The Blog Page

News, commentary and humor about bicycling and other topics of the day

 

Don't forget about Tour de WingHaven

If you're looking for some hot Father's Day bicycle racing, come out tomorrow to the Tour de WingHaven in O'Fallon, Mo.

The Tour de WingHaven is sanctioned by USA Cycling as a National Racing Calendar event, meaning top teams such as Jelly Belly, Team Type 1, and Colavita-Sutter Home will be there. Also slated to be there is 2005 U.S. pro champion Chris Wherry.

Action begins at 8 a.m. with the Cat 4/5 race culiminates with the Pro/Cat 1 race at 2 p.m. The feature event is an 84-mile, 28-lap race.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a nice story about the event today.

You can find out more about the event at the race's Web site, including how to get to the parking area.

The competition should be hot, and so will the temperature. Tomorrow's high is expected to be in the mid-90s.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:50 PM

Friday, May 01, 2009

Lindenwood University cycling team turmoil

A dispute between a former member of St. Charles-Mo. based Lindenwood University's cycling team and the team's coach has spread to the pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Paddy Kilmurray, the captain, told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday he was kicked off the team. Kilmurray, a sophomore from Australia, said the coach, Adrienne Murphy, would frequently drink wine and beer at away races and then drive the team's van, and he said he was removed from the team for bringing up the allegations to university officials.

Scott Queen, a spokesman for Lindenwood, said Murphy denied Kilmurray's wide-ranging allegation. He said Murphy admitted to drinking one glass of wine with dinner during a competition and that she was not aware it was against university policy to drink while supervising students.

Murphy took over the team in January, and Queen told the Post-Dispatch that she and Kilmurray had a history of conflicts. He had been suspended from one race, and Queen said Kilmurray was dismissed for insubordination.

Lindenwood is a member of the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference and is classified as Division I by USA Cycling-Collegiate.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:49 AM

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tour de WingHaven gains prestige

In its short history, the Tour de WingHaven has gained a reputation as a top Midwestern single-day race, and USA Cycling has solidified the race's status by putting it on its 2009 National Racing Calendar.

This year's event will be Sunday, June 21, in O'Fallon, Mo., and it's the only Missouri race on the 31-event National Racing Calendar. Racing will begin at 8 a.m. for Cat 4/5 racers, and the event culminates with the 84-mile men's pro race. The course is a 3-mile closed loop through WingHaven, which bills itself as a 1,200-acre residential and commercial community in O'Fallon.

McEagle Properties, which created WingHaven, is the presenting sponsor of the event. Here's what Chris McKee, McEagle's president, has to say about the event:

"As the developer of the WingHaven community, McEagle is excited to have the opportunity to bring a top level, national caliber, professional sporting event to the community. This event will not only showcase our developing community along with promoting an active and healthy lifestyle, but will also provide a family-friendly and free to the public European-style event to WingHaven, the city of O'Fallon, and surrounding areas. What a great way to spend Father's Day with your family!"

Last year's winner, Dan Holloway, now races for the professional Garmin-Slipstream U23 cycling team. The Tour de WingHaven began in 2006.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:53 AM

Thursday, March 19, 2009

News on the St. Louis bicycle racing scene

O'Fallon Grand Prix: I know I'm a few days late reporting this, but Metro-East Cycling got some good news from the O'Fallon (Ill.) City Council on Monday. The City Council voted 12-2 to approve the race.

"I think the fears are overgrown and overdramatic," Ward 3 Alderman Rick Reckamp was quoted as saying in the Belleville News-Democrat. "I don't think there should be a problem. The event was well-run last year."

The two aldermen who voted against the race were concerned about the vounteers who will work event and that teenagers would be directing traffic. Metro-East Cycling assured civic leaders that no one younger than 18 would be volunteering at intersections.

Tour of Hermann: While I was out and about delivering Tour de Stooges brochures today and yesterday, I saw lots of fliers for the Tour of Hermann Ominum Stage Race on April 18-19 in beautiful in the heart of Missouri's beautiful wine country.

Two stages, a time trial and a criterium race, will be run April 18 in Hermann. A road race will take place on the 19th on a rather challenging course that uses Highways H, E, VV and 100. It's about as challening of a course as you're going to get in the Midwest. There are a wide range of categories available for men and an open women's category. If you need an early season challenge, this is it!

Labels: cycling, Illinois, Missouri, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:33 PM

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

O'Fallon mulls Grand Prix bicycle race

The Metro-East Cycling club wants to put on the second annual Grand Prix bicycle race on May 30 in O'Fallon, but the Belleville News-Democrat reports that some aldermen think the club has to do more to insure the safety of participants and spectators before they will back the event.

"Last year, there were teenagers standing in the street stopping and directing traffic," Ward 5 Alderman Dennis Renner said during an O'Fallon City Council Community Development Committee meeting. "The council tightened restrictions on charities collecting money at intersections because they were afraid someone was going to get hurt. So how can we allow teenagers to stand in the street and direct traffic?"

Organizer Steve Schmidt says the club will require volunteers to be at least 18 years old this year and will be given swimming noodles to make them more visible, but Alderman Michael Bennett isn't convinced the swimming noodles are enough to make them visible.

Police Chief John Betten was skeptical about the race last year, but he has no qualms about allowing the race this year. "I had not seen how one of these events is orchestrated or how they come off. But it went surprisingly well and seeing it helped put a lot of those fears to rest," Betten said during the meeting.

The full City Council will vote on allowing this year's race at Monday's council meeting. Last year, the race drew about 250 participants and spectators, and race organizers hope to draw 400 people this year.

Labels: cycling, Illinois, racing

Roger 1 comments links to this post 1:01 AM

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Leipheimer wins Tour of California -- again

For the third straight year, Levi Leipheimer is the champion of the Amgen Tour of California. That's not a big surprise, given he took over the lead Monday and had the Astana team to protect him. One of his teammates, of course, is Lance Armstrong, who rode in support of Leipheimer during this race and finished 7th overall.

David Zabriskie was second overall, 36 seconds behind Leipheimer. Michael Rogers finished third.

Mark Cavendish was the top sprinter, Jason McCartney was the King of the Mountain, and Robert Gesink was the top young rider. Not surprisingly, Astana won the team competition.

The 96.8-mile final stage in San Diego County today featured aride up snowcapped Palomar Mountain, where the cyclists reached the 5,123-foot level on a two-lane highway with 21 switchbacks. Frank Schleck won the stage.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 1 comments links to this post 7:35 PM

Landis briefly in the limelight

For the most part, Floyd Landis has been sitting back in the shadows of the Amgen Tour of California. Going into today's final stage, he's is 32nd place, 10 minutes and 26 seconds behind leader Levi Leipheimer.

While most eyes have been focused on Leipheimer and Astana teammate Lance Armstrong, who's in sixth place 1:46 behind and riding in a supporting role for Leipheimer, Landis briefly jumped into the limelight Saturday during a post-stage press conference.

The New York Times noted Landis is looking forward to the final stage Sunday, which includes an ascent of Mount Palomar, which had served as a training ride for him near his home in Temecula. The Times noted he answered some of his questions with "the sort of self-deprecating humor that added to Landis’s charm."

“I’ve never raced up it before,” Landis said. “My experience usually involves having a burrito at the bottom. I’m not going to be able to do that.”

Landis refused to answer questions about his past, which includes being stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title because of positive tests for banned substances. To read the full transcript of Landis' remarks, go to VeloNews.

Another American cyclist whose career was tainted by doping allegation, Tyler Hamilton, isn't faring well this race. Hamilton is in 95th place -- out of 97 riders -- and he's 49:25 behind Leipheimer. Hamilton has been riding in support of his Rock Racing team.

"I have a little bit different perspective on things," Hamilton told the Denver Post. "I'm just enjoying it, when before I didn't enjoy it as much. I'm 37 years old. I turn 38 in less than two weeks. Maybe this is my last Tour of California, so I'm going to enjoy it."

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:41 PM

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Hooray for the sun!

It's good to see the sun out today for Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California as the cyclists make their way from Merced to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, but still a distance from the glory of Yosemite National Park. I remember the stretch of California 140 the cyclists are on now from my visit to Yosemite in 2004, when I took a bus from Merced to Yosemite.

Unfortunately, the weather has almost been as big of a story as Levi Leipheimer's effort to win a third straight Tour of California or Lance Armstrong's strong fourth-place showing.

The San Jose Mercury News noted the sogginess has led some to suggest switching the event to spring. A window has opened in April or May with the recent cancellation of Tour of Georgia, one of three major U.S. tours. But moving the Tour of California to spring would force a scheduling conflict with many of the world's best cyclists. It would dilute the field and diminish the tour's prestige.

"One of the most important races in the world should be in North America," said Andrew Messick, president of event owner Anschutz Entertainment Group. "That's our journey."

The wretched weather also has played havoc with Versus' coverage of the event. For three straight days, the race's fix-winged aircraft carrying the communications and broadcast technology couldn't fly. As a result, Versus hasn't been able to provide the expansive live coverage it had planned.

On top of that, it slowed the rides down so much that the race wasn't finished when Versus broke away to NHL coverage at 6 p.m. Central Time. That drew an angry response from Armstrong on his Twitter site.

"I heard from lots of folks that Versus cut off Tour of California coverage for hockey. Lame!" Armstrong wrote.

Sadly, it's proof cycling still has a long ways to go on the American sports scene.

Labels: cycling, television, Tour of California

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:58 PM

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Tour of California 2009

In a matter of hours (3:30 p.m. Central Time), the Amgen Tour of California gets under way with the 2.4-mile prologue. Cycling broadcaster Phil Liggett has ranked it "as the fourth or fifth biggest race in the world,'' and who am I to doubt him!

Clearly, the vast majority of eyes will be upon Lance Armstrong, who is racing for the first time in the United States since ending his retirement, But Armstrong insists he will be riding in support of Astana teammate and two-time defending Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer.

The eyes also be on a group of former dopers, including Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton, David Millar and Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour of California before later that year stripped of his Tour de France championship. The San Jose Mercury News likens the field to the "equivalent to inviting Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to play ball."

But it's possible the winner could be someone like defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre, defending Tour of Missouri champion Christian Vande Velde and American cycling legend George Hincapie.

I'l try to cover the race the best I can from 2,000 miles away, but I suggest you follow some of the links on the right side of the page to get up-to-date coverage from people who are there. You also might want to follow California-based blogs such as Cyclelicious to get the inside story. You also can watch it on Versus, which is airing the Tour of California with nearly the same frequency as it does the Tour de France. (Note: The times listed on the Versus schedule are Eastern Time.)

The Tour of California site is offering a live tracker of the event, and you can watch the race for free at Cycling TV.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing, Tour of California

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:37 PM

Friday, January 23, 2009

Landis to ride in Tour of Missouri

Floyd Landis, coming off a two-year ban because of a doping violation at the 2006 Tour de France, says he's planning to ride this year's Tour of Missouri with his new domestic cycling team, OUCH. The team plans to ride the major U.S. races, starting with the Amgen Tour of California in February.

"Starting with the Tour of California, every race we enter we’ll be entering to win," Landis told Outside magazine. "Not that it will be easy. The Tour of California is huge, so it’s kind of a stressful first race back. And there are some very strong domestic teams we’ll be up against this season: BMC, Bissel. Guys come along each year who you’ve never heard of and surprise you. There’s real talent in the U.S. And great races. After the Tour of California there’s the Tour of Utah, the Tour of Missouri. I’m looking forward to it."

Landis' entry in the Tour of Missouri isn't official yet. The Kansas City Star reports that the only team that has received an invitation to compete in this year’s race is the Garmin-Slipstream team led by Christian Vande Velde, the 2008 individual champion. The September race still is in its planning stages.

Landis also had an extended interview with USA Today in which he not only confirmed plans to ride in the Tour of Missouri, but said he has no more faith in anti-doping controls.

"Those are half-(hearted) tests and they know it, but I have no choice if I want to race. You have to agree to those terms. But I trust those guys less than just about anyone I've ever met," Landis said.

After a long legal battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency over a test that showed he had an illegally high testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after his dramatic win in the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour de France. Landis ultimately was stripped of his overall Tour title because of the test.

One cyclist who's welcoming Landis' return is one-time teammate Lance Armstrong. The 7-time Tour de France champion, racing this week in the Tour Down Under in Australia, told Australian media the people should "forgive and forget" and welcome Landis and other cyclists who have done their time for doping violations.

"It's good that the strongest people in the world are in the strongest races in the world," Armstrong said in the Herald Sun. "You've got to remember that Floyd might have been found guilty but at the end of the trial, if you polled people more than 50 per cent thought he was innocent."

Speaking of Armstrong, he's is 38th place in the Tour Down Under after today's stage, in which he finished 47th. He's 39 seconds behind Australian Allan Davis after four stages with two more stages left.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:59 AM

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The comeback begins

In case you're wondering -- and I'm sure you are -- Lance Armstrong began his comeback today in the Tour Down Under. The seven-time Tour de France champion finished 64th, safely within the peloton in the Cancer Council Criterium in Adelaide, Australia, 24 seconds back of winner Robbie McEwen.

The criterium does not count, however, in the overall standings of the Tour Down Under. Racing begins in earnest Tuesday. Here's a short excerpt from the VeloNews account:

Those who doubted Armstrong’s ability to find his racing legs again should not have. For much of the hour-long criterium, he rode at the front, at ease, and as if he never left the sport, his legs still a willing slave to the rhythm of professional bike racing.

Toward the end, Armstrong slipped toward the back of the field.

"I'm glad it's over," said the American, who is far more suited to stage racing than hectic criteriums where the threat of crashes is ever present.

If you're hoping to see Armstrong's exploits in Australia, Versus is probably your best bet. Versus will be airing half-hour highlight shows at 3 p.m. Central Time today, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 2:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday. Versus will air a full-hour show at 4 p.m. Central Time next Sunday (Jan. 25).

In addition, you can watch the final stage of the Tour Down Under live at 9 p.m. Central Time Saturday (Sunday afternoon in Australia) at Versus.com.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:26 AM

Friday, November 14, 2008

No Tour de Georgia in 2009

Professional bicycle racing in the United States took a blow today with the cancellation of the 2009 Tour de Georgia.

After struggling to pay its 2008 obligations and missing out on Lance Armstrong's return to racing, the Tour de Georgia announced that it's going to skip 2009 and focus on returning in 2010.

"The rise in the cost of gas" and the current "tough" economic picture hurt us, Phil Jacobs, a member of the race's board of directors told the Savannah Morning News.

In a Tour de Georgia press release, Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said: "Since April, we have had an enormous response from our partners on ways we can strengthen the Tour for the future, and we have been listening. Our host cities want to have time to prepare tourism packages and our health providers are enthusiastic about developing plans to use the Health and Wellness expos to spread their message across the state. Our cycling friends from across the state want to partner with us to create participant activities which are inclusive of the whole family. We have listened to their advice and have decided to skip one year so that the Tour de Georgia can once and for all be ahead of the game in the planning process. This is a decision I feel is wise and one that will strengthen the Tour de Georgia for years to come."

While the race still drew good crowds in 2008, the newspaper noted that race organizers had to reach settlements to pay portions of their bills.

Tour de Georgia organizers also were hoping Lance Armstrong would return to race in 2009 as part of his comeback, but Armstrong has indicated he will be racing some of the European classic races and the Giro d'Italia next spring.

Georgia-based Medalist Sports manages and promotes the Tour de Georgia as well as the other two major U.S. stage races, the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri. So far, there is no evidence that the Missouri and California races are in the same condition as Tour de Georgia.

The re-election of Peter Kinder as Missouri's lieutenant governor probably assures continued state backing of that race until Tour of Missouri organizers can come up with enough sponsors from the private sector to support the race without state help.

Labels: cycling, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:39 AM

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tour of Missouri to get airtime on NBC

National exposure for the Tour of Missouri bicycle race is growing.

This Saturday, the Jeep World of Adventure Sports will do a segment about the Tour of Missouri that will air Sautrday on NBC (1:30 to 3 p.m. CST on KSDK-TV, Channel 5, for those of you who live in the St. Louis area; check your local listings for other parts of the country).

The segment will include behind-the-scenes footage from Team Garmin-Chipotle shot throughout the seven-day race. Garmin-Chipotle rider Christian Vande Velde, an Illinois native, was the overall winner of the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

(Note: Garmin and St. Louis-based Energizer are partners with Jeep in sponsoring the show.)

Saturday's episode is the final episode of the 2008 season and marks the debut of the Jeep World of Adventure Sports “Green” initiative. Segments dedicated to raising awareness for the issues affecting our environment globally will continue to air throughout the 2009 season.

Labels: cycling, racing, television, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 6:11 PM

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Lance says it's so

Lance's Comeback to Cycling in 2009 -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

Lance Armstrong is back, as you can see from the video from LiveStrong.com.

Based upon sources, VeloNews first reported Armstrong would try for an eighth Tour de France title last year, and other media outlets picked up on the story.

In a story posted today at Vanity Fair, Armstrong confided to writer Douglas Brinkley -- a neighbor of his in Austin, Texas -- that he will race. Here's an excerpt:

As we sat in our terrace chairs overlooking the manicured vista, Armstrong nervously fingered the yellow band on his wrist. He insisted he had something on his mind. “Something huge,” as he put it. I braced for the worst.

Then, in almost robotic fashion, he said, “I’m going back to professional cycling. I’m going to try and win an eighth Tour de France.”

For a moment I gaped at him. Was I being punked? (Armstrong would later tell Doug Ulman, the president and C.E.O. of L.A.F., that my eyes bulged into saucers, like some boinged-out character in a Ralph Steadman illustration.) As the news sank in, though, I realized he was deadly serious. I knew from Armstrong’s memoir, "It’s Not About the Bike," that his VO2 max (the gauge by which the human body’s capacity to transport and use oxygen is measured) is superhuman, his ship-sail lungs uncommonly efficient.

But at age 37? A 2,000-mile, 23-day race, much of it uphill? By next July? I asked him, rather ungraciously, if he wasn’t too old to get back into shape that quickly.

He laughed. And he was off and running. “Look at the Olympics. You have a swimmer like Dara Torres. Even in the 50-meter event [freestyle], the 41-year-old mother proved you can do it. The woman who won the marathon [Constantina Tomescu-Dita, of Romania] was 38. Older athletes are performing very well. Ask serious sports physiologists and they’ll tell you age is a wives’ tale. Athletes at 30, 35 mentally get tired. They’ve done their sport for 20, 25 years and they’re like, I’ve had enough. But there’s no evidence to support that when you’re 38 you’re any slower than when you were 32.

“Ultimately, I’m the guy that gets up. I mean, I get up out of bed a little slow. I mean, I’m not going to lie. I mean, my back gets tired quicker than it used to and I get out of bed a little slower than I used to. But when I’m going, when I’m on the bike—I feel just as good as I did before.”

Armstrong said he is "100 percent" committed to competing next year.

Armstrong doesn't have a team, yet, and his camp acknowledges there's still a lot of work to do. But given Armstrong drive, I have no doubt he will find a way to be in France.

The Vanity Fair article covers a wide range of topics, including speculation he will run for governor of Texas and his ongoing work with cancer research. It's a rather length story and spends a lot of time setting the scene, but the article is worth the effort.

Labels: cycling, Lance Armstrong, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:34 PM

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Vande Velde joins Tour of Missouri field

The Tour of Missouri got a big boost with announcement today that Tour de France fifth-place finisher Christian Vande Velde will be part of this year's field.

Vande Velde, a native of the Chicago suburb of Lemont, is giving the Tour of Missouri a boost in much the same way the addition of 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and 2007 third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer gave the inaugural race a boost last year. I would think Chicago-area cycling fans would want to come down to Missouri to see their hero sometime over the course of the race. Vande Velde rides for the American Garmin-Chipotle cycling team.

