Sunday, August 30, 2009

Tour of Missouri: Don't forget the women!

Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish, Christian Vande Velde and Thor Hushvold -- among others -- aren't the only elite cyclists who will be competing for Tour of Missouri glory.

The Tour of Missouri Women's Series will be run as part of the annual Gateway Cup series of bike races over four days in St. Louis. Here's the schedule of women's races:

• Tour of Lafayette, 8:30 p.m. Friday (Sept. 4): This is a 0.9-mile course around Lafayette Park.
• St. Louis Hills, 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 5): This is an 1.25-mile course around Francis Park in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.
• Gira Della Montagna, 4:15 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 6): This is a 0.9-mile course in The Hill neighborhood, an enclave best known for its Italian restaurants.
• Tour of Missouri Pro/Am, 11:45 a.m. Monday (Sept. 7): The 1-mile course shares the start-finish line with the Tour of Missouri at the new City Garden on Market Street and passes Busch Stadium, the home of the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals (In case you're wondering, the Cardinals playing in Milwaukee on Labor Day).

You can see detailed maps of the course at the Gateway Cup schedule page, as well as download a Word document with the schedule of Gateway Cup races.

Who will be there? Two-time U.S. national champion Brooke Miller, racing for Team Tibco, won the inaugural Tour of Missouri women’s race in 2008, and the Tour of Missouri site says she will return to defend her title.

Tour of Missouri organizers say Kelly Benjamin, a past stage winner and 2007 overall women’s champion, will be returning. Also expected are U.S. criterium champ Tina Pic and sprinter Laura Van Gilder.

In addition to Team Tibco, the Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Team Type 1,
LipSmacker, Team ValueAct, Capital, Vanderkitten, Proman and the Webcor Builders teams are expected to compete in the Tour of Missouri Women's Series.

In addition to the racing, the women will participate in a soiree and team presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at SqWires Restuarant in the Lafayette neighborhood. Tickets are $35 and are available through the Big Shark bicycle shop. At 7 p.m. Sunday, a panel discussion about the future of women's cycling is planned at the Residence Inn by Marriott Downtown St. Louis. The event is free, but you need to contact coordinator Amy McMinn to get on the attendance list.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments 11:03 PM

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Lance Armstrong: Who needs him?

All right, I'll admit it would be nice if Lance Armstrong would be riding in this year's Tour of Missouri. I'll go as far and say the event's crowds would be substantially bigger if Armstrong was aboard.

Back in March or April, when I was distributing fliers for the Tour de Stooges to St. Louis-area bicycle shops, I had the chance to chat with Mike Weiss, the owner of the Big Shark bike shop in St. Louis and an organizer of the Tour of Missouri. At the time, he told me that while it would be a bonus if Armstrong was there, the goal was to have a great event without him.

And the fact of the matter is that the Tour of Missouri, which runs from Labor Day through Sept. 13, will be a great event without him.

The prestige of the event went up a notch or two on Friday when Tour of Missouri organizers announced that Levi Leipheimer will be racing for Astana.

"I'm still recovering from my broken wrist suffered in the Tour de France, but anytime I have the opportunity to line up for a race of this caliber in my own country, I'm going to make my best effort to participate," said Leipheimer, who was positioned in the top five overall in the Tour de France when he crashed. "Since I haven't raced in over a month, it's hard to give an assessment of my form, but I know our entire team is very excited and motivated for this race."

Leipheimer will be joined by former junior world champion Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia, Steve Morabito, Andrey Zeits, Sergey Renev; plus team-winning Tour de France performers and strongmen Gregory Rast, the 2007 Tour of Luxembourg winner and stage winner (team time trial) of this year's Tour de France, Dmitri Muravyev, a three-time Kazakhstan National Champion in the time trial and Yaroslav Popovych, who is a podium finisher at the Tour of Italy and former stage winner of the Tour de France and America's Tour de Georgia.

