Cycling in the Rain

Day 2 of the Olympics found us along Fulham Road to catch the Women's Cycling Marathon. These guys were ready for any "crowd management" should it be needed,

but things were rather calm as we waited for the ladies to pass by. It was easy to keep up with their progress 

as we peeked into a local pub and watched their TV. In a 140 kilometer race which started and ended at the Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace, there was plenty of time for excitement along the way.

Unfortunately, as the bikers got closer, it began to rain. The streets became a treacherous surface and contributed to several crashes along the way.

The riders were clumped in about 4 groups rather scattered apart. The winner at a time of 3:35:29

was Marianne Vos from the Netherlands.

Each group was accompanied by support cars for any spare parts needed.

The riders flew by us in a flash, but the big news here in Britain was that the silver medal was awarded to Lizzie Armistead who took the honor of winning the very first medal for Great Britain. Pretty good for a 23 year old woman who started racing as a teenager to avoid math lessons!!

Best wishes to Team GB in their quest for medals (as long as they aren't up against our USA teams!) The quest for a gold medal so far still alludes them, but there's always tomorrow!