement befor the race arrived.  Anyone who tried to walk outside of a designated area would get accosted by security and asked to leave.  Lots of loud applause when somebody got caught trying to sneak into an area they didn't belong.

If you watched the race you know how good it was.  With the short laps we were able to get some action every 15 minutes or so.  I wish that they didn't set up such strict areas for viewing, I think it took a lot of excitement out of the race.  I was contemplating wearing a stars and strips speedo, but glad I didn't seeing that we weren't  allowed that close to the course.  

Hope everyone else enjoyed as much as I did.  Here are my favourite shots of the day.

I sat next to a grorup that was cheering for Dan Craven a rider from Namibia. He was dropped after the first time up the climb but kept on going.  Constant phone calls to people back home and relentless cheering.  I guess that is what makes the olympics so special.  Athletes having the opportunity to represent their country at the highest level, and regardless of their ability, giving absolutely everything.

Wiggans was on the front the entire day and never seemed to really be trying.  Looked like he was breathibng througgh his nose the entire day.  If he is really that good he is going to win the tour for the next 15 years.

Really wish we had the George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde on our team but at least we were represented in all the major moves.  Seeing the USA flying high in Europe, is just about the most patriotic you can get.

I guess GB were too confident or just played a bad card.  All Wiggans' work was for not.....Awesome race though regardless.

Center of the World

The opening ceremony is about to start and it feels weird knowing that the whole world is watching.  The Olympic park is only about 12 miles from here.  Hundreds of millions of people watching something that close.......wow.

I rode my bike on both the road race and time trial course tonight.  Tons of new asphalt, and miles of barriers already lined the road for tomorrow morning.  250km is going to be a long day in the saddle for everyone.  Can't wait!!  I will let you know where I am at in case anyone can catch a glimpse of me screaming like a crazy person.

Press area for the time trial

Directions for the men's and women's time trail course

Ok the opening ceremony has started and its pretty amazing.  Set your dvr, you might want to watch it more than once.  Oh and spoiler alert.....the stars of the show......corgis!!

At last!!!

In the 11th hour finally scored a ticket to the Olympics.  Will be on the side of the road screaming like an idiot on Box Hill for the men's road race.  I little sad that unlike most events the US is by no means a favorite or even a top contender in cycling.  I am sure it will be a great time though.

Tour de France!!!

Its super late here and everyone already knows what happened on the stage so I will just cut to the chase.  Here are some of my favorite shots from today.

Shut up legs!!

Norway corner, not sure how this is even legal!

There are a ton more here, and probably twice that many that I didn't even load anywhere.

More pics

Everything that you might have thought about the race is true.  It was surreal being there and seeing all these guys laying it down.  When you see see Jens attacking, after all the drama going down with Radio Shack, you know the dude just loves riding his bike.

That was probably the best part of the day.  Everyone there was a total bike nut.  I am sure the Parisians avoid the day like the plagues, and it was still wall to wall people.  We didn't even try to get near the finish or awards.  It was like 5 deep by 11 in the morning and the race didn't get into Paris till almost 4.

The only bad part was that we missed most of the sponsors caravan, with a bunch of semis parked in front of us waiting to park on the Place de la Concorde.  Shout out to Nestle though for bringing the bunny.

The tour baby!!

Just about 12 hours to go before the Tour arrives in Paris.  Arrived bright and early in Paris this morning.  Hotel couldn't be any more perfect, looks out over the 1k to go banner (or where it will be tomorrow).  You can definitely tell the race is coming, lots of grandstands put up, and barricades all around the course.

Keep an eye on the Ferris wheel tomorrow.....thats where I will be.

With Wiggans wrapping up the GC today, I gotta think Sky is going to be super motivated riding for Cav now.  He will be crossing the finish right about here tomorrow.

Bumped into Movistar at dinner

 The Ferris wheel is part of a big carnival, kinda like a little state fair.  Anyway, was funny to me to see the same rides, and scams being run 5,000 miles away.  This was a new one to me.  Climb a ridiculous ladder and get a XBOX.  Needless to say this guy lost.

Edinburgh

Since we never made it to Scotland before I had to move back to America, I decided to take a mini day trip to Edinburgh when my friend Ann came for a visit. We left the flat at 5:30 AM and didn't return in 11PM. Even though it was a long day it was totally worth it.

First stop was a 287 step climb to the top of The Scott Monument

The Scott Monument

View from the Scott Monument

View from the Scott Monument

Stained glass in The Scott Monument

  

Edinburgh Castle 

Princes's Park

Olympic Rings

Next up was an open top bus tour around Edinburgh. We were pretty much the only ones on the bus, so I think the driver took a couple detours.

After the bus tour, we went to Edinburgh Castle. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels and a beautiful memorial to Scottish military, but we were not allowed to take pictures. Part of the Scottish crown jewels include The Coronation Stone. The stone was stolen by King Edward I in 1296 and fitted into King Edwards Chair, which is still used today during coronations of British royals. It was finally returned to Scotland 1996 and will only return to England for coronations.

The Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle 

The Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle

The single most important event to take place at the Royal Palace was the birth of James VI of Scotland and I of England. A glided stone panel shows 1566, the date of James's birth, and the interlocking initials 'MAH', for his parents Mary and Henry

Cemetery for dogs of soliders