Here's some other reasons to make the trip to Missouri to see the race:

• Defending champion Christian Vande Velde, an Illinois native who finished eighth at this year's Tour de France.
• David Zabriskie, a four-time U.S. time trial champion.
• George Hincapie, the winner of the 2007 Tour of Missouri.
• Jens Voigt, a multiple Tour de France stage winner and two-time Tour of Germany champion.
• Mark Cavendish, a 10-time Tour de France stage winner who is considered the world's best sprinter.
• Thor Hushvold, the sprint jersey winner of this year's Tour de France.

I know I'm looking forward to seeing parts of the first three stages of the race, the Sept. 7 Stage 1 circuit race in St. Louis, the Sept. 8 Stage 2 from Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau and the Sept. 9 Stage 3 from Farmington to Rolla. Stage 3 should be the must-see stage as the cyclists take on some of the most difficult terrain the Midwest has to offer.

Hope to see you in the Show-Me State!

Labels: Tour of Missouri

Roger 1 comments 1:44 AM

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Route 66 Trail Ride

In a matter of days, cyclists will be taking off from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis and begin a the League of Illinois Bicyclists' Route 66 Trail Ride up to Chicago. The route generally will follow the Route 66 Trail developed by LIB and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

At 8 a.m. Saturday, the ride will take off from the bridge and wind up in Carlinville, the county seat of Macoupin County. Macoupin County is the home of several old alignments of Route 66, the first going though Staunton, Benld, Gillespie, Carlinville, Girard and Virden. Today, most of that alignment is Illinois Route 4.

The ride is slated to end Sept. 3 near the Art Institute in downtown Chicago. The overnight towns are Carlinville, Springfield, Bloomington, Dwight and Joliet.

The cost of the six-day ride is reasonable -- free for LIB members, $25 for non-members -- but the Route 66 Trail Ride is a mostly self-supported ride, meaning cyclists are responsible for all meals, snacks and accommodations.

The big goal of the ride is to promote the Route 66 Trail. Representatives from LIB, DNR and the Route 66 Trail Executive Council will meet with the media and local officials in an effort to encourage route improvements including signage, paved shoulders, and off-road trails.

Not surprisingly, one of the stops is Staunton, the home of the Tour de Donut ride. I know it seems I'm fixated with Staunton, but that community knows that bicyclists can bring lots of money and attention to a small town. Staunton bicyclists, walkers and runners frequently use the recently completed MCT Quercus Grove Trail, which links Staunton with Edwardsville.

The Staunton Route 66 Trail Ride event is slated for noon Saturday at the South Water Tower Park. To coincide with the ride, the Illinois Traction System Trail Committee will be sponsoring a Bike Safety Clinic during the festivities from 10 a.m. to noon at the park. First- through eighth- graders and encouraged about riding safely on Illinois roads and how and why helmet wearing is important. Personnel from several community organizations will be on hand to talk to kids about safe bike riding and injury prevention.

Every participant will have the opportunity to have professionals from Rhe Cyclery in Edwardsville inspect their bikes for free. The first 100 youth completing the program will also receive a free bike helmet, water bottle and other goodies. The Staunton Chamber of Commerce will also be giving away one boys bicycle and one girls bicycle during the event.

You can see a schedule of events and communities at the LIB Web site.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis-based Gateway Council of Hostelling International is moving along with plans for its first-ever Cycle Route 66 ride. Cyclists will be bused Oct. 10 from Route 66 State Park in the St. Louis suburb of Eureka to the start of the ride in Miami, Okla. From Oct. 11 to Oct. 16, they will travel on sections of the Mother Road in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.

The cost of Cycle Route 66 is $500 ($450 for HI members) for people sharing motel rooms with an extra fee charged for private rooms. The cost of the ride includes motels, breakfasts and dinners, and SAG support.

Labels: Gateway Council of Hostelling International, League of Illinois Bicyclists, Route 66

Roger 0 comments 10:10 PM

Friday, August 21, 2009

Bicycles can run some red lights in Missouri

Starting next Friday, Aug. 28, bicyclists and motorcyclists can legally run -- well, sort of run -- some red lights in Missouri.

