My Olympic ride: on a cold and rainy day
Thursday April 27, 2017, 8 km - Total so far: 30 km
They say there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. That is only partially true. There is no denying that the weather today was bad, but it is true that my clothing was inappropriate. I thought it was just cold (3°C/37°F) but did not realize it was also raining. I dressed accordingly. It didn't stop raining the whole time I was out on my bike. Nevertheless, I rose to the challenge and pedalled to the Olympia Park, not far from my home, took pictures and did some grocery shopping. And I had fun! Just give me a bicycle and a camera.
Today I wasted no time looking for the shots I wanted. The Olympic Park is less than one kilometer from my home and of course I have been there often. It was indeed a meager number of kilometers I rode, but better than nothing.
They say there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. That is only partially true. There is no denying that the weather today was bad, but it is true that my clothing was inappropriate. I thought it was just cold (3°C/37°F) but did not realize it was also raining. I dressed accordingly. It didn't stop raining the whole time I was out on my bike. Nevertheless, I rose to the challenge and pedalled to the Olympia Park, not far from my home, took pictures and did some grocery shopping. And I had fun! Just give me a bicycle and a camera.
Today I wasted no time looking for the shots I wanted. The Olympic Park is less than one kilometer from my home and of course I have been there often. It was indeed a meager number of kilometers I rode, but better than nothing.
From the top of the Olympia Park hill you have a nice view of the Alps - providing the weather is right. The hill with a height of 56 meters was built artificially between 1948 and 1957 by piling up the ruins and the debris of the destroyed buildings from WW II.
The tent-like steel roofs of the Olympia Park buildings, made from a web of wire cables and acrylic glass plates was, at the time, considered state of the art and was intentionally symbolic. The jagged skyline created by the structures represented the Alps, while the open, light buildings were also meant to reflect a new, democratic and optimistic Germany. This was in 1970. However, the stadium became infamous for the events that overshadowed the 1972 Games by what has come to be known as the "Munich Massacre". On 5 September, eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking nine hostages. In the ensuing battle, all nine Israeli hostages were killed, as were five of the terrorists and one policeman.
From the Olympia hill you also have an impressive view of the Olympic Stadium and the unique architecture of the park. On the left is the soccer stadium and on the right is the building housing the 50m Olympic pool.
This is the picture where it is supposed to look like I'm in the country.
Today's wildlife shot
Note the cobblestones. This path would be good for training for our tour in Flanders. Here a note from Google on cycling, cobblestones and Flanders: "The Cobbled Classics are four cycling classics held in March and April. Cobblestones, like mountainous terrain, are important elements in courses of cycling. The two Monuments of this race type are the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, with over 20 cobbled sectors."
I will do my best to avoid those sectors on our summer tour.
A colorful picture to spice up a grey day - starring my bike.
Bought some white asparagus for our evening meal. Fat white asparagus is considered the best in these parts.
At the end my gloves were wet and my fingers numb, otherwise I was okay. I wouldn't want to be doing a full day's tour in the rain wearing a down jacket and no rain pants, though.
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