I got handed a copy of this at Teddington Station on my way home tonight.
I’ve already ‘got ahead of the games’ by taking the two weeks off, but its a guide packed full of information about how commuters can avoid travel meltdown during the Games.
It was also a good reminder that both cycling events are going to be whizzing around south west London.
Both the Women’s and Men’s Time Trials take place on Wednesday 1st August with the course starting and finishing at Hampton Court Palace, another amazing backdrop to show how brilliant London is to the watching world.
It’s likely to be another good spectator sport, as the competitors go off at 90 second intervals, with the women starting at 12.30pm and the men at 2.15pm.
I reckon one of the best place to watch the race is in Hampton Wick.
It’s close to the finish of the course, so you’ll have a good idea of how each of the riders are doing, its home to a number of nice pubs to get refreshments (and perhaps watch some of the earlier action on the TV) and close to the train station.
Looking at the map of the route, you’ll be watching the women come across the bridge and into the last few kilometres down to Hampton Court, while the men will be swinging around the roundabout and up the High Street for a extra loop.
For those colleagues at Tearfund (where I work) who haven’t taken the fortnight off, the men’s race will be passing just over the railway line from the office on Waldegrave Road. The first racers expected past at just after 3pm and the last by 4.30pm! The Olympics will literally be on the office doorstep!
Watching the Olympic Triathlon
I was at a meeting near Hyde Park this afternoon which finished early, so I took a bike and had a ride around the Olympic Triathlon course to try to find the best spot to watch without a ticket.
There is lots of building work already happening to put up the stands on the north side of the Serpentine.
The Great Britain team will be in with a great chance of medals in both races and it should be a great day out as the competitors swim 1 lap of the Serpentine, 7 laps of Hyde Park on the bike and then 4 laps of running around the lake.
The Women’s race is on Saturday 4th August at 9am and Men’s race on Tuesday 7th at 11.30am.
British Triathlon have put together a great website for anyone wanting to go along, including the map above.
The whole north side of the Serpentine is only going to be accessible for those with tickets, and the bridge is going to be closed, so from my recce I’m going to head to West Carriage Drive which means I should get good views of the bike and run sections for the women’s race, and then decide what to do for the men’s race a few days later.
I’m going to arrive at around 7am on the Saturday, that’s the time the roads are going to be closed and around 8.30am on the Tuesday. It’ll be an early start but I hope it’ll mean I’ll get close to the action.
Other good options for viewing the swim and run only would be to head anywhere on the south side of the Serpentine, while the iconic location to watch the race will be outside Buckingham Palace.
Olympic Fever
It’s official….I’ve got ‘Olympic Fever’. I simply can’t wait for the Olympics to start in London in just over a month. I’ve spent too many hours trying to get tickets, and even more time on my Olympic spreadsheet working out the easiest way of getting to see as many events as possible!
