Tour of Missouri Stage 4

St. James to Jefferson City

What an exciting race! Let’s see if I can summarize what’s happened so far: Early stages favored the sprinters, and Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia-HTC) was in the yellow jersey and looking good. But this morning he announced he was out of the race: Respiratory troubles. And another big favorite, Christian Vande Velde (Team Garmin), had to bow out at the beginning of Stage 2, as he’d broken his hand in a crash seconds before the finish in Stage 1.

At this point, there’s no obvious race leader overall. J. J. Haedo of Team Saxo Bank is in yellow now, with Thor Hushovd of Cervelo TestTeam in second. These guys are still pretty specialized in sprinting. Of the heavy hitters whose names you might recognize, George Hincapie is currently 21st in the rankings, Levi Leipheimer is 41st, David Zabriskie is 56th, and Jens Voigt is 99th.




It didn’t help that there was a crash in the very last turn before the finish—in downtown Jeff City, a left turn onto High Street at the bottom of the hill below the finish line—that Hincapie and a number of other riders were involved in.




Stage 5 in Sedalia tomorrow is a time trial, where racers are released one by one to race a 19-mile course where their only opponent is the clock. There are no teammates to draft behind. At the end of tomorrow, we expect the sprint specialists to fall back some in the rankings and for others to rise. We’ve never watched a time trial before. It should be really fun!

A Few Words on the Tour of Missouri in General

The Tour of Missouri is a wonderful thing, for a lot of reasons, and it annoys me that it has become somewhat politicized. Yes, the executive director and most visible cheerleader for the race is Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican. And yes, state finances are extremely tight, and the state puts out money to host this event.

There was a time earlier this year when some in state government were suggesting eliminating state funding for the Tour, which would effectively shut it down. Maybe they didn’t really think it would happen—maybe they were just suggesting it as a possibility—but to me the move smelled like partisanship, regarding a project that both Democrats and Republicans should line up behind.

I understand that the return on the investment greatly outweighs the expenditure, and the returns will keep coming in over time.

Here are some things I’ve noticed.

It’s good for big cities as well as for small towns and all in between. Tourism. Publicity. This is truly a world-class sporting event, with some of the best racers in the world competing. Our race is watched from all over the world, and people come from all over to follow the tour day by day. Tonight I’ll bet all the motel rooms in town are full. And the restaurants I’m sure did a great business.

Mayor Landwehr got to say a few words welcoming visitors to Jefferson City. And a little later, he got to give the Key to the City to J. J. Haedo, stage winner and new owner of the yellow jersey. The first time Haedo has worn one!






Each host city gets special attention—Chillicothe, for instance, is the “Home of Sliced Bread,” and you can be sure they’ll