Tour of Missouri, stage 4 AND 5

Mavic loaner bike for Sparkasse--Photo credit Jeff Rowe




Mavicness galore-Photo credit Jeff Rowe

hey there:

most of you probably got into work yesterday, or today, and checked out the tour of missouri blog to find that there was nothing new. or, perhaps you don't even care, which is cool too.

anyway, to the one or two people who did check to find nothing, my apologies. i was so frickin cooked after riding jump on moto2 for 133 miles, i just couldn't type. i tried, but was just too damn blown. actually, i'll blame it on the cosmic bowling. we shut it down at a local AMF bowling theatre... but more on that in a minute.

Sidewalk art in Lebabanon Missouri

the race: we transferred from Springfield to Lebanon... a small town in the heartland. The start was located at the local civic center, and every single elementary and junior high school kid in town was bussed in for the start. it looked like some sort of mass hysteria, with all the kids wearing the same shirt and hunting for autographs. the discovery, toyota-united, and slipstream busses were completely mobbed. it was awesome to see the whole town coming out in support of cycling. after the start, the masses continued to show up all along the course... it seemed like every single driveway and back-country dirt lane had someone standing there waving and cheering. rad.

the finish was in a town called Columbia, and after 130+ miles, the field was strung out single file for a sprint finish. ivan dominguez put in a good effort, but lost out to Luciano Pagliarini from Saunier-Prodir. it was pretty amazing, with people lined up on rooftops to check out the finish.

we rocked a pretty uneventful dinner at some sort of brewpub that was pirate-themed. i don't know, some sort of midwest thing i guess. the place was hoppin, and seemed to be the hip place for college kids... but it was pirate themed. all rather unsettling.

Home of beef--Photo credi Jeff Rowe

The Pirate Brewpub-Photo Credit James Stanfill

the evening got started about 10pm when we realized that there was cosmic bowling going on just a short walk across the interstate from our hotel. So, Jeff, James, Dan, and myself strolled into one of the richest slices of americana i have ever seen. First, you have the fact that cosmic bowling is a serious option for your friday night. Second, everyone seemed to be named Amy or greg, and most people were still rockin their work outfits. Third, middle-aged women were out there throwin strikes and dancin around like it was some sort of bowling-induced rave. So, we figured "when in rome" and stripped down to the under-t-shirts, and ordered up a pitcher of Busch beer and got down to business. I think my first game was a 89. sick. James pulled out a granny-bowling strike. Jeff, Mr. Bowling-Poetry-In-Motion, rocked it hard with a 135. The second game went by quickly, and by the third game all of our right arms were starting to pull out of their sockets.

Stumbling back to the hotel, i realized that this is what real life is... going out and having a good time with your friends and family. Whether it is hitting the bowling alley on a Friday night, or climbing a 5.9 in Eldo canyon... it's all the same thing. Sure, I have eaten so much fried food this week that i probably will pass a kidney stone soon, but it is not all that different from life in Boulder. alright, it is so different you can't even imagine. the point is, though, that you gotta rock out.

Alright. Today we woke up, transferred to Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. The start was great; i had an americano on board, and a homemade piece of apple pie waiting in the car for later. The local coffee shop did not dissapoint. I was moto1 driver today, which means that i sat with the peloton all day. we did one service, a guy from Saunier-Prodir with a mavic cosmic carbone fts-l freehub that was not freehubbing. he was on a downhill, and the freehub was squealing like a stuck pig, and the chain was slowing wrapping itself on the frame. I spotted this and honked at him, and he promptly pulled over for a fresh Ksyrium ES. Just goes to show you that it can happen to the best of us... gotta lube those freehub bodies.

other than that, Danny Pate from Slipstream rocked out of the break for a solo win. Nice. Also of note Colorado-homenugget Ben Raby from Kodak stuck it out like the tough man he is, riding with 12 stiches in his chin from a crash. i don't know if i would have the stones to race for 5 hours like that.

The finish was in the town of St Charles, which was the starting point for Lewis and Clark, has Dan'l Boone's original house, and is the furthest up the Missouri river that freight barges can go. all very interesting. I did run into an old fried Graeme, a guy i know that lives in denver and used to be a courier down there. now he is working for the race promotion company, and doing really well.

we headed to the hotel, got cleaned up, and hit the town for some pizza and beer, st louis style. This means pizza with crust thinner than thin, and beer brewed by Budweiser. No exceptions, they carried Bud products ONLY. The pizza was tasty, though, and the cobble-stoned street of downtown was hoppin with a variety of useless street fair booths. better than average... or at least better than bowling.

Clinon Missouri City Hall

so that's it.. you're up to speed on whatever it is that i'm doing. St Louis is going off tomorrow, and it is going to be crazy, with a football game and baseball game going on in downtown. Cool.

till then, over&out