Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Lance Armstrong cleared

The Associated Press and other media outlets are reporting that independent Dutch investigators have exonerated Lance Armstrong of doping during the 1999 Tour de France, and blamed anti-doping authorities for misconduct in dealing with the American cyclist.

A 132-page report releasd Wednesday recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by the authorities and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations" and deter future misconduct.

Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman, who headed the Dutch anti-doping agency for 10 years and later defended athletes accused of doping, said Wednesday that his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France".

The International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency both criticized Vrijman for making the report public.

"The World Anti-Doping Agency expresses grave concern and strong disappointment," said an official WADA statement to the BBC.

"Wada is not in a position to comment at this time other than to state that elementary courtesy and professionalism would have dictated that WADA should have been provided with a copy of the report before interviews were given to the media."

I find WADA's response disengenuous, given that people within WADA or France's anti-doping agency were responsible for leaking test results that led to the report by France's L'equipe sports newspaper account that Armstrong had tested positively for doping.

It just goes to show what goes around comes around.

By the way, I've added a feed to stories that appear on Google News about Lance Armstrong in the right column of cycling news feeds. Check them out!

Roger 0 comments 2:34 PM

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Tour de Donut documentary

Jim Klenn and Steve Kelly are almost done with their documentary film on the Tour de Donut bicycle "race" that they started about a year ago. Jim says they are putting together the finishing touches on the film and that screenings should be expected soon. They're making the film for KDHX-TV, the public and community access arm of St. Louis-based Double Helix Corp.

Last week, Jim went up to Staunton to interview Karl Painter, who won the first Tour de Donut in 1989, to fill in the final gap of the film.

As a co-founder of the Tour de Donut, I was interviewed for the documentary last May and after last July's Tour de Donut in Staunton, Ill. It will be interesting to see how the film comes off.

For those of your not familiar with the Tour de Donut, it is spoof of the Tour de France. Cyclists ride a 32-mile circuit with two doughnut stops. Cyclists receive a five-minute time bonus for each doughnut eaten, so people can finish the ride with a negative time.

Speaking of the Tour de Donut, the Boeing Employees Bicycle Club is taking applications for the 2006 event, which will be July 8 in Staunton. The cost of the ride is $25, which on paper appears to be a big increase from previous years, but the cost of the ride includes a T-shirt.

Roger 0 comments 8:02 AM

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Bicycling and the arts

At most daily newspapers, Friday is the most nerve-racking day of the week because you are not only working on Saturday's paper, you're doing work on the Sunday and Monday papers as well. That's why it's good every once in a while to have a Friday off.

I took advantage of the day to do a 40-mile ride on the trails of Madison County. I started in Maryville on the Schoolhouse Trail, took the Glen Carbon Heritage Trail to Silver Creek and back to Glen Carbon, took the newly paved Nickel Plate Trail to Edwardsville, took the Madison County Nature Trail to Horseshoe Lake State Park, then returned to Maryville on the Schoolhouse Trail.

I felt the effects of not spending enough time on the bike this month -- because of work related to the Tour de Stooges and some poor weather -- and a sudden upward surge in temperatures. What should have been an easy 40 miles was tougher because my body had to make adjustments to the warmer temperatures. I usually don't have a great ride on a day with a sudden rise in temperature because it takes a day or two for me to adjust my hydration levels.

Fans of ice cream will be happy to know that a Culver's restaurant recently opened along the Schoolhouse Trail in Collinsville near Illinois Route 157. Culver's is a Wisconsin-based chain best known for its ButterBurgers and frozen custard. Culver's was hoping to get direct access to the Schoolhouse Trail, but Madison County Transit has said no so far. I can somewhat see why MCT may not want to give direct access to a business, but perhaps MCT can find a way to connect to a Collinsville street so cyclists can easily access the restaurant. Culver's plans to install a bike rack for the convenience of cyclists who want to grab a bite to eat.

After the ride, I went to Belleville's Art on the Square festival. I was pleasantly surprised to see several people from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society there: Christine Warta, Bob and Dixie Guenther, Charlie and Helen Warner and Dave Weidler. I didn't have as much time to see as much art as I had hoped, but I still have today to soak it all in. From what I saw, there's plenty of great art, so I would encourage you to pay a visit.

