The 2012 London Summer Olympic Games

[krazygl00]

There are actually a lot of interesting new points in that thread.






Made you look?

I am particularly susceptible to following links.

It wasn't a total loss...it is Mail Online so there were plenty of links to other articles with racy photos

[Certifried]

Unfortunately, I don't think a helmet would have helped this poor soul. From a first hand witness who wrote about it, the cyclist was crushed by the bus tires in the middle

[PotomacCyclist]

Will I get banned from the forum if I say that I'm a bigger Olympic swimming fan than an Olympic cycling fan? There isn't as much drama in individual time trials and flat road stages, not like the giant mountain stages at the Tour de France. The track cycling is interesting because it's so different from what I'm used to. But it's kind of like a Jetsons Space Age sport to me. Olympic swimming is what inspired me to take up triathlon and thus cycling. The Games have been awesome so far.

I've also caught some of the more obscure sports like table tennis, water polo and team handball as well as a couple of the early soccer matches. The Olympic marathons will be another highlight for me. Until 2008, I thought marathons were boring. Now I find them fascinating. (I also thought cycling races were boring until 2008. I had two chances to see the Tour de France in person in the past, when I was in Paris for the summers. But I never bothered to look up the schedule and watch. )

[PotomacCyclist]

These track cycling races are... different. The keirin is strange. The entire group rides slowly for several laps, following an electric bike. (I'm not making this up.) Then the electric bike pacer drops out and the cyclists speed up before sprinting for the finish.

The sprint event also starts out slowly, but without a pacer. The first lap is extremely slow, maybe slower than 5 mph. Then they start to speed up in the 2nd lap. The 3rd lap becomes the all-out sprint, where they reach speeds of around 45 mph. This would be fun to watch in person, but probably not so fun to race. (Those all-out sprints have to hurt!) Supposedly a temporary velodrome is supposed to be installed at Buzzard Point in SW DC, but the initial schedule of June 2012 has come and gone. Maybe we'll see track cycling races in DC next summer.

http://www.dcvelodrome.org/

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/cyc...it-finals.html

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw some of the BMX qualifiying rounds. It's an odd format. They have multiple "quarterfinals" except that everyone races, unless they have already accumulated enough points to move on. Then they drop out of the next qualifying heats. They get points based on their position in the race, with fewer points being better.

I probably haven't watched a BMX race since the 2008 Olympics. Plenty of nasty crashes, almost during every heat. Most of the riders were able to get up, but one guy seemed very wobbly. He had to be helped off the course. A female U.S. rider smacked into the course head-first on one heat. Fortunately she was able to sit up soon after, and spoke with the interviewer later on. I think she was OK. The riders wore motocross-type helmets and large neck collars that help to prevent their necks from snapping back violently. It's probably not the most dangerous Olympic sport but there is the potential for a lot of minor injuries. (Platform diving and gymnastics are probably more dangerous.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Well, I thought it was a great Olympic Games. Could have done without the boasting of Usain Bolt ("I am now a living legend!") but there were many great moments and stories, from Oscar Pistorius (first amputee to compete in an Olympic track event) to Gabby Douglas (from Virginia!), Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Bradley Wiggins, Allyson Felix and others. The Closing Ceremony was fun to watch too.

In 2008, I was inspired to start training for a triathlon. Since I've kept up with that, I can't say that I'm inspired this time to start up anything. I've been training hard this summer already. But maybe I'll be inspired to knock off several minutes from my PR (personal record) this year. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a hard set, I think of images from the Olympic races, which helps me to keep going at a hard effort level. I may have to watch some of the replays during the days before my upcoming races for additional motivation. I may never be as fast as the Olympic athletes but at least I can pretend I am momentarily.