The 32-year-old Vande Velde, one American cycling’s big revelations in the post-Lance Armstrong era, surprised the world by finishing less than a couple minutes out of the podium at this year’s Tour de France. Known as a top trialist most of his career, Vande Velde showed amazing climbing skills and has matured into one of the world’s best all-around riders. Earlier in the year, he finished 3rd overall in the Amgen Tour of California and last year finished second overall at the Tour de Georgia, two of North America’s biggest races. He finished 17th overall in the road race at the Olympic Games two weeks ago.

Vande Velde will be joined by Garmin-Chipotle teammates that include U.S. Olympic team member David Zabriskie, Tour de France team member Danny Pate and Will Frischkorn, who finished second overall at last year’s Tour of Missouri and narrowly missed winning a Tour de France stage last month.

Zabriskie is the only American to ever win a stage of all three of professional cycling’s Grand Tours (France, Italy, and Spain), and is a two-time time trial champion and former Tour de France race leader. Pate won Stage 5 of last year’s Tour of Missouri, breaking away to win into St. Charles. Pate is a former Under-23 world champion.

Also joining the field is 2008 Tour of Switzerland champion Roman Kreuzinger.

The Tour of Missouri opens Sept. 8 with a stage from St. Joseph to Kansas City and closes Sept. 14 with a circuit race in St. Louis.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 2 comments links to this post 8:50 AM

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Kristin Armstrong wins gold medal

Veteran American cyclist Kristin Armstrong became only the second American woman to win a gold medal in an Olympic road racing event by winning the women's time trial today.

Kristin Armstrong -- no relation to 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and not to confused with Lance Armstrong's ex-wife of the same name -- won the 14.6-mile time trial in 34 minutes, 51.72 seconds — 24.29 seconds better than Emma Pooley of Great Britain. Switzerland's Karin Thuerig was third, almost a minute behind the time set by Armstrong. American Christine Thorburn finished fifth.

In fourth place was France's Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, who is 49 years ago. I personally remember seeing Longo win the women's road race in the 1986 World Championhips in Colorado Springs, Colo. Somewhere hidden in my slide archive, I have a picture of Longo being interviewed after her victory. It truly is amazing how an athlete can stay at the top of her game for so long.

Armstrong, who turned 35 on Monday, cried tears of happiness as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played during the awards ceremony. The only other American woman to have won a gold medal in a road event is Connie Carpenter, who won the inaugural women's road race in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

UPDATE: Later today, American Levi Leipheimer took the bronze medal in the men's time trial. Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland won the gold by riding the 47.3-kilometer circuit in 1 hour, 2 minute, 11.43 seconds. Gustav Larsson of Sweden was 33.36 seconds behind Cancellara, while Leipheimer was 1:09.68 behind. American David Zabriskie was 12th, more than 3 minutes behind Cancellara

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:20 AM

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Olympic Men's Road Race medalists

Stop reading this post if you want to wait until you see NBC's coverage later this morning to find out the medalists in the Men's Road Race.

Gold: Samuel Sanchez (Spain), 6 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds
Silver: David Rebellin (Italy), same time
Bronze: Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), same time.

Levi Leipheimer was the top American finisher in 11th place, 20 seconds behind Sanchez. Christian Vande Velde finished in 19th, 30 seconds behind Sanchez.

That's all from here. I really need to get to sleep, and I really don't know how many more nights I can spend watching online coverage during this Olympiad.

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:28 AM

Online coverage of Olympic men's road race: A quick review

Some quick observations about the online coverage of the Olympic men's cycling race:

• If you haven't already done so, the first time you click on the video for Olympic coverage, you will have to download Microsoft Silverlight. If you run a PC on XP or Vista, you should have no problems. If you run a Mac, you'll be OK if you have an Intel processor. If you have any other kind of Mac, forget it. Although I run OS X at work, my G5 does not have an Intel processor, so I couldn't watch the race.
• I am impressed with the video quality -- the sharpness is wonderful compared to some other streaming video pictures I've seen, and the color saturation is superb for online video.
• You will be watching a feed with no audio commentary; you'll have to wait until the race is broadcast on NBC or its sister networks to hear it. NBC's commentary team consists of Pat Parnell, play-by-play; Craig Hummer, play-by-play; Kenan Harkin, analyst; Paul Sherwin, analyst; and Marty Snider, reporter.
• The Live Commentary feature is similar to commentary features seen on other online video sites such as that for the Tour of California. Be sure to click the "More" tab from time to time. The Live Commentary did not report that American David Zabriskie has dropped out halfway through the race, but a story under the "More" tab did.
  
• The Play-by-Play feature was broken during the men's road race. Hopefully, it can be fixed before future races.

Have fun watching Olympic cycling!

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing, technology, television

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:47 AM

Friday, August 08, 2008

Olympic cycling TV times

Here's the list of TV coverage planned by NBC and its sister stations for the St. Louis area (all times Central Time Zone). You also may want to check NBCOlympics.com for your community because the coverage times may vary. In most cases, the cycling coverage will be included among coverage of other sports, and times are subject to change:

Saturday, Aug. 9
9:00-9:30 a.m, 11:30 a.m.-noon, 1:30-2:30 p.m.: Men's road race (NBC)

Sunday, Aug. 10
Noon-5 p.m.: Women's road race (NBC)

Wednesday, Aug. 13
4-10 a.m.: Men's time trial (MSNBC)
7-9 p.m.: Women's time trila (NBC)

Friday, Aug. 15
9-11 a.m.: Track events (USA)

Saturday, Aug. 16
1 a.m.-1 p.m.: Track events (USA)
11 a.m.-noon: Men's individual pursuit (NBC)

Sunday, Aug. 17
1 a.m.-1 p.m.: Track events (USA)
11 a.m.-1 p.m.: Women's individual pursuit (NBC)

Monday, Aug. 18
4-11 a.m.: Men's team pursuit final (MSNBC)

Tuesday, Aug. 19
1-7 a.m.: Track events (USA)
9-11 p.m., 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m.: Men's BMX (NBC)

Wednesday, Aug. 20
7-10 p.m.: Men's and Women's BMX (NBC)

Friday, Aug. 22
4-9:30 a.m.: Women's mountain bike (MSNBC)

Saturday, Aug. 23
11:30 p.m.-4 a.m.: Men's mountain bike(NBC)

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing, television

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:31 PM

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Olympic cycling online

My blogging buddies on the West Coast, Cyclelicious and BikingBis, already have posted times to watch Olympic cycling online at NBCOlympics.com in the Pacific Time Zone. I'm doing the same for those of us who live in the Central Time Zone:

• Friday, Aug. 8: Men's Road Race, 10 p.m.-4:30 a.m. Saturday (UPDATED AUG. 8)
  
• Sunday, Aug. 10: Women's Road Race, 1:30-4 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 12: Women's Time Trial, 10:30 p.m.-12:05 a.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 13: Men's Time Trial, 12:30-4:10 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 15: Men's and women's track individual pursuit; men's team sprint, 3:30-6 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 16: Women's individual pursuit first round; men's kerin, points race, and 4000m individual pursuit finals, 3:30-6:45 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 16: Men's team pursuit; men's and women's sprint qualifying rounds, 9-10:45 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 17: Women's 3000m individual pursuit final; men's & women's sprint round of 16 and round of 8, 3:30-5:45 a.m.
• Monday, Aug. 18: Women's points race; men's and women's sprint quarterfinals, 3:30-6 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 19: Men's madison; men's and women's sprint classifications, semifinals and finals, 3:30-6:50 a.m.
• Friday, Aug. 22: Women's Mountain Bike Race, 2-4:15 a.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 23: Men's Mountain Bike Race: 2-4:45 a.m.

Even someone with weird work hours like me is going to be hard-pressed to stay up for the online coverage, so I will post those in the next day or two. Meanwhile, you can find listings at NBCOlympics.com.

Labels: cycling, Olympics, racing

Roger 1 comments links to this post 1:54 PM

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Registration open for Gateway Cup

The Tour of Missouri isn't the only big bicycle racing event taking in the next few weeks in the St. Louis area. The annual Gateway Cup series of criterium races takes place Labor Day weekend (Aug. 29-Sept. 1)

Details are a bit skimpy on the Gateway Cup's new Web site, but you can sign for individual races or the entire series at 2WheelTech. The cost for men is $40 per race or $130 for the entire series. For women, the cost is $25 per race or $80 for the entire series.

For detailed information about the four days, you can download a PDF flier through USA Cycling. Once again, races for everyone from kids to Pro, Cat 1 and Cat 2 are available.

The Gilded Age Tour de Lafayette takes place the evening of Friday, Aug. 29, in St. Louis' Lafayette neighborhood. On Saturday, Aug. 30, the Gateway Cup moves to downtown St. Louis for the Midwest Testing Tour of Washington Avenue, an afternoon and early evening event.

The Giro Della Montagna takes place the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 30, on The Hill, St. Louis' Italian neighborhood. Trailnet's Bicycle Fun Club also will have a ride on The Hill that morning.

The Gateway Cup closes the morning and afternoon of Labor Day (Sept. 1) with the Emerson Motor Loop Bicycle Race in University City's Loop business district.

It should be an exciting weekend of bicycle racing, and it will definitely whet you appetite for the Tour of Missouri, which ends in St. Louis on Sept. 14.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 4:20 PM

Monday, August 04, 2008

Garmin-Chipotle to race in Tour of Missouri

Tour of Missouri organizers announced today that the Garmin-Chipotle team will return to ride this year.

Garmin-Chipotle, known last year as Team Slipstream, won the inaugural event's team title. The press release did not say whether Illinois native Christian Vande Velde, who finished fifth in this year's Tour de France, would be part of the Tour of Missouri roster, but my hunch is that he will in much the same way Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer were persuaded to ride for Discovery Channel in last year's race.

Will Frischkorn, who finished second to George Hincapie, and stage winner Danny Pate also are part of the Garmin-Chipotle squad.

“We will be back to win,” Jonathan Vaughters, director of the Garmin-Chipotle team, said in a press release. “This is not an end-of-the-season fun race for us. This is a serious objective for our team. It’s a major event.”

The top U.S. teams will participate in this year's Tour of Missouri and will be joined by international teams such as Liquigas and Rabobank. Here's a full list of the teams:

Columbia (USA)
Liquigas (Italy)
Rabobank (Netherlands, developmental team)
Garmin-Chipotle (USA)
BMC (USA)
Sparkasse (Germany)
Tecos (Mexico)
Symmetrics (Canada)
Health Net presented by MAXXIS (USA)
Toyota-United (USA)
Rock Racing (USA)
Colavita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light (USA)
Bissell (USA)
Kelly Benefit Strategies - Medifast (USA)
Jelly Belly (USA)

For more details about the race, see the press release.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:39 PM

Tour of Missouri seeks your help

Michael Grote of the Tour of Missouri Breakaway Club just sent out this note to bicycle clubs in Missouri and nearby state:

As you may already know the Tour of Missouri will be taking place September 8th through the 14th. The Tour of Missouri is a seven day professional cycling event featuring elite international men’s teams with stages across Missouri.

Additionally, the Tour of Missouri will host an invitational pro-am women’s race taking place on Monday, September 8, in Kansas City, Missouri. This event builds on the great success of last year’s inaugural Tour of Missouri that inspired cyclists throughout the state and attracted many new fans to the sport.

In order to continue to make this event successful while, exposing Missourians and mid-westerns alike to this great sport, we need your help. As you can imagine a professional bike race through the state takes tremendous resources to guarantee that the event is challenging but safe for the riders, enjoyable for the spectators and supports the race’s continued development in Missouri.

I am asking you to support cycling in Missouri by joining the Tour of Missouri Breakaway Club. The Breakaway Club is an individual donor program that supports the race and ensures its success in 2008 and beyond. More importantly though, it provides great opportunities for you, as a sponsor, to be intimately involved in the action of the Tour of Missouri.

I hope that you will consider this request to support the sport of cycling and the Tour of Missouri this year.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at your convenience at 573-424-5120 or at tourofmissouri@ga2.us.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and your support of the Tour of Missouri.

A $5,000 Champion's Level, a $500 Podium Level ($400 for couples), a $75 Peloton Level ($100 for couples) and Patrol levels for individual levels. The benefits include jerseys at the higher levels and discounts for the lower levels. For those of you who sign up by Aug. 7, your names also will appear i n the Tour of Missouri program.

You can find out more benefits and download forms at the Breakaway Club's page.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 12:31 PM

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Greg LeMond speaks out about abuse

Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond will speak to a public audience for the the first time about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, the Kansas City Star reports.

LeMond will give the keynote speech Aug. 7 at a fundraiser for the Sunflower House in Kansas City, Kan. Sunflower House works to protect and support child victims of sexual abuse in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.

LeMond managed to keep the abuse a secret until the May 2007 arbitration hearing for Floyd Landis, the 2006 winner of the Tour de France who had been stripped of his title after tests indicated he had used testosterone.

At that hearing, LeMond testified he had urged Landis to come clean about any drug use. He told Landis about the abuse. Later, he received a phone call from Landis’ business manager threatening to reveal it if LeMond testified.

In the article, Lemond talks in detail about the abuse. Here's a brief excerpt:

To this day, LeMond says his memories of the abuse are hazy. For years he blocked out the details. He was 11 or 12.

“I do remember when it first happened. … It was a family friend.”

The man, LeMond said at the hearing, was named Ron. He was a pal of LeMond’s father. The family lived in Nevada. His father was in real estate. The friend was 17 years older than LeMond.

“He would ski with us at Lake Tahoe,” LeMond recalled. “He was literally like an uncle.”

Ron visited numerous times and would sleep in the extra bed in LeMond’s room. He showed LeMond pornography. It excited the young boy.

Then one night, everything changed. LeMond was asleep.

“Before I knew it, he did something to me that I never knew about,” LeMond said.

Reporter Eric Adler did an excellent job with the phone interview, in which LeMond described how the abuse affected him as a teen and an adult. I encourage you to read the story.

I know there are people out there who don't particularly like LeMond, in large part because of his criticism of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. But in my view, LeMond's 1986, 1989 and 1990 Tour de France victories did much to expose Americans to the sport of cycling and paved the way for Armstrong and other American cyclists to succeed on the pro cycling circuit.

Labels: cycling, Greg LeMond, Kansas City, racing

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:12 PM

Monday, July 07, 2008

Will Frischkorn? Who's he?

I was surprised to see this morning that American racer and Tour de France rookie Will Frischkorn not only came in second in today's Stage 3, but is sitting in third place in the general classification.

If that wasn't enough, Frischkorn was named the most aggressive rider of the stage, and his American-based squad, Team Garmin-Chipotle, is leading the team classsification.

Just who is Will Frischkorn?

Well, Tour of Missouri fans may remember that Frischkorn finished second to George Hincapie in last year's inaugural event. Frischkorn finished 1 minute, 38 seconds behind Hincapie in the six-stage race.

Frischkorn, 27, was born in Charlottesville, Va., and now lives in Boulder, Colo., according to his biography at the Team Garmin-Chipotle Web site. Frischkorn won the 2007 Univest Grand Prix and he won the U.S. Under-23 National Championship Road Race back in 2002.

Being in third place in the Tour de France, even this early in the race, is a career highlight.

"I felt pretty darn good," Frischkorn said in an interview on the Tour de France Web site. "I’m ecstatic to have done this. It’s weird to feel a little disappointed right now actually.”

Why was he disappointed? Because he had a chance to win the stage.

“The sprint at the finish was a long one," Frischkorn said in the interview. "It started from two kilometers out really. (Samuel) Dumoulin hit out and I had literally been planning to attack after coming back from my previous turn of pace but he timed it perfectly. That really started the game.

“He rode a great finish and I hesitated just a little bit with 400 meters to go and I think that’s where I made my mistake but I take my hat off to him, he was great."

Dumoulin won the stage, but fellow Frenchman Romain Feillu, who was part of the lead breakaway, is wearing the yellow jersey. Frischkorn is 1:42 behind Feillu in the general classification. The breakaway finished 2:03 in front of the peloton.

Frischkorn, one of four Americans in this year's Tour de France, is writing a journal about his experience at VeloNews. It should be interesting to see what he writes about Stage 3.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:07 PM

Friday, July 04, 2008

Tour de France 2008

Part of the reason I include the news feed that I do in the right column of this blog is because I know sources such as VeloNews can provide much better coverage of the Tour de France than I can in this humble little blog. Nevertheless, here's my two cents worth on the race:

I'm extremely disappointed former Discovery Channel riders Alberto Contador, the defending champion, and Levi Leipheimer, who finished third, won't be there because of the decision of Tour de France to exclude Team Astana from this year's event because of the team's past doping transgressions.

I suppose one could argue that Contador, Leipheimer and former Discovery manager Johan Bruyneel should have had some clue that Astana would be targeted for punishment, but I don't find it particularly fair that a restructured Astana team should be so severly punished for sins of previous team members.

With Leipheimer's absence, I have to wonder how much interest there will be in this year's Tour de France by casual cycling fans. The die-hard fans, of course, are going to care about the race, but the lack of an American among the major contenders will reduce coverage of the race by the mainstream media.

In addition to the greatness of the race -- even a heavy-handed management style cannot rob the Tour de France of its splendor -- there are two American teams in this year's race. One is Team Columbia, which includes former Discovery lieutenant George Hincapie, and Garmin-Chipotle, which is best known for its anti-doping stance. Christian Vande Velde is the best-known American on that team.

If your local newspaper or TV station provides inadequate coverage of the Tour de France, the three best sources are probably VeloNews, Versus and the Tour de France site itself. Versus, as always, will provide almost-constant TV coverage of the race. Gene Bisbee also provides a list of sources at his BikingBis blog.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:53 PM

Monday, June 23, 2008

Tour of Missouri to be ‘deceivingly tougher’

Organizers of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race Sept. 8-14 say this year's course will be "deceivingly tougher" than the course for last year's inaugural event.

For one, the race has grown from six to seven stages, and organizers say there are more hills this year.

That won't be comfort to the racers, many of whom were surprised by how hilly Missouri can be.

This year's Tour of Missouri starts in St. Joseph on Sept. 8, and roughly follows the Missouri River to Kansas City. "The first 50-plus miles feature a series of relentless small, uncategorized climbs, some of which form a panoramic view of the Missouri River. This differs from the relatively flat out-and-back course featured on the course last year for Stage 1," according to a description of the stages.

Stage 2 (Sept. 9) once again starts in Clinton and winds up in Springfield. This is the stage where George Hincapie pulled off a major breakaway that enabled him to win the 2007 event. Hincapie will be back to defend his title.

Stage 3 (Sept. 10) will be an 18-mile time trial on the hilly roads of Branson and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Stage 4 (Sept. 11) starts in Lebanon and will take competitors through a hilly course to Rolla. Plans call for the route to go through a portion of Fort Leonard Wood as a tribute to U.S. troops. The route also features a 12 percent grade near Waynesville.

Stage 5 (Sept. 12) begins in the wine country town of St. James and goes up and down a series of small hills to Jefferson City, the state capitol.

Stage 6 (Sept. 13) differs from the next-to-last stage in 2007. Last year, that stage started in Jefferson City and ended in St. Charles. This year, the stage will start in Hermann, the heart of Missouri's wine country, and ends in St. Charles. The new route eliminates the relatively flat part of the course between Jefferson City and Hermann, but the difficult climbs on Augusta Bottom and Schluersburg roads near Augusta remain, and a difficult climb of Old Colony Road near Defiance has been added to the course. From Old Colony Road, the route continues to O'Fallon, Mo., then heads into the flat Mississippi River valley before heading into St. Charles.

The final stage (Sept. 14) remains a circuit course in the city of St. Louis. Instead of starting and finishing at Union Station on Market Street, the start-finish line will be in front of City Hall a few blocks east on Market. Racers will be making five trips around the 14-mile circuit.