Also, I saw my friend Anne Betten from the Illinois Employment and Training Center office in Belleville. Anne and Sue Tyler are assigned there by Southwestern Illinois College to assist people searching for work, and I volunteer there two or so hours a week assisting people with operating a computer or writing resumes. Anne's mother, Loretta Roberts, has her watercolors at the show, and the Belleville News-Democrat wrote about Loretta's work in Thursday's edition.

Roger 0 comments 10:31 AM

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Artsy-fartsy weekend

While I plan to get some bike rides in the next few days, the big focus for me will be the arts.

Tonight is the opening of a show at Southwestern Illinois College's Schmidt Art Center. Featured are Carol Carter and her "Savannah" series of acrylic painting and Richard Sprengeler and his "Age of Industry" photographs. Also, there is series of pre-Columbian Era ceramics from the collection at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

From time to time, I like to stop at Schmidt Art Center while doing a short ride on the Richland Creek Greenway and MetroLink trails in Belleville. It's a small gallery, but it's well worth a look.

The big event in Belleville this weekend is Art on the Square. Since its inception in 2002, the show has grown into one of the best in the Midwest, if not the United States. Art on the Square features a wide range of media, from jewelry and photography to sculpture and glass.

When I first heard about Art on the Square back in 2002, I was dubious. Downtown Belleville's big annual events, Deutschfest and Oktoberfest, have gone downhill over the years and now are basically an excuse to stand around, get drunk and listen to bands covering the same music they covered 20 years ago.

I was pleasantly surprised when the organizers put together a first-class event with talented artists, good food and good music. If you get a chance, you should check it out. The show runs from Friday night through Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday, I'm going to Belleville West High School's Spring Instrumental Concert to see one of my nieces, Ani, perform. Ani is a member of West's orchestra, and I'm looking forward to a fine performance. Ani also will perform Monday night in West's jazz ensemble concert. I wish I could see that as well, but I have to work that evening. Ani is talented musician. She plays clarinet in the orchestra, alto saxophone in the jazz ensemble, and she also plays the piano. I was a decent alto sax player in my school days, but Ani is better than I ever was.

Roger 1 comments 5:22 PM

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Drivers try bikes to ease gas pains

The Associated Press filed a story Tuesday about how high gasoline prices are prompting more people to use bicycles to commute to work.

Since this is National Bike to Work Week, activists are trying to encourage more people to ride their bikes to work to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

In the St. Louis area, Trailnet is sponsoring several activities to celebrate the week, including providing a continental breakfast to cycling commuters Friday.

Roger 0 comments 2:40 PM

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Century season in St. Louis

The Five-Star Century Series, put on by the Gateway Council of Hostelling International, gets started Saturday with the Indian Crossing Century in Portage des Sioux, Mo. The ride features options for a full 100-mile century or a metric (63-mile) century. On June 4, the Natalie Kekeisen Flat as a Pancake Century will take place in New Baden, Ill.

Three other centuries will take place over the course of the summer and fall as part of the series. You can find out more about these endurance tests and register online at the Council's Web site.

Roger 0 comments 2:53 PM

Monday, May 15, 2006

Ride of Silence

Throughout the country on Wednesday, May 17, people will be riding their bicycles quietly as part of the Ride of Silence, which honors people who have been killed or injured in bicycling accidents throughout the country.

The St. Louis version of the ride will start Wednesday at the Missouri Historical Society Building in Forest Park. Cyclists are asked to arrive between 6:30 and 6:45 p.m., and the ride will begin at 7 p.m.

The St. Louis version of the ride will have additional signficance because of the July 2005 accident that killed Michael Katz, a retired attorney who was a regular on rides in the St. Louis area and because of the recent death of Michael Pohlman, who died after suffering a heart attack during a ride near Edwardsville, Ill.

Let's hope the Ride of Silence succeeds in honoring the memory of those who died and in raising motorists' awareness of cyclists on America's roads.

Roger 0 comments 1:43 PM

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Farewell, Godfrey Speedway

The Godfrey Speedway stock car track in Godfrey, Ill., is no more. The 55-year-old dirt track held its final races Friday night, and it is being replaced by a concrete plant.

