We had only received tickets for Saturday evening's events so, of course, I had neglected to check up on Sunday's events to realise there was in fact a road race running right up the street I was currently on. Perhaps because it was early, my brain didn't even click as I spoke to the dozens of volunteers and police workers standing next to a fenced off track which carried on further than I could see. I mean, what did I think they were all doing, just randomly convening on the street for the sheer fun of it? It wasn't until two dozen brightly coloured athletes whizzed past on impossibly fast bicycles I realised I had stumbled upon the Commonwealth Games finals of the Women's Road Race. And I can tell you, there's no way you can realise just how fast those women go when you're watching it on T.V, nor the vast number of vehicles that travel in front and behind them - everything from cars carrying multiple spare bikes (and their coaches and such like) to ambulances and official Games vehicles. It's quite a to-do it would seem.
The volunteers I spoke to were more than accommodating since the street was still relatively quiet at this point, and they could tell me all about the time they'd had in Glasgow - they really did a great job of convincing me a night out here is the best experience in the world! - while I snapped away with my camera. A lot of these volunteers weren't actually from Glasgow, or even Scotland, but had come from all over Britain to be here. Although, by the end of two very, very long road races, I'm not sure how many would have been questioning that decision!
Sitting quite comfortably in the Media Hub some time later, just a short distance from the action of the Women's Road Race, I could watch it on the large screen provided in one of the lounges. It's a strange experience watching BBC coverage of something just outside your window. Anyway, it turns out the cyclists do so many laps I had time to blog, drink numerous cups of free coffee and make my way over to Glasgow Green for the finishing stretch with time to spare. And I only had to ask for the same directions three times.
Having not realised there would be security checks on the way into the Green I had taken with me all my stuff and so it took a while for the poor security men to rake through my newspapers, receipts, half eaten protein bars, notepads, random bits of makeup and whatever else was lurking at the bottom of my rather large bag. By the time I finally got in, it was raining again. Amazingly, I had actually thought ahead this time and brought an umbrella, much to my smug satisfaction. Unfortunately however, I had only brought a couple of pairs of flimsy flats for the whole weekend and since most of the Green is grass (funnily enough) I was squelching around in two mobile puddles before long. Still, at least the top half of me was dry. Ish.
The end of the Women's Road Race Finals was pretty thrilling even from two rows back and only managing to catch a glimpse of coloured Lycra and bicycle wheels. I have to say, the spectators around me were a hardy bunch! Later in the day I would watch the end of the Men's Road Race on the BBC live broadcast and I'm sure I recognised the same faces in the crowd, a whole lot wetter than the last time I'd seen them!
However, back at the Women's race I'd just had a phone call from Julie and it was quickly becoming apparent I had lost the hostel's room key card. Three days later I would find it at the bottom of my
aforementioned bag, however at this point it was nowhere to be seen, and so I made my way back to base to try and sort the newest situation out.
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