This year's course will start on Market, continue on Forest Park Boulevard, loop through a portion of Forest Park, returns to the Central West End -- a popular place to watch the race because of all the outdoor cafes -- turns east on Forest Park Boulevard, turns north on Compton Avenue, returns downtown on Olive Street to Tucker Boulevard, then back to Market.

In case you're wondering, the St. Louis Rams will have a home game at noon Sept. 14 against the New York Giants, but the St. Louis Cardinals will be on the road, so traffic may not be as big of an issue.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:48 AM

Monday, June 09, 2008

RAAM 2008: They're off!

Race Across America is under way! Both female competitors, Janet Christiansen and Carolina van den Bulk and one male competitor, Richard Rupp, already have made it to Flagstaff, Ariz., as of this morning. The women and Rupp, competing in the 60-older division, started Saturday from Oceanside, Calif. The top solo male competitors, Gerhard Gulewicz and defending champion Jure Robic, started Sunday and have passed Congress, Ariz., as of this morning.

Back here in the Midwest, help is needed for the Greenville, Ill., time station. Help will be needed between Saturday, when the top male competitors are expect to pass through Greenville, and Tuesday, June 17. If you know someone who can volunteer, contact Joy Criner at 618-664-3342; 217-229-4237, ext. 231; or trixtip@sbcglobal.net.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:35 AM

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Race Across America begins Sunday

Once again, the most dedicated of the dedicated ultramarathon cyclists will take off Sunday on the Race Across America. The solo riders take off at noon PDT Sunday, while the teams don't take off until Wednesday,

There are some changes for this year's event. The biggest change is that the race ends in Annapolis, Md., instead of Atlantic City, N.J. That means there's a major reroute of the course from 100 miles east of the Mississippi River to the end.

Instead of taking the busy National Road (U.S. 40) corridor that RAAM has taken through Indiana and Ohio in recent years, the route will go through the Midwest cycling mecca of Bloomington, Ind.; the quaint German town of Oldenberg, Ind.; Chillicothe, Ohio; and Parkersburg, W.Va. After Parkersburg, the racers will face some challenging climbs in the Appalachian Mountains. Here's a description from RAAM:

As the road (U.S. 50) narrows, it climbs over the Eastern Divide at 3,000 feet above sea level, and then climbs again to the ominously named Mount Storm before dropping into Maryland. Some of the most intense grades of the entire race are found on scenic U.S. 40 in the forty miles between Cumberland and Hancock. The fourth of these climbs, Sideling Hill, subjects Racers to a 1,000-foot ascent in two miles.

The route, however, remains unchanged through the St. Louis region. The time stations will be at Marthasville, Mo.; West Alton, Mo.; and Greenville, Ill. The West Alton time station is just before the cyclists cross the Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River into Alton, Ill. I would expect the riders to start arriving in the St. Louis area either June 13 or June 14.

The western part of the RAAM course has been changed so that it goes through Taos, N.M.

Slovenian Jure Robic won the male solo edition of the 2007 Race Across America -- the third time he has won the race. Robic completed the 3,042.8 miles of the race in 8 days, 19 hours and 33 minutes. His average speed was 14.38 mph.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:00 AM

Thursday, May 29, 2008

O'Fallon Grand Prix

The Metro-East Cycling club will be putting on its first-ever O'Fallon Grand Prix this Saturday, May 31.

The start-finish line for the races will be in front of Fulton Junior High School, which is located at 307 Kyle Road in O'Fallon, Ill. Racing will begin at 11 a.m., and participants can sign up for the event starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until 30 minutes before the start of each scheduled event.

The event is the biggest cycling race in St. Clair County since the mid-1990s, when a leg of the Gateway Cup series of bicycle races was run in the Signal Hill neighborhood of Belleville.

The Elite Pro/Cat 1/Cat 2 race will begin at 11 a.m. and will cover 90 miles. Races also will be available in other men's categories, masters' categories, women's categories and junior categories. In addition, kids races from tricyclists to bicyclists ages 11-14 will begin at 10 a.m.

"It'll be really fun for people who enjoy bike racing," race director Steven Schmidt, secretary of Metro East Cycling, told the Belleville News-Democrat. "Our course is exciting. It's all on country roads. It's fast, hilly and twisty."

That's true. The map of the course shows all the twists and turns, and I can tell you from personal experience, there are hills on the course!

Racers should be aware of one major hazard on the course. There's a bridge on Simmons Road between Bethel School Road and Kyle Road that has cracks parallel to the length of the bridge. The cracks are wide and deep enough to grab a road wheel and can cause a serious spill. Racers need to be careful to position themselves between the cracks while going across the bridge.

Metro-East Cycling has worked hard on this event. One of the biggest challenges the club faced was getting approval from the O'Fallon City Council. The council did unanimously approve the event at its April 7 meeting, but with the caveat that the police chief has authority to close down the event if the insurance is not provided, communications concerns are not met or not enough volunteers are present.

From what I understand, it sounds like Metro-East Cycling has all its ducks in a row, so let the racing begin Saturday morning!

Labels: cycling, Illinois, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:49 AM

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Missouri gets a D in cycling

On Monday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about the Missouri Bicycle Federation's recent report, "Bicycling and Walking in Missouri -- A Report Card" (PDF file).

"The overall grade for Missouri's walking and bicycling environment for 2007 was a D," Missouri Bicycle Federation Executive Director Brent Hugh said in a recent post on MoBikeFed's Web site. "We are quite frankly behind most other states in accommodating for safe walking and bicycling. With gas prices near $3.50 a gallon and rising, it's hitting us right in the pocketbook."

The Post-Dispatch quoted a St. Louis-area cyclist who thought the area deserved a grade of C+. I would have to agree that the St. Louis area has a better cycling environment than the rest of the state, but that's not saying much.

Here's a couple of areas of concern MoBikeFed cited:

• MoDOT stops meetings of Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee for over 18 months; essentially shuts down bicycle/pedestrian program for most of the year; fires bicycle/pedestrian coordinator; halts Missouri Complete Streets bill; over 95% of MoBikeFed supporters disapprove of MoDOT's handling of bicycling and walking.
• Numerous important transportation projects statewide continue to move forward without needed bicycle and/or pedestrian accommodations or with facilities that do not meet ADA requirements--including Hanley Rd in St. Louis County, Hwy 45 in Parkville, and Hwy 150 in the Kansas City area, and many others.

Having done the former Cycle Across Missouri Parks ride twice in the 1990s and having been a volunteer/rider on last year's Cycle Across Missouri, I can say that part of the problem is the quality of the roads themselves. Once you get out of the state's metropolitan areas, the roads often are barely safe for motor vehicles, let alone for cyclists.

The roads often are in poor shape with potholes, cracks and crumbling pavement. In rural areas, there often are no shoulders whatsoever, not even an extra foot or two that would make a big difference for cyclists.

Last year, I rode on Highway 116 in northwest Missouri. The road had no shoulder and plenty of fast traffic. On top of that, motorists were not particularly accommodating of me or other cyclists, and I was forced to bail onto the grass once because of that. I was happy to get off that road, except that turning onto U.S. 63 toward Lawson was even less fun. Not only was it narrower than Highway 116, the edge of the road was in extremely poor shape. I didn't have to bail off that road, but I sure was saying plenty of prayers!

Early on CAM last year, cyclists were forced to ride on U.S. 136 toward Bethany. I was glad I was supporting the ride instead of riding that day. Again, there was no shoulder on much of U.S. 136, and cyclists weren't happy about that or the refusal of some motorists to give sufficient space to pass them.

Part of the problem in rural Missouri that there are few options besides the busy roads. Many of the country roads are dirt and gravel roads totally unsuitable for cycling (unless you own a mountain bike). Illinois has its share of country roads, but at least a great number of roads have oil-and-chip surfaces, making them viable alternatives to the busier highways.

While I would agree that the Missouri Department of Transportation is behind the times when it comes to maintaining road, I also would add that they are hindered by a lack of revenue. Missourians enjoy some of the lowest gasoline taxes in the country, but I would argue that the quality of Missouri roads is a case of you get what you pay for.

I can only base this on anecdotal evidence, but many motorists in Missouri have the attitude that bicycles only belong on the Katy Trail, not on the state's highways.

Clearly, Missouri has a long ways to go to become a truly bike-friendly state, but at least MoBikeFed saw signs of hope: the successful 2007 Tour of Missouri bicycle race, the addition of more miles to the Bike St. Louis system and new connections to the Katy Trail.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Missouri, safety

Roger 1 comments links to this post 8:49 AM

Monday, May 05, 2008

Bike St. Louis expands

Just in time for National Bike to Work Week, May 12-16, the Great Rivers Greenway District is announcing the opening of 57 miles of additional on-street Bike St. Louis routes through St. Louis County and St. Louis City.

With the expansion, the Bike St. Louis system will today 77 miles of dedicated bike lanes and shared traffic lanes.

The dedication of the expansion will take place Thursday at three locations:

• 10 a.m. in Maplewood, Mo., in front of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue
  
• 11 a.m. in Clayton, Mo., at the MetroLink station at Central and Shaw Park Drive
  
• 12:30 p.m. in St. Louis at the intersection of St. Louis Avenue and Blair Avenue
  (a half-block block west of Crown Candy Kitchen)

Here's a brief excerpt from the press release (Word document) Bike St. Louis has published about the expansion:

The new routes are the first major expansion of the Bike St. Louis network since 2005, when the first 20 miles of continuous on-street bicycle routes were dedicated and connected downtown St. Louis to surrounding neighborhoods. Nearly 50 miles of the expanded Bike St. Louis routes are located in the City of St. Louis, providing connections from downtown to neighborhoods, business districts, educational, cultural and recreation amenities in North and South St. Louis. The new routes also provide on-street connections to the North Riverfront Trail and the McKinley Bridge Bikeway along the Mississippi River in North St. Louis, as well as the River des Peres Greenway and Christy Greenway in South St. Louis.

“In just a few short years, I have seen an important change in residents’ attitudes about bicycle trails and lanes,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay. “What was suspicion and resistance five years ago is now enthusiastic support. A nearby trail is viewed – and, more importantly for our physical fitness, used – as an important amenity for city neighborhoods."

All Bike St. Louis routes feature highly visible customized designation signs, standard federal bicycle route signs and on-street pavement markings. In addition, Bike St. Louis maps are available online at www.bikestlouis.org and at many convenient area locations throughout the region. The maps provide information to assist riders plan their routes and feature safety tips and other pertinent resource information.

And if that wasn't enough, the Great Rivers Greenway District will hold the grand opening of the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Trestle on June 7. After a major renovation, the bridge reopened to vehicle traffic late last year, and now the McKinley Bridge will link the Bike St. Louis system to the Madison County Transit Confluence Trail in Illinois.

Once the bridge is open, St. Louis cyclists will have four safe ways to cross the Mississippi River between the two states. The existing crossings are the Eads Bridge, Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and the Clark Bridge, which connects St. Charles County, Mo., and Alton, Ill.

Not surprisingly, I applaud the efforts to make the St. Louis area more bicycle friendly, and I hope the trend continues.

Labels: commuting, cycling, Missouri, St. Louis, trails

Roger 2 comments links to this post 12:10 AM

Friday, May 02, 2008

Hincapie to defend Tour of Missouri title

George Hincapie, longtime lieutenant to Lance Armstrong and winner of the inaugural Tour of Missouri, will return in September to defend his title in the state’s seven-day stage bicycle race, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday.

Organizers of the event made the announcement at a press conference Friday.

I would write more, but I better get a little rest before Tour de Stooges tomorrow!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:23 PM

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Two rides for worthy causes

In recent days, I've received e-mails about two worthwhile charity rides.

The first is the Ride for World Health. R4WH is a national, nonprofit organization that advocates for improvements in the quality and accessibility of global health care. Each year, by utilizing a cross-country bike ride as a vehicle of communication, R4WH addresses this issue through political advocacy, fundraising and its unique Coast-to-Coast Lecture Series.

The riders currently are in Utah, and they're expected reach the St. Louis area in early May. Dr. Tracy Hall, the leader of the GEARS bicycle club in Greenville, Ill., asked me to pass along this bit of information about the R4WH stop in the Greenville area :

Ride for World Health, a charity cross country bicycle tour, will be stopping
at Greenville First Christian Church (1100 Killarney Drive, Greenville, IL 62246) on Tuesday, May 13, about 1 p.m., on the St. Louis to Kinmundy (Ill.) leg of their trip. The group is made up of doctors, residents and medical students. Please come and have a listen to the short presentation and meet the riders. Some of the GEARS riders are planning on accompanying the riders after the presentation.

R4WH is writing a blog about the journey, and the group is accepting donations.

The second ride is the 2008 Equal Parenting Bike Trek. Starting Aug. 7, five fathers will be biking 758 miles over five days between Lansing, Mich., and Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of a child's fundamental right to be loved, guided, educated and nurtured equally by both fit and willing parents. After the ride, the fathers will speak at the Family Preservation Festival.

Robert Peterson, one of the organizers of the ride, has been pushing bloggers throughout the country to write about this event, and he has done a amazing job in getting the word out. The site says more than 70 blogs throughout the world has written about the event, and now you can count mine among them.

The ride is seeking donations and sponsors for the event, and you can find out more at the ride's Web site.

Labels: charities, cycling, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 3:00 PM

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Do bicycle helmets do more harm than good?

A new study to be published Friday in the Health Promotion Journal of Australia suggest that bicycle helmets are "detrimental to public health in Australia."

The Australian newspaper reported in its Friday edition that bicycle helmets may in fact increase the risk of serious injury - and laws requiring their use Australia-wide have compounded the problem by deterring people from cycling altogether.

"Experimental studies have shown that in some circumstances, wearing a helmet can increase the rotation of the head (on impact), and that increases angular acceleration of the brain - which is the most damaging factor in brain injury," suggests the study, written by Bill Curnow, president of the Canberra-based Cyclists Rights Action Group.

Curnow's study also suggests that participation in cycling dropped by 50 percent in the two years after the helmet requirement went into effect in Australian jurisdictions.

Not surprisingly, other Australian groups reject those findings. Bicycle Federation of Australia Executive Director Peter Strang said, "We don't accept the view that helmets cause more injuries than they prevent."

My two accidents that landed me in hospital emergency rooms have me convinced that my helmet prevented more serious head injuries. Also, nearly 20 years ago, I saw one of my cycling buddies crash while going down a steep downhill near Elsah, Ill. Despite hitting the rocky side of the road, my buddy escaped with only a minor brain concussion.

I don't know about you, but I'm keeping my helmet on.

Labels: cycling, safety

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:14 PM

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Cyclists see green -- and they're furious!

In the wake of the green bike boxes in Portland, Ore., here's an item I recently ran across from Great Britain:

Cyclists furious as council paint
everything else luminous green

Cyclists in Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire, UK) have reacted angrily to a decision by town planners to make buildings, trees, street furniture and the road itself much easier to see by painting them all luminous green. The decision follows a number of near misses where pedestrians almost bumped into street furniture or large buildings and then threatened to sue the council on the grounds that they should be more clearly marked. ...

But local cyclists are furious at the plan that has made them the same colour as their immediate surroundings. "We’ve all spent a fortune on these luminous jackets, trousers and cycle clips" said local cyclist Mark Randle. "Suddenly our hi-visibility cycling gear has turned into the most effective camouflage available. Now we’re completely invisible." Read more ...

A tip of the hat to St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation forum letting me know about this development.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, safety, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:21 PM

Monday, March 31, 2008

Bike box and bike lane videos

For your viewing pleasure, here's some videos about bike lanes. The first two are about bike boxes, which are meant to provide a spot for cyclists to stop and make turns at busy intersections.

The first is a video produced for the city of Portland, Ore., in an effort to explain the recently installed bike boxes in that city:



The second shows some bike boxes in New York City:



I haven't decided what I think about bike boxes, but John S. Allen, the author of "Bicycling Street Smarts" takes a look at them here: http://www.bikexprt.com/bikepol/facil/stopline.htm. Allen does have some concerns about the safety of bike boxes, and he cites some studies to back up his concerns.

The final video comes from Los Angeles, where Slate V Editor Andy Bowers describes "the stupidest bike lane in America":



I hope you enjoyed today's triple feature!

Labels: advocacy, bike boxes, bike lanes, cycling, safety

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:29 PM

Saturday, March 22, 2008

"Russian roulette" in Indianapolis

After more than 200 accidents and four deaths involving cyclists and motorists in the Indianapolis area last year, the Indianapolis Star reports local cycling advocates are hoping education and respect will go a long way to a safer 2008.

"It's intimidating as a cyclist," said Jonathan Juillerat, general manager of Nebo Ridge Bicycles in Carmel. "Riding city streets sometimes feels like Russian roulette, so I made a conscious decision not to ride as much because of that. Eventually, I feel like my number will be up because motorists aren't paying attention."

Nancy Tibbett -- president of the Central Indiana Bicycling Association, best known for putting on the Hilly Hundred and N.I.T.E. Ride each year -- told the Star that Indiana has a long way to go before being thought of as a bicycle-friendly state. She also said most roads in the Indianapolis area aren't designed for motorists and cyclists to co-exist.

She did note that progress is being made on bike lanes and bike routes in the region. Until then, she suggest that motorists and cyclists can share the roads if they traffic laws.

The Indiana Bicycle Coalition is attempting to educate cyclists and motorists about their rights and obligations. The coalition has published brochures urging cyclists and motorists to share the road and to follow the rules of the road.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Indiana, safety

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:46 PM

Monday, March 03, 2008

Reunited and it feels so good

I know the hardy souls who are able to ride their bicycles all year long won't be impressed, but I got around to getting in my first 14 outdoor cycling miles of 2008 on Sunday.

Even with the strong, steady winds that usually go along with unseasonably warm days in Midwest -- we were up in the 70s -- I had to get out Sunday. I rode from my house to lunch at the St. Louis Bread Co. restaurant in downtown Belleville, then I rode the MetroLink Trail to Southwestern Illinois College.

There were a lot of families and kids on the trail, which I think it is a good thing. It's good to see people using what few trails we have here in St. Clair County, and I hope someday officials in this county will learn something from our neighbors to the north, Madison County, and build more trails here.

Dave Luecking, who writes the 10 Speed blog for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, also hit the trails Sunday, and he offers a few tips in trail etiquette in Part 1 of his Bicycling Survival Guide. I agree with Dave with the points he makes about cyclists, but my experience on trails also is that a few non-cycling users of trails also can be less than courteous.

I blew a few chances this winter to get some decent miles in because of work on the Tour de Stooges and The Gerry Frierdich Road to Recovery Ride. I tried being a winter cyclist years ago, but my lungs get too sore, no matter what I did, because of residual effects from my childhood asthma.

It looks like it may be a while before I get back outside on the bike. We're expecting about 7 inches of snow tonight and Tuesday and cold temperatures the rest of week.

Labels: Belleville, cycling, trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:33 AM

Sunday, February 24, 2008

2008 Tour of California summary

"Seems it never rains in Southern California.
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before.
It never rains in California.
But, girl, don't they warn ya.
It pours, man, it pours."

With apologies to Albert Hammond, who wrote and recorded the 1970s hit "It Never Rains in Southern California," the finishers of this year's Amgen Tour of California certainly can tell you that it does indeed rain in California.

After getting soaked by the rains drenched some of this year's ride, including the final stage today that ended at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Levi Leipheimer soaked in the glory of having won his second straight Tour of California. Slipstream-Chipotle's David Millar and Christian Vande Velde, a Chicago-area native, filled out the final podium.

2007 Tour of Missouri winner and former Discovery Channel teammate George Hincapie won the final stage, nearly a minute ahead of the pack that included Leipheimer.

Despite the horrible weather -- by Southern California standards -- a large crowd came out for the final stage, according to media reports.

