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Remember the Baby!

For those of us who are Catholic, today was the Fourth Sunday of Advent. I attended Mass today at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. Our presider, Father Ed Hauf, stressed the importance of remembering the Baby this Christmas season.

The baby, of course, is Jesus Christ.

Up to now, I did not feel the Christmas spirit. A lot of that is because what passes for "spirit" in the days before Christmas is really little more than commercialization. Too much emphasis is put on the cost of the presents rather than the spirit behind the present.

While it would be nice if there were a Cannondale System Six or a Trek Madone SSL 6.9 bicycle underneath my mom's Christmas tree tomorrow morning, I will be just as happy with less expensive presents because I know there will be plenty of love behind them.

Another reason I didn't catch the spirit earlier is that people aren't sending nearly as many Christmas cards as they once did, and I think that's a sad thing. I'm sure there's plenty of reasons: the expense of cards and postage, the prevalence of e-mail or a simple lack of time. I've noticed over the past five years or so that I receive fewer cards than I did a decade ago, and I know I'm not the only one. Alas, I simply ran out of time this year and did not send as many cards as I usually do. For those of you who are my friends and didn't get a card, please accept my apologies and I hope to do better next year.

But now, I am in the spirit of Christmas. I look forward to the peaceful drive from Belleville to Brighton tonight, I look forward to Christmas Mass tomorrow morning with my mom at my home parish, St. Alphonsus Church in Brighton, Ill., and I look forward to seeing my family. Later in the week, my older sister and her family will come down from the Chicago area to celebrate Christmas and a bunch of family birthdays that surround Christmas. There will be plenty of love to go along.

It is my hope this Christmas that all of you will remember the love and humility that the Baby is all about. Even if you aren't a believer in Christianity, love and humility are fine traits to share with one another. That's what Christmas is really all about.

Labels: Christmas, family

Roger 1 comments 5:18 PM

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Tour de Grape press release

Julie Gaebe, the development director of HavenHouse St. Louis, is much too generous in calling me the organizer of the Tour de Grape bicycle tour, because she and a host of others are putting a ton of work in effort to make this fund-raising ride a success. Nevertheless, I'm passing along the press release she wrote about the event:

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First Annual Tour de Grape Is a Beginning of Season Joy Ride for Cyclists

The first annual Tour de Grape to benefit HavenHouse St. Louis is planned and ready for action as a two-day, 100 mile pledge cycling tour of the wine areas near Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, MO over May 12 and 13, 2007. Participants pay a modest $25 registration fee and collect minimum pledges of $250 each, and prizes will be awarded to individuals and teams raising the most money for HavenHouse’s programs and services.

HavenHouse St. Louis provides lodging, care and support services for up to 33 families, or 100 people, each night in their 32,000 sq. ft. facility in Creve Coeur. “The actual cost of our program (room, meals, transportation to area hospitals and support services) is $75 per family per night. Families may receive vouchers of up to $50 per night, and half of the families’ remaining $25 obligation is paid by third parties such as Shrine temples, Medicaid or health related foundations,” explains Kathy Sindel, Executive Director. “We rely upon the generosity of individuals and the success of events like the Tour de Grape so that we can serve more than 1,500 families next year.” HavenHouse provides what a family needs to rest, regain their strength and focus on their critically, chronically or terminally ill child.

The Tour de Grape is the perfect brainchild of a committee including organizer Roger Kramer, USA Cycling Certified Coach Chris Mileski, and route chairs Charley Sindel and Larry Keith. “Over half of the families that travel to HavenHouse for their child’s hospitalizations in St. Louis actually reside in Missouri or Eastern Illinois and last year, 15 families from the route areas stayed at HavenHouse as guests. We feel that we are including our extended family with this event,” says Kathy Sindel.

“We know this ride is early in the season, so it is a great way for cycling enthusiasts to prepare for a great year of riding,” says Kramer. “On day one, participants will ride one of two routes around the hills of Farmington, and on day two, they will enjoy the history and scenery near Ste. Genevieve and the Illinois areas from Chester to Fort de Chartres as they choose two routes of different lengths.” Lunches are served both days, and an awards dinner on Saturday will recognize the people raising the most money for HavenHouse.

For more information, visit www.tourdegrape.com, www.tourdegrape.org, or www.havenhousestl.org.