You may wonder why I'm writing about the demise of a small stock car track. You see, my late father, Henry "Gene" Kramer raced stock cars there in the early 1950s. My dad and my late uncle, Bob Yost, owned a stock car, and my dad raced it at the track. He never won a feature race and only won one heat race, but he and Bob enjoyed working on the car anyway. My dad was known as a wild and crazy driver in his day, and the track gave him an outlet for that aggressive driving.

My mom, Jean (Yost) Kramer, met my dad while he and Bob were working on the car. Hence, stock car racing helped bring my mom and dad together.

I never quite developed his love of auto racing. My dad took me to a few races in my youth, but he didn't like the style of stock car racing being practiced at the track in the 1970s. There was too much yellow-flag racing for his taste. Besides, my dad was a bigger fan of Indy-car racing, and I was glad for him that he got to see the Indianapolis 500 once in person before he died.

My mom wasn't there for the final race at Godfrey Speedway, but she could hear the cars from our family farm near Brighton, nearly six miles north of the track.

On that note, I'm off to see my mom to wish her a happy Mother's Day.

Roger 1 comments 10:59 AM

Friday, May 12, 2006

A fitting farewell

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Telegraph of Alton, Ill., both reported on the funeral of cyclist and physical therapist Michael Pohlman of Glen Carbon, Ill. Michael died Sunday when he suffered a heart attack during a bicycle ride to Alhambra.

On Thursday, up to 20 cyclists wearing black armbands accompanied the funeral procession for Michael, who was a member of the St. Louis Cycling Club. A space was left in the line for Michael, the missing man.

I can't think of a more fitting tribute.

Roger 0 comments 2:42 PM

Ditty Bops 2006 Summer Bicycle Tour

The Ditty Bops -- Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald -- have developed a following for their eclectic mix of Western swing, ragtime, early jazz and musical theater, and now they want to be known for their cycling prowess as well.

The Ditty Bops are embarking on their 2006 Summer Bicycle Tour in which they plan to bicycle across the United States from Los Angeles to New York, and they plan to stop in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago on their journey. They're slated to be in Kansas City, Mo., on July 23; Columbia, Mo., on July 26; St. Louis on July 29, Springfield, Ill., on July 31, Bloomington, Ill., on Aug. 1; and the Old Town School of Folk in Chicago on Aug. 5. They are still looking for venues in Kansas City, Columbia, St. Louis, Springfield and Bloomington and any communities in between that would be interested in a performance. Here's their press release about the tour:

This summer we are embarking on a bicycle tour of America in support of cycling, clean air, and our new album "Moon Over the Freeway". Our new record will be released on May 23rd. We will play KCRW (a Los Angeles radio stationon the morning of May 24 and that night we will have our record release show at The Derby. On May 25th we will depart by bicycle from LA and set out toward NY. You too can help in our adventure by joining us on our rides or emailing us with unique places to play, stay, or visit en route to New York City. Here is our general route for the tour so far: CALIFORNIA:LA, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Sacramento. NEVADA: Nevada City, Tahoe, Reno, Fallon. UTAH: Salt Lake City. COLORADO: Steamboat Springs, Fort Collins, Denver, Frisco, Boulder. KANSAS: Oberlin, Lucas, Lawrence. MISSOURI: Kansas City, Boonville, Columbia, St. Louis. ILLINOIS: Springfield, Bloomington, Chicago. WISCONSIN: Madison, Milwaukee. MICHIGAN: Walhalla, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor. OHIO: Cleveland. PENNSYLVANIA: Pittsburg, Philadelphia. WASHINGTON D.C., MARYLAND: Annapolis. NEW YORK: New York City. After NY we will fly to: WASHINGTON: Seattle and ride to OREGON: Portland, Eugene. This route is subject to change. If you know of any towns on this general path that would like to host a concert, or a venue that we might not know about please email our booking agent Brian Swanson (brian@mpartists.com). This could mean theaters, music stores, bike shops, farms, etc.... We look forward to seeing you along the ride this Summer!

You can hear some of their music and see some of their music videos at their Web site. They've already received national exposure on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and the "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson."

I've offered my tips to Amanda and Abby. I referred them to the League of Illinois Bicyclists' recently published Route 66 Trail between St. Louis, and I warned them cycling in the St. Louis region can be difficult in July because of high temperatures and high humidity.

Here's hoping the Ditty Bops have a successful tour, both on stage and on their bicycles. Thanks to Jeff Jackson of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation and the C.I.C.L.E. for spreading the word.

