Bill and Gary Standing in front of Omaha, NE at the start of RAGBRAI

Bill Grant and Gary Weaver participated in the 2009 edition of RAGBRAI http://ragbrai.com/ . The route is 450 miles of cleared roads escorted by state and local police departments ridden with 10,000 other cyclists. Travelling through, towns people welcomed the riders cheering on their front porches, cooking food, setting up makeshift rest stops catering for the riders. Every town along the way had a street festival which included music, food stands, and numerous other activities.

One of the many street festivals. This one held in Minneola, IA

Bill had a great time, he has wanted to do the event for many years and is glad he completed this goal that was on his list. Anyone that loves to ride is recommended to do this ride at least once. Bill signed up with the group from Touring Cyclist http://www.touringcyclist.com/ . They have a convoy of vehicles that takes about 80 people and their equipment to Iowa every year.

Bill and Gary at the finish in Burlington, IA

Link to Bill’s photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/relayrunner.grant/RAGBRAI09?feat=email#

So Holly wanted to do her first century, right? She asked me to ride the Firecracker Century  with her in Greenville on Saturday, July 11, since Jason was doing SAG and tech support. 100K in the morning, then lunch and 30-some miles in the afternoon. http://www.moonlightramble.org/events/5star.aspx

The weather report called for scattered showers but we all left Jason’s house at 5:30 am and made it to Greenville in plenty of time with no rain. We were going to wait ’til the last moment to register and pay so we could back out if the rain was too bad but we got impatient, paid our $40 and started about 7:10.

To start we had to ride back west on 140 for 17 miles to Alhambra. Made good time because we had a nice tail wind. A few drops of rain before we got to the first rest stop but not bad.

Once we got under the shelter at the rest stop the rain really poured down. We waited for a few cloudbursts then got impatient again and started out. We just got to the road when Jason showed up so we stopped to talk to him. We said we’d see him at the next rest stop (only 5 miles away) and before we went too far it started to really pour.

When we got to I-55 we noticed that the orange triangles marking the trail had changed to red dots. We saw another guy out in the country (Byron) and hooked up with him for a while. We got to another small town and looked for the rest stop. We saw “rest stop” and an arrow on the road but all we saw was a filling station and we didn’t stop.

We kept going, following the red arrows wondering what happened to Jason. The third rest stop wasn’t until mile 50 so we kept going and never saw Jason or another rider.

Our road dead-ended into another (bigger) road with LOTS of bicycles going by. There were ladies giving out bottled water and saying, “Only 2 1/2 miles to go.” We asked them if they were the rest stop and they said “Yes.” Holly said, “Are those people on the afternoon loop?” and the ladies kind of stared blankly. Finally they said, “This the Tour de Donut.” http://www.stauntonil.com/events/communityevents.aspx#

We said, “Well, where are we?”  “You’re in Staunton.” “How far are we from Greenville?” “About 40 minutes…by car.” Apparently the two rides, on the same day, overlapped for about 1/4 mile close to I-55. We couldn’t look at our maps because it was pouring down rain and we just assumed that the Firecracker people got tired of drawing triangles and started drawing dots intead.

So, after after a frustrating cell phone call trying to explain to the Firecracker people where we were and that we needed a ride we started up the road toward Staunton to wait for SAG. (Jason was on another call.) Holly, of course…to make her day complete…immediately got a flat. After fixing that, we went up to the corner. After about a half hour, Byron showed up and said, “At least I’m not the only one! I’ve been riding through Staunton trying to figure out where I am.” We told him there was a SAG coming so we all waited.

When the SAG got there, he only had a 2-bike rack. He said, “Well, maybe we can get 3 bikes on it” and grabbed my bike. Meanwhile, Holly finally got a hold of Jason and was talking to him. I grabbed my bike back and Holly said Jason told her we were only anout 30 miles from Bethalto so we let Byron go with the SAG and started down Renken Road, the opposite direction from all the Tour de Donut folks who were finishing their ride.

