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Busy, busy, busy

The Tour de Stooges and the Tour de Grape are more than three months away, the Tour de Belleville is about six months away, and the Tour de Coal ride is about eight months away. But I haven't written much here because of planning and other projects related to those three rides.

Because of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation's Bike Swap Meet on Sunday at the Gateway Center in Collinsville, Ill., I had to pick up the pace on getting the brochure on Tour de Stooges ready to go. I normally don't print those until late February or early March, but the meet and the deep discounts we're offering for early registration have forced me to get them printed this week.

The swap meet also forced me to attempt to fix the problem with the mailing list for the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society so I can get the word out about the meet and upcoming events. I had to download an update to the Dada Mail program we use to send the newsletters, and as far as I'm aware, just about everyone received it.

I will be spending all day at the Tour de Grape booth at the meet. I have to work solo because the rest of the ride main organizers will be recovering from HavenHouse St. Louis' annual HopeFest auction that raises money for the group, which provides lodging for the families of children receiving treatment at St. Louis-area hospitals. Meanwhile, Gateway Council of Hostelling International-USA Executive Director Mark Cockson and hardy volunteers will be giving out information about that group's great rides, including Tour de Stooges and Cycle Across Missouri.

From what I understand, some people over at STLBikeFed were a little concerned about having the event in Illinois instead of Missouri. I don't think that's a big worry. People from Missouri are used to coming to Illinois for weekend bicycle rides, and it's not that difficult to drive from downtown St. Louis to Collinsville. I'm certain the Gateway Center will be a much nicer venue for the event than the previous sites, and it will help build the visibility of STLBikeFed on this side of the river.

On Monday and Tuesday, I met with organizers of Tour de Belleville and Tour de Coal.

This year's Tour de Belleville will be Friday, July 13, and will feature routes of 7 and 14. Money raised from the event will be used to purchase emergency phones for the Richland Creek Greenway/MetroLink Trail. Last year was the first year for the event, and it drew about 500 cyclists.

Tour de Coal, also in its second year, will be Saturday, Sept. 22, in Benld, Ill. Organizers were encouraged by the turnout on a cool, cloudy day, and they're expecting a nice turnout for the event. Tour de Coal features routes of 15, 30 and 63 through the flat-to-rolling rural scenery of southern Macoupin County.

Here's hoping next week I have more time to spend on the indoor trainer!

Labels: cycling, Gateway Council of Hostelling International, Illinois, St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, Tour de Coal, Tour de Grape, Tour de Stooges

Roger 1 comments 12:20 AM

Comments:

I'm so busy with work I haven't had time to think of bike ride stuff! Ugh!

# posted by  Yokota Fritz : 11:57 AM

 

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