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StoogeMania

Just in case you didn't get enough of the Three Stooges on May 5 at the Tour de Stooges, KPLR-TV, Channel 11, in St. Louis will be presenting 14 -- count 'em -- 14 hours of Three Stooges films.

The Stooge marathon takes place from midnight to 2 p.m. CDT. You can see the commercial for StoogeMania here: http://cw11tv.trb.com/kplr-stooges,0,4946619.blurb

It's good to see the Stooges back on Channel 11. That's where I watched hours of Stooges films from the 1960s into the 1990s.

Speaking of the Stooges, we mailed the final batch of Tour de Stooges T-shirts this week. We apologize in the delay in getting the shirts out because of circumstances out our control, but we hope those of you in the St. Louis area will have your shirts in time for StoogeMania!

Labels: Three Stooges

Roger 1 comments 2:01 PM

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Discovery signs on to Tour of Missouri

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported today that the Discovery Channel cycling team, for which Lance Armstrong rode to seven consecutive victories in the Tour de France, will participate in the Tour of Missouri, which begins Sept. 11 in Kansas City and ends Sept. 16 in St. Louis.

The top American riders on the team are Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie and Tom Danielson.

The Post-Dispatch calls Discovery's commitment significant, given the uncertain climate in cycling. A spate of doping allegations has led to jittery investors and the cancellation of the Tour of Utah and the Montreal-Boston Tour.

"Missouri has hung in there when other events haven't," said Steve Brunner, marketing director of the Tour of Missouri, told the newspaper. "Once you get a team like Discovery, a lot can fall into place. Getting Discovery proves that the event can be all that we hope."

Labels: cycling, racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments 2:18 PM

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Long-term bicycle parking

The Wood River (Ill.) Public Works Department recently discovered a bicycle that had been leaning against a tree for so long that the tree had grown completely around it, The (Alton) Telegraph reported today.

The old Western Flyer, complete with basket, was found in the back yard of a property the city was clearing in the 500 block of Park Lane. The newspaper reported that one theory is that many years ago, the bike was placed in the fork of the tree, which grew to consume the center portion of the bike.

The photo and brief article has generated quite a few comments. Feel free to add yours here or at The Telegraph's site.

Labels: bicycles, news of the weird

Roger 1 comments 11:59 AM

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

RAAM: We have a winner!

Congratulations to Slovenian Jure Robic, who won the male solo edition of this year's Race Across America -- the third time he has won the race. Robic made to the finish line in Atlantic City, N.J., at 7:03 a.m. CDT. His nearest competitors, Wolfgang Fasching and Gerhard Gulewicz, had less than 65 miles left to go as of this morning.

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.

As of today, only one team has yet to reach the Mississippi River. Team Kitten -- Pete Maisel and Wendy Gardiner of Acworth, Ga. -- is the only remaining team in the two-person mixed division. They reached Marthasville, Mo., at 2:06 a.m. CDT today.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments 9:56 AM

Friday, June 15, 2007

RAAM arrives in St. Louis region

Jure Robic is the first Race Across America competitor to make it into the St. Louis region. Robic clocked into Marthasville, Mo., at 3:22 p.m. CDT today. Two others, Wolfgang Fasching and Daniel Wyss, have made it to the Jefferson City, Mo., time station, and Fasching recently arrived in Marthasville.

Robic reached the Mississippi River at 8:24 p.m. today and is expected to reach Greenville, Ill., later tonight.

To give you an idea on how spread out the field is, the lead woman, Kerry White, checked in at the Ulysses, Kan., time station at 9:26 p.m. today. Ulysses is about 700 miles west of the Mississippi River.

Labels: cycling, RAAM, racing

Roger 0 comments 10:10 PM

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Spoofhounds and Bushwhackers

BETHANY, Mo. -- Today is the third day of this year's Cycle Across Missouri. CAM often is a loop tour of a region of Missouri, and this year is one of those.

The ride began Sunday at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and will end there Friday. Sunday night, we stayed in St. Joseph, Mo., then we moved on Monday to Maryville, Mo.

Maryville probably is the most obscure of the communities that host a public university in Missouri, Northwest Missouri State, but Maryville High School probably has one of the most obscure nicknames in the country, the Spoofhounds. The Spoofhounds are so unique that they even have their own entry in Wikipedia!