The so-called "Dead Red" law (PDF file) signed last month by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon allows bicyclists and motorcyclists to proceed through red lights under these conditions:

• They come to a complete stop first.

• The signal continues to show a red light for an “unreasonable time.”

• The signal is malfunctioning or failed to detect a bicycle or motorcycle.

• Traffic on the cross street doesn’t pose a hazard.

The Kansas City Star says Missouri will be one of eight states that have similar laws, which are intended to address occasions when motorcycles or bikes aren’t detected by traffic signal sensors in the road.

I live in one of the 42 states -- Illinois to be precise -- that doesn't have the law. It seems like a commonsense approach to me. There are simply a lot of intersections where there's no way my aluminum bicycle with only a small number of steel parts is going to trigger magnetic traffic sensors.

I proceed through those intersections following the steps described above. It sure would be nice to be able to do so legally.

Labels: advocacy, Missouri, safety

Roger 0 comments 1:39 PM

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Suspect charged in Old Chain of Rocks Bridge break-ins

Nearly two dozen vehicle break-ins have taken place this year at the Illinois lot of the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, but there's good news for bridge visitors.

Madison (Ill.) police last week arrested a suspect, 18-year-old Kenneth A. Woods-Bey of St. Louis, and he has been charged four felony counts of burglary, the Suburban Journals report this week.

According to the story -- written by Scott Cousins, a longtime friend and a classmate of mine at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville -- Officer Scott Reynolds had dropped off a prisoner at the Madison County Jail in Edwardsville and was coming back to the city when he decided to do a quick patrol of Chouteau Island about 8 a.m. last Friday. As Reynolds was heading toward the Canal Bridge, a black Dodge Challenger that had been identified as being previously used in a break-in on the island was crossing ahead of him. The officer stopped the vehicle and took three people into custody.

Madison Police Chief Steve Shelby told the Journals that police were able to identify Woods-Bey through video from security cameras on the bridge and in the parking lot. The other two people in the car were not charged.

As I've unfortunately had to report several times over the years, Missouri and Illinois parking lots at the bridge have been plagued by car break-ins. Trailnet, which operates the bridge that is owned by the city of Madison, ultimately had to close the Missouri lot adjacent to the bridge -- except for special events -- because of the problem and a lack of funds to provide security every day.

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge once carried Route 66 traffic over the Mississippi River; today it's a bicycle/pedestrian bridge that draws lots of visitors. Let's hope this arrest helps make visitors feel a bit safer.

Labels: Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, Route 66

Roger 0 comments 1:37 PM

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Mother Road bike path gets support

In recent days, the Normal City Council approved a bicycling-pedestrian master plan, and the McLean County Board approved an engineering contract for a proposed Route 66 bikeway.

That's good news as far as the Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph is concerned. In an editorial Tuesday, the Pantagraph says: "Don't take this area's links to the Route 66 for granted. Appreciate the potential it offers for recreation and tourism."

On Tuesday, the McLean County Board approved a $170,000 engineering contract for a 3.5-mile section of the trail between west Bloomington and Shirley, a small town southwest of Bloomington on the Mother Road, the Pantagraph reported.

County Board member Don Cavallini said private financing was made available for a portion of the bikeway around Lexington, and board member Stan Hoselton said Chenoa received $300,000 for a portion near that community.

"If it's extended, it would be quite an additional asset to McLean County," Cavallini said.

McLean County has been committed to a Route 66 bikeway since 1999, when the county reached an intergovernmental agreement with communities along the Mother Road to build the bikeway.

County leaders anticipate the bikeway will become part of the Route 66 Trail, a system of trails and roads mapped by the League of Illinois Bicyclists that links St. Louis and Chicago. While most of the trail is on roads, including old alignments of Route 66, efforts are being made to create more trails.

For example, Madison County Transit had made it possible to ride from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge to Staunton, Ill., on bike trails or designation bike routes. Folks in neighboring Macoupin County are looking into turning unused pavement on an old Route 66 alignment between Staunton and Litchfield into a bike trail as well.

