Off to the airport in LA to help pick up luggage and equipment that is necessary for us to take to the Olympics. After a long layover in LA, (not all bad as I got to hang out by the pool for a bit! Steve-o the video/camera guy and I met up with the girls and we were off on an overnight flight to London! A bit of pre-flight taping in the lounge and some fun and anticipation lay ahead.
When we arrived in London, (me with a migraine booo) we were greeted and helped by a bunch of volunteers. It was pretty much the first day on the job and people were pumped. There was an accreditation centre set up in the airport and athletes were looked after, we loaded all luggage and bikes in a van to go straight to Amsterdam as the girls and I loaded a bus to the athlete's village for the clothing fitting.
One of the major hiccups for this first day was this process of getting to the village by bus, our bus had a malfunction at first, which had us circling the airport for awhile. Then mid- trip the driver pulled over as we had missed a turn or something, so the 1- hour trip turned into 3. An American sprinter tweeted about his lengthy bus ride (4 hours!)
We arrived at the village and my head was pounding. The girls went into accreditation, but I apparently needed a day pass as my accred wouldn't be activated until later on. From there Jacques, the High Performance Director for Cycling Canada took me on a tour of the Canada house, including the COC medical area (was soooo impressed) and the accomodations in the village! So cool, I am pretty excited to be in the village, and incredibly lucky!
We heading to the "tube" (London subway system) to go to where we would be doing our uniform fitting. There we were sat down and the process we were about to undergo was described. Outfits for opening ceremonies, closing, podium, casual wear, and rules for this were explained. We went into these changerooms and were meant to try everything on to ensure they fit: t-shirts, shorts, hats, hoodies, sweatshirts, shoes, flipflops, pants, the outfits above, backpack, suitcase, toiletries and sponsor gifts!! I am sooooo incredibly lucky to get all this stuff! I was overwhelmed at it all! The girls were pretty pumped too! Fashion Show Galore!
After the fitting, we had to go back to the village to trade in our day passes for passports. Another bit of debokle in terms of shuttle buses, and at one point Steve-o and I were on the back on a golf cart as well! Half hour late and almost not receiving our passports, we took the tube to the performance centre, which is a student residence building that is housing most of the COC. Not a bad little place, I will be there after the cycling as well until closing ceremonies!
Head pounding but starving, I went with steve to grab some dinner- Iandian food. Was soooo good- then to bed for the first time in 2 days! So excited to see what lay ahead in the next few weeks!
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