The story goes that a football coach had seen a bunch of Plaster of Paris toys called The Spoof Hound, then told his players after a particularly bad practice that they looked like Spoof Hounds. The name stuck, and the schools' teams are still known as Spoofhounds.

The Bushwhackers are people like Jesse James and others of his ilk who once roamed that part of Missouri.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am doing this ride more in a support role rather than a cycling mode, although I'm trying to get some miles in when I can. It certainly is educational being on the other end of a supported weeklong trip. What I've learned isn't quite clear yet, but I'll let you know soon.

Labels: cycling, Missouri, tours

Roger 0 comments 4:07 PM

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Race Across America begins Sunday

Race Across America is celebrating its 26th anniversary in 2007, and this year's edition gets started Sunday in Oceanside, Calif.

The 2007 route is nearly the same as the 2006 route, which means it once again will be going through the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. If last year's times are any indication, competitors will start entering the region the morning of Saturday, June 16. The St. Louis region's time stations are the same as last year: Marthasville, Mo.; the Mississippi River just before they cross the bridge into Alton, Ill.; and Greenville, Ill.

By the time they get to the Mississippi River, this year's competitors will have gone 1,997 miles and climbed 66,100 feet, according to RAAM. They will have 1,046.3 miles to go.

Last year's male solo traditional division winner, Daniel Wyss of Switzerland, returns to defend his title. Last year, he rode the 3,042.8 miles of the race in 10 days and 52 seconds. There are 25 men and 5 women entered in the solo competitions. Once again, there are team competitions as well.

Labels: RAAM, racing

Roger 2 comments 7:21 PM

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Must ride bike on Mother Road

While I'll never be as fascinated with Route 66 as much as Mother Road enthusiasts Ron Warnick and Emily Priddy are, I have to admit that I have some interest in the history behind Route 66.

As a participant in Saturday's Route 66 Trail "trail-breaking" event sponsored by the League of Illinois Bicyclists, I got a small taste of the Mother Road.

My intention was to ride either from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge or Edwardsville to Staunton, but a late night of copy editing and page designing at the Belleville News-Democrat on Friday night and the fact I was in charge of getting the paper out Saturday night meant I had to curtail my plans.

I instead drove up to Staunton and did a short trip from Staunton to Mount Olive and back. Even though I'm a native of Macoupin County (Brighton, to be precise), I had never visited Mother Jones' gravesite in Mount Olive or Henry's Rabbit Ranch in Staunton.

Most people have heard of Mother Jones magazine, but they may not know about the woman the magazine is named after.

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was a prominent labor organizer in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and she was known for her efforts to build support for the United Mine Workers. Before she died in 1930 at the age of 100, she asked to be buried with “her boys” in the Union Miners Cemetery in Mount Olive. Buried near her are miners who died in an 1898 riot in nearby Virden.

Upon my return to Staunton, I briefly talked with Rich Henry, the co-owner of Henry's Rabbit Ranch. Rich and his wife, Linda, have turned an old Mother Road service station into a Route 66 visitor's center filled with memorabilia about Route 66 and the trucking industry.

As part of the event, the city of Staunton dedicated the Duda Gardens, which eventually will serve as a trailhead for the ITS Trail from Staunton to Benld and a Madison County Transit trail that will stretch from Staunton to Worden.

There, I got to see an old friend from my college days, freelance photographer Dennis Garrels. Dennis was shooting the event for his hometown's weekly paper, but he's photographed scenes from Route 66. You can see a video of Dennis talking about his work at the Route 66 Today Web site.

The Route 66 Trail is a work in progress. Most of the trail is on road and often strays away from the Mother Road for safety reasons. The League of Illinois Bicyclists says the route will change as more off-road trails are developed and existing roads are improved.

Labels: cycling, League of Illinois Bicyclists, Route 66

Roger 1 comments 9:06 PM

Friday, June 01, 2007

Reminder: Route 66 Trail-Breaking

Don't forget, tomorrow (June 2) is the Route 66 Trail-Breaking event in Illinois.

Cyclists will be traveling segments of the trail between Chicago and St. Louis. Ceremonies are planned in the neighborhood of noon in these Route 66 communities: Edwardsville, Staunton, Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Pontiac and Joliet.

You can still sign up for the event through the League of Illinois Bicyclists. Just fill out the requested information, choose the segment you plan to do, accept the waiver, and you'll be directed to the maps for the segment. You can do all or part of the segment.

Labels: cycling, League of Illinois Bicyclists, Route 66

Roger 0 comments 10:16 AM