To draw attention to the potential of Route 66 as a cycling destination, LIB is putting on the 2009 Route 66 Trail Ride from Aug. 29 to Sept. 3. The tour is a loosely organized and self-supported ride with several events scheduled to discuss the trail.

Labels: League of Illinois Bicyclists, Route 66, trails

Roger 0 comments 11:40 AM

Sunday, August 16, 2009

World Naked Bike Ride photos!

No, sorry, they're not here. I had to work Saturday night and once again missed all the raw glory of St. Louis' second version of the World Naked Bike Ride.

However, you can find photos of the 2009 ride at the Riverfront Times. A word of caution: Many of the photos are not suitable for the workplace or children.

Labels: advocacy, bicycle rides, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments 10:00 AM

Friday, August 14, 2009

No Lance at Tour of Missouri

In a series of news conferences this week, Tour of Missouri organizers have been more or less confirming that Lance Armstrong won't be racing in the Missouri race Sept. 7-13.

Armstrong's soon-to-be former team, Astana, is committed to the race, but Armstrong will be in Quebec on Sept. 11 for a fundraiser ride for a cancer center in Montreal.

Don't expect Tour de France winner Alberto Contador to represent Astana in Missouri, either. The St. Joseph News-Press reports Contador will be racing in the Vuelta a Espana in his native Spain.

Chris Aronhalt, managing partner with Medalist Sports, the company directing the tour, says there's still hope Armstrong could show up in Missouri for the final weekend, but not as a competitor.

There's still plenty of reasons for cycling fans to flock to Missouri in September. Defending champion Christian Vande Velde will be back as will Mark Cavendish. Cavendish's Team Columbia-HTC teammate George Hincapie hopes to compete if he can recover from an injury in time.

Tour of Missouri organizers also confirmed this week that Tour de France King of the Mountains winner Franco Pellazotti will represent Liquigas in Missouri.

Speaking of Hincapie, it appears Hincapie will be joining Armstrong on Team RadioShack next year, not a big surprise given Hincapie was Armstrong's top lieutenant in his Tour de France wins. Armstrong confirmed Hincapie's move in an interview with Outside Magazine.

Labels: racing, Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments 10:12 AM

League of Michigan Bicyclists boycotts radio stations

On Thursday, the League of Michigan Bicyclists posted an open letter boycotting Greater Media for comments made on radio station WCSX in Detroit by morning show hosts Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle. LMB has extended its boycott to other Greater Media stations, including WRIF and WMGC in the Detroit area.

Here's some excerpts from the letter:

Greater Media’s radio station, WCSX, aired deplorable remarks the morning of August 6, 2009 that encouraged violence against bicyclists.

These reprehensible comments not only belittled cyclists for enjoying a healthy legitimate form of transportation, they made reference to Grand Theft Auto, an intensely violent video game where players run over and maim people.

Greater Media has failed to take appropriate corrective measures to date. I request that Greater Media immediately publicly retract these statements, as well as publicly censure the employees involved in these appalling comments. ...

The on air diatribe went on for over eight minutes and at one point even ridicules the use of bike helmets. A sampling of the intolerable comments made by radio hosts Jeff Deminiski and Bill Doyle are:

“How many of us drivers are disgusted with how bicyclists take to the road. … I’m sorry, they’re jerks. I doubt very much that any cyclist would have the gumption to call us, but how many of them have seen a bicyclist and would just LOVE to lob something at their heads? … God forbid we try to get by them! The guy on the bike is doing 19 mph., they won’t get over, … and it is just flat-out arrogance. … OH GOD, you just want to go Grand Theft Auto on them. … Just move over. That’s all I’m saying. … I don’t see why they are so arrogant. They are riding something which against your 4,000 pound vehicle could launch them like an acorn.“

You can listen to the diatribe here: http://tinyurl.com/lffvvs and http://dd.wcsx.com/?p=4324

LMB is urging cyclists to sign an online petition showing their support for the boycott and its urging businesses to drop their ads on General Media stations until the company retracts the statements and censure the employees involved in the diatribe. LMB urges people to boycott businesses that continue to advertise with General Media stations before corrective action is taken.

