I just got back from the Tour of Missouri

[kalrith]

Stage 2 of the race ended in my town just a 10-minute walk from where I work. I had never even seen a bike race before, let alone a major international competition with cyclists such as Alberto Contador, the Tour de France winner, and George Hincapie (who won this stage), the reigning U.S. champion.

For anyone interested, the main site is www.tourofmissouri.com. I took a few photos, but I'm not the greatest photographer. They were also with my camcorder, because the camera was in my wife's car. The first two pictures are of the 12 leaders who were 15 minutes in front of the other 102 cyclists. The last four pictures are of the remaining group of cyclists.

Leaders1
Leaders2

Group1
Group2
Group3
Group4

Edit: Did anyone else get to see the race today?

 

[sygyzy]

I have only been reading about it. I wonder if Versus is airing it. Is there a big cycling fanbase in Missouri?

 

[dandruff]

went yesterday (KC Plaza) .. got a VIP Reserved wristband with access to everything (thru work) .. free food .. open bar ... grandstand .. never saw that many BMW motorcycles in one place before ... not into cycling so this whole VIP thing was wasted on me ... but amazing turnout for KC ... lots of international ppl too .. huge Spanish contingent ...

 

[FoBoT]

they were supposed to come up main st from the plaza, so they would have passed right next to my building, but we never saw them
guess it got routed up another street to the bridge?

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
I have only been reading about it. I wonder if Versus is airing it. Is there a big cycling fanbase in Missouri?

I'm not sure how the fanbase is overall in Missouri, but there's a decent fanbase in Springfield. There was a really good turnout at the finish line, but it was pretty sparse elsewhere. It made me want to get out and ride my bike, but I had to go back to work. It finally cooled off here, so hopefully I can get in several good rides before winter.

 

[mechBgon]

Cool pics

It finally cooled off here, so hopefully I can get in several good rides before winter.

You can ride in the winter too Studded tires + old rigid hardtail + lights + wool.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: mechBgonYou can ride in the winter too Studded tires + old rigid hardtail + lights + wool.

I know you can do it, I just don't like to ride when it gets cold. I get to breathing heavily, and it really hurts my lungs. I wish that didn't happen, because I love to be outisde in the cold. I might try to wear some sort of face mask some time. That's what I do skiing, and I don't have the same problem.

We don't get much snow here, but when I lived in Michigan I used to ride the mountain bike trails with just my nobbies. It worked great on everything except some of the downhills. When I would get to the bottom of the hill, my front tire would wedge itself in the soft snow and flip me over the handlebars. Crashing on snow is MUCH nicer than on dirt/cement though.

 

[dugweb]

powerlines... the epitome of eye sores

edit: really just the first pic that has them bad, otherwise great pics

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: dugweb
powerlines... the epitome of eye sores

edit: really just the first pic that has them bad, otherwise great pics

Yeah, I see those now. To get some of the pictures I had to just hold the camera out in front of me and point it toward the cyclists. They were also moving pretty fast, so it was difficult to get the best pictures.