The Tour takes over Hyde Park!
I've just been for a little bimble around Hyde Park - it's being kitted up big time for the Tour! WAY bigger than any event I've ever seen over there. I reckon, come Friday evening, it'll be buzzing. I do wonder what the average Londoner will make of it though - all that for 'just' a cycle race! It's darned exciting I reckon. Can't wait!!
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Let's hope it kindles some more interest in Cycling within the UK as well as putting on a good show for the regular local and overseas cycling fans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ride Daily, Keep Healthy0 -
Going down tomorrow. Anyone got any pics of what the park looks like today ?0
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Exciting seeing all the preparations going on this week for all these cyclists who wish to ride my usual commuting route on Saturday afternoon.
Great to do my morning ride by the Serpantine with the barriers either side, the flags up and new footbridges across the road. A shame that security meant I couldn't ride all the way to the finish on the Mall, but had to go round onto the pavement.
It sure is one big circus!0 -
The temporary barriers are up on the roads in Tunbridge Wells.
Adds that touch of glamour to my commute to and from work.Half man, Half bike0 -
Had planned to go all last year, some other things came up early this year tying up my funds and I decided not to bother. I now wish I had just booked the flights way back when.0
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has anyone taken any pics they can link for us to look at please
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I took a ride down it this morning before heading down to Richmond for 5 laps. Very very impressive
the barriers are set properly so the feet don't stick out onto the route, and the 'Peoples Village' (ville de Tour surely?) is huge.
One point to note - there's a 'Stop Distribution' sign hung by the Palace end ped crossing on Constitution Hill. If you want to collect treasured souveniers of the day/crappy old promotional tat then you'll need to place yourself further up this point and away from the finish.
I still can't believe they didn't resurface Constitution Hill 'lo - that's going to be a bugger to ride on deep sections and tri-bars :?0 -
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Thanks for the pictures mspoke , some other interesting ones there as well .The UCI are Clowns and Fools0
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I took a lot more this morning, it's all shaping up to be a great weekend. I'm just going to wander around all day on Saturday, not bothered about staying on the barriers in one place.
Enjoy if you are coming to town0 -
Yup I'm intending to wander round all day, probably with a big stupid grin on my face. I don't fancy staying in one spot, would much rather walk around the course and see the action from different viewpoints.
Btw, does anyone know if they'll be doing anything like selling Saturday's L'Equipe in the People's Village. If they're not, they should be!0 -
just been to the presentation... it's incredible to think the Tour is in London!
nice touch to have a mini-circuit for the riders after the stage presentation, meaning the crowds could see them riding around. according to the BBC there were 25,000 people up there.
i'll be wandering around on saturday too. plan to go to the Ville de Tour in Hyde Park, get some food and relax there before watching the race. it's good to wander about during the prologue, get to see the route from different perspectives. this will be my 4th start of the Tour and i doubt i'll sleep properly tonight!
L<font>"When the earth is ripe all the worms wake up, with their stars \'n\' stripes and their swastikas"
"I may not go to heaven, i hope you go to hell" </font>0 -
I too have just got back from the presentation. I am a pro photographer and will be covering the prologue. Tonight though I had the day off and could watch as a supporter. It was great. The ceremony was 1st class. All the riders seemed dumbstruck with the crowds and London should be v proud of itself tonight. As someone who commutes by bike every day from one side of London to the other and a former racer myself it was a tremendous occasion
Pete0 -
From the TV coverage it looked like a fantastic day.....great crowds, great day for London.
Was today the first time in history that anyone has ridden a bike thorugh Hyde Park without a rollerblader riding backwards into them?
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Just spent the day watching the Prologue. The crowds were fantastic, as was the whole spectacle. Can't we have it again next year.
And it was sunny!!0 -
what a day!
what a crowd!
too many great moments.
spent the day in hyde park, alterntaing between a viewing spot at the entrance and the exit and ending the day running from the the entrance to the exit after Pereiro had gone through, meaning i could cheer on the last few again. watched the finish on the big screen.
the village was brilliant. the french market was great, even though the crepe stall i was queueing for ran out of savoury crepes! i stocked up on biscuits from the biscuit/cake stall and munched them through the aftrenoon.
not been to a grand depart that busy - and Luxembourg and Liege were very packed.
absolutely fantastic day and show. this is the best sport in the world.
