Olympic Road Race - Where Will You Be Watching?

13

Comments

  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    I'm picturing a man frantically shouting 'Fenton!' as his dog causes chaos in the peleton.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    ilovebigwig wrote:
    I live in Putney and will be heading down to either the bridge or upper richmond road to watch them sweep through at the start when they will be well bunched. Then a stroll up to Richmond Park for the return leg stopping at a few pubs on the way (me and friends, not Wiggo and Cav) to see what may be a breakaway and then the bunch come through winding up for the 13km home stretch. The road they go on through the park will easily handle thousands of spectators, but will we see a deer ruin someone's chances of gold??

    The whole bit in London will be fenced off.
    _
  • ilovebigwig
    ilovebigwig Posts: 118
    Richmond Park deers laugh in the face of volunteer stewards and temporary fencing, the last church fete was a complete joke.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    ilovebigwig wrote:
    Richmond Park deers laugh in the face of volunteer stewards and temporary fencing, the last church fete was a complete joke.

    :lol:
    _
  • steviedonut
    steviedonut Posts: 69
    :wink:wow.the london olympics charging people to watch from the side of the road.who saw that coming?great to see britain at the forefront of what it does best,ripping people off
  • ilovebigwig
    ilovebigwig Posts: 118
    The Olympic Legacy - a bad taste in the mouth and a huge stadium with Leyton Orient playing in it.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    OK.

    Feel like a massive douche. After all my chat I've only gone and got myself a ticket with the GF.

    So, I feel I should hold up my end of the bargain. Have done the research and called about (out of guilt).

    The Temperance in Fulham would be a perfect place to go watch it. They are showing it on a big screen - have novelty Belgian and German beers, and reasonable pub grub for under a £10er. Nearest tube station is Putney Bridge - literally opposite the pub.

    The pub sits no the corner where Fulham high street meets Putney bridge. If you're there early enough you'll see them pass on their way out down Fulham high street onto Putney bridge, and see the return the other way.

    I forgot to ask what time they open, but round there it's very nice - lots of nice coffee shops, posh shops etc. It's even a small walk away from the sloany pony and Parson's Green if you want a bit of a South West London chin experience ;) - or you can pop over the bridge to Putney (if you dare go south of the river obviously).


    Edit: http://www.thetemperancefulham.co.uk/bookings/

    You can even book tables there for it :)
    _
  • ilovebigwig
    ilovebigwig Posts: 118
    The Temperance is good. I would also reccomend, if the weather is suitable, that just over the Bridge on the left behind the church a Wetherspoons with an outside area right on the edge of the river, and next to that another pub, The Boathouse, and a Carluccios, both with wonderful river views. Go right at the bridge and there is another decent pub 300 yards down on the right on Lower Richmond Road.

    So, to summarise, there are pubs South of the river too, and not all are full of highwaymen and oddballs (although many are).

    I am looking forward to picking up a crate of Duvel, heading to R. Park to watch them come back through, getting over excited and consuming too many said Duvel and falling asleep, probably missing a crash, a Cav victory and Seb Coe telling me something about a "legacy".
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    ilovebigwig wrote:
    The Temperance is good. I would also reccomend, if the weather is suitable, that just over the Bridge on the left behind the church a Wetherspoons with an outside area right on the edge of the river, and next to that another pub, The Boathouse, and a Carluccios, both with wonderful river views. Go right at the bridge and there is another decent pub 300 yards down on the right on Lower Richmond Road.

    So, to summarise, there are pubs South of the river too, and not all are full of highwaymen and oddballs (although many are).

    I am looking forward to picking up a crate of Duvel, heading to R. Park to watch them come back through, getting over excited and consuming too many said Duvel and falling asleep, probably missing a crash, a Cav victory and Seb Coe telling me something about a "legacy".

    Just make sure they're showing the race on the big screen!
    _
  • ednwireland
    ednwireland Posts: 85
    will it be possible to watch the olympic TT's without tickets (having missed out in the getting to payment twice to be told computer says no) and if so anyone suggest good spots
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    ilovebigwig wrote:
    Richmond Park deers laugh in the face of volunteer stewards and temporary fencing, the last church fete was a complete joke.