Now that Leipheimer has won the Tour of California, maybe he can win his next battle, getting in the 2008 Tour de France.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 1 comments links to this post 6:56 PM

Monday, February 18, 2008

Let Levi ride!

Fans of Levi Leipheimer no doubt will want to go to his new Web site, LetLeviRide.com, to let their feelings known the Tour de France's decision last week to exclude his new team, Astana, from this year's event because of past doping problems with that team.

In the effort to "save the 2008 Tour de France," Leipheimer is calling on his fans to sign an online petition to have him and his team reinstated in the race.

"There can be no comparison between the Astana team of 2007 and the new Astana," the Web site states. "The entire organizational structure has been rebuilt under the direction of the team’s new General Manager, Johan Bruyneel, who has thoroughly cleaned house. What’s more, Astana has adopted the rigorous doping controls developed by anti-doping expert Dr. Rasmus Damsgaard, and Astana now spends more money on anti-doping controls than any other team in the pro peloton."

In addition to the online petition, T-shirts, hats and stickers will be available soon.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France

Roger 3 comments links to this post 12:04 AM

Friday, February 15, 2008

Economic impact of the Tour of Missouri

Two recent reports by Tour of Missouri organizers and the University of Missouri’s Tourism Economics Research Initiative reveal some interesting numbers about the economic impact of the inaugural 2007 event. It already had been revealed that the race was estimated to bring in $26 million into Missouri's economy. Here's some more numbers:

• The estimated number of spectators totaled 367,566 with 255,529 unique stage spectators.
• St. Louis is estimated to have hosted the most spectators at the beginning or end of a stage,
  with an estimated 50,000 at the final stage of the Tour. Of those, 20,089 were at the St. Louis finish line (Union Station), with the rest scatted along the circuit.
• The fifth stage between Jefferson City and St. Charles came in second with an estimated 45,000 spectators. Of that, 7,478 were at the St. Charles finish.
  
• Household travel parties averaged 2.05 people spending $560.85. In Fiscal Year 2006, average expenditures by domestic travelers in Missouri (per household travel party) were $307.25.
• On average, 41.8% of the start/finish line spectators came from outside the local area. Kansas City had the highest percentage (60.19%), followed by Branson (59.24%) and
  St. Charles (48.23%).
• 25.6% of the out-state respondents stated they had not visited the interview site within the
  past five years. 73% said the Tour of Missouri was very important or extremely important
  in planning their trip.

The organizers of the event contend that the higher numbers at St. Louis and St. Charles stages were the number of spectators at the finish. That may be possible, judging from anecdotal evidence I heard from spectators and personal observations. Many people who may have watched an earlier portion of a stage also traveled to the finish line.

You can see the unfiltered numbers in the Tourism Economics Research Initiative's "The Economic Impact of the 2007 Tour of Missouri" (PDF file). Filtered numbers can be found in the Tour of Missouri's Annual Report (PDF file).

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:36 PM

2008 Amgen Tour of California

Will Levi Leipheimer defend his Amgen Tour of California title? We'll find out next week as the event kicks off Sunday with the Prologue in Palo Alto, Calif.

Although I will leave the expert commentary to the sources listed on the right column of this blog and to California-based blogs such as Fritz's Cycle-Licious, I may talk about aspects of the Tour from time to time.

For those of us stuck in the Midwest, the Versus cable TV channel will be providing same-day coverage of the race, beginning at 4 p.m. CST Sunday. If that's not good enough for you, you can watch each day's stages live, "as live" and highlights at Cycling TV. You can see a lower-resolution version (up to 400 kbs) of the race for free, or you can pay to see a higher-resolution version (up to 1,200 kbs).

It will be odd to see Leipheimer and George Hincapie racing for a team other than the now-disbanded Discovery Cycling Team. Leipheimer will be racing for Astana, while Hincapie will be racing for High Road.

Other top racers entered in the Tour of California include Bobby Julich (Team CSC), Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonan (Quick Step), and David Millar and David Zabriskie (Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30).

Sadly, too, this will be the first Tour of California without Jana Ireton as the Specialized Angel. As reported here last month, a woman from Spain will be the new Specialized Angel. Jana said Specialized wanted an Angel who spoke multiple languages.

Jana said she still be along the sidelines watching the races. While I'm sure the new Specialized Angel will be lovely as she blows kisses to the cyclists as they pass, it won't be the same. Jana really impressed me as a class act; she always sent me and other bloggers who featured her thank-you notes for writing about her.

Although the race is only three years old, it is the gem of Medalist Sports' stable of multiday American stage races. Medalist Sports also plays a key role in the Tour of Georgia and Tour of Missouri.

Let the racing begin!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of California

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:24 AM

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Billie Teneau faces life head on

The Suburban Journals has a nice feature today about Billie Teneau, easily the Gateway Council of Hostelling International's most dedicated volunteer. Here's a brief excerpt from the story:

"A tiny woman, Teneau (pronounced Tea-no) has a big presence. She does nothing halfway and believes in 'supersizing' almost everything she does."

The story focuses on Billie's 50 years of service as an actress and director with the Hawthorne Players, a St. Louis-area community theater group, but it doesn't talk about her contributions to the Gateway Council.

Let me fill in a few of the gaps.

This year alone, she will be one of the ride leaders for the Flat-as-a-Pancake Century Ride on May 31 in New Baden, Ill.; the Peach Pedal Ride on July 26-27 in Belleville, Ill.; and Cycle Across Missouri on June 8-13 in central Missouri. Those are just the major rides. She also leads lots of smaller rides for the Gateway Council over the course of the year.

She's always willing to lend a hand on other people's rides. She is a regular volunteer on the Tour de Stooges that I lead for the Gateway Council. After helping out with registration, Billie then goes out and rides the 30- or 42-mile route.

Billie truly is one of the unsung heroes of the St. Louis cycling scene. If you're on a bicycle ride in the St. Louis area and see her at registration or on the road, be sure to thank her for all she does for cycling in our community.

In the article, Billie is coy about her age, describing herself only as "being a senior citizen for years." I roughly know how old she really is, but in deference to Billie, I'm not saying a word. Let's just say that I hope I have a fraction of her energy when -- or if -- I reach her age.

Labels: cycling, Gateway Council of Hostelling International, St. Louis, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:09 AM

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Sheldon Brown: 1944-2008

One of the pioneers of the Internet cycling community, Sheldon Brown, passed away Sunday night. Fritz of the Cycle-Licious blog reported that he died of a massive heart attack.

Although I never met or communicated with Sheldon, his site was one of the first I visited as I created this Web site back in 2001. Sheldon established the Web site for him and the Harris Cyclery shop in Massachusetts on Dec. 4, 1995.

The site has a bit of a retro look by today's Internet standards, but it has a wealth of information about a wide range of topics from basics for beginners to information about fixed-gear bikes.

It is my hope that someone will keep his site alive as friends of another Internet cycling pioneer, Ken Kifer, did after he was killed by a drunk driver in September 2003.

In the meantime, you can leave a comment at his memorial site.

Labels: cycling, Web site

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:22 AM

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Got $5,000 to spare? Then go to Italy!

Today, I read with great interest -- and great envy-- the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story by Scott Anderson about his recent Backwoods trip to the Tuscany region of Italy.

"Riding a bike offers a unique up-front and personal perspective on whatever strange land you might be visiting. On our ride, the best part was stopping and talking to the folks along the way," Scott wrote.

That also sums up the reason why I do so many weeklong tours, although not nearly as luxurious as the Backwoods trips..

Scott wrote in detail about his travels, and he had this to say about the hills of the region:

To an active bicyclist, 45 miles a day doesn't sound like a lot. And, to be sure, Backroads and other touring companies offer trips in Italy that feature more mileage and more elevation each day.

But you must consider the hills when planning a trip for Tuscany, because these are hills in the big sense of the word. In some cases, they stretch for several miles, with an angle of incline approaching 8 percent, with five or six "switchbacks" to help in the ascent. (For comparison, the Tour De France features hills in the 10 percent to 12 percent range of incline).

He took several wonderful photos, so I encourage you to go take a look.

I was ready to go right now -- until I saw the price tag. The ride itself cost nearly $4,000 per person. Air fare from St. Louis to Rome was $900 per person. The train trip from Rome to Florence was $100 per person.

I have no doubt the price is worth it. Tracy, a friend of mine from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, loves traveling with Backwoods, and she takes trips (mostly domestic) with Backwoods each year. Maybe someday I'll save enough pennies to make that trip.

In the meantime, I will have to settle with more economical trips. In June, I plan to do either the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure, the Katy Trail Ride or the Grand Illinois Trail and Parks ride. In late September-early October, I hope to be able to do Cycle North Carolina, and I hope I still have a few bucks available for BubbaFest in early November.

I foresee one of those weeks falling by the wayside, but I want to hit the road this year. I better start getting in shape now!

Labels: cycling, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:27 PM

Tracking bike problems in St. Louis

St. Louis now has two Web sites where cyclists can keep track of trouble spots and post details about accidents and other problems.

The first site is The Right Ride. Users can plot hazards on a Google-generated map, then explain what make those areas hazardous. The Right Ride also has similar services for Chicago, Kansas City, Boston, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Washington, Phoenix and Hartford, Conn.

The second site is the STLBiking.com forums, where users are asked to describe traffic incidents involving bicycles. Users are asked to give the date, location, a factual description of the incident, names of involved parties, physical damages and injuries.

Hopefully, the two sites will succeed in keeping cyclists safe and prompting city, county and state governments to take action to correct the problems.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, safety, St. Louis

Roger 3 comments links to this post 12:57 AM

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

2008 Tour of Missouri route announced

Organizers of the Tour of Missouri have announced the start/finish cities for the 2008 race. They are:

STAGE 1 / Monday, Sept. 8
St. Joseph to Kansas City, road race with circuits (90 mi / 144.81 km)

STAGE 2 / Tuesday, September 9
Clinton to Springfield, road race with circuits (125 mi / 201.13 km)

STAGE 3 / Wednesday, September 10
Branson, individual time trial (18 mi / 28.6 km)

STAGE 4 / Thursday, September 11
Lebanon to Rolla, road race with circuits (105 mi / 168.95 km)

STAGE 5 / Friday, September 12
St. James to Jefferson City, road race with circuits (100 mi / 160.9 km)

STAGE 6 / Saturday, September 13
Hermann to St. Charles, road race (110 mi / 177 km)

STAGE 7 / Sunday, September 14
St. Louis, circuit race (75 mi / 120.68 km)

The racers can expect more undulating rolling hills on this year's route. While there aren't any major climbs by professional cycling standards, the riders on the 2007 ride learned that Missouri isn't a flat state by any means.

It wasn't surprising to learn the Tour of Missouri is returning to St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Branson, since those were the cities than drew the biggest crowds last year. The addition of a stage allows the Tour to add a stage along old Route 66 between Lebanon and Rolla. The exact routes of the stages will be announced later.

"The Tour of Missouri is perfectly positioned between the Olympic Games in Bejing and the World Championships in late September," said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of the event organizers Medalist Sports, in a press release. "We can expect the field to include some of the top cyclists who have either competed in the Games or are preparing for the Worlds. This will be a good course for them."

The Tour of Missouri will field 120 of the world's top cyclists, many of whom raced in last year's inaugural race and were very happy with the terrain.

"Winning the Tour of Missouri was one of the highlights of my season. I received tremendous support from everyone and the fans along the route were awesome. The Tour of Missouri goes through some beautiful countryside, and I hope to return in September," George Hincapie, 2007 Tour of Missouri overall winner said in the press release.

Here are some links to some stories about the 2008 Tour of Missouri:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Kansas City Star
• Springfield News-Leader

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:01 PM

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Chief is coming home!

Gerry "Chief" Frierdich is coming home today!

Gerry, the Belleville, Ill., recumbent cyclist and award-winning photographer critically injured in August 2007 when his bicycle was struck by a pickup truck, will return home after spending months at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis County and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Gerry is paralyzed from the chest down, and he has limited use of his arms. Friends of Gerry have been remodeling his home so it will be accessible to him.

I've been spending much of the week working on a poster and fliers for the event, hence the lack of posts this week. The work on the benefit ride, planned for May 31, is much more important than working on this blog.

In addition to the ride and other events in 2008, the Kiwanis Club of Fairview Heights will be putting on The Branson on the Road show April 11-12. If you purchase tickets with the form at the ChiefGetWell.com Web site, a portion of the proceeds will go to Gerry's trust fund.

As always, you can learn more about Gerry at the ChiefGetWell.com site.

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:40 PM

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Tour of Missouri press conferences canceled

On Friday, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was supposed to hold press conference in St. Louis, Columbia, Kansas City and Springfield about the economic impact of the Tour of Missouri bicycle race on the Show-Me State's economy.

But those press conferences were canceled.

The Springfield News-Leader had reported that the governor, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Tourism Director Blaine Lieutkemeyer had planned to visit cities that hosted the tour in 2007. But later, it reported that the press conferences were not on Blunt's calendar for Friday and that they would be rescheduled.

No reason was given for the cancellation, although at least one blogger speculated it was because of grilling Blunt faced at a Thursday press conference over a lawsuit that alleges Blunt played a role in a plan to destroy public records to cover up political activities by his staff.

Meanwhile, the governor and Kinder will announce cities that will participate in the tour later this month and will release information on the race route in February, Laurie Dawson, Kinder's director of administration, told the News-Leader.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:46 AM

Friday, January 11, 2008

Distracted Drivers Task Force

Illinois' Distracted Drivers Task Force began hearings this week to study the problem of distracted driving in Illinois, with particular attention to the impact of recent communications technology.

During a hearing in Springfield, the task force heard from the parents of Urbana cyclist Matt Wilhelm, who was died in 2006 after he was struck by a car driven by a woman who was downloading a cell phone ring.

State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, and state Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign, sponsored legislation creating the task force in response to the death of Gloria and Chuck Wilhelm's son.

"We can't legislate common sense, but we need a deterrent to selfish and reckless behavior," Gloria Wilhelm testified at the task force's first meeting on Wednesday, according to the News-Gazette.

The task force is required to give its final report to the General Assembly by July 1. The next public hearing by the task force headed by Secretary of State Jess White will be at 11 a.m. Feb. 19 at the James Thompson Center in Chicago.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that efforts will continue to create the offense of "negligent vehicular homicide." If the bill is passed, a motorist found guilty of the offense in a fatal accident could face up to a year in jail.

The legislation, prompted by Matt Wilhelm's death, stalled in the General Assembly last session, stalled despite having been passed by the House.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Illinois, safety

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:11 PM

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Catching up

Just catching up on cycling headlines from the past few days. A couple of them reference the Tour of Missouri, so here goes:

TOUR OF AMERICA ORGANIZER SPEAKS OUT: British-based Cycling Weekly did an interview with Frank Arokiasamy, the Malaysian-born, U.S.-based businessman attempting to put together the ambitious Tour of America race. Arokiasamy still thinks he can get UCI approval for a 2008 ride, find sponsors and offer $1 million to the winner. Cycling Weekly asked him about the fact his proposed September race would conflict with the Tour of Missouri:

Q: Your proposed dates also clash with the new Tour of Missouri, which was very successful last year. In terms of goodwill and PR, it's not a great move is it?

A: Not at all. I don't think it's a good move, but in the big picture we don't have a choice. You can't put a race as big as this on the whole sporting calendar and not step on some toes. I regret that deeply. I'd like to talk to the people at the Tour of Missouri so that everyone can exist and complement each other and co-exist. When you want to do something big, you have no choice but to step on some toes. Tell me when there is a spot on the calendar when it doesn't clash. If someone can do that, please tell me.

The conflict not only involves overlapping dates, but the fact Tour of America would have stages in the Show-Me State at the same time as Tour of Missouri.

DAN SCHMATZ MOVES ON: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch did a story about Dan Schmatz, the St. Louis-area native who gained notoriety when he broke his arm after hitting an armadillo during the second stage of the 2007 Tour of Missouri.

Since then, Schmatz has left pro racing, but he returned to his second home in Colorado with a renewed sense of purpose, the Post-Dispatch reported. Schmatz has started a new career in real estate management and is passing on his racing expertise as director of the THF Realty Cycling Team, an amateur team that plans to participate in 10 to 15 U.S. races this year.

To mark the change in his life, Schmatz also has created a new version of his blog, Your Bike Sucks.

ILLINOIS 3-FEET LAW: In their roundups of new laws that took effect Jan. 1, most daily papers in Illinois only gave a sentence or two to the new law that requires motorists to give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing a bicyclists. But there were a couple of papers that took it a step further.

The Aurora Beacon News did a full story about the new law, and it cited startling statistics: According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were nearly nine cyclist-motorist accidents per day in the state of Illinois in 2006, with the vast majority of them taking place in Chicago. In 2006, 26 cyclists were killed in road accidents in Illinois.

The Kane County Chronicle, which serves some of Chicago's suburbs, also wrote about the law.

BIKE SEX CHANGE: My cycling friends Jody and Arlene may consider this sacrilege, but San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Curran recently wrote about how he turned his daughter's pink bicycle into a more masculine silver.

Here's how Curran described the original appearance of the bike, a $30 Magna purchased from Target:

This bike featured three shades of pink. And little pink flowers on top of the pink. You could safely accuse it of pink overkill. In big letters on the chain guard, it said "Starburst." No boy bikes are named Starburst.

How did he perform the sex-change operation? Duct tape. There's a lot more to this story, but I won't spoil the ending here.

Labels: advocacy, bicycles, cycling, Illinois, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:27 PM

Friday, January 04, 2008

More bands on bikes

In 2006, I wrote extensively about the Ditty Bops' Bicycle Tour, which happened to include stops in St. Louis, Chicago, Springfield, Ill., and Kansas City, Mo., but there's two bands that are taking the concept of bicycle concert tours a step further.

On Oct. 18, the bands The Ginger Ninjas and Shake Your Peace! launched the Pleasant Revolution Bicycle Music Tour. They are riding more than 5,000 miles and playing more than 90 pedal-powered shows from the foothills of the Sierras in North San Juan, California, to the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico. There will be no sag-wagons, and no buses hauling their gear: Everything -- including the 800 Watt human-powered public address system -- is being hauled entirely on bicycle!

According to the Ginger Ninjas' blog, the bands are supposed to be in Mazatlan, Mexico, today, and they're slated to be in Mexico City on Jan. 22-28. The tour is slated to end Feb. 11 in Palenque, Mexico.

"Our way of life threatens our way of life," said Ginger Ninjas frontman Kipchoge Spencer, described in the band's press release as a San Francisco Bay Area bike culture hero and co-originator of the Xtracycle Sport Utility Bicycle. "As people resonate with that point and start to contemplate giving up their cars and forsaking a lot of other conveniences they're accustomed to, on the surface it could seem like they're sacrificing and losing a lot. But the Pleasant Revolution is about realizing that by losing this stuff, we gain a life that's way more rich, humane, and happy. Anybody who stops driving and starts biking feels that. Biking doesn't feel like losing a car, it feels like you're getting your life back! The message of the Pleasant Revolution isn't: 'sacrifice til it hurts,' it's more, 'Drop the excess, and have the time of your life.'"

In the press release, the bands contend the tour will join other 2007 Bicycle Music Movement landmarks in what could be called "the year of the bicycle-based musician" – a year that witnessed a 600-mile, 25-show Shake Your Peace! Bicycle Tour of Utah in April and May 2007 (the first significant bicycle music tour to be accomplished without a sag wagon, and using a pedal powered PA system).

During the Ditty Bops Bicycle Tour, Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald did indeed ride their bikes from city to city -- I had the pleasure of riding with them between St. Louis and Edwardsville, Ill. -- but a support van carried their equipment and other members of their entourage.

