Needless to say, finding four bikes that fit were difficult to come by. Slight drizzle as we started on our 7 mile bike ride. Ten minutes later poncho's a must as the downpour began. Our route was thwarted by the women's road race, but despite bouts of rain and open skies we embarked on paths through the park to legendary Wimbeldon.
A nice ride through the park, where every Brit say you must see the royal deer. Tons of deer in huge packs, but not sure what makes them royal, but quite glorious. Oh deer, as a huge buck crossed right in front of our ride.
The most direct way was through the park, although it included a lot of dirt roads good for the mountain bikes, not so much Jana's cruiser complete with basket. A hour and a half later, few directions here and there, we made it in a downpour to Wimbeldon. Great to see the majestic grounds, but with the rain all the grass courts were covered with tarps. The ball boys and girls have a dual role besides running down balls, pulling the tarps on and off the courts.
Pulling back the tarps...
Amazing seats on Court 1, although rain. The only tennis matches that were being played was in Centre Court, as they have a roof. A little lunch and drinks to pass the time as the rain passes. Needless to say, one cider did Jana in and I was feeling royal with a huge Hieneken.
Luck of the draw, we were able to see #1 in the world, Serbia's Novak Djokovic vs. Italy's Fabio Fognini. We were 25 feet from the court and being so close to Novak, definitely kept Jana awake after the cider. Amazing how small the court seating actually is and quite quaint. We saw the first set tied at 6-6, and the tie break was 7-7, before the rain dumped and ended our tennis viewing.
Djokovic serving
A little tea and then explored Wimbeldon and all the courts. We were hoping to sit or even stand in the two rows that surround the outside courts. Would have been amazing to see top tennis so close, but got a good feel at Court 1.
Road through the town of Wimbeldon in a downpour and decided to cut our losses by taking a train to Kingston. With early evening and clear skies, we had a beautiful mile ride home along the Thames and run to the store to prepare dinner and relax watching swimming finals on the TV.
Three days in London and we have officially seen 15 seconds of road cycling and one set of tennis that ended in a tie. Tomorrow is a new day and a lot of time is spent planning the day via events, transportation, and sites to see.
FPOD
Shelby: Riding to Wimbeldon and watching Novak Djokovic
Sydney: Seeing tennis from great seats and watching Dana Vollmer on tv, break the world record
Jana: Bike ride to Wimbledon, seeing great tennis & ride home along the Thames
Scott: Seeing the grounds of Wimbledon
1 comment:
Dear friends, as it is Swiss National day, we'd just like to (emphatically) point out that Our Roger Federer is no 1 in the world. Ever since he won Wimbledon this year. Just pointing it out as Switzerland has not won a singe medal in London so far so we're holding on to what we've got. Love following your blog, can't wait or the next one! Love to all from your Swiss tour guides. J&J&L&K&R&N&B
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