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Not mentioned in the press release is the fact Tour de Grape is a Missouri Advocacy Event. That means $1 of your registration fee will go the Missouri Bicycle Federation so it can pursue improved bicycle facilities and safety for Missouri cyclists.

Labels: bicycling, Tour de Grape

Roger 0 comments 5:30 PM

Monday, December 18, 2006

Being seen!

Thanks to my longtime friend Doug Kaufman, I will be seen on the roads next cycling season!

The picture at left doesn't quite convey how loud this orange jersey is! It's more like a bright orange construction sign than the muted orange the photo shows.

I've known Doug now for 24 years since our days in the journalism program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Doug has a Christmas brunch each year for his longtime friends. It was great chance to relax and catch up with friends. Although I see several of the guests regularly at the Belleville News-Democrat, it's always great to see them outside work and talk about non-work topics.

My gift to Doug was a poster of the front page I designed for the Belleville News-Democrat after the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. A lot of friends and relatives will be receiving that poster from me this holiday season!

Doug felt compelled to share a story about me from BubbaFest: Doug and I stopped for a bite to eat at a small store just before the Long Key Viaduct. I was already checking out after having purchased from peanuts and a drink when Doug noticed a must-have treat -- a frozen slice of key lime pie smothered in chocolate!

Doug urged to get a slice, but since I was almost done checking out, I was hemming and hawing a bit. Doug asked again. I still hemmed and hawed.

"I'm buying," Doug said.

"OK!" I exclaimed without blinking an eye.

Well, there is more to the story. After the end of my ride in Tavernier, ride organizer Bubba Barron picked me up at the bicycle rental shop, and we stopped for Cuban sandwiches at the nearby Sunshine Cafe. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the folks who work there know how to make a great sandwich, so I bought Doug a sandwich.

Speaking of BubbaFest, I'm still working on the full account for the main portion of the Web site. I got sidetracked by work on the Tour de Stooges and Tour de Grape bicycle rides, so I'm working on it here and there when I get a chance. I'll keep you posted when I get it done!

Labels: cycling, jerseys

Roger 2 comments 9:44 AM

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Cross training ... of sorts

We're in the midst of some unseasonably warm weather here in the St. Louis area, but I won't be able to take advantage of it for cycling until Friday.

But thanks to the ice storm that hit our region two weeks ago, I got a good workout in yesterday and today at my mom's farm near Brighton, Ill.

The ice storm completely knocked down two redbud trees and a walnut tree and littered dozens of limbs from other trees on my mom's yard, so I spend much of yesterday afternoon and this morning picking up limbs and piling them on a brush pile. I took care of most of the big stuff, except for the tree limbs that require a chain saw, while I left the smaller sticks for my sisters, my brothers-in-law and my nieces and nephew to pick up.

All those hours I spent as a child picking up limbs for brush piles definitely came in handy!

When everything's picked up, we'll have ourselves a little bonfire so the kids can roast some hot dogs and marshmallows, probably when everyone's in town for Christmas.

Labels: winter

Roger 0 comments 1:47 PM

Monday, December 11, 2006

Bicycle plans in North America

In the past few days, I've have the chance to peruse some sites about proposed or completed bicycle plans or studies in North America. Here are a few of them:

Seattle: The city of Seattle, Wash., is in the process of developing a master plan for cycling in that city. Fueling the plan are concerns about the fact that more than 900 cyclists have been injured and 5 cyclists have been killed in Seattle.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that as the city writes its first-ever bicycle master plan -- an effort to promote cycling and reroute some bike traffic to make it safer -- it faces thorny problems, such as what to do with a trail that contributes to both safety and crash numbers. Other top concerns: narrow streets with little room for bike lanes; increasing traffic and construction; and irritated motorists and cyclists who have formed a mutual blame society.

Calgary: We move north of the border for the next two items. Calgary, Alberta, is surveying cyclists to increase the quality and quantity of bicycle routes in that city. The poll also asks questions about safety, bicycle parking facilities and other issues important to bicycle commuters.

Quebec: The Velo Quebec Association in June published a report about cycling in the Canadian province called "Cycling in Quebec in 2005" (PDF file, English version). The report states that 54 percent of people in the province rode a bicycle at least once during 2005 and that interest in the sport has increased substantially in the past 25 years.

