Susan Jackson

Work at the cycling cluster commenced this week, and what should I start with? We could revisit why Bob is the man, the fact that next to the venue there is a Disney knock-off amusement park complete with a 1/3-size Epcot ball, or the story about me crashing an electric scooter into a building and a security desk at the same time. While you mull over those choices, why don’t I just get right into the crashing-into-bagillion-dollar-velodrome story?

Since the venue has different facilities for mountain biking, BMX, and the indoor events, we have access to some sweet Olympic-branded electric scooters to zip from place to place. Alex led us on a ride from the velodrome up to the BMX course (the downhill on the way back is great for getting around the engine restrictor) and rode his scooter right through the door to park it in our office. I attempted to follow but accidentally goosed the throttle and flew into—not through—the doorway, with a skid into the security guard’s desk to finish it up. And of course, the guy was sitting there. The table torpedoed back into him and though I was screaming “Oh my god!!! I’m sorry!” he never said a word to me. Just smiled. Crysty, my classmate and venue partner, erupted in hysterical nervous laughter behind me. Some samaritan helped me pick the bike up and I sheepishly wheeled it to the office. Inexplicably, no one really noticed, but Bob did inquire “Soosan, did you injure yourself?” Just my pride, Bob. Just my pride.

Fortunately, I didn’t injure the velodrome either. The impressive UFO-style structure took four years to complete and can hold 6,000 spectators. On our first day, we saw members of the Chinese cycling team taking practice laps with the aid of a pacing motorcycle. The banked sides of the bowl-shaped track sit at 47 degrees. It is mind-boggling that a bicycle, motorized or otherwise, can stay upright against that steepness. Though I’m told that the Chinese cycling team isn’t the most competitive, the quadzilla legs I saw cruising past me looked like they meant business.

I got a little choked up about the whole scenario. I’ve always been completely inspired by the true spirit of the Olympics. The majority of Olympic athletes don’t train so hard and sacrifice so much for money or glory—they do it for the love of sport and competition. To be near that is amazing, and I’m so happy I can be even a small part of it, water bottle cleaner or not.

Check out a video of our first look at the velodrome from the infield.

To cap off the tour of Beijing, BOCOG treated us to a Peking Opera performance of The Marriage of the Sun and Phoenix. I was fortunate enough to join a few of my classmates in the VIP section on the floor, just a few feet from the stage, and the shrill screeching of the actors. That isn’t a dig, it is just a fact. The singing style used in the opera isn’t exactly easy on the ears, (especially if those ears are seated just steps from a ginormous speaker) but overall, the show was fantastic. Even those in our group who fell asleep twenty minutes into the performance agreed…

OK, it wasn’t a hit with everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. The dramatic costumes and make-up were stellar, and the story easy to follow when the electronic captions flanking the stage weren’t cruising at seizure-inducing speeds. Those of us on the floor even got snacks, and who doesn’t love giant fig newtons and minced-meat-rock-candy pastries? That’s what I thought.

Check out a clip of the performance.

The final day of our BOCOG-sponsored tour brought us to the western part of the city and Summer Palace. In modern times, this would be known as the Emperor’s house in the Hamptons. It is an amazing collection of intricate and well-preserved gardens, chambers, and temples. Even though it was a Sunday, and the grounds overrun with people, it was still peaceful and gorgeous. Covering more than 700 acres, most of which is water, it was originally known as the Garden of Clear Ripples. Being a Cape Cod native, those ripples were my favorite part. The large lake that sits in the center of everything hosts dozens of paddle boats and several full-on dragon-boat ferries. I wouldn’t call it swim-able, but on my paddle around I did dip a foot in the water (I took that typhoid vaccine after all, I figure I should get my money’s worth) and found it to be quite nice. Fortunately, I didn’t loose any toes to an ornery koi or some sort of Chinese Loch Ness Monster.

If I make it back to Summer Palace, I think it will have to be with a cooler of cold light beer and enough money to paddle around until they are drained. And, a few friends of course.

Check out the gallery for more photos.

The Great Wall was, well…wait for it….no. I’m not going to do it. We had a very nice time on the wall yesterday. Even though we visited at Badaling, the point known the world over for sweaty, khaki-coated tourists (there was even a battery recycling bin for digital camera refuse), it was quite amazing. Fortunately for us, it was a blue-sky day, something I’m still baffled by and thankful for.

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been touring with a police escort, but yesterday, we weren’t the top dogs on the Wall, which BOCOG apparently wasn’t happy about. The President of Mexico arrived before us and enjoyed a private stroll as the rest of us poor slobs (sweaty too, some khaki) waited it out in a courtyard. That is, after we played a vicious game of elbows with the locals to get in the door. Pushing through people isn’t rude in China, it’s the way of life, and we got quite the welcome.

The Wall itself is beautiful and surprisingly steep in places. Despite the pitch, we saw many older men and grannies hoofing it up. Very impressive.

The Ming Tomb was also on the agenda yesterday and while a lesser-known place the world over, it was well worth the trip. The only emperor’s tomb excavated and open to the public, it is a peaceful and beautiful place.

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) is treating us and about 300 other volunteers to an extensive three-day tour of Beijing. Yesterday we started off with a trip to the city’s new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant…

Yes! Just the place all of you were asking when I would get to! Kidding aside though (and really, when you’re at a sewage plant, there is going to be a certain amount of kidding), the sites the showed us left many of us intrigued, yet confused. The country wants to show us her best face, and in the effort to do so, what we’re seeing has the tang of inauthenticity. I believe the tour of the plant was to show us the strides China is making to combat pollution, yet the sky all around us is still filled with thick smog. After the plant we traveled to a “rural village” that was so Disney-i-fied that at times, it felt more like a stroll through Epcot Center than anything real. The tour took us through a temple, a nursing home, and into someone’s home—all 300 of us. Pointing our nine tour buses and police escort in the right direction were large blue highway signs saying things like “Reception Village of Olympic Country Tour.”

The day finished up at a famous Beijing restaurant for Peking duck, which was indisputably delicious.

More on the tour to come, and pictures. Now though, I’m off to the Great Wall. And, the sky is blue today! It is unbelievable. I didn’t think I’d see it for two months; the pictures should be great.

Check out a video of the nursing home staff singing to us about how wonderful nursing homes are.