On the Road Again!

I got up at 5am and rode up to London to beat the road closures that we were told were going to happen. They didn't actually!!  Traffic was heavy to the lights at Falconwood on the A2, but once some of us with the ability to read had seen the sign to say the Olympic Lane was open to all, we used that to go to the Blackwall Tunnel. Bikes no cars!  Traffic was heavier than I had expected for that time of the day though. On the north side the lane was being enforced but only had five empty buses crawling along in it. "Our Team" plus Robert on the right! Once in the office at 6.45am I answered a few work emails, yes, work emails and then went outside about 7.30am to meet some work colleagues, Gina, Julie and Mel with her boys Ronnie and Max that had come in early to see the torch go right by our front gate. We were later joined by Anne from our office too. Robert was the 5th person on the street after Mel and her boys and me. He joined our throng! We had a wait of about...

I have no idea if other countries have done this, but in the UK we have had the Olympic Torch doing a relay around the country. It has brought out the people of the areas it has passed through to support the idea. I missed it in Hythe last week as I have to work and can't be hanging about the street for a few hours on a weekday. So when it comes to a street right outside where I work I thought "Hell yes" I'd be there.   Today we have been told of the road closures in the area.  The parking at the back of our building will be closed as the road will be closed from about 7am.  So I checked about the other building that we moved from a few weeks back.  The torch will pass right in front of there. All front facing offices and meeting rooms are booked well in advance! But, if I arrive way before it is due the road will be open as the police have a rolling roadblock approach that is about ten minutes ahead of the torch.  Or rather ahead of the procession...

Today was the first offical day that many of the Stalinist "Olympics Only" routes opened and will be enforced.   I did as Mayor Bojo has suggested and varied my travelling time and if today is going to be the norm, it will be a doddle.  But why do I think that this is a one off? The ride home was a doddle too. Twenty minutes of light traffic to the petrol stop by the Dome in Greenwich. Fuel up and away again. Fifty minutes to home. If only every day was like this.