The Ginger Ninjas and Shake Your Peace! also cited the success of the San Francisco Bicycle Music Festival on Aug. 11, a 100 percent bike-powered and bike-hauled event that the musicians say heralded the arrival of the Bicycle Music Movement to the world. The bands said the event drew 10 bands, five public venues, a 400 Watt pedal-powered PA system and outrageous cruiser rides taking over the city's streets between each festival stop.

Above, I've the video of the Ginger Ninjas for their song "Dick Cheney (Needs More Love)." I hope to post some more songs soon. Enjoy!

Labels: cycling, music, tours

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:18 AM

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Happy New Year!

OK, I'm a little late with this, but I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year! With the coming of the new year, it's time to reflect on 2007 with a best/worst list:

BEST EVENT OF 2007: By far and away, the Tour of Missouri was the best event of 2007 for those of us in the Midwest. At first, I wondered whether Missourians would embrace the race, but big crowds at all the finish lines in the event proved that Missourians and the Midwest would come out for world-class cycling. Especially impressive was the fact that the final stage in St. Louis drew about 55,000 people despite the fact that the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams also were playing in downtown St. Louis that afternoon. The fact that Tour of Missouri was the U.S. swan song for the Discovery Channel team no doubt was a factor in the large crowds, and it was most fitting that George Hincapie, Lance Armstrong's longtime lieutenant, won the race.

BEST/WORST WEEKLONG RIDE OF 2007: The West Shoreline Tour in Michigan. It was my only weeklong tour of the year. The ride was great because of the scenery and because I managed to miss an August heat wave in St. Louis that week. The ride wasn't so good because I didn't get enough training in beforehand, meaning I rode much slower and with more rest breaks than I what I was used to.

BEST SINGLE-DAY RIDES OF 2007: One of them was my first significant ride of 2007 back in March, when I and three other friends did a 40-mile trip from Alton, Ill., to Pere Marquette State Park. Another was the "Donut Trail" ride, an informal ride with three other friends that toured some of south St. Louis's best doughnut shops. And, of course, the Belleville Area Bicycle and Eating Society's winery rides at Hidden Lake Winery near Aviston, Ill., and Ravissant Winery in Belleville, Ill., always rank among my favorites.

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF 2007: The Tour de Stooges drew more than 700 riders last year, about 200 people more than our previous high! It still continues to amaze me that people from 14 states attended the ride. I'm a bit nervous about the 2008 ride because we had to move the ride from its longtime home at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., to Highland, Ill. However, even well-established rides such as the Hilly Hundred in Indiana have had to move because the ride outgrew their facilities, so we're confident the move will be a good one for the ride.

BEST TREND OF 2007: The willingness of the Illinois General Assembly to pass bicycle-friendly legislation. In a year not known for productivity in state government, lawmakers did approve a bill that requires motorists to give three feet of clearance when passing cyclists, allows cyclists to use their right arms to signal a right turn, among other things. The legislature also passed a bill that requires driver's education courses in Illinois to educate people about their obligations to share the road with cyclists. The most impressive triumph was the legislature's ability to override a veto by Gov. Rod Blagojevich of a "Complete Streets" bill, which requires bicycle and pedestrian ways to be considered when constructing roads in urban areas in Illinois.

As for 2008, it looks like May will be a hectic month for me. In addition to Tour de Stooges, I will be working with friends and relatives of Gerry Frierdich, the Belleville cyclist critically injured when his recumbent bicycle was struck by a pickup truck in August, for a fund-raising ride. Gerry is continuing his long recovery at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, but the good news is that he may be able to return to Belleville later this month.

Despite the organization work that goes into those rides, my goal is to balance that out with more cycling miles in March, April and May so that I will be ready for weeklong tours in the summer and fall. I haven't determined which rides I'm doing, but I should know by February.

I hope all of you will be able to reach your cycling goals for 2008!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:55 AM

Monday, December 31, 2007

Gimme 3 feet, gimme 3 feet mister

With apologies to Lynard Skynyrd and the band's classic rock song "Gimme Three Steps," here's a reminder for all motorists in Illinois:

Won't you give me three feet,
gimme three feet mister,
gimme three feet from my bike!
Gimme three feet,
gimme three feet mister,
and you'll safely pass me by!

The new Illinois law that requires motorists to give at least three feet of clearance when they pass a cyclist goes in effect New Year's Day. Motorists must maintain that clearance until they safely pass the bicycle.

The new law also allows cyclists to extend their right arms to signal a right turn and allows cyclists to "take the lane" where right turns are authorized.

In addition, it also requires bicyclists -- in most cases -- to ride as far to the right as practicable and safe. The law previously only said as far to the right as practicable. The League of Illinois Bicyclists contended that the law as previously written was misinterpreted as being as far to the right as possible; it says the new phrasing re-enforces exceptions while providing some flexibility.

The image above clicks to a larger version of LIB's explanation of the law. You also may download a PDF version of the explanation at LIB's Web site.

Also starting New Year's Day, all Illinois residents -- including cyclists -- will be able to breathe a little easier. The Smoke-Free Illinois Act goes in effect tomorrow, meaning smoking will be banned in nearly all Illinois restaurants, bars, workplaces and public buildings. Smoking also is banned within 15 feet of a public business entrance, open windows and ventilation intakes.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Illinois, safety

Roger 3 comments links to this post 10:33 AM

Sunday, December 23, 2007

New mecca of cycling?

I had hoped to make it out to one of the sessions of the World Class Cycling Summit held Tuesday and Saturday in Wentzville, Mo., but work and Christmas obligations got in the way.

Fortunately for us, the Suburban Journals made it out to Tuesday's session at the Holiday Inn in Wentzville.

There, conversations revolved around one central theme, the Suburban Journals reported: How to make the St. Louis region a mecca for the sport of cycling. "It has gone from bottom to top; we've got more support than we've ever seen, and right now is really the time to capitalize on it," said Brent Hugh of the Missouri Bicycle Federation.

Wentzville Mayor Paul Lambi hopes to build an indoor velodrome in his community, located in western St. Charles County. The Suburban Journals reported that Lambi announced he is working to acquire for the city land for park ground. Although in the preliminary stages, the property could house a velodrome along with soccer fields, baseball diamonds and trails. Other options would be asking voters to approve a general obligation bond or seeking local sponsorship.

The panelists who spoke discussed other general goals, including obtaining state money for bicycle routes and cyclist education. To see the full list, go to the story.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Missouri, St. Louis, velodrome

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:25 AM

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Highway 40 and bicycles

Come Jan. 2, there will be plenty of fear and loathing in the St. Louis metropolitan area. That's the day when Highway 40 -- that's what the locals call Interstate 64-U.S. 40 -- closes for a major construction project. The highway will not be completely open again until Dec. 31, 2009.

Since Highway 40 is a major traffic artery for the St. Louis region, there is much concern about how people are going to get around. Traffic experts hope that people will turn to Metro, the St. Louis area's mass transit system, hope that employers offer work-at-home or flexible schedules or use alternative means of transportation, including the bicycle.

But they also suspect most people will simply find different routes to drive their cars. Highway officials already have or are making plans to create more lanes for vehicles.

And that's what concerns many members of the cycling community. An article in this week's Suburban Journals addresses that issue. One cyclist who regularly commutes in St. Louis County already reports more difficulties in riding his bike on Clayton Road, one of the roads that will be carrying part of the load from Highway 40.

Stephanie Leon Streeter, manager of the highway planning division of the St. Louis County Highways and Traffic Department, said roads the are being remarked to add lanes will remain available to bicyclists because they have a legal right to be on road because of state statutes.

"These roads are certainly open to bicyclists, but this does not mean these routes are ideal, especially with the amount of traffic, which will be historic, when Highway 40 closes," Streeter told the Suburban Journals.

Trailnet is working with St. Louis County officials to develop alternative bicycle routes between Spoede Road and Forest Park in St. Louis that are safer than the roads that are being remarked.

The increase of motorists on roads that are now popular with cyclists, and the possibility there will be more people riding their bikes as a means of transportation, raises concerns about conflicts between motorists and cyclists.

A recent letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Along for the Ride column shows the conflict. One writer, Jerry F., wrote this:

Conway Road seems to have become the exclusive path of bicyclists on weekends and many late afternoons. Many times they refuse to move to the right of a very narrow two-lane road so cars can get by. When Highway 40 shuts down, putting more automobiles on Conway, I am quite concerned about the safety of both bicyclists and drivers. Is there anything that can be done to restrict the bicycles to certain times on Conway, or restrict bicyclists to parts of Conway that might be a little wider?

It's clear from this letter that motorists need to learn to know that Missouri allows bicycles on most roads in the state. The Missouri Bicycle Federation has plenty of resources that explains state bicycle laws and how they pertain to cyclists and motorists alike.

A recent case in Webster Groves, Mo., has raised some doubts whether law enforcement officials in St. Louis County are aware of the laws. The case was bantered over in the STLBiking.com forum, and the Suburban Journals took a look at it:

Rachel Abbott of Glendale had an experience all her own that she thinks went against state statutes that allow her to be on the road with motorists.

She said that on Dec. 3 she was cycling home from work on Kirkham Road, just East of Elm Avenue in Webster Groves.

"At 5:40 p.m. a police officer turned on his lights and pulled me over," Abbott said. "When I questioned about my offense, he said I can't be riding on the street 10 miles per hour impeding traffic, and that I had to ride on the sidewalk. This was confusing to me because I was riding all the way to the right, and there are two lanes of traffic flowing in each direction."

She told the officer her understanding of what he was saying was that she could not ride on the road.

Abbott told the officer she had been commuting for years and had never been informed of this law.

"When I questioned him, he threatened me with a ticket. He asked for my identification and in a controlling manner said, 'Now, are you going to ride on the sidewalk?'"

She just shook her head yes and got out of there, she said.

Abbott did not obtain the name of the officer.

Webster Groves Police Chief Dale Curtis said Abbott's complaint is legitimate if the officer suggested that she ride her bicycle on the sidewalk.

"Telling someone to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk is not correct," he said.

Curtis said the police officer does have the right to instruct bicyclists to get off the road if they are impeding traffic.

He said after hearing about this incident, the supervisory staff is reviewing the state statutes on bicycle use with officers during briefing sessions.

My take on that and other similar situations is that the police officers in question may simply be ignorant of traffic laws and how they apply to cyclists. I'm sure there are a few officers who don't like bicyclists and would rather see us stay off the road, but I'm inclined to cut the vast majority of officers slack. They have an awful lot they have to remember, and cycling traffic laws likely are a low priority for them.

Patty Vinyard, the acting executive director of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, agrees.

"Individual police officers, like the public at large, may or may not be fully aware of the law as it pertains to bicycling on the roadways," she said in a recent e-mail statement to me. "Training materials and courses for law enforcement are available from NHTSA and other sources, and we would be happy to assist local police departments in making bike safety training available to their officers."

She pointed out resources for police officers that are available through the League of Illinois Bicyclists. I wrote about those recently. While they are written especially for Illinois law enforcement officials, there are enough similarities between Illinois and Missouri law that the principles could benefit officers in Missouri.

Patty and I are in full agreement that more, and more effective, bike education is needed for bicyclists, motorists and police.

I also would add in closing that is if we cyclists expect motorists and police officers to accept that we have a right to the road, we in turn must be responsible cyclists and follow the law as well.

Labels: advocacy, commuting, cycling, safety, St. Louis

Roger 3 comments links to this post 12:09 AM

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Think winter

Warren T., who added a couple of comments to my post Thursday about the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, Kan., pointed out a site with a lot of great shots over the four days of the event. I invite you to visit the Flickr site and take a look.

I didn't get a chance to freeze my buns off in Kansas City, but the mud, snow and ice had to have made things interesting. You can also look at the VeloNews articles in the right column to see some nice shots.

While I'm on the subject of winter cycling, Patty Vinyard of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation passed along a link to Chicago Bike Winter. The site tells you that with the proper gear and a little determination, you can be a winter cyclist. It even gives you a few tips.

The site has a schedule of events for Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Wis., Ann Arbor, Mich., and -- if you look hard enough -- St. Louis. So, if you want to want to add your event, be my guest. Just don't expect to see me out there. (I'd like to be, but cold air brings out the residual effects of my childhood asthma. That's why I'm a hiker instead of a cyclist during the winter.)

Labels: cycling, cyclocross, winter

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:34 PM

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Tour of America

Plans are still being made for the Tour of America in 2008, albeit much shorter and less ambitious than originally planned.

The race is slated to begin Sept. 6 in New York City and end Sept. 28 in Palo Alto, Calif. In between, there are two stages still slated for the St. Louis area, a 143-mile stage from Casey, Ill., to St. Louis on Sept. 13 and a 134-mile stage from St. Louis to Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 14. The 15th would be a "rest day" in which the cyclists and their crews would fly to Denver and resume the race there on the 16th.

The original plan for the race called for a 250-mile stage from Indianapolis to St. Louis on Sept. 12, a 130-mile stage from St. Louis to Carbondale, Ill., on Sept. 13, and a 205-mile stage from Carbondale to Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 14.

There remains several obstacles to this event:

• The event still is not on the Union Cycliste Internationale schedule for 2008, meaning few major cyclists would show up.
• The event would conflict with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of Missouri, among other races. The Tour of the Missouri, by the way, is on the UCI schedule for Sept. 8-14.
• Would Missouri have sufficient law-enforcement resources available to escort Tour of Missouri and Tour of America on Sept. 13-14? My hunch would be that the Missouri Highway Patrol would make Tour of Missouri a much higher priority.
• And what about the transition from low altitude to high altitude? Columbia is about 760 feet above sea level. Denver is 5,280 feet above sea level. I know we're talking about high-level athletes, but you still have to wonder about such a drastic change in elevation.

In short, I remain rather skeptical whether the Tour of America actually will happen.

Thanks to my new Facebook friend Fritz at the Cyclelicious blog and VeloNews for reporting the new developments. Yep, I'm on Facebook as well as MySpace and LinkedIn, and frankly, I think Facebook is a lot more fun!

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:59 PM

It's time to play in the mud

For those of you who like to play in the mud or watch others play in the mud, the USA Cycling 2007 Cyclocross National Championships started today in Kansas City, Kan.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of cyclocross (PDF file), here's a brief description from the organizers of the Kansas City event:

Cyclocross is a cross between road racing and mountain biking. Competitors race laps around a course featuring a variety of surfaces (pavement, grass, sand, gravel, dirt, etc.) while negotiating a number of obstacles that may require them to dismount and remount their bicycle. Beginning in the fall and running through the winter months, cyclocross used to be mostly popular for off-season training, but has become a very popular sport in its own right.

The event takes place at Wyandotte County Park, at the intersection of State Avenue and North 126th Street in Kansas City, near the Kansas Speedway. Events began this morning and will continue throughout the weekend, culminating with the elite women's and men's races on Sunday.

Cyclists can expect sloppy conditions. In addition to the major ice storm that hit eastern Kansas and western Missouri earlier in the week, snow is in the forecast for Saturday.

In addition to the event's Web site, which includes a blog, the Kansas City Star has written an overview of the event and a feature about a Topeka, Kan., participant. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also did an article that features St. Louis-area cyclocross racer Mike Heffernan and Russ Murphy.

Labels: cycling, cyclocross, Kansas, racing

Roger 3 comments links to this post 10:22 AM

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Finally, photos!

On a truly dreary day with the threat of freezing rain, I couldn't think of anything better to do than scan in my photos from the 2007 West Shoreline Tour made it to the site before the BubbaFest photos did.

Someday, I'll buy a digital camera. Yes, I am aware the quality of digital cameras have increased while the prices have decreased.

But for now, I'm still happy with film.

If you're as tired of the cold, icy weather that has hit much of the country as I am, take a look at the BubbaFest photos and think warm thoughts!

Labels: cycling, photography, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:31 PM

Friday, December 07, 2007

Chicago's new city sticker

In 2008, Chicago's car owners will get a visual reminder to share the road with cyclists.

Patsy Diaz, a 17-year-old senior at Jones College Prep, won the city’s 2008-09 vehicle sticker art design contest, City Clerk Miguel del Valle announced Wednesday. Diaz’s design fusing the Chicago skyline with images of a car, a bicycle and the words “share the road,” received the most of the 21,238 votes cast online and at City Hall during the final week of November.

“I thought it would be a cool idea just to show the bicycle through the mirror, showing to the people how it makes them aware that bicycles are right there to share the road,” Diaz told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Her winning design will adorn nearly 1.3 million car windshields beginning in June.

More than 400 students from 60 Chicago high schools participated in the annual contest by submitting artwork that incorporated the theme "Share the Road" into their designs, according to a press release from the City Clerk's office. They were invited to submit artwork highlighting the City of Chicago's efforts to make Chicago's roads safe and friendly to all, including bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists. A panel of independent professionals, including artists, civic leaders, bicycle and transportation groups reviewed all entries and voted for the top ten.

You can see the second- and third-place finishers designs at the City Clerk's Web site.

Labels: advocacy, Chicago, cycling, Illinois

Roger 1 comments links to this post 12:19 PM

Thursday, December 06, 2007

World Class Cycling Summit

The Missouri Bicycle Federation and the Westplex Sports, Arts and Entertainment Local Organizing Committee will host a "World Class Cycling Summit on two dates -- both will have the same program, so you can plan to come to either of the two:

* Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m., I-70 Holiday Inn in Wentzville, Missouri, 900 Corporate Pkwy, Wentzville, Mo.

* Saturday, Dec. 22, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m., Crossings at Wentzville, 100 Mall Parkway, Wentzville, Mo.

The groups are looking for the help of a select group of people to make the Westplex region of the St. Louis metropolitan area -- St. Charles, Warren, Franklin and Lincoln counties -- and the entire state of Missouri a world=class bicycling center.

You can reserve your spot at the summit by sending an e-mail to Ed Watkins of the Westplex group at edwatkins@charter.net

Why a "World Class Cycling Summit?" And why in the Westplex? The groups offer reasons listed here:

The success of the 2007 Tour of Missouri has brought unprecedented international attention to bicycling in Missouri.

The recent announcement of a 46-mile "Kansas City Connection" to the Katy Trail on the western end, and 11 additional miles between St. Charles and Machens on the eastern end, means that the nation's longest rail-trail will soon be even longer -- over 280 miles.

Our dream of making a trail connection between Missouri's two largest metropolitan areas is very close to reality. Imagine bicycling from the St. Louis Arch to Kansas City's Liberty Memorial on a network of trails stretching state line to state line!

These two events have put our state out on the world stage as a place where people want to live, work, visit--and bicycle.

Now what is it going to take to make Missouri into the bicycling Mecca that it really should be? ...

At the World Class Cycling Summit, we will talk about where we are, where we need to go, and what we need to do now to become a world-class bicycling center -- both as a region and as a state.

Representatives of MoBikeFed, Trailnet, and other bicycling and community organizations will be there to talk about the statewide, regional, and local perspectives.

Why in the Westplex?

When Stage 5 of the 2007 Tour of Missouri ended in St. Charles--to the biggest finish line crowd of the week -- several Westplex leaders saw the future of their region before their eyes.

The Tour of Missouri Local Organization Committee had already made the decision to become a permanent, standing committee dedicated to bringing events into the Westplex area -- events like marathons, runs, triathlons, and -- of course -- bicycle races.

Area leaders, organized by Ed Watkins, were able to raise $70,000 in just a few weeks to create the Westplex Sports, Arts and Entertainment L.O.C.

Ed has played a central role in creating support and raising funds for an amazing number of local, state, and national project such as: The St. Charles Family Arena, the TR Hughes Ballpark, the Robert F. Hyland Performance Arena, the St. Peters Rec-Plex and Olympic Swimming & Diving Center, the National Fantasy Baseball Camps for the Hearing Impaired, the Ozzie Smith Stadium, and many others.

The Westplex L.O.C. now wants to make the Westplex area a model "Bicycling Center."