L<font>"When the earth is ripe all the worms wake up, with their stars \'n\' stripes and their swastikas"
"I may not go to heaven, i hope you go to hell" </font>0 -
Fantastic crowd, but Hyde Park was a major disappointment - looks like many vendors massively understimated the crowd - one baguette seller was sold-out by lunchtime. Bizarre moment had to be the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders turning up - WTF has this got to do with cycling!!??? Big queue of saddo blokes lining up to have their photos taken with a bunch of silicone enhanced Barbie look-a-likes! Spent the last hour and a half outside Buck House - great to have the commentary and big screen right behand and the riders going right past in front. A couple of extra bridges across the course would have been nice - walking from the Mall to Hyde Park was a nightmare - just as well it was sunny.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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i saw jonathan edwards having a fencing match with victoria pendleton as sally gunnell watched. interesting!<font>"When the earth is ripe all the worms wake up, with their stars \'n\' stripes and their swastikas"
"I may not go to heaven, i hope you go to hell" </font>0 -
I heard a woman asking a policeman: "When is the main race?" 0
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Hope that wasn't my wife!
Wow, what a day:-)
Wife loved it, kids loved it and to see these guys going full chat was hugely impressive.
Almost jaw dropping seeing the speed of Cancellara against the rest, just awesome.
As Joebe says, can't we have it again;-)
Cheers,
Guy
Yes, I got my arse handed to me on the rollers in the village (23.42).
Mind you he was 23 against my (still young) 41.0 -
Agree with other comments, great day. really well organised, even managed some sunbathing on the grass in Hyde Park.
Photos here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmuk0 -
Wow. What a great day. Really glad I made the effort to go. Moving around was a nightmare and the people's village was a huge disappointment, but in the end that really didn't matter.
The difference between being on the barrier and standing behind someone on the barrier was all the difference in the world. Spent about the last hour hanging over the barrier seeing most of the people I wanted to see. It was amazing how close some of the riders went to the crowd - I assume they can go faster there, but maybe they just like the buzz? - and the wall of noise following the British riders round was amazing too. Riders like Millar and Wiggins must have just about been deafened by the time they got to the finish. 8)0 -
All in all, I enjoyed it and the weather was great. All in our party got sunburn!
Low points were queing 45 minutes for a burger and those damn bridges!0 -
Great day. I walked practically the entire course which was nice. :shock:
Highlights : Seeing Cancellara in full flight - Magnificent.
Loads of people watching knew nothing about cycling so I got to do my oracle thing a bit, but it's ace that so many people just took an interest. Quite a few of them were amazed when the guys came past at full tilt.
I think Jonathan Vaughters (or looky likey) walked past me at one point. And I saw someone who made me think "that poor guy looks just like Bjarne Riis" - And this morning i read that Riis was there as a normal civilian, so it could've been him
Only real negative was the massive queues for the bridges .Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
Awesome to see them at full whack on the downhill bit off the Serpantine bridge. Thoroughly enjoyed it, although the organization rather underestimated the numbers that would be there...
"Haha" moment of the day was watching bloke in full disco lycra and time trial bike (to show he's a 'Real Cyclist' rather than one of the plebs) doing a face plant in Hyde Park while trying to show off. I shouldn't laugh, but...0 -
Got to the prologue a bit late so no chance of getting a spot on the barriers..............but the highlight for me was walking around the team buses as the riders were warming up on the turbo trainers. What other sport lets you get this close to the participants?
Saw Salvodelli up close and personal and Tom Boonen had a huge scrum of people when he came out to sign autographs. Also saw Freire and his mechanic fiddling around trying to get his saddle height right (he's suffering with the cyst on his backside again I read on CN).
Can't get over how skinny and tiny some of the guys are in the flesh. Johan Vansummeren (had to look him up as I had no idea who he was) is so tall, but his legs are like pipe-cleaners!
http://www.davitamon-lotto.com/site2007 ... ennerid=320 -
Was pretty good, massive support for the Brits, pretty hot at times.
I saw some people with some BikeRadar stuff! Wooo0 -
What a cracking weekend in London. Went down with some friends and my wife for both days. It was hot and excellent. What a day in Hyde Park, just an incredible atmosphere and great to see the TdF rider. Cancellara was really motoring when he came past me.
London produced an excellent event and made me proud to be a Brit. Well done.0 -
petegettins wrote:I too have just got back from the presentation. I am a pro photographer and will be covering the prologue. Tonight though I had the day off and could watch as a supporter. It was great. The ceremony was 1st class. All the riders seemed dumbstruck with the crowds and London should be v proud of itself tonight. As someone who commutes by bike every day from one side of London to the other and a former racer myself it was a tremendous occasion
Pete
The presentation was great, except for Hugh Porter's pronounciaction; which was also apalling during the prologue.
I'm not a professional photographer but i took 421 pics during the prologue. Got to try and sort out the shite now.Hevipedal
It's not only people that are irrational; 1.41421356237309504880168872420969807856967187537694807317667973799073247846210
