- Beijing Day 2
Coach Lance and Paul Report from Beijing
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 This morning we headed out to the Triathlon Venue which is in Changping, about 40 minutes north of the city. It was nice to get in to the country side and see some of rural China but unfortunately they would not let us into the venue. All of the roads around the triathlon site/Ming Tomb Reservoir were blocked with high security. The Chinese are so afraid to do something wrong, or have opportunities for gatherings, that the security has been over the top. So, instead of blazing new trails through the country to gain access, and potentially ending up in jail, we headed to the great wall of China another 45 minutes down the road. This may have been another mistake because I think all of China was visiting the wall that day and there were literally tens of thousands of people walking into the access point of the wall, in line to buy tickets to access the wall, and on the wall as it climbed up over the hills and mountains. We decided not to wait but to have a coffee instead as the skies opened and torrential down pours started probably flooding the spectators off the walls. On the way home I called Lisa to check in on how her training went at the race site, and back to Beijing it was. A quick snack and then off to see the USA men's basketball team play Greece (who beat them in Athens). The 'Redeem Team' was very impressive and made easy work of Greece. The design and aesthetics of the venue where they played was very impressive which continues to be the crowning glory of these Games. Another amazing thing about Beijing is that the city is incredibly impressive with its buildings (modern and ancient), the cleanliness, and the signage about the Games is everywhere, on every block, and in every visual - from signs, lights, buildings, flowers, wherever something can mention the Games, it does. Tomorrow, we will help Lisa through a good swim workout at the Village and also try to see some swimming at the Water Cube. In the evening we are guests of LifeSport athlete Fred Uytengsu at the Young Presidents Organization Dinner with Chinese Acrobats providing the entertainment.
Bike racks with triathlon logo on fence
Countryside near triathlon venue
Lance giving Chinese boy Canadian pin
Our cab for the day
Paul at Great Wall - Check out the people going up the Wall
Rain at the Great Wall
USA Basketball
Lance outside Basketball Arena
Water Cube at night
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