Finally in the UK!!!

Well it has been an amazing build up to the first World Cup, and at one stage I was certain that I was not going to make it.

I was scheduled to fly out on Sunday night but due to the volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano all European and Uk flights were cancelled. A couple of us were trying to get into some of the southern European airports that were still open and then contemplating the massive overland journey to the UK. I’m so glad this option did not eventuate as carting a bike box and heavy luggage around train stations is HARD work and it would have been hugely expensive as the cost of land transport had tripled and was jam packed with all the drama of the volcano!
So eventually, after multiple bookings and changes and also a practice trip to the Melbourne airport on Monday night, (only to be told that Venice airport had since closed after we made the booking), I got onto a flight that left on Wednesday night arriving in Gatwick (London) which was extremely exciting and a huge relief.

All 5 of us in the TORQ team were originally scheduled to travel together but with all the flight upsets we were separated, all coming in at different times and into different airports, I landed in Gatwick, Kath and Ray came into Manchester, and Dan and Bec flew into Heathrow!

I have never been to the UK, let alone London, so the train trip to London and up to York was quite an experience! As it happened I was headed to the middle of London to Kings Cross Station in peak hour, this was full on and I didn’t make myself many friends by taking up 4 seats with my bike box and luggage while the rest of the train was packed like sardines! From Kings Cross I got on a train that took me 2 hrs north to Yorkshire, the trains go really fast over here, the 400+ km journey was over in no time!

The English countryside is beautiful, although it is cold and quite bleak, there is still something very pretty about it. Spring has just started, there are lots of baby lambs in the paddocks, daffodils growing on the side of the roads and trees starting to become green and leafy. The villages have heaps of character, they are very quaint and the buildings very old and generally made out of stone.

This is the the view from our cabin, and one of the many phesants that seem to roam around here, strange birds!!

This is the TORQ UK set up, quite impressive really, and it is is great to have a place to hang out and have some support while at the race!

These little contraptions are called 'Nomads'. They are portable bike wash systems that can be plugged into the cigarette lighter in your car so you can give your bike a wash when you have finished riding some muddy trails!!

A few of us enjoying a cool down in the English country side!

Since arriving we have spent a couple of days out on the course practicing and preparing for the race. It is a really fun course with a few tricky bits that keep you on your toes but it is by no means a technical track that requires a lot of skill, It has been beautiful dry sunny weather and it is forecast to be the same for tomorrows’ race day!

We are getting very efficient at packing and unpacking the van each day, it is quite a procedure!