RideLondon

At 1:30pm we were buying coffee and a bite to eat at Pure on the concourse at Waterloo Station before heading off to Waterloo Place which is, ironically about 20 minutes walk from the station. We were there to collect our volunteer packs, uniforms and to be briefed ahead of our stint as way finders for the RideLondon event.  

Both PY and I had signed-up to volunteer for the afternoon shift which meant we would be helping people find their way around while the RideLondon Classique pro women’s race was taking place.  We were stationed near Westminster Station: PY, myself and another volunteer getting the Westminster Bridge side while the other group got Parliament Square.

Much of central London was behind barriers to keep pedestrians out of the roadway.  The morning had been the Freecycle event, where the roads are closed to traffic, and cyclists get a change to ride past some of London’s most famous landmarks without having to be mindful of cars (although there are plenty of other cyclists to watch out for).  By 3pm the roads are being cleared and the crossing points between the barriers are being closed up in preparation for the Pro race.

Our main job, as it turned out, was to let people know that the crossing was closed and deal with their inevitable queries - and occasionally - their rants.   The race creates a kind of island which is very hard to get out of.  One route was to take the pedestrian subway from Westminster Station’s underground ticket hall across to the Embankment and I found myself shouting about that at groups of people walking towards the crossing. The subway is fine for most people but some people with luggage, babies in prams and all those people trying to get their bikes away from the morning event were finding it hard to mange the steps involved.  

There were a couple of people who needed a crossing more urgently and I am glad I was stood there - in the very visible bright pink - to be able to help out.  Notwithstanding the comments above, the atmosphere was great - most people were cheering the racers with very limited idea who they were but supporting them nonetheless. 

After the race finished, and our duties were complete, we waked down towards the official finish line were we realised there was still some prose activity. Always fun to see the television crews covering this and we did get to see the prizes being awarded.