Roger 2 comments 12:37 PM

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Thoughts on the 2006 Tour de Stooges

Before I go into my thoughts about the Tour de Stooges, I wanted to let you know about a new feature on the Tour de Stooges Web site. We have posted photos from the event taken by Belleville News-Democrat photographer Derik Holtmann. Derik picked one of the most scenic areas on the route, Lebanon Road near Silver Creek, to take his photos. We invite you to see the photos, and if you took photos of the ride, we invite you to share them with us.

The 2006 Tour de Stooges was a success on all levels. We not only drew more than 500 riders this year -- the best Tour de Stooges ever -- we drew people from 12 states. Not too shabby for a single-day ride.

We had considerably fewer complaints this year than last year. Last year, we were overwhelmed by the crowd, and there were problems linked to that growth plus some unforeseen problems we had at one of the rest stops with restrooms and water supplies. We took care of those problems this year by having additional water jugs and volunteers to make sure everything ran smoothly.

While those complaints were legitimate, a few were not. One gentleman complained about the fact we served bite-sized candy bars at the rest stops. The complaint would have been valid if we had served nothing else but candy, but we had plenty of fruit and cookies. Besides most of the riders liked the fact we served candy. We ran out of candy before we ran out of any other item.

Another fellow complained that we didn't use orange arrows rather than yellow arrows. That complaint has no validity because the vast majority of people think the Tour de Stooges is very well marked. The area in which we ride is often used for other cycling events. It would be rather confusing to cyclists if every ride used orange road marking for its routes.

While we were disappointed we lost some of the people who complained, we were happy we more than replaced them with quality cyclists and people. For example, when I cleaned the fourth rest stop, the only piece of trash I found was a corner of a candy wrapper. Dawn Weber, who manned the Highland rest stop, also reported she also had practically no trash to clean up, a sharp contrast from 2005.

The quality of the participants we had this year made all the hard work the volunteers and I put into the event worthwhile.

Since next year will be the 10th edition of the Tour de Stooges, we want to make next year extra special with some new features. I hope you'll consider coming out next May for the ride, and a big, hearty thanks to all of you who came out this year!

Roger 1 comments 2:15 PM

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Old North City Bicycle Tour

I've been asked by Jeff Jackson of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation to pass along this article about a bicycle tour of an interesting section of north St. Louis, so here it is:

St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation
to sponsor Old North City Bicycle Tour

By Bob Bailey

If you’re looking for something adventurous, inspiring, and cutting edge, look no further! Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, 2006, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation is sponsoring an Old North City Bicycle Tour, in conjunction with the Old North City House Tour happening that day. Ride pleasurably and leisurely, as your tour guide leads you by largely forgotten and hidden architectural gems in Old North St. Louis.

Nearly all of these beautiful homes, churches, schools, and businesses were built in the 1800s in architectural styles not seen anywhere else in St. Louis. The scope and quality of architecture here rivals that of its better-known historic neighbors to the south, Soulard and Lafayette Square. Many St. Louisans are unaware of a renaissance underway in Old North City. This tour will give you the opportunity to relax and appreciate its unique history and beauty. We will include brief stops at some of the more historically worthy buildings, providing the rider with a bit of history and appreciation of the area’s character.

Tour participants should meet at 9 a.m. at the parking lot of the former Laclede Power building at the Riverfront Trail’s south end (corner of Leonor K. Sullivan and Biddle Streets). From there we will head west and north into Old North City. We will ride as far north as Hyde Park, where we will stop for a snack break. Total tour time is approximately two hours. This tour is free to Bike Fed members, but donations are appreciated. Non-members pay a suggested donation of $3. We hope you’ll join us.
Give or take a few detours, the tour will be within these perimeters: Carr Street is our southern boundary, 20th Street is our western boundary, Hyde Park is our northern boundary, and I-70 is our eastern boundary. Pre-registration for the Old North City Bike Tour would be greatly appreciated. To register, send an email stating your intent to participate to info@stlbikefed.org, or call 314-707-5001.

The Old North City House Tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; admission is $10 for that. Some may want to take the bike tour, have lunch downtown, and then go on the house tour – a great way to spend the day in the city of St. Louis!

For more insights about north St. Louis, read this account from the Urban Review blog.