    But the smile is wiped of their faces when presented with a dart gun :twisted:
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    ednwireland wrote:
    will it be possible to watch the olympic TT's without tickets (having missed out in the getting to payment twice to be told computer says no) and if so anyone suggest good spots

    Yep, just sit in front of your tele. Cheap easy to get there and no extras. You will also be helping with the general congestion. :wink:
  • ednwireland
    ednwireland Posts: 85
    cheers mate already in london that week got tickets for some white water and athletics just wanted to see the guys live
  • disquieting_museeuws
    disquieting_museeuws Posts: 601
    There are detailed maps of the bits in Surrey here (select 'Olympics 2012' on the right, choose road race and/or time trial courses): http://surreymaps.surreycc.gov.uk/public/viewer.asp

    I want to watch on a non-ticketed part of the Box Hill loop as I'll be staying in Cobham - does anyone know good spots to watch on the loop?
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    disquieting_museeuws wrote:
    There are detailed maps of the bits in Surrey here (select 'Olympics 2012' on the right, choose road race and/or time trial courses): http://surreymaps.surreycc.gov.uk/public/viewer.asp

    I want to watch on a non-ticketed part of the Box Hill loop as I'll be staying in Cobham - does anyone know good spots to watch on the loop?

    Yep. in front of your tele :shock:
  • Paul Gannon
    Paul Gannon Posts: 24
    Hi guys,

    I've the option of very cheap flights from Dublin to London and I'm thinking about going over for the day on the 28th to soak up the atmosphere of the Olympics on the day of the road race. I was there for the start of the Tour in 2007 and had a ball.

    Can you tell me if the race is being shown on a big screen in a park in central London? Somewhere near The Mall maybe? I was on the BT Live site, there are free to view tickets available for Victoria Park for that date, am I right to assume they'll be showing the race from start to finish?

    Thanks!

    Paul.
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    Paul Gannon wrote:
    Hi guys,

    I've the option of very cheap flights from Dublin to London and I'm thinking about going over for the day on the 28th to soak up the atmosphere of the Olympics on the day of the road race. I was there for the start of the Tour in 2007 and had a ball.

    Can you tell me if the race is being shown on a big screen in a park in central London? Somewhere near The Mall maybe? I was on the BT Live site, there are free to view tickets available for Victoria Park for that date, am I right to assume they'll be showing the race from start to finish?

    Thanks!

    Paul.

    http://surreyhillsroadracefestival.com/
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    Is there a predicted schedule for the race anywhere? Mainly thinking about what time it starts and estimated finish time.
  • disquieting_museeuws
    disquieting_museeuws Posts: 601
    Graeme_S wrote:
    Is there a predicted schedule for the race anywhere? Mainly thinking about what time it starts and estimated finish time.

    Race times (from http://www.gosurrey.info/olympic-road-c ... ace-times/)

    Race times

    Please note these are approximate times.



    Men’s Road Race, Saturday 28 July

    Location/time

    The Mall - START 10am

    Hampton Court Palace - 10.35am

    Walton-on-Thames - 10.45am

    Ripley Village - 11.05am

    Gomshall - 11.25am

    Westcott - 11.30am

    Dorking - 11.35am

    Box Hill - circuit entrance 11.40am

    Box Hill - circuit exit 2.50pm

    Esher - 3.05pm

    Hampton Court Palace - 3.10pm

    Kingston Upon Thames - 3.15pm

    Richmond Park - 3.20pm

    Putney Bridge - 3.30pm

    Fulham - 3.35pm

    The Mall - FINISH 3.40pm



    Women’s Road Race, Sunday 29 July

    Location/time

    The Mall - START 12pm

    Hampton Court Palace - 12.40pm

    Walton-on-Thames - 12.50pm

    Ripley Village - 1.15pm

    Gomshall - 1.40pm

    Westcott - 1.50pm

    Dorking - 1.55pm

    Box Hill - circuit entrance 2pm

    Box Hill - circuit exit 2.50pm

    Esher - 3pm

    Hampton Court Palace - 3.10pm

    Kingston Upon Thames - 3.15pm

    Richmond Park - 3.20pm

    Putney Bridge - 3.35pm

    Fulham - 3.40pm

    The Mall - FINISH 3.45pm

    Women’s Time Trial, Wednesday 1 August

    12.30pm – 1.45pm

    Men’s Time Trial, Wednesday 1 August

    2.15pm – 4.05pm
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    That's brilliant, thanks.