The Bicycling Center will implement many of the best practices for creating bicycle-friendly communities, practices that have been tried and tested by communities across the U.S. and the world. To these proven best practices we will add opportunities unique to the Westplex area.

Here are just some of the possibilities we will explore:

• Bicycle-friendly cities where children and adults feel comfortable riding for health, recreation, or to visit friends, parks, schools, and shopping by bicycle.
• A regional trails network anchored by the statewide Katy Trail.
• Better promote the Katy Trail and the region as a tourist and recreation destination.
• A world-class velodrome.
• Regular bicycle rides, races, and events, both amateur and professional.
• Bring unique bicycle-related businesses to the Westplex.
• Creating a "culture of bicycling" what will set Westplex apart from almost everywhere else in the United States.

The groups have a rather ambitious goal. In the past, St. Charles County has developed a reputation of being somewhat unfriendly toward cyclists, who sometimes are told by motorists to "get on the trail," referring to the Katy Trail that runs through the county. I don't do enough riding in St. Charles County to know first-hand whether that reputation is deserved.

I do think the Tour of Missouri may have opened some eyes to the economic impact of cycling, and the success of the trail system in Madison County, Ill., can serve as a model for the Westplex to follow.

Labels: cycling, Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:40 PM

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Gerry Frierdich shirts available at Touring Cyclist shop

The T-shirt that raising money for seriously injured Belleville, Ill., recumbent cyclist Gerry Frierdich is now available at the Fairview Heights Touring Cyclist shop at 101 Lanaghan Drive.

The shirt is being sold for $15 and is available in adult sizes S, M, L, XL and XL. For now, the shirt is only available at the Fairview Heights location of the St. Louis-based bicycle chain. Gerry was a frequent customer of the shop, and store manager Dawn Weber wants to do whatever she can to help Gerry. Dawn also is active in a committee of friends and family that is planning a benefit bicycle ride, which will be held either in May or June of 2008.

Here is a map showing the site of the Fairview Heights shop:

View Larger Map

Shirts also are available by contacting Sandy Gore, one of Gerry's friends. In addition to the adult sizes listed above, they are available in children's sizes S, M and L for $12. To place an order, contact Sandy at 4gores@charter.net or 618-277-5129. So that your order doesn’t get delayed, please specify the number of shirts and sizes. Payment will be due when your order is picked up. You can get more information about the shirt and Gerry at the Chief Get Well Web site.

Gerry was seriously injured Aug. 19 when his bicycle was struck by a pickup truck on South Green Mount Road in Belleville. He has paralysis from the chest down. He can move his forearms, but has no fine motor movement in his hands. Gerry is undergoing therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Labels: accidents, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:05 AM

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Wide World of Bicycling Blogs

Verbosity VELOcity, which gives you a strong dose of Catholicism with your cycling.

There's a great world of bicycling blogs out there, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Labels: blogs, cycling

Roger 4 comments links to this post 3:52 PM

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Tragic accident can't take away photographer's spirit

The Sunday edition of the Belleville News-Democrat has an extensive feature about Gerry "Chief" Frierdich, the Belleville photographer and recumbent cyclist seriously injured in an accident Aug. 19.

About 6:10 that morning, he was riding his bicycle on the shoulder of South Green Mount Road in Belleville when a pickup veered off and slammed into him.

Gerry doesn't remember the accident, according to the article by Sunday Magazine editor Maureen Houston. He woke about five weeks later, a quadraplegic. Cervical discs 6 and 7 in his spine suffered severe damage from the impact. Every ligament and tendon near the discs were torn.

He has paralysis from the chest down. He can move his forearms, but has no fine motor movement in his hands. His diaphragm is weak, but building his strength back will help him breathe easier, said his sister, Robyn Weilbacher.

Over the last couple of months, Gerry dealt with four broken ribs, a blood infection, pleursy, pneumonia, a collapsed lung, a traecheotomy, multiple infections, peripheral vision loss in his right eye, constant pain in his back and left arm, and a lot of wondering about the future.

"It's scary," Gerry told the News-Democrat. "You wake up and you just can't move. I'm taking it day by day. If I think about it too much, I get depressed."

On Thursday, Gerry was transported to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago for up to a year of rehabilitation.

To raise money for his expensive treatment, friends of Gerry are selling the T-shirt shown at left. The shirts are $15 for adults (sizes S, M, L, XL and XL) and $12 for children (sizes S, M and L).
To place an order, contact Sandy Gore at 4gores@charter.net or 618-277-5129. So that your order doesn’t get delayed, please specify the number of shirts and sizes. Payment will be due when your order is picked up. You can get more information about the shirt and Gerry at the Chief Get Well Web site.

There is a strong probability the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society will help friends and family of Gerry put on a benefit ride in the spring of 2008.

To date, no charges have been filed against the driver of the pickup truck, but my understanding is that the case remains under investigation by the St. Clair County State's Attorney's office. It was only recently that investigators were able to speak to Gerry about the accident.

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:56 AM

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Hit the Donut Trail!

Thanks to Alton Brown and his Food Network show "Feasting on Asphalt," St. Louis has developed a reputation for its family-owned doughnut shops.

That prompted Thomas Carter, a St. Louis-area cyclist who regularly rides with the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, to create the Donut Trail, a 23-mile route that hits five of those doughnut shops.

T.C. isn't trying to create a new version of the Tour de Donut, where people eat as many doughnuts as possible to earn time bonuses. Instead, this is intended to be a social ride where people can actually savor the doughnuts.

And, believe me, these doughnuts are worth savoring.

T.C. and his girlfriend, longtime BABES ride leader Arlene Willmann, Verbosity VELOcity blog author Beth Harris and I hit the trail this morning with the hope of hitting all five shops along the route: Donut Drive-In, World’s Fair Donuts, St Louis Hills Donut Shop, Eddie's Southtown Donuts and O'Fashion Donuts.

We met at the Forest Park MetroLink station about 9:30 a.m. I know that's not early for many of you, but it is for me. I have to work most Saturday nights at the Belleville News-Democrat because I'm responsible for designing the front page for our biggest paper of the week. That means it takes me a long time to wind down at the end of the night, between 11:30 and 12:30, and it takes me until about 3 a.m. to get to the point where I can get to sleep. That's why people in the St. Louis area don't see me at too many Sunday morning rides.

Even though my cycling today reflected my lack of sleep, the quest for the perfect doughnut kept me going.

After riding through Forest Park and The Hill neighborhood, our first stop on the Donut Trail was World's Fair Donuts at Vandeventer Avenue and Shaw Boulevard. It was a good sign when we saw one of the proprietors making doughnuts behind the counter. I bought an apple fritter and a cup of coffee. The apple fritter was probably the best I've ever had! The fritter had a healthy dose of cinnamon, which really enhanced the taste. Beth has posted her photos from the trip at Picasa.

We took a trek through Tower Grove Park, which is known for its distinctive picnic pavilions and being a favorite spot for St. Louis-area couples to get married, on our way to Eddie's Southtown Donuts on Kingshighway. Eddie's is a favorite doughnut stop for Beth, and the folks there know her by name. I splurged ate two doughnuts, a glazed and a buttermilk doughnut. The glazed doughnut was heavier than a Krispy Kreme doughnut, but lighter than the doughnuts Jubelt's Bakery in Mount Olive, Ill., make for the Tour de Donut. I was surprised the folks at Eddie's had never heard of the Tour de Donut, but they were flabbergasted when I told them some people have actually eaten 30 doughnuts during the course of the race. I enjoyed the buttermilk doughnut as well.

We rode toward St. Louis Hills Donut Shop, only to find that it had closed early. Beth left us at that stage because she had to get home, but T.C., Arlene and I continued up to Donut Drive-In, located on Chippewa Avenue (old Route 66) near Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. There, I drank a bottle of milk and ate a chocolate-iced cake doughnut complete with orange and black sprinkles. Donut Drive-In lays the icing on thick, and I could really taste the chocolate.

Arlene had a sugar-coated doughnut, and the sugar left its mark on the top of her lips. All too cute!

Our course for the day went past many well-kept homes and other buildings with interesting architecture. The city of St. Louis gets a bad rap because of its high number of homicides; one TV station once called them the "mean streets." While it's horrible that St. Louis has as many homicides as it does, the vast majority of them are in one section of the city. Most of the rest of the city is as safe -- if not safer -- than other major U.S. cities.

We continued toward O'Fashion Donuts, only to find that shop had closed for the day. Most of the family-owned doughnut shops in St. Louis are closed by noon or 1 p.m. on Sundays, so I would recommend starting the ride sooner that 9:30 a.m. if you want to visit all five shops.

All in all, the Donut Trail is a very sweet ride. The BABES may do a more organized version of the ride in 2008.

Labels: cycling, doughnuts, St. Louis

Roger 1 comments links to this post 8:39 PM

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Burning out on cycling?

Yes, I know it's been a week and a half since I've posted anything here.

Part of the reason is because I've been busy trying to solidify plans for the 2008 Tour de Stooges. I haven't made a public announcement about the ride -- until now -- that the ride will not be at McKendree University in Lebanon, although I've left subtle hints on the ride's Web site. We are leaving McKendree because the ride and the university have outgrown each other.

I was disappointed about it because we had a really good arrangement at McKendree, but the fact of the matter is that the university is adding more programs that is making it difficult for McKendree to handle us.

We are hoping to finalize an agreement for the new home shortly. I can't reveal the location yet, other than to say that it is in a community on the route that we've used the past 10 years.

The work on Tour de Stooges, combined with the work I do on this Web site, the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society and other cycling-related endeavors, have left me drained this year. The lack of recent post also is a symptom of the burnout I'm feeling.

I am glad the 2007 cycling season is almost over here in the Midwest.

The good news is that I think the burnout is temporary. In 2008, I really need to scale back the amount of work I do with planning rides and increase the amount of time I spend on the bike. Once I actually get on the bike, I still get a lot of satisfaction from it.

The problem, however, is getting on the bike.

I'm hoping that a fall and winter concentration on walking and hiking, combined with scaling back some of the planning activities, will refresh my outlook on cycling by March or April.

Labels: burnout, cycling

Roger 1 comments links to this post 7:39 PM

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Women in bicycle racing

Today's edition of the Belleville News-Democrat has an article about the St. Louis Cycling Club's women's team and its current season.

The article talks about the team's successes -- at least one team member finished in the top three in 19 of its 20 races -- and the team's struggles -- the lack of interest in women's racing.

"We get less promotions, less cash, less everything," Granite City racer Sharon Jones told the News-Democrat.

I'm afraid I'm as guilty as the bigger cycling news outfits about not giving attention to women's racing.

Labels: cycling, racing

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:18 AM

Easing the way for cyclists

In case you missed these stories online yesterday, USA Today and The Associated Press had a couple of stories about making things a bit easier for people who want to ride their bicycles as a means of transportation.

The USA Today story says that cities are accelerating their efforts to encourage commuting on two wheels, putting bike racks where cars once parked, adding bike lanes and considering European-style bike-share programs to get residents out of their cars.

Among the cities mentioned in the USA Today story is Chicago, which is striving by 2015 to have 5 percent of all trips shorter than 5 miles to be taken by bicycle. Mayor Richard Daley also is considering launching a bike program he saw in Paris. That effort, begun in July, allows residents and visitors to check out a bike at one location, ride free during the first half-hour and park the bike at another location near their destination. As I mentioned last week, Montreal is implementing a similar program. That program is expected to begin by the fall of 2008.

The AP story focuses on New York City, which received bronze medal from the Washington-based League of American Bicyclists for the city's efforts under Mayor Michael Bloomberg to promote cycling for a cleaner environment and a healthier populace.

The city is installing 400 to 500 bike racks a year and plans to have more than 400 miles of bike lanes and paths by 2009, the AP reported. There will then be 1 mile of bike lane for every 10 miles of road; the ratio is now 1 to 15. In San Francisco, it's 1 to 7.

Labels: commuting, cycling, United States

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:01 AM

Friday, October 05, 2007

"Self-serve" bicycle rentals

Those of you who have read about the bicycle tours I've done over the years know that I have a soft spot for the the Canadian province of Quebec. Every once in a while, I visit the Montreal Gazette's Web site to get my fix of Canadian news, and I happened to come across this item:

The city of Montreal plans to be the first North American city to set up a large-scale "self-serve" public bike rental service.

Following in the footsteps, or pedalling along the same path, as European cities such as Paris and Lyon where such systems have recently exploded in popularity, Montreal hopes to get its project started by next fall and fully operational by late 2009. ...

The idea is to encourage Montrealers and tourists to use the public bicycles instead of cars for short, inner city trips, allowing them to pick up a bike at one station, use it for half an hour or an hour, and then drop it off at any other station of their choice.

Andre Lavallee, a city executive committee member responsible for transportation issues, said the program will be the first not only in Quebec, but in all of North America.

"We used to see cycling as recreation, but now thousands of people are using bikes to get to work, or school," Lavallee said at a press conference Thursday. "This summer, we actually saw traffic jams of cyclists on some of our new bike routes, like St. Urbain. Something is changing right now in Montreal and we all have to come along on this wave."

Whether the wave is strong enough to make it south to the United States remains to be seen.

Labels: Canada, commuting, cycling, Montreal

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:15 AM

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Tour of Missouri's on the 2008 calendar

Missouri leaders have said they are committed to at least two more years of the Tour of Missouri, and they got a shot in the arm this week.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today that The Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling's international governing body, and USA Cycling have given their blessings to the second Tour of Missouri, scheduled to begin next year on the second Tuesday of September, just as the inaugural event did. Using that schedule, that would take place Sept. 9. The route and host cities will be announced later.

Columnist Kathleen Nelson also discusses the grandiose plans of Frank Arokiasamy, a business consultant in San Francisco who earned a Ph.D. in economics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, to create a Tour of America intended to rival the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.

The column reports one major problem with Tour of America: It's not on the UCI calendar for 2008. Because of that, it would be highly unlikely it would draw major cyclists.

Besides, the event -- slated for Sept. 6-Oct. 5 -- would conflict with Tour of Missouri and Vuelta a España.

In case you're curious, Tour of America has posted a schedule for the race. On Sept. 12, there would be a 250-mile stage from Indianapolis to St. Louis. On the 13th, there would be a 130-mile stage from St. Louis to Carbondale, Ill., and on the 14th, there would be a 205-mile stage from Carbondale to Nashville, Tenn.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:04 AM

Friday, September 21, 2007

Catching up

Tour of Missouri on Versus: Highlights from the 2007 Tour of Missouri will be shown from 3 to 5 p.m. CDT Saturday on the Versus cable TV channel. If you missed the live video feeds last week, it will give you a great chance to see how hilly Missouri really is, not to mention to see Discovery Channel's last race in the United States. The two-hour show also will be broadcast from 3 to 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Floyd Landis: It was a shame, but not all that surprising, that Floyd Landis lost his 2006 Tour de France title. I really don't know what I can add to what's already been written in The Associated Press, VeloNews and other sources.

Late-night cycling in Collinsville: The 19th annual Italian Fest Paisan Pedal Push will begin at 11:59 p.m. Saturday for a short, leisurely ride through the city of Collinsville, Ill. The event begins at the Collinsville Memorial Public Library, 318 W. Main St. The cost of the ride is $12, and registration will close at 11:45 p.m.

Legislation update: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich used his amendatory veto on a bill that would require bicycle and pedestrian ways to be given full consideration in the planning and development of transportation facilities, including the incorporation of such ways into state-funded transportation plans and programs in urban areas. Blagojevich said he would sign the bill if the wording is changed from "shall" to "may." The League of Illinois Bicyclists says the amendatory veto "gutted" the bill.

Break-in at Old Chain of Rocks Bridge: Bill McClellan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a column in today's paper about a Charlotte, N.C., couple on a cross-country ride to raise awareness of brain injuries. Unfortunately, someone broke into their support van, which was parked Wednesday at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge parking lot in St. Louis. Here's an excerpt from the column:

Ben and Lee Ann Berry parked their van at the Chain of Rocks Bridge and pedaled toward the Arch, By the way, at the entrance to the bridge, there is a banner. "It is quite possible that your unattended car will be broken into while you are away including your trunk."

While Ben and Lee Ann were away, somebody broke into their van.

The thief or thieves took Ben's computer, Lee Ann's cell phone and her purse, which had her credit cards, her personal identification and a number of coupons from the Cracker Barrel Restaurant chain, which is one of the Berrys' sponsors.

Sadly, break-ins aren't anything new at that parking lot. Trailnet, which maintains the bridge, provides secure vehicle parking at the Missouri entrance, but it's available only on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. until Nov. 1. After Nov. 1, the Missouri entrance will only be open for vehicle parking during special events.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Illinois, Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, racing, safety, television, tours

Roger 2 comments links to this post 10:58 AM

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Final thoughts on the 2007 Tour of Missouri

By most accounts, the first-ever Tour of Missouri was a big success. Thousands of people -- many of whom had never seen a bicycle race before -- got a taste of what big-time bicycle racing is all about.

Here's some final thoughts about the race and its future:

Will there be a 2008 version of the Tour of Missouri? Yes. Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder says the state is committed to supporting the race in 2008 and 2009. This year, the state put in $1 million toward the race. While some folks are concerned about how the money is being spent and whether using a bicycle race to promote tourism in the state is a wise investment, Kinder and his boss, Gov. Matt Blunt, believe the event will promote tourism in Missouri.

While the Tour of Missouri did not have a title sponsor in 2007, lots of Missouri businesses did pour money into the event. The fan turnout may convince those businesses to maintain or increase their investment into the event, and if the sport of cycling can further clean up its act as far as doping is concerned, Medalist Sports just may succeed in finding a title sponsor.

Why prompted the strong fan turnout? Two words: Discovery Channel. The fact that Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer, along with George Hincapie, were in the race automatically increased interest in the race. The fact that the Tour of Missouri was the final U.S. appearance for Discovery Channel was another drawing card.

The crowd estimates for Stage 6 in St. Louis ranged from 55,000 to 60,000, very strong considering there were two other major sporting events that drew more than 100,000 between them in St. Louis at the same time. While some spots on the 10.6-mile circuit only had a few fans, such as the backstretch on Olive Street pictured above, the start-finish line at Union Station and many streets in or near the Central West End neighborhood were jammed with fans.

Kansas City's Stage 1 had a turnout of about 40,000, and Stage 5 from Jefferson City to St. Charles drew about 30,000, including a large contingent on the Schluersberg Road hill.

Can Tour of Missouri repeat the buzz? That depends on whether Hincapie's and Leipheimer's new teams are interested in coming to Missouri next year. While there were a lot of promising riders in the Tour of Missouri, those cyclists don't get a lot of attention in the mainstream media.

I'm not sure how many top European pros will come over for the Tour of Missouri. If the 2008 version of the race is run in September, it once again will conflict with the Vuelta a España.

Where will the Tour of Missouri in the future? You would think that the event would go to St. Louis and Kansas City every year, and you can make a strong argument that the Springfield-Branson area should get a stage annually. Only a small portion of this year's route went north of Interstate 70, so St. Joseph and the hilly countryside in northwestern Missouri could get some consideration. No doubt, Cape Girardeau and its cycling community will be seeking a piece of the action as well.

Highlights of the Tour of Missouri: The obvious ones: Hincapie's overall victory, especially his finish in Stage 2 in Springfield; Leipheimer's time trial victory; the challenge cyclists faced with the seemingly unending "rolling" hills of Missouri; and the fan turnout.

Lowlights of the Tour of Missouri: Dan Schmatz's encounter with the armadillo in Stage 2 and Brad Huff's accident on the final sprint in Stage 6. Both were unfortunate because they are Missouri natives who wanted to put on a good show in the Show-Me State.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:01 AM

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Congrats to George Hincapie

George Hincapie made sure Discovery Channel's swan song in the United States was a sweet one by winning the overall title of the first-ever Tour of Missouri.