St. Louis: In 2004 and 2005, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments worked on a bicycling and pedestrian plan for the region. As of this time, the plan is still called a draft, rather than a final plan. There is no indication on the site whether it became a final document.

Roger 1 comments 12:27 PM

Monday, December 04, 2006

Ice storm's impact still being felt

Thousands of people today are still lacking power because of the extensive ice storm that hit Illinois and Missouri on Thursday night and Friday morning. For example, the Belleville News-Democrat reports today that 69 percent of Ameren customers in Edwardsville, Ill., and 56 percent of people in the Belleville-Swansea area are still are without power.

At the height of the storm, about 500,000 Ameren customers lacked power in the two states. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that number is down to about 209,000 as of this morning.

I was one of the lucky ones. My closest neighbors and I did not lose power at all, and we are most grateful for that.

My mom, whose farm near Brighton, Ill., is served by a rural electric co-operative, lost power about 11 p.m. Thursday and did not regain it until Sunday afternoon. She was fortunate in that she could stay with my younger sister in Godfrey, who only had brief outages.

Sadly, this is the St. Louis region's second experience with long-term power outages this year. Hundreds of thousands of people also lost power when a storm packing powerful winds blew through the region in July.

Labels: electricity, weather, winter

Roger 0 comments 11:37 AM

Bike trails taking shape across area

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch today reports the idea of a two-state web of interwoven bicycle trails is beginning to take form. Tax-supported local agencies in Illinois and Missouri, like the railroad builders of old, extending a network that will allow riders a choice of routes for pedaling the breadth of the metro area.

As you might expect, Madison County Transit's extensive 85-mile network of trails is a big part of the story, and so are the efforts by Trailnet and the Great Rivers Greenway District in their efforts to build trails on the Missouri side of the river.

"Trails connect us," David Fisher, director of the Great Rivers Greenway District, told the Post-Dispatch. "They let us be healthy together. And they have become very, very popular."

More trails are in the works. Some of those not included in the Post-Dispatch story include a trail that would link O'Fallon, Ill., with the Madison County Trails system near Troy and a trail in Swansea that would tie into the MetroLink Bike Trail in Belleville. And let not forget about the efforts of the ITS Trail Committee, which is trying to build a trail from Staunton to Benld in Macoupin County, Ill., with a long-term goal of linking the Madison County trails to the south and Springfield, Ill., to the north.

Labels: bicycling, Illinois, Missouri, trails

Roger 0 comments 11:10 AM

Friday, December 01, 2006

Woman sentenced in cyclist's death

A 19-year-old Urbana, Ill., woman, Jennifer Stark pleaded guilty Wednesday to a petty offense and was sentenced for actions that led to the death of Matthew Wilhelm, the (Champaign) News-Gazette reported.

Wilhelm, a 25-year-old former Champaign resident, a University of Illinois mechanical engineering graduate working for Caterpillar in Peoria, died on Sept. 8 from head injuries he received Sept. 2 when Stark hit him with her car because she was downloading ring tones to her cell phone instead of paying attention to driving.

Stark received the maximum penalty for the offense, improper lane usage: a maximum sentence of six months of conditional discharge, a form of probation without reporting to an officer; a $1,000 fine; and traffic safety school.

"I can only apply the law I have in front of me, not as I wish it would be," Champaign County Judge Richard Klaus said during the sentencing hearing.

Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz did not file a more serious charge, such as reckless homicide, because she determined the accident that killed Wilhelm did not fit the state's legal definition of recklessness needed to file a felony reckless homicide charge.

Rietz is pushing for the Illinois General Assembly to create a stronger law for distracted drivers. According to a draft of the proposed bill, a person would be guilty of negligent vehicular homicide if "while in the course of operating a motor vehicle, the person's negligent operation of such vehicle is a substantial cause of the death of another person."

Wilhelm's parents, Gloria and Chuck Wilhelm, are continuing their push for the General Assembly to pass the law. The News-Gazette reported that the Wilhelms spent much of Tuesday talking to state representatives and senators and their staffs about the legislation.

The Associated Press picked up the story Thursday, and several Illinois newspapers, including the Belleville News-Democrat, published it in Friday editions.

Labels: advocacy, bicycling, fatal accidents

Roger 5 comments 12:13 PM