Bump!

A simple cycle home along the tow path turned into something rather more interesting. I quickly discovered that it is Summer Eights Week. This is a four day rowing competition among the Oxford colleges, which has been going since 1815. The races are bumps races, which means that the boats race in single file, trying to bump the boat in front and avoid being bumped by the boat behind. This is the lower end of Men's Division One, with New College in the process of bumping Balliol. Having had a quick look at the results, Balliol aren't having a good week, they were bumped the day before too. The winner at the end of the week (either by staying at or getting to the top of division 1) wins the title of Head of the River. There are 6 divisions for women and 7 for men, with some colleges having 4 teams in different divisions and according to Wikipedia, only 1 college has ever achieved a Double Headship - ie had their men's and women's teams winning the competition. That was Pembroke College in 2003. In this shot too you can see the coaches flying along the path on their bikes, giving vital advice to their 8s, there were warning signs along the tow path about keeping the path clear during the races.