Sometimes, you just get lucky. Fate, which so often conspires against you, shifts the balance in your favour. Just for a little while. As long as you’re aware of it, then fate can give you a moment that you will treasure for a very long time.
Yesterday, fate put me close enough to the legendary Bradley Wiggins to feel the slipstream as he rocketed past. And that was just one part of an amazing, dizzying day.
One of my day gigs is running the blog for my brother-in-law’s family business, the ethical merchandise company Pier32. He and his family live in sunny, charming Thames Ditton, which just so happens to be a spit and a whistle away from the Olympic cycling time trial route, which winds through Hampton Court and Kingston. We invited ourselves over, hoping we might catch a glimpse of the action.
Readership, we had no idea. Ian and Sandi’s gaff is a two-minute walk from Hampton Court Way–part of the course. Better yet, it was quiet enough that we could set up comfortably right on the roadside. With a set of folding picnic chairs in tow, we had the sort of grandstand view that people wouldn’t get if they paid big bucks for a ticket by the finish line.
We made the sensible decision to sleep over the night before, knowing that the roads around the course would be closed from early morning. It was wise indeed. We had a chance for a leisurely breakfast, a jug of coffee, and a morning in front of Ian’s big fat telly, all the better to enjoy the rowing.
Which meant, of course, that we had time before wandering down to the trackside to watch Heather Stanning and Helen Glover win Team GB’s first gold in the sculls at Eton Dorney, maybe ten miles away from Thames Ditton. A remarkable achievement, carried out with aplomb and cool style. We jumped up and down and whooped as the girls swooped onto the finish line, nearly a length ahead of everyone else. I had no idea that most of the Olympic rowers are based just up the road from us in Caversham. Another source of pride.
Already euphoric, we headed down to Hampton Court Way, where the neighbourhood had set up gazebos and flags. We were literally at roadside. A burly, cheerful Olympic steward paced up and down, keeping us updated as to who was off first and next. The poor guy could have done with a megaphone. He was seriously husky by the end of the day.
Suddenly, he bellowed at us to stand clear, and just like that, the race was on. Every ninety seconds, a police bike swished past (occasionally offering a wave to the punters) followed by the riders. Sleek and bullet-quick in shiny lycra and stormtrooper helmets. Unsmiling, except when they caught sight of a national flag. Which should have meant that Liz Armitstead and Emma Pooley should have been grinning all the way round. It was hard to tell. They were moving that fast. But every inch of the ride was thronged with union flags and people like us, roaring our lungs out, willing our girls to glory.
Sadly, all our screams and yells and flag-waving weren’t enough to get them onto the podium. An amazing effort, but we knew that wasn’t the end of it.
Back to home base, a snack and a look at some more rowing, before we were back at the roadside for the men’s time trials. By now the threat of rain had passed, and Hampton Court was bathed in sunshine. Our friend with the foghorn voice paced up and down. Kids scrawled encouraging messages on the road in chalk. I settled back in a fold-up chair, in a nice clear spot, lined up my camera for the perfect shot and waited.
There were twice as many male riders, but the line-up seemed to go just as quickly. To be brutally honest, although we cheered and clapped dutifully, we were only there for two reasons, and they were close to the end of the pack. The cheers as Chris Froome span past were easily twice as loud as for the rest of the pack. There was only one man who could top it, and he rocketed past ten minutes later, to a fanfare of yells and shouts. The guy was moving. Look at the pic. He’s bending light. My poor camera barely had the ability to catch him. And he was close. A footstep away, an arm’s length. Half a blink, and he was gone, powering away.
Twenty-five minutes later, Bradley Wiggins made history, blasting into Hampton Court Palace nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest rival. A gold medal, his fourth, not quite a month after he became the first Brit to win the Tour De France. Either one would make for a lifetime’s achievement. Together–well, let’s just say the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award is something of a one horse race this year.
By that point, we were back at home base, popping the champers, raising a glass as Bradley conducted the masses in the National Anthem.
The sun was out, and all of a sudden it was very, very nice to be British.
For more pics of the day, check out TLC’s Flickr set.
EXCUSES AND HALF TRUTHS 
Very nice mister Wickings.
Thank you, Mister Wade.
you were very lucky to have enjoyed a fantastic view of the time trial….it was far from that for anyone who had the misfortune to obtain a ticket to the official finish thinking they would get something for their money and time spent travelling,,,,,there were no tiered stands or seats which meant at best you had a restricted view…..at worst you spent much of the day arguing with those who felt pushing in front of children was an acceptable way to deal with the poor organisation……the same situation was found at boxhill for the road race….if you bought a ticket all it gave you was a huge crowd to stand with and no view….if you just stood on the public highway you had unrestricted viewing and no pointless security and jobsworths to deal with……shame on locog for taking money on false pretense…………glad you had a great time tho
Jeffrey, I’m sorry to hear that. We considered ourselves very lucky indeed to get the spot by the roadside.
Interestingly, we spent a day in town yesterday,and ended up by Buck House to catch the men’s walking. It seemed we had no chance of a decent view–until we wandered up towards The Mall itself, where we ended up behind one of the crane cameras, which were fenced off. That meant there were gaps in the crowd, and we found we could see the walkers as they went round the big fountain in front of the Palace and down towards the finish line. Not a prime spot, but better than squinting at bobbing heads through a six-deep scrum.
Bear that one in mind if you fancy a look at the marathons, which I think take the same course!