Roger 0 comments 12:41 AM

Monday, May 08, 2006

Tragic bicycle death

Noted Glen Carbon, Ill., physical therapist and cyclist Michael Pohlman, 48, died Sunday, apparently from a heart attack, during a ride with some friends from the Edwardsville area to Alhambra.

Micahel was a member of the St. Louis Cycling Club and was known for helping competitive cyclists improve their performance.

The Belleville News-Democrat published a full story about Michael in its Tuesday edition. The story also includes a link to an online guestbook where you can express your thoughts and condolences. The News-Democrat talked to Steve Parks, the owner of The Cyclery in Edwardsville, was was on the ride with Mike

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also wrote a story in its Tuesday editions about Mike.

I really didn't know Mike, but I was familiar with his name and his accomplishments. My condolences go out to his family.

Roger 0 comments 11:45 PM

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Vandalism at Richland Creek Greenway Trail

Earlier tonight, I got out for a ride for the first time for more than a week -- it's amazing how administrative work on a certain bicycle ride can take up your time -- and I decided to do a simple ride on the Richland Creek Greenway and MetroLink trails in Belleville. The trip out to SWIC went without a hitch.

The trip back was a different story.

On the hill leading down from the MetroLink Trail to North End Park, someone had thrown rocks across the width of the trail. Fortunately, I saw the rocks and was able to stop in time to avoid them. Had I not seen them, I probably would have suffered a fall at a fairly fast rate of speed. I kicked most of the rocks off the trail and picked up the bigger ones that could potentially have caused a serious accident.

The rocks were not there when I climbed the hill several minutes earlier.

Sadly, this is not the first time I've seen that rocks were thrown on the trail. A couple of weeks ago, someone had thrown big rocks onto the trail at the Illinois Route 159 bridge over the trail and Richland Creek. I took the time to remove those rocks from the trail as well because of the potential for a serious accident.

It's a shame that stupid vandals think it's cute to throw rocks on a bike trail. I'm sure these morons have no idea how much damage their stunts can do to a bicycle or a person. It's a serious enough problem that the Belleville Department of Parks and Recreation might have to spend some time and money to remove rocks from the area near the trail at North End Park trail and install chicken wire over the rocks at the Route 159 bridge to curb the vandalism.

Roger 0 comments 11:12 PM

Saturday, May 06, 2006

At last, it's over

Well, we did it! The ninth edition of the Tour de Stooges drew about 500 riders once again this year! A big thank you goes to all our hard-working volunteers and the folks at Sodehxo, the company that operates McKendree College's food service, for providing great service.

Above all, thank all of you who rode in this year's ride. You're the reason why it's worth all the hard work to put on the event!

The Belleville News-Democrat had a nice article about the ride in its Sunday edition. Reporter Jayne Matthews did a nice job with the article, talking to some of the cyclists, and Derik Holtmann took some nice photos that appeared in the print edition but are not online. Some of Derik's photos will appear on the Tour de Stooges Web site in the coming week.

Noticably absent from the story is any mention of me, the ride coordinator. That's because I work in the News-Democrat newsroom, and it would be a bit of a conflict of interest for me to be quoted in the story.

I'll write a bit more later, but my mind is mush after a 12-hour day.

Roger 1 comments 7:33 PM

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Tour de Stooges T-shirts

This is an important notice for people who registered for the Tour de Stooges on or after April 28:

Because of large demand for T-shirts, people who ordered their T-shirts on or after April 28 will not be getting their T-shirts on the day of the ride. The shirts will be mailed four to six weeks after the ride at no added cost. You still can order shirts if you register online by Wednesday, but keep in mind there will be a delay in getting your shirt.

I personally apologize for that, but if it's any consolation, even the ride coordinator, yours truly, will be one of the people who has to wait four to six weeks for a T-shirt.

Roger 0 comments 2:32 PM

Monday, May 01, 2006

Kudos to the Post-Dispatch

The Tour de Stooges owes a big thank-you to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for highlighting our event in its event calendar in its Health and Fitness section in today's edition. The Post-Dispatch printed a photo of Moe, Larry and Curly from their 1936 classic "Disorder in the Court" to anchor the event calendar.

That's the best kind of advertising an event can get, as far as I'm concerned, and it came in time so people can still take advantage of our pre-registration discount if they sign up by Wednesday.

Roger 0 comments 2:36 PM