They kept asking us if we were doing it again. Naturally we said, “Yes.” The ride into Bethalto to Jason’s house was the best part of the ride. Not a century but about 67 miles. Holly rode strong all day. She could’ve done 100 easily.

Guess we’ll try again sometime.

The Golden Eagle Country Store

Rich Williams, a local Alton cycling enthusiast and commercial airline pilot, has recently begun a new venture. He has refurbished the Golden Eagle Country Store http://www.goldeneaglecountry.com/ . The store boasts a selection of old fashioned candies, soda pop in glass bottles, a fully restored vintage Chevrolet panel van, and the best lunch menu in Golden Eagle, IL. Linda, formerly of Gelato’s in Alton, is in charge of the kitchen. You will find all your favorites there along with some new delights. (Check out those brownies!)

The Restaurant inside the Golden Eagle Country Store

You will also find a few emergency bike supplies like tubes, tires and a floor pump there provided by Wild Trak Bikes. Rich will be glad to advise you about all the opportunities for cycling in Calhoun County, one of the most scenic spots in the area.

One of the many stunning views in Calhoun County

Dan K in the hunt

The 2009 edition of the Webster Groves Crit http://www.thehubbicyclecompany.com/webster-groves-crit/ was an outstanding event hosted by The Hub Bicycle Company. The course was laid out through the streets of Webster Groves, MO just off of Big Bend Blvd. From the start line competitiors headed into a sweeping right hand turn onto a lengthy straight with wind coming from the front / right side. With this wind set up an echelon formed each lap on this straight with riders having to jockey for position before being closed off against the curb. The next corner was a right hander followed by a short straight with a turn lane that merged onto the penultimate straight which contained an uphill / downhill into the final 90 degree turn. The finish was a flat straight perfect for a field sprint.  Wild Trak Bikes Racers contested the Women’s open race, the Category 4 5, Category 3 4, and the Pro 1 2 3.

In the women’s open race Holly rode very well, even keeping up with the Women’s Pro racers for a few laps! Big improvement! She seems happy with her progression, and hopes to keep improving at each event. Here’s hoping there is a race in the near future that has a designated Women’s cat 4 race.

Holly in the Women's Field

Our next moto was the Cat 3 4. We had quite a few riders line up for this one - Patrick, Dan, Scott, Hannon, Justin, Jason. I think this was our biggest showing in one race so far. The race went off well, for about 50 meters, before the first Crash# Bang! Break* Bummer. Most riders got on well, except for the few directly involved. The rest of the race went off with a few stack-em-ups along the way. Hannon and Patrick had to veer off course one time to avoid a pile-up during the second half. Everyone was feeling strong and coming together during the countdown to the final lap. The bell rang as we went across the start line to begin the final lap. Patrick was outside in the first turn just in time to be collected in a crash along with Dan and Hannon. Luckily I had taken the inside. At the finish I was the only rider left unscathed.

The 4 5 race was next including: Justin and Dan. Patrick was supposed to be in this one, but his frame was smashed up in the crash in the previous race. Both riders were sitting well in the field lap after lap GEARing UP for the finish. The rest of us were cheering them on! As they crossed the line Dan finished just ahead of Justin in the sprint. Cheers to both of these dudes.

Scooter - dragging a knee

The final race of the day was the Pro 1 2 3 class. Scooter, Hannon and Jason were included. Throughout the opening minutes of the race the pack was grouped together around the technical course. Primes started sounding and soon a break away was formed taking about 6 riders up the road. These guys stayed away the rest of the race taking top honors. Our peloton was chasing solidly for the last 20 - 30 minutes, not gaining at all. When the field sprint took off, it was Scooter moving up for a nice finish with me finishing a bit behind.

We even got a photo of a few of our riders in the Webster-Kirkwood Times! Hopefully Patrick can get a new ride soon and continue his success. We all enjoyed the venue and will be attending this race again. Thanks to all who organized this successful event.

Link to photos: http://stlbiking.smugmug.com/gallery/8720091_MgkxS#576433356_4cAmD

Link to event info:   http://www.thehubbicyclecompany.com/webster-groves-crit/ 

-Jason