Deminski and Doyle did talk this week to Paul Alman of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition about their discussion about bicyclists and safety, and you can listen to the interview. They did they did not condone throwing violence toward cyclists and that they were simply drawing attention to the tension between bicyclists and motorists and noting cyclists often don't obey traffic laws.

Labels: advocacy, Michigan, radio

Roger 0 comments 12:10 AM

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Metro-east bicycling news

Here's a roundup of recent news involving bicycling in the Illinois counties of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, commonly known as the metro-east:

• Bicyclist dies while performing stunts: Jimmy Mullins of Red Bud, Ill., was killed Monday while performing stunts on his bicycle outside the Monroe County Courthouse in Waterloo. Mullins, 27, was known for performing jumps and tricks. Mullins had been performing tricks on a 20-inch Mongoose BMX bike on the lawn of the courthouse when he rode out at a high rate of speed in front of a parked sports utility vehicle and into traffic, Waterloo Police Chief Jim Trantham told the Belleville News-Democrat.

  No charges will be filed against the driver, a Missouri man who was in town on a fishing trip. He was not injured. "It was clearly not the driver's fault," Trantham said. "He could not avoid the bicycle, the way the bicyclist came out."

• Belleville to get new bicycle trail: It's not a very long trail -- one-quarter of a mile -- but the west end of Belleville is getting its first bicycle trail. Signal Hill Elementary School received a $250,000 grant to build the trail, which will link Foley Drive with Signal Hill Park. The trail is intended to give children safe access to walk or ride their bikes to Signal Hill Elementary and nearby Blessed Sacrament School, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
  
  
• Work continues on Great River Road trail: The Illinois Department of Transportation is repaving Illinois Route 100 and the adjoining Sam Vadalabene Bicycle Trail between Alton and Grafton. The (Alton) Telegraph reports work will be continuing on the road and trail into October. Detours are being posted when necessary for the bike trail.
  
  
• Calhoun County pursues grant for bike trails: Calhoun County, nestled between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, is seeking a $20,000 grant for planning bicycle trails. Although the southern tip of the county only about 5 miles from St. Charles and St. Peters, Mo., as the crow flies, the county is relatively isolated because it is accessible from the rest of the St. Louis area only by one bridge across the Illinois River at Hardin and several ferries. Nevertheless, many cyclists have discovered the county because of its rural beauty. With about 5,100 residents, Calhoun County is the third-smallest county in Illinois.
  
  "We have bicyclists that already ride through the county, and our focus on biking/ hiking trails is on promoting health, economics, and safety of bicyclists and hikers in the county," Dale Hagen, a member of the county’s Calhoun Community Foundation, told The Telegraph. "While a bike trail might not bring in a lot of money from bicyclists right away, it might down the road, as people come to Calhoun County and see its beauty, and that might lead to other things."

Labels: fatal accidents, Illinois, trails

Roger 0 comments 12:10 PM

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Upcoming St. Louis-area rides a diverse lot

If you live in the St. Louis area and can't find a bicycle ride the next few weekends, you're not looking hard enough.

The most provocative of the rides will be Saturday, Aug. 15 -- St. Louis's second version of the World Naked Bike Ride. Cyclists will start gathering at Tower Grove Park's Stupp Plaza at 7 p.m. and take off at 9 p.m. for a route that ends at the Atomic Cowboy. Cyclists are encouraged to "bare as your dare," although it should be noted that publicly exposing certain parts of the anatomy is against the law in St. Louis. The goal of the ride is to protest oil dependency, promote a comfortable body image and to raise awareness of cyclists. A slideshow from the 2008 ride is available at the Riverfront Times. (Note: Images on the site may not be appropriate for children or the workplace.)

If you're into scavenger hunts, the Urban Assault Ride on Sunday, Aug. 16, is for you! New Belgium Brewing is behind the ride, which requires teams of cyclists to take on physical and mental obstacles at checkpoints along the route. The ride begins at 9 a.m. in Forest Park, and proceeds will be used to benefit Trailnet and BicycleWORKS.