    I think I might get the train down from Cov for the day with a couple of mates and book a table in the Temperance. It's the weekend before my birthday, and my wife is off on my sister's hen do, so it's a perfect storm for me :)
  • yourpaceormine
    yourpaceormine Posts: 1,245
    What seems ages ago I asked about the route, as I'm taking the tribe down to town to do something for my birthday I want to see the roll out and the closing stages. I asked on here for the route. No real answer other than the very woolly pdf ofthe whole route.

    So for those out of towners (like me) specific route details can be found from individual boroughs/ county councils websites; I thought it very strange I couldn't find all the info in one place.

    Gosurrey - is main host for the info, general route map, timings for whole race (posted on here previously), Surrey specific detailed map

    Wandsworth - detailed local map of route, links to Surrey website (Upper Richmond Road, Priory Lane)

    Hammersmith and Fulham - 7 page pdf, detailed route map on page 3 I think (Fulham Road, Putney Bridge, Putney High St, Upper Richmond Road)

    Kensington and Chelsea - couple of lines on page (The Mall, Brompton Road, Fulham Road)
    Westminster (The Mall)
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    I have tickets for Box Hill, but am wondering if I will end up regretting getting them. They are saying that you should be at Box Hill for 8am and to be prepared for long queues for security checks. The cycle parking is also apparently rather limited, so I can imagine large numbers of people with tickets arriving only to find that there is actually nowhere to put their bikes. On top of all this there are restrictions over food and drink (small bag only, no picnic baskets, no bottles, etc.). Those restrictions are fine if you are going to be in a stadium, but when you are going to be standing at the side of the road for a whole day it is a completely different story.

    I really hope it isn't a complete mess, but right now I'm not optimistic. All we need to really make the day a disaster is heavy rain and that is very much possible given how bad the summer has been.
  • KnightOfTheLongTights
    KnightOfTheLongTights Posts: 1,415
    watch 'em go out through twickenham then watch middle section on TV at girlfriend's house, then get over to Putney Bridge (will it be chaos round there?), on the basis that after seeing them go by there are several big pubs nearby that you can dash into to get the finish on the TV. Might have to check that they'll be showing it though!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Turns out I won't be able to bring my QS top to support Boonen, nor can I bring some beers.

    Not cool.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Has anyone's ticket arrived yet?

    No sign of mine, though my neighbours are fucking up my post.
    _
  • graeme_s-2
    graeme_s-2 Posts: 3,382
    I have my train tickets and a table at the Temperance booked.

    Thanks for the ground work Rick - made it very easy to organise a trip.
  • ilovebigwig
    ilovebigwig Posts: 118
    KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:
    watch 'em go out through twickenham then watch middle section on TV at girlfriend's house, then get over to Putney Bridge (will it be chaos round there?), on the basis that after seeing them go by there are several big pubs nearby that you can dash into to get the finish on the TV. Might have to check that they'll be showing it though!

    It will be busy around the bridge (as the high street is packed with shellsuits and pushchairs on Saturdays anyway) but they go quite a way down Upper Richmond Road which I won't imagine will be packed on both sides.
  • Gazzaputt
    Gazzaputt Posts: 3,227
    edited July 2012
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    Has anyone's ticket arrived yet?

    No sign of mine, though my neighbours are ******* up my post.

    Because of your first post of supporting Boonen your tickets have been impounded! :lol:

    My TT tickets turned up a couple of weeks back. Had several texts and emails telling they'd been dispatched and delivered.

    I'll be watching the mens road race at this Cycling Expo at Denbies Wine Estate on the A24.

    See here: http://surreyhillsroadracefestival.com/
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    ilovebigwig wrote:
    KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:
    watch 'em go out through twickenham then watch middle section on TV at girlfriend's house, then get over to Putney Bridge (will it be chaos round there?), on the basis that after seeing them go by there are several big pubs nearby that you can dash into to get the finish on the TV. Might have to check that they'll be showing it though!

    It will be busy around the bridge (as the high street is packed with shellsuits and pushchairs on Saturdays anyway) but they go quite a way down Upper Richmond Road which I won't imagine will be packed on both sides.

    Or meet Graeme S on the other side of the bridge in the pub ;).
    _
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    pop out to Bushy park to watch them whoosh past, then watch the rest on tv at home and work, i'm working in the afternoon.

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