And done...

The Olympics are essentially over now, and have to say it wasn't what I expected.  There was so much build up and talk of the disruption it was going to cause, and in the end I think people would tell you that they didn't really notice it at all.  Yeah there were lots of flags all over, and some of the roads were closed but other than that there wasn't much to it.  I am a bit sad to say that the best part might have been that we could wear jeans to the office for the last two weeks.

I think that Coca-Cola rented out the entire Holiday Inn near the flat, and I kept confusing the coke people for the Swiss or China athletes.  One more than one occasion people caught me trying to take pictures, and looked at me really confused.

My Olympics experience ended on Tuesday with the semi-final soccer game at Wembley.  It was Mexico vs. Japan, so pretty sure 90% of the crowd was indifferent about the team that won.  It turned out a good game, but the best part was the Mexico fans.  Not really sure if any of them were actually Mexican, but they took the opportunity to dress-up in ridiculous outfits.

Wembley was pretty impressive, less impressive was the transportation away from the stadium.  I guess in reality they moved 80 thousand people out pretty quickly, but I am so used to waking to the car and then leaving, that the standing in line to catch the tube home was a bit of a pain.

Thats ALOT of people headed to the tube

Its tough to watch

So almost a week now into the Olympics and I am not sure how much more I can take.  Don't get me wrong I might be the biggest Olympics fan in the world, but its not quite the same when you are not in your own country.  I can't really blame them, but damn.

They are broadcasting 100% of every event if you really want to watch it.  24 Channels of coverage!  Its tough when you have to watch the GB athletes no matter how bad they are.  And the personal interest stories aren't about people that are winning, but people who are just trying to make the semis.  Don't get me wrong I am not trying to take anything away from them, but when you are used to the highest medal count, 15th place just doesn't quite do it for you.

But the hardest part though is the commentators who are the farthest thing from impartial possible.  In one of the swimming heats with Phelps in it, the British guy was in 5th place or so, and the entire 2nd half of the race the commentators did nothing but scream....Go Go...you can do it!!!!!  It was ridiculous.

Did anyone watch the equestrian?  They had some crazy 6km cross country jumping thing that looked super scary.  I thought the horses were going to fall over the entire time.   Turned out that the horses did fine, but lots of riders fell off.  They have the sweet inflatable vests, like an air bag or something when the fall off, probably more embarrassing than actually falling off is having to walk around like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man, after you vest explodes.

If that wasn't weird enough one of the women on the GB equestrian team is 51!  Yeah its not the marathon or anything like that but still you gotta be an amazingly fit 51 year old, so do it.  And what seems to be the strangest thing is that the Queen's granddaughter was on the team and one a medal.  Seems so strange to me that the princes and princesses directly in line have body guards and constant security and then you let her just ride a horse around anywhere and everywhere.

Spaceship???

Please tell me other people are seeing this!!!

What the hell are the Swedish women TT riders wearing?

Looks like they lost a bet and are forced to endure public humiliation.

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.

Olympics are coming to gloucester road

Not sure if this is due to the upcoming Olympics or just normal redecorating but we got new bright and shiny things to look at in the station closest to our flat.

Its only something like 10 days till the start of the games and people are starting to get excited.  Seems like since the jubilee is done and dusted now its time for everyone to move on to the next big thing.  Will be very interesting to see the rest of the changes that are made over the next couple of weeks.  I'm particularly excited for the fan houses being built in Hyde Park.  There is going to be so many people just walking around that are high on national pride and patriotism it will be really cool.

Olympics

                                 

Since we didn't get tickets to the Olympics, I signed up to be an Olympic volunteer.Well actually I signed up to be a volunteer a year and a half ago. You would think that volunteering is easy. You say you want to volunteer and they let you. Well, that is not the case for the Olympics, here is the process far.

October 2010 - Apply to be a Games Maker (the official name for an Olympic volunteer).  I had to wait until I had an official UK address and visa before I applied.
October 2011 - Interviewed to become a Games Maker
February 2012 - Received an offer to be a Games Maker
March  2012 - Attend Role Specific Training

I interviewed for spot on on the Protocol Team.  The interview was like a really intense job interview. It started out as a group interview, then proceeded to an individual interview. They wanted really specific details of how my previous experience, would help me in my role with Team Protocol. At this point I was still unsure what Team Protocol was and I wasn't sure how counting pills and teaching fit the bill.

I guess my answers were good enough because on February 29th, I received an offer to part of the Protocol Team at the Basketball Arena.  While this isn't the Gymnastics or Synchronized swimming tickets I applied for, I am still pretty excited because the Basketball Arena is located within the Olympic Village.

During the Role Specific Training, I learned that almost 250,000 people applied for a role as a Games Makers and only 70,000 people were selected. We get official uniforms to wear at the Games and we get to keep them afterwards.

I will be the wearing "Purple and Poppy". 

                   
After I attended my Role Specific Training, I finally understood what I would be doing during the Olympics. I will be working with members of the the Olympic Family in three different areas. The Olympic Family are members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Olympic Committee (NOC), Heads of State and any other guests deemed to be VIP.  These people don't have tickets to specific events, but they have credentials that allow them to watch the different events. My job will be to greet them when the arrive, check credentials before they enter the VIP area, and answer questions in the hospitality area. Since IOC and NOC members are the only people that can present medals, I also have to escort them to the medal ceremonies.

So if you are watching Olympic Basketball, look for me.

Olympics

Olympic ticket requests open up on March 15 and close on April 26. If you are thinking about coming you probably need to make all of your plans before requests close. Its like a lottery process so nothing is guaranteed, but if you don't request them it is guaranteed you will not be attending.

Our house however is not a lottery process, and bookings in advance are required. So if you have been thinking about coming you need to talk to Kristen or I soon.

In the meantime the complete event list is linked below.

http://media.ticketmaster.com/en-gb/img/sys/tournament/london2012/oly-complete.pdf

They also announced the schedule for test events this week. August 14, 2011 will be a UCI road race testing the road race course. Gotta think a lot of big hitters will be making an appearance.

February 17-19 2012 will be the UCI track World Cup at the new velodrome. Gonna be sweet!!