Also, Trailnet is doing its I Scream for Ice Cream Ride on Aug. 16 out of The Cyclery and Fitness Center, 2572 Troy Road in Edwardsville. Registration is from 7:30 to 9 a.m., and the routes of 22, 34 or 43 miles include a stop at Annie's Frozen Custard in Edwardsville. And as we all know, ice cream is the rocket fuel of cycling!

The following weekend is a big one for charity rides. On Saturday, Aug. 22, the 15th Operational Weather Squadron at Scott Air Force Base is putting on Miles for Marty, a benefit in honor of Master Sgt. Edward Martin, who suffered a massive stroke while on duty in 2006. Money from the ride will go to the Disabled Amercan Veterans. Routes of 6.5 miles on the base that can be repeated and a 30-mile route from the base to Freeburg and back are available.

Also on Aug 22, the Missouri Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America will hold the WolfRide 2009 at Bolm-Schuhcraft Park in Columbia, Ill. Routes of 50 and 100 miles are available, and the $45 registration includes food, entertainment and free massages after the ride.

For those of you who want to start riding at the crack of dawn, the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights is planning the Bike at Dawn ride on Sunday, Aug. 23. Cyclists will start registering at 5 a.m. at the Illinois Center for Autism, near Longacre Park in Fairview Heights, and take off at 6 a.m. on routes of 8 and 15 miles.

Summer festivals are a big part of the lifeblood of Southwestern Illinois Catholics, and one of the region's biggest church festivals is the Kirchenfest, the annual celebration at St. Paul Catholic Church in Highland. This year's Kirchenfest will include the first-ever KirchenRide, which will include routes of 17 and 40 miles in the rural countryside around Highland. Registration begins at 7 a.m. Aug. 23 with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.

The climax -- at least in terms of numbers -- of the St. Louis cycling calendar is the 45th annual Moonlight Ramble on Aug. 28-29 in downtown St. Louis. The ride routinely draws more than 10,000 riders, who take off on the streets of St. Louis shortly after midnight Sunday. Proceeds from the ride benefit the Gateway Council of Hostelling International.

No excuses! Get out and ride!

Labels: advocacy, bicycle rides, St. Louis

Roger 1 comments 11:21 PM

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Section of St. Louis Riverfront Trail to close

A short segment of the Riverfront Trail at Maline Creek will be closed for repairs for about 45 days starting sometime in early August, requiring riders to find alternative routes around the construction, which includes city of St. Louis streets.

Click on the image to download a map from the Great Rivers Greenway District.

The Maline Creek location is about 7 miles north of Biddle Street parking lot for the Riverfront Trail and about 4 miles south from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

The rest of the 11-mile Riverfront Trail remains open and is not affected by the construction. For questions or concerns about the closure, please call Grace Hill of AmeriCorps at 314-584-6703.

A tip of the helmet to St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation Executive Director Patty Vinyard for speading the word. Patty says the trail is open for the time being, but she says the closing is imminent as soon as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases a work order.

Labels: St. Louis, trails

Roger 0 comments 10:52 AM

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Cavendish will return to Tour of Missouri

Mark Cavendish, the man many cycling experts consider the world's top sprinter, will return to the Tour of Missouri this year.

Cavendish is expected to be accompanied by Team Columbia-HTC teammates Michael Rogers, a three-time world champion, and George Hincapie, who won the inaugural Tour of Missouri two years. Hincapie broke his collarbone during the last week of the Tour de France, and his availability is expected to be announced later this month.

The race begins Sept. 7 in St. Louis and ends Sept. 13 in Kansas City.

This season, Cavendish won six stages of the Tour de France and more than 20 races. Last year, Cavendish became a big Tour of Missouri fan favorite by winning three stages.

Tour of Missouri organizers recognize Cavendish's star power and will include him on several marketing materials, including the official map guide.

Labels: Tour of Missouri

Roger 0 comments 11:05 AM