It’s less than a year to go before the Olympic cycling event tears past our store in Hampton Court, and we are so excited. I had been a little apprehensive about how it would all go, but last month we had a test run which went really well.

Organisers closed off our road and many of the surrounding ones to cars so that people could watch the test race safely, but it caused no problems with deliveries as we were warned of what was happening well in advance and were able to make plans.
Hundreds of people turned out to watch the test race, which gave us a real taste of what it will be like in 2012. 

Fortunately, it was also a lovely day so we sold masses of soft drinks, ice creams and sandwiches, and I don’t think our tea and coffee machine has ever worked so hard! 

Hampton Court is already a popular area for cyclists as there is so much lovely countryside around here, so I already offer a wide range of energy drinks, water and snack bars, but I am planning to significantly boost this offer over the coming months as I am sure that the Games will encourage even more people to check out the area prior to the start, and hopefully the interest will be maintained for long after the games themselves have ended. 

For the road race itself I am planning to introduce lots of new chest freezers as I am expecting ice cream sales for spectators to be huge. I’ll probably have a whole separate one just for Haägen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s. 

The road cycling race takes place on July 28 and 29, 2012, and the road cycling time trial race on August 1.