Thousands of fans -- I don't know how many -- lined the 10.6-mile circuit in St. Louis. I wonder how many more would have been there had there not been two other major sporting events going on at St. Louis at the same time, but there seemed to be more than enough support for Tour of Missouri.

One of the interesting things I saw on the back stretch was after the fifth lap, when groups of cyclists were cruising down the road toward to the finish. I assume they had been watching the race from other vantage points, such as the Central West End.

I saw two of my friends from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, Randy Love and Gail Taylor. Randy also saw the cyclists climb Schluersburg Road near Augusta during Stage 5. "It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen," said Randy, whose cycling skills belie her age.

Congratulations go out as well to Stage 6 winner Ivan Dominguez, who also was the top sprinter for the entire tour. Jeff Louder already had won the King of the Mountains since there were no KOM points to be had in Sunday's stage.

Slipstream-Chipotle, the heir-apparent to Discovery as being the premier U.S. cycling team, took the team title, and Slipstream's Steven Cozza was the best young rider.

BTW, these aren't my final thoughts about the 2007 Tour of Missouri. I plan to post those Tuesday along with a couple of photos from Sunday's Stage.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 6:39 PM

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Stage 5: How about some wine?

Part of the rationale for the state of Missouri to pour $1 million into the Tour of Missouri is to boost tourism in the state, so it makes sense that Saturday's Stage 5, which starts in Jefferson City and ends in St. Charles, goes through the heart of Missouri's wine country. I'm posting this now so you have a few hours to make your last-minute plans.

While there's pretty scenery in the early part of the stage, the real action for the racers and tourists begins in Hermann.


The route crosses the Route 47 bridge at Washington, and the cyclists will turn east on Highway 94 and pass the Blumenhof Winery. They'll turn right on Emke Road, then turn left on Augusta Bottom Road. The second set of KOM points will be awarded near the Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta. Below is the profile for the second KOM:



Not surprisingly, there are events planned in Augusta as well. The Augusta Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a timed 23-mile VIP ride, which includes 11 miles of the the Tour of Missouri. The $100 entry fee includes ride, gourmet lunch at Mount Pleasant and parking pass. The winery also is offering a range of packages that range from reserved parking to reserved viewing space in a VIP area.

The route traverses through Augusta back to Highway 94. After about a mile on that highway, the route turns onto Schluersburg Road. That's when the racers will face their stiffest challenge of the day, the climb up the Schluersburg Road hill for the third and final KOM points on the day. Here's what the riders will be facing on that 0.9-mile climb with about 350 feet of vertical gain:


If you want to see a bit of suffering, Schluersburg Road is your place.

The route ends in St. Charles, Missouri's first state capital, near the city's historic district. There are plenty of shops in the historic district, not to mention the Ameristar Casino to the south of the finish.

Trailnet's Bicycle Fun Club will have a Tour of Missouri Fun Ride that starts at the casino between 9 and 10 a.m. Riders will travel the Katy Trail to a vantage point where they want to see the race. They can go as far as Augusta, which is a 64-mile round trip from St. Charles.

The state of Missouri is hoping you'll come visit -- and spend some money!

(Coming Friday: A preview of the Stage 6 route in St. Louis.)

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:25 PM

Stage 3 guest commentary

Since I haven't been able to attend any of the early stages of the Tour of Missouri because of various commitments, I'm offering guest commentary tonight from Jerry Whittle.

Jerry is a ride leader for the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society and a regular on the Gateway Council of Hostelling International's 5-Star Century circuit. One of his daughters, Laura, is a member of Midwestern State University's cycling team, so I think Jerry's more than qualified to offer commentary about his Tour of Missouri experience:

We were in Springfield to watch the end of Stage 2 yesterday. (George) Hincapie sure put on a show. The breakaway put in a lot of time on the rest of the peloton. Almost certainly one of the breakaway group will win this tour.

Today was the Individual Time Trial in Branson. Branson is a great place for a race. Lots of hotel rooms and things to do after the race. The roads are HILLY. The ITT was more like a hill climb than TT.

Unfortunately, the finish line was blocked by the time we got there due to a lack of parking. The crowds were even larger than they expected. We were there a half hour before the first rider was due in. I’m sure that they will learn from this if they go through Branson again.

Therefore, Patti (Jerry's wife) and I found a nice place towards the top of a long, steep hill at mile 12. We were just inches from the riders! There were about 100 other spectators on the hill and this was at mile 12!

Just as we got there, Tour de France winner Alberto Contador flew by. A while later Levi Leipheimer blasted up the hill. He looked great and was as he won the stage. Last came George in the yellow jersey and he looked very focused. I don’t think that he even heard my cowbell ringing. George finished a couple of minutes behind Levi, but ahead of the others in the previous day’s breakaway. Therefore he’s even more likely to win the whole thing.

Between my yelling and ringing a cowbell and his being really close and fast while passing by, I managed to ruin the chance for a perfect photo by cutting off half of George’s head. Now I know why I’m not a professional photographer.

The weather has been perfect. Low 80s, little wind, and dry. Branson might not be Paris, but it made for a great bike race venue.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:06 PM

Thoughts about Stage 3

There were no really big surprises today during the Stage 3 time trial of the Tour of Missouri:

• Levi Leipheimer won the time trial by 16 seconds over Australia's Nathan O'Neill. Leipheimer, who finished third in this year's Tour de France, finished the time trial in 39 minutes, 37.48 seconds.
• George Hincapie finished the time trial in 41:44.07, solidifying his hold on the yellow jersey. Hincapie now leads fellow American William Frischkorn by 1:40. Barring a disaster, I see Hincapie wearing the yellow jersey on the podium in St. Louis.
• Initial reports indicate more good crowds at the start and finish of the time trial.
• Tour of Missouri cyclists and cycling writers are finding out what those of us who have ridden Missouri roads already know: The Show-Me State has hills. Cyclingnews.com describes tomorrow's stage this way: "One of the hardest stages looms tomorrow -- a 214 km leg with more of the same relentless rolling Missouri hills, two intermediate sprints and a (King of the Mountain) climb before finishing in the university town of Columbia."
• And Leipheimer has this to say in VeloNews about the Stage 3 course: "It was definitely a hard course. ... I don't know if you can call them climbs, compared to something like the Tour de Georgia where there was a steep wall. But they were definitely bigger than rollers."
• The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's 10-Speed Blog kicked into a higher gear Thursday with good posts about Dan Schmatz's crash with the armadillo, the podium girls and the Missouri Department of Transportation trucks that kept the cyclists safe on U.S. 65 in Branson.
  

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:04 PM

Thoughts about Stage 2

While you're waiting for today's Tour of Missouri Stage 3 time trial to begin, here's some random thoughts about Stage 2:

• The experts are pretty much saying that the overall winner will be one of the 12 riders who participated in the breakaway. If George Hincapie can maintain the overall lead after today's time trial, he will be the prohibitive favorite to be wearing the yellow jersey in St. Louis. You know there's no way Discovery Channel will allow another breakaway to take hold, unless Hincapie is a part of it. The bulk of the riders are at least 14:20 behind Hincapie. While some riders might be able to cut into that gap today, I don't see any way they can eliminate that gap by the time they reach the finish line in St. Louis.
• The (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader reported that Springfield local organizing committee co-chair Rusty Worley estimated turnout in Springfield at between 5,000 and 10,000. At places farther north along the race's 120-mile route, fewer fans gathered but they seemed just as supportive.
• The same article also reported numerous traffic jams along the route. Motorists found traffic snarls in Springfield longer than those north of the city as drivers who gave up on main arteries bailed onto smaller streets, causing backups on them as well. As I've mentioned before, the Tour of Missouri, the Rams-49ers game at the Edward Jones Dome and the Cardinals-Cubs game at Busch Stadium -- along with the St. Louis Blues' first exhibition game against the Atlanta Thrashers at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Scottrade Center -- will put tens of thousands of sports fans in St. Louis on Sunday afternoon. No matter which event you attend, give yourself plenty of time to get there and to get home.
  
• I generally give Missouri's three biggest newspapers -- the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Kansas City Star and the News-Leader -- good marks for their coverage of the event. The only other thing I'd like to see from the Post-Dispatch is more frequent updates over the course of the race. I also was disappointed the Post-Dispatch didn't have a separate story about St. Louis-area native Dan Schmatz's crash with the armadillo, although it did mention the accident at the end of its main race story.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:26 AM

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Yes, there are armadillos in Missouri

St. Louis-area native Dan Schmatz's bid to make a good showing at the Tour of Missouri came to an abrupt end today when he struck an armadillo three miles into Stage 2 between Clinton and Springfield.

In addition to Schmatz, VeloNews reports Slipstream’s Will Frischkorn and Danny Pate, Canadian Svein Tuft, Kodak’s Jesse Anthony and Schmatz’s BMC teammate Jonathan Garcia were involved in the crash. Only Schmatz has abandoned the race at this point.

You can read The Associated Press' take on the accident at SI.com.

A.J. Hendershott of the Missouri Department of Conservation told the Southeast Missourian that armadillos now populate every county in Missouri south of the Missouri River.

What a bad way to go. Schmatz really did a lot to promote the race in recent weeks and looked forward to racing in his hometown.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:27 PM

Thoughts about Stage 1

As Stage 2 of the Tour of Missouri begins, here's some random thoughts about State 1 of the race:

• It wasn't surprising that there was a mass sprint finish, which was won by Cuban Ivan Dominguez. The big boys of Discovery Channel -- Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie -- were safely nestled in the peloton and were awarded the same time as the winner.
• The Missouri Highway Patrol estimated the crowd for Stage 1 as 40,000. It's not as many as the Kansas City Chiefs would draw on a fall afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium, but it's considerably more than the Kansas City Royals normally draw for one of their home games at Kauffman Stadium. “It’s a heck of a start for us,” Rick Hughes, president of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association, told the Kansas City Star. “Just getting started, this year the impact is probably a couple of million dollars. But in the Tour de Georgia, in the fourth year they estimated $300 million across the state. ”
• I'm still not sure how well rural Missouri will support the race. I think they'll be good crowds at the end of the stage in Springfield and at tomorrow's time trial in Branson. Missouri is called the Show-Me State for a reason, and Tour of Missouri organizers have a big selling job to do outside the state's urban areas.

In addition to this blog and the links on the right side of this page, there's lots of other great resources for following the race. Here's a few of them, some of which I've mentioned before, but some are new:

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Kansas City Star
• (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader
• Tour of Missouri racer Dan Schmatz's blog. Schmatz is a native of the St. Louis area.
• Missouri Bicycle Federation. MoBikeFed also has wallpaper available for your computer here.
  
• Spare Cycles

Have fun and enjoy the Tour of Missouri

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:53 AM

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Tour of Missouri: A modest preview

In a matter of hours, the Tour of Missouri begins in Kansas City.

Most of you already know the significance of the race: It's the final American race for the Discovery Channel team. Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer and long-time Lance Armstrong lieutenant George Hincapie will be joined by some of the top U.S. and European teams on the rolling hills of Missouri.

It's also the most important bicycle race ever held in the Show-Me State, and the state of Missouri is banking a lot of money -- $1 million to be exact -- that the race will bring lots of tourism dollars into the state. Hopefully, the race also will encourage more people to go out and bike.

Not all the world's top cyclists will be in Missouri. Many of them, including Denis Menchov, Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre, are racing in the Vuelta a España. Still, the race will give great exposure to lesser-known, yet talented, racers.

Generally speaking, the Tour of Missouri has received lots of positive coverage from the state's newspapers. It will be interesting to see if that coverage brings out casual fans and introduce new people to the sport.

A Google blog search for the Tour of Missouri generally shows positive commentary about the event. One exception is the progressive blog Fired Up, which takes a dim view of the state spending $1 million in taxpayers' money on the race. Here's an example of what Fired Up has to say:

The massive infusion of taxpayer money to support (Gov.) Matt Blunt and (Lt. Gov.) Peter Kinder's bike race is being laundered through a closely controlled private organization--- the Hawthorn Foundation.

Once used to fund gubernatorial trade missions with exporter contributions, the Hawthorn Foundation is now receiving massive amounts of taxpayer funding from Blunt and Kinder.

Their likely purpose: to try to conceal from the prying eyes of the press the spending details and race documents (including doping test results) -- even though two high-level public officials, Blunt and Kinder, are overseeing the entire effort. Down to the last drop.

I don't know enough about Missouri politics to say whether the issue is legitimate, but the group's obsession with doping and its pandering to the fears about traffic tie-ups in St. Louis on Sunday tells me there's more rhetoric than reality to Fired Up's claims.

There is no doubt there will be lots of sports traffic in downtown St. Louis on Sunday. In addition to the Tour of Missouri, the St. Louis Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome (noon start), while the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium (1:15 p.m. start). The sixth stage of the Tour of Missouri starts at 1 p.m. at Union Station and is expected to end sometime between 3:30 and 4 p.m.

City streets and the region's MetroLink light-rail trains will see lots of users, so give yourself plenty to time to get to where you're going and plenty of time to go home.

Several other events are being planned around Tour of Missouri.

Trailnet, which organizes many of the St. Louis region's largest group ride, will have a Tour of Missouri Fun Ride on Saturday in St. Charles, the St. Louis suburb that hosts the finish line for Stage 5. Cyclists will be able to ride the Katy Trail to vantage points to see the race.

There also will be plenty of activity in Hermann, the capital of Missouri's wine country. The Hermann Wine Trail will sponsor The Seven Hills of Hermann Ride at 8 a.m. Saturday. Tour of Missouri is expected to pass through Hermann about 1 p.m. On Friday night, Hermann plays host to a 2-mie time trial that features 400 feet of vertical climbing.

To see the events planned for the other cities on the Tour of Missouri route, visit the ride's calendar page.

Because of jury duty and other work obligations, I probably will be able to see only one stage of the race, the St. Louis stage. I will try to offer commentary and other insights about the Tour as it progresses, plus I will be adding Tour of Missouri news to the Bicycle racing feeds listed in the right column of this blog.

Versus will air highlights of the Tour of Missouri on Sept. 22.

Here's hoping the Tour of Missouri will enhance the Midwest cycling scene and bring positive attention to the state of Missouri.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:18 PM

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Tour de Coal coming up soon

Once again this year, I'm honored to be a part of planning the Coal Country Chamber of Commerce's Tour de Coal bicycle ride.

This year's second annual Tour de Coal will be Saturday, Sept. 22, at Benld Elementary School in Benld, Ill. For those of you who don't know where Benld is, it's about halfway between St. Louis and Springfield, Ill., not far from Staunton, the home of the original Tour de Donut.

Once again, the ride will feature three routes, a 15-mile family ride, a 30-mile mid-range ride and a 63-mile metric century. Most of the route will be on flat-to-rolling rural roads surrounding Benld and nearby Gillespie, and the metric century will use a portion of an old Route 66 alignment between Staunton and Mount Olive.

Day-of-ride registration will be from 7 to 9 a.m. at the school, but you can save money by pre-registering for Tour de Coal. You can either register through Active.com or fill out a form at the Web site, print it and send it to the address listed at the bottom of the form. Forms also are available at many St. Louis-area and Springfield-area bicycle shops.

Registration is $20 per person and $50 per household of three or more on the day of the ride, but it's only $15 per person and $40 per household if you sign up in advance.

Proceeds for the ride will be used by the Coal Country Chamber of Commerce to help improve Gillespie, Benld and other neighboring communities.

I get a lot of satisfaction out of organizing the Tour de Coal, but it's different from the satisfaction I get from leading Tour de Stooges. The big reason why I enjoy organizing Tour de Coal so much is because it's allowed me to reconnect with my native county and learn things about it.

I grew up in Brighton, which is in the southwestern corner of the county, but Brighton normally doesn't have a lot of connection with the rest of Macoupin County because the village is so close to the Alton-Wood River area. Brighton also doesn't share the coal mining heritage that much of the rest of Macoupin County has.

I've learned a lot about the rich ethnic heritage of the Benld-Gillespie area, and the big reason for that were the coal mines that once operated in the area. There are at least 20 coal mines near the Tour de Coal course, but only one of them is operational today.

Benld is best known for the Coliseum Ballroom, which hosted acts such as Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington in its heyday. Benld is also home to The Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Russian Orthodox Church, the only church in Illinois under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia. Tours of the church will be available during the Tour de Coal.

Being involved in the Tour de Coal also has allowed me to become active with the ITS Trail, a bicycle trail under development between Staunton and Benld. A long-term goal of bicycle trail advocates in the region is to develop a network of trails that would link St. Louis and Springfield.

We hope to see you in Benld on Sept. 22!

Labels: cycling, Illinois, Tour de Coal, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:38 AM

Chiefgetwell.com

Friends and family of Gerry "Chief" Frierdich, the Belleville photographer critically injured Aug. 19 when he was struck while riding his bicycle on South Green Mount Road in Belleville, have created a Web site, Chiefgetwell.com, where people can get updates about Gerry.

Gerry did indeed have surgery on Friday, Aug. 31. Unfortunately, the surgery uncovered some things that an earlier MRI had not. Here's an excerpt from the Web site:

Most disturbing is that there is a severed nerve in the spinal cord, and sadly there is little that can be done for something like that. The doctor is still unable to predict what the final outcome of Chief's injuries will be once all is said and done.

Gerry is still unable to breathe on his own. He's on a ventilator, and doctors hope to perform a tracheotomy Thursday and attempt to take him off that instead, the Web site reported.

Chiefgetwell.com has a link where people can e-mail their get-well message. Friends and family also are planning to put a message board on the site, but that wasn't up and running as of this morning.

Please keep Gerry in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through a very difficult recovery.

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:58 AM

Friday, August 31, 2007

Gerry Frierdich update

Gerry Frierdich, the Belleville cyclist injured in an accident Aug. 19, remains in critical condition at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Mo.

In addition to the injuries he suffered, he also was stricken with a form of pneumonia that has delayed needed surgery. The Belleville News-Democrat reported in its Friday editions that Gerry was expected to undergo surgery today (Aug. 31).

"We thank everybody for their prayers and concerns and thoughts," Gerry's sister, Mary Skees, told the News-Democrat.

Unfortunately, he is unable to see visitors, other than his family, but cards are greatly appreciated. The address is St. John's Mercy Medical Center, 615 S. New Ballas Road, St. Louis, MO 63141. You also can send words of encouragement by e-mail through the hospital's Web site.

Friends of Gerry also are planning to set up a Web site where people can post their get-well wishes and other messages. I will link to it as soon as I hear word that it's ready to go.

Charges still have not been filed in the accident. The Belleville Police Department told the News-Democrat that the accident remains under investigation.

(This is an update of an item originally posted Tuesday, Aug. 28.)

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:00 AM

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Gateway Cup this weekend

To get an idea what to expect when the Tour of Missouri rolls through the Show Me State on Sept. 11-16, come out to the Gateway Cup races this weekend in St. Louis.

The racing begins at Friday with the Tour de Lafayette Square, continues Saturday with the Washington Avenue races and Sunday with the Giro della Montagna in The Hill neighborhood and ends Monday with the University City Loop. You can find the times for the various categories at each event's page.

Organizers for the Gateway Cup even have posted a Bicycle Racing 101 page to help people learn how to watch and appreciate the race.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:11 PM

Monday, August 27, 2007

Shoreline West page updated

This sunset taken in Elk Rapids, Mich., was one of the highlights of the 2007 Shoreline West Tour, which I had the pleasure of riding earlier this month.

I invite you to read my account of the ride and new photos from this year's ride. I also rode Shoreline West in 1997 and 2004, and my accounts of those rides also are on that page. The 2007 account is near the bottom. You can skip past the earlier rides to get to the 2007 ride, but reading the accounts of the previous rides -- if you have time to read them -- helps put the 2007 ride into context.

