PrintWhen I got the call about going to the Olympic Test event I had mixed feelings. My first thought, on a selfish level, was excitement. I certainly was dying to see the venue. But my next thought was, “Is that the best use of USET dollars?” I know we need information about the venue as far as terrain and logistics, but isn’t this why we have our coaches, directors and managers go to the event?
There’s obviously a list of riders qualified with hopes of going to the Olympics, but soooo much can happen in a year. I would love to think the group of us that headed over to watch are next year’s team, but with only five spots, and at least two or three of those spots going to much more senior riders, I think those of us with less experience will be working until the bitter end to earn a place on the squad. So again, is sending mostly riders with no team experience to observe the test event the best use of USET funds?
We were instructed to land at Heathrow and figure out how to get to Greenwich Park by way of trains and the Underground. I was pleasantly greeted upon landing at 7 a.m. by someone selling me tickets to Paddington on the Heathrow Express. I thought, I’ll be at the park by 8 a.m.—what a breeze!”
Three hours later I was finally getting the hang of the “Tube” but was still 30 minutes from my final destination. The underground is a whirlwind of people and maps that could be confused with the inner workings of a high-tech computer. As a naive American I just assumed there would be a large sign with Olympic Rings guiding me, but most people I asked about Greenwich Park had no idea where I was talking about.
Eventually I bought what is called an Oyster Card, which is like a phone card. You can top it up with money, and it allows you to get on most trains and the Tube. (Basically this allowed me to get on the wrong trains without the penalty of having to buy a new ticket every time.) I did, however, manage to get to my hotel around 10 a.m.
When I got to the hotel, all I wanted was a shower and a toothbrush, but the rooms weren’t ready. Out of the lounge area walked Clark Montgomery. I was so happy to see a familiar face and to hear he had the same adventure I had in the public transportation of London.
After a quick change in the hotel lobby, Clark, Michael Pollard and I headed off to meet Sara Ike to get our credentials at the park. Although I felt as if it was already dinner time, the jog for the CIC had not even happened yet. We wandered through the venue and found Will Faudree, Jules Stiller, Logan Rawlins, Nat V-C and the rest of the American contingent and headed out with the Captain to check out the biggest challenge of next year, the cross-country.
We set off chatting and catching up, and we were soon just trying to catch our breath. We climbed the massive hill that we will be galloping up and down twice next year. For some reason I pictured a park much like Central Park in New York—a semi-flat area with trees, running paths and good visibility. Greenwich Park is not like this at all. Will Coleman described it best in saying it’s like Red Hills (Fla.) with a massive hill in the middle.
