Dia Cincuenta y Ocho // Day Fifty-Eight

27.02.2016 Saturday

  
I’m spending this weekend in Essex and am very lucky to have this on my doorstep. Hadleigh hosted the 2012 Olympic Mountain Biking Competition at this very site. As part of London’s bid to win the 2012 Olympics they also vowed to start, maintain and promote an Olympic Legacy. 

The London Olympic Legacy was set out to ensure that the venues used to host the various Olympic sporting events would be made available to the general public in an effort to inspire two million people to volunteer, participate and compete in physical activity once the Games had finished. This was the primary pledge at the heart of London’s Olympic bid back in 2005, along with the promise that the construction of new sporting stadiums and facilities would not end in a case of white elephants – unused, derelict buildings resulting in unaesthetic views across the city skyline.

Hadleigh Park is now accessible to the general public and not only includes four different difficulty levels of mountain biking trails, but a children’s trail, as well as a technical practice area, shop, cafe facilities and it’s very own medal podium! Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my mountain bike with me this weekend, however mountain bike trails not only make for good riding, they also make for good walking too.