Labels: cycling, Michigan, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:19 AM

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Illinois 3-foot passing law signed by governor

I'm a bit late in reporting this bit of good news for Illinois cyclists, but on Aug. 16, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a bill that requires motorists to leave at least 3 feet of clearance while passing a bicyclist.

The new law takes effect Jan. 1.

The new law also gives cyclists the option of a right arm hand signal when turning right and allows cyclists to "take the lane" where right turns are authorized. In addition, the law states that a bicyclist is to ride as close to the right-hand curb as practicable and safe. The law previously provided that they ride as close as possible.

The League of Illinois Bicyclists and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation played a key role in getting the law passed. LIB has posted a PDF file that does a good job of explaining the new law.

The battle over the state budget in Illinois overshadowed a lot of issues in the Illinois General Assembly this year, but cyclists have won some battles this year:

• A bill that amends the Illinois Highway Code requiring IDOT to build "bicycle and pedestrian ways" with major urban road projects awaits the governor's signature. It provides that bicycle and pedestrian ways shall be given full consideration in the planning and development of transportation facilities, including the incorporation of such ways into state-funded transportation plans and programs. It also provides that bicycle and pedestrian ways shall be established in conjunction with the construction, reconstruction, or other change of any state transportation facility, and special emphasis shall be given to projects in or within one mile of an urban area. The exceptions are in pavement resurfacing projects that do not widen the existing traveled way or do not provide stabilized shoulders or where approved by the state based upon documented safety issues, excessive cost or absence of need.
• An attempt to create the offense of negligent vehicular homicide has been shelved in an Illinois House committee, but Blagojevich did sign a bill that requires teenagers taking driver's education courses to learn the dangers of distracted driving. Both proposals were prompted by the death of Matt Wilhelm, who was killed last September while riding his bicycle in Urbana, Ill., by a car driven by a woman who was downloading a cell phone ring tone.

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Illinois, safety

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:00 PM

Tour of Missouri gets TV exposure

Last night, while I was at home during my dinner break from work, I happened to be flipping channels when I saw Charles Jaco doing a segment about the Tour of Missouri on his news show, "The Jaco Report," on KTVI-TV, Channel 2.

Jaco interviewed Mike Weiss, the owner of the St. Louis-based Big Shark Bicycle Co. and an organizer of the Tour of Missouri, about the event.

If you didn't see the segment Saturday or early today -- and the odds are that you didn't -- you still can see the segment at MyFoxSTL.com. To go directly to the segment on the Tour of Missouri, go to the SideBar, which is located below Jaco's logo, look for the Video section and click on the second image, which is mostly green.

Jaco has won Peabody, Edward R. Murrow and National Headliner awards for his broadcast coverage of international and national affairs. While he doesn't have the expertise of a Phil Liggett, Phil Sherwin or even Bob Roll about professional cycling, Jaco came up with some good questions, and Weiss came up with good answers.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:49 AM

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Metro-east cyclist hurt in accident

Award-winning photographer Gerry Frierdich is in critical condition after he was hit by a pickup truck Sunday morning while riding his recumbent bicycle, the Belleville News-Democrat reported today.

Gerry, who works at Crafty Eye Photography in Belleville, has ridden frequently with the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society.

Gerry was riding south in the 600 block of South Green Mount Road at 6:10 a.m. when Keith Joseph McCoy, of St. Charles, Mo., hit him from behind, according to Belleville police, the News-Democrat reported.

Keith McCoy, 23, who was driving a Chevrolet Silverado, apparently fell asleep behind the wheel, Belleville police Sgt. Dennis Weisbrodt said. McCoy's twin brother, Kenneth, was a passenger in the truck and also fell asleep.

Gerry, 44, was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville and he was later airlifted to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, Mo.

Weisbrodt said the accident is still under investigation and Keith McCoy has not been charged.

Gerry and I worked together for a brief time in the 1990s at the News-Democrat. Gerry worked in our pre-press department, putting together the pages that people in my department designed.

Gerry took great pride in altering a child trailer so that it would carry golf carts, and he often rode his recumbent to his regular golf games.

My thoughts and prayers are with Gerry.

Labels: accidents, Belleville, cycling, Gerry Frierdich

Roger 9 comments links to this post 4:38 PM

Friday, August 17, 2007

Discovery's last stand in America

The Discovery Channel cycling team will simultaneously launch the Tour of Missouri and go out of business with a bang, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star report today.

Among the riders Discovery will send to the inaugural event will be Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer, eighth-place finisher Yaroslav Popovych and U.S. pro champion George Hincapie.

The Tour of Missouri will be the final U.S. race for the Discovery team, the Post reports.

Here's the text of the press release issued by Tour of Missouri organizers on Thursday:

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador of Spain and American Levi Leipheimer, the third-place finisher at that race, were officially announced today by the Discovery Channel Team as participants in the inaugural Tour of Missouri, September 11th – 16th. The Tour of Missouri is North America’s newest elite cycling stage race and patterned after the successful Tour de Georgia and Amgen Tour of California statewide stage races. The race will start in Kansas City, Tuesday, September 11 and conclude 600 miles later in St. Louis the following Sunday.

Contador and Leipheimer are both members of the Discovery Channel team which recently dominated the Tour de France with two overall podium places, two stage wins, and laying claim to the best young rider classification and overall team classification. Also included on the Discovery Channel roster in Missouri are: pre-race favorite and current U.S. National Champion George Hincapie of Greenville, S.C.; 8th place Tour de France finisher Yaroslav Popovych of the Ukraine; Tony Cruz of Long Beach, CA; 2007 3rd place finisher of the Amgen Tour of California Jason McCartney of Coralville, IA; up and coming U.S. star John Devine of Dixon, Ill., and Fuyu Li, the first Chinese athlete to compete at the elite Pro Tour level.

“To have Johan Bruyneel commit to bringing Discovery Channel’s Tour de France “dream team” to the Tour of Missouri is very special for this first-time race,” said Race Director Jim Birrell. “We will have three riders from the top eight of the Tour de France, two being from the final podium, and I look forward to hosting the entire Discovery Channel team during their swan song on domestic soil.”

The Discovery Channel team’s management company, Tailwind Sports, recently decided to disband the team at the end of the 2007 season, making the Tour of Missouri their last event in the United States. “Having just announced my retirement from cycling I am pleased that one of my last races as a director will be at the Tour of Missouri,” said Sports Director Johan Bruyneel. “I have always enjoyed directing in the U.S. because of our success and an amazing group of fans that come to see us race. It is sad to think that this will be one of the last times I will be directing, but I am glad it will be in front of a such great fans.” The Tour of Missouri will cap off a stellar season for Discovery’s Leipheimer, who won the season’s kick off race, the Amgen Tour of California in February.

“I have had an amazing 2007 season which started out when I won the Amgen Tour of California, followed by a successful showing at the Tour de Georgia and then finishing on the podium at the Tour de France. It is only fitting to close it out my season with a U.S. homecoming at the Tour of Missouri,” said Leipheimer. “I have always said that there is nothing that compares to racing at home and it will be very special for me to have guys like Alberto, Popo and George riding next to me in my final race as a Discovery Channel Team member.” George Hincapie is the 2006 US National Champion and has raced in 12 editions of the Tour de France, seven of them as Lance Armstrong’s primary lieutenant. Hincapie has won stages in the Tour de France, Tour of California and the celebrated Dauphine Libere.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:30 AM

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Metro East Cycling

The Belleville News-Democrat today reports on a new cycling club serving the Illinois counties on the St. Louis metropolitan area, Metro East Cycling.

From what the article says, Metro East Cycling gears itself toward high-end cyclists who have a competitive bent. For example:

"Everybody's on a higher-end, performance-oriented road bike," said Bob Crow, 53, a truck driver from Trenton. "You won't see any comfort bikes or mountain bikes."

Crow wasn't bragging or passing judgment. He was explaining the difference between Metro East and other bike clubs that are focused more on family recreation than athletic training.

I think there's plenty of room for groups like Metro East Cycling and the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society. The BABES, of which I am a ride leader, tends to draw medium-to-fast recreational riders. Other groups, such as Trailnet and the Gateway Council of Hostelling International, tend to have rides intended for all levels of cyclists.

The one thing that did concern me was a photo that accompanies the story. It showed cyclists riding three abreast on a street, a clear violation of Illinois traffic laws. In most cases, riding more than two abreast on Illinois roads is illegal.

I don't mean to single out Metro East Cycling on this point. I've seen some BABES riders riding more than two abreast on some of our rides, and the News-Democrat has run photos of cyclists riding more than two abreast on other group rides, including -- unfortunately -- the Tour de Stooges, the ride I lead for the Gateway Council.

The point I'm making is that those of us who lead rides in the region really need to stress that cyclists must obey the rules of the road.

Labels: bicycle clubs, cycling, Illinois

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:42 AM

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Tales from the road

ELK RAPIDS, Mich. -- I feel so much like a drama king when I do the League of Michigan Bicyclists' West Shoreline Tour.

When I first went on the ride 10 years ago, I didn't even make it 10 miles before a major mishap put me on the sidelines for a few days with stitches and bruises and knocked out my friend Vicky (Mohler) Dye from the ride with two broken ribs.

Three years ago, the drama wasn't so dramatic. I only had a flat tire to fix within the first 10 miles. No big deal.

This year's drama falls somewhere between that. About 10 miles into the start of Sunday's ride, my right crank and chainrings fell off my bike! Fortunately, I was in a flat portion of the course and could stop the bike without falling down. It turned out that I broke the right section of my bottom bracket in half. Fortunately, the ride's mechanic was only a few miles away, so a SAG driver took me over to him, and I was back on the road within 45 minutes.

Overcast skies much of the week obscured many of the great sights along the Lake Michigan shoreline, but those clouds help keep down the temperatures considerably. I truly feel for you in the St. Louis area this week, but that heat is a prime reason I try to do a ride in Michigan, Wisconsin or Canada whenever I can.

Despite the relatively cool temperatures here, I struggled with dehydrations issues yesterday and today. I managed to do all 63 miles from Frankfort to Traverse City on Wednesday, albeit at an excruciatingly slow pace. I opted to do only 20 miles today, and I'm still not feeling all the great. I wonder if I have a bug that's contributing to the problem.

Despite the setbacks, I'm still enjoying the time in one of my favorite places to visit and with some of the regular Bubba's Pampered Pedalers crowd.

Labels: cycling, Michigan, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:48 AM

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Time to hit the road

There's plenty of reasons why I on my way to my third-ever West Shoreline Tour and my seventh ride of two or more days in Michigan in the past 15 years. But there's one that really stands out:

According to Weather.com, the average high temperature for the next 10 days in Belleville, Ill., is forecast to be 96 degrees. The average high temperature for the same period in Traverse City, Mich., is forecast to be 84.2 degrees.

For those you who will be in the St. Louis area, keep cool the best you can and drink lots of water.

I'll try to keep you updated on the ride when I get access to a computer and Internet access, but blogging will be among the lowest of my priorities in the coming week.

Labels: cycling, Michigan, tours

Roger 0 comments links to this post 8:53 AM

Friday, August 03, 2007

Tour of Missouri St. Louis stage, Part II

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on the final stage of the Tour of Missouri, focusing on the fact that professional cyclist Dan Schmatz, a St. Louis County native and a member of the BMC Pro Cycling Team. will get to ride in a major pro race in Missouri on Sept. 11-16.

The Post-Dispatch reports Schmatz was especially excited about the Tour of Missouri's last stage, a 74-mile circuit race in St. Louis. The Post says the final circuit features 10 laps around a 7.4-mile course that starts in front of Union Station, heads west through Forest Park and returns downtown on Lindell.

Although the Post-Dispatch reports the circuit is 7.4 miles, the map and profile posted on the Tour of Missouri site indicates the final circuit is 10.6 miles. Since I was unable to attend the press conference Thursday, I don't know which is correct. But the map published today in the print version of the Post and the map on the race's Web site show identical streets and turns, and a check of the route at Bikely.com indicates it's 10.6 miles.

The stage is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and finish between 3:30 and 4 p.m., just after the St. Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Rams-San Francisco 49ers games that will be played in downtown St. Louis that day, the Post reports.

On Thursday afternoon, the Jefferson City News Tribune posted its story coming from the Wednesday press conference held in Jefferson City, Missouri's state capital. The News Tribune also quoted Schmatz extensively, only that they called him Pat Schmatz instead of Dan Schmatz.

The News Tribune focused on the expected participation of Levi Leipheimer and the hilly terrain racers will face in Missouri.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 2:23 AM

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Tour of Missouri St. Louis stage

The final stage of the Tour of Missouri on Sunday, Sept. 16, will begin and end at Union Station. Ride organizers posted the map tonight in advance of their press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday at Union Station.

Here's how the circuit will go: West on Market Street, west on Forest Park Parkway, north on DeBaliviere Ave, east on Delmar Boulevard, south on Euclid Avenue, east on Lindell Boulevard, east on Olive Street, south on 15th Street and west on Market back to Union Station. The circuit is about 10.6 miles, but the map doesn't make it clear how many laps are planned. Perhaps that will be revealed Thursday.

I'm sure race organizers would have loved to route the circuit closer to the Gateway Arch, but that wasn't a realistic option this year. The St. Louis Cardinals play the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, while the St. Louis Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome. Both are day games (Cards-Cubs at 1:15 p.m., Rams-49ers at noon), so traffic and parking demands would have made it nearly impossible to route the circuit any closer to the Arch and the Old Courthouse, two of the most iconic symbols of the city.

But, still, the Arch and the Old Courthouse will make a great backdrop for cyclists racing down Market Street. Of course, the colors won't be quite as vibrant during the race as they were when this picture of Market Street, the Arch, the Old Courthouse, Union Station and the Civil Courts building was taken, but a skilled photographer should be able to get a powerful image with the peloton and the landmarks.

Labels: cycling, racing, St. Louis, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:36 PM

Monday, July 30, 2007

Tour of Missouri route

As press conferences are being held this week in cities hosting the Tour of Missouri, race organizers are revealing details about the route. Today, the organizers posted the map for Stage 1 of the event, which will be Tuesday, Sept. 11, as well as the profile and information about Kansas City.

Stage 1 will start with a big loop that begins in Kansas City and goes through communities such as Parkville, Farley and Platte City before a finishing circuit in Kansas City for a total of 85.2 miles.

I'm looking forward to see how the circuit in St. Louis that will end the race on Sept. 16 will be routed, as well as the route for Stage 5 on Sept. 15 from Jefferson City to St. Charles.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:45 PM

Saturday, July 28, 2007

The ride of his life

I can't think of a better phrase than Phil Liggett's classic line "the ride of his life" to describe Levi Leipheimer's time trial win today in the Tour de France.

By winning the time trail, Leipheimer pretty much assured that an American will be standing on the podium tomorrow for the ninth consecutive year. Granted, it most likely will be for third place rather than first place, but it's still a nice place to be.

Barring unforeseen circumstances -- and there have been plenty on this Tour -- Leipheimer's Discovery Channel teammate, Alberto Contador, will be on the top step of the podium. Discovery Channel has all but won the team title.

Watching today's stage has caused me to reassess what I said Wednesday about the Tour de France and bicycle racing.

One, there is still plenty of glory to be had in cycling at the highest levels. While much of the media will remain focused on cycling's serious doping problem, anyone who can ride 34.52 miles in 1:02:44 as Leipheimer did today deserves all the glory he can get.

And while the doping scandals still may have an impact on events such as the Tour of Missouri, the presence of the Discovery Channel team cannot do anything but help the stature of that event. The Kansas City Star reported this week that Leipheimer likely will participate in the Tour of Missouri.

While the Tour of Missouri doesn't have a title sponsor as of today, it still has plenty of other sponsors, and organizers will be busy in the coming week revealing details about the route. Here's a schedule for the press conferences:

Kansas City: Monday, July 30, 11 a.m.—Country Club Plaza, 810 Zone, 4686 Broadway
Columbia: Tuesday, July 31, 10 a.m.—the Henry County Courthouse, 100 W. Franklin
Springfield: Tuesday, July 31, 1 p.m.—Jordan Valley Park, 635 E. Trafficway
Branson: Tuesday, July 31, 4 p.m.—Branson Landing on Branson Landing Blvd.
Lebanon: Wednesday, August 1, 10 a.m.—Lebanon City Hall, 401 Madison Blvd.
Columbia: Wednesday, August 1, 2 p.m. – Convention & Visitors Bureau, 300 S. Providence Jefferson City: Wednesday, August 1, 4:30 p.m. – Convention & Visitors Bureau, 213 Adams
St. Louis: Thursday, August 2, 11 a.m. – St. Louis Union Station, Grand Hall, 1820 Market

While there are plenty of problems that cycling has to solve, I'm confident the sport will overcome them.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France, Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments links to this post 12:09 PM

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Tour de Farce

Already, media outlets are calling this year's Tour de France the Tour de Farce because of the recent doping scandals.

Now that Rabobank has yanked Tour leader Michael Rasmussen from the race because he lied to his team about his whereabouts, you can expect to hear or read that phrase over and over again the next few days.

In case you missed it, here's what The Associated Press reported tonight:

"Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating (the team's) internal rules," Rabobank spokesman Jacob Bergsma said.

The expulsion, which Bergsma said was ordered by the Dutch team's sponsor, was linked to "incorrect" information that Rasmussen gave to the team's sports director over his whereabouts last month. The Danish cyclist missed random drug tests May 8 and June 28, saying he was in Mexico. But a former rider, Davide Cassani, told Denmark's Danmarks Radio on Wednesday that he had seen Rasmussen in Italy in mid-June.

Late last week, Danish federation officials announced that Rasmussen had been ejected from that country's national squad and would not be representing Denmark at the world championships or at next year's Olympic Games because his missed the tests.

Even before Rasmussen was yanked from the Tour, respected cycling reporter Samuel Abt of the International Herald Tribune said, "Let no one mistake it: This (Wednesday) was one of the blackest days in the 104-year history of the Tour de France."

Abt cited the removal of Alexandre Vinokourov and Cristian Moreni from the Tour, the protest staged by dozens of riders at the start of Wednesday's stage and the jeering Rasmussen faced at the start and end of the phase.

Yet, Abt was stunned by the normalcy of the atmosphere that surrounded the Tour on Wednesday. He writes:

In short, life went on placidly in the Tour de France on Wednesday, just as it has gone on despite the Festina Scandal in 1998 and the ouster of a dozen riders before the start in Strasbourg last year.

If nobody cares enough to get mad, do they care at all? The possibility of more doping scandals depends on the answer.

And here's some commentary from Australian sports commentator John McCoy of the Brisbane Times:

"Been watching the Tour de Chemist?"

Question put to me by a mate in a half joking, half serious manner. But the truth is that one of the world's great sporting events, now more than 100 years old, and famous for its stages, has recently gone through some unfortunate public perception stages ... disbelief, disillusionment, disgust and now derision....

I love cycling, its history, traditions, champions. There are few, if any, events which in the past have epitomised strength, determination, extraordinary fitness and good old sheer guts like the Tour de France. The great modern sporting tragedy is that it's now the Tour de Farce and may never recover its deserved glory.

As an avid cyclist myself, I have experienced similar encounters from my colleagues at the Belleville News-Democrat. One colleague even accused Tour de Donut participants of "donut doping."

I can't help but think that the newest scandals will make it more difficult to convince sponsors to back events such as the Tour of Missouri, and it probably will take years for the sport to recover from the damage that has been done.

Fortunately, there's still plenty of glory to be found in cycling. I hope I'm wrong, but just don't expect to find it at the highest levels of the sport, at least for now.

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour de France

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:29 PM

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Who says you have to train?

My older sister, Teresa Parod, her son, Julius, and two of his friends, Kyle Enochs and Nate Walters, recently completed the Cycling the Erie Canal ride in New York.

I'll let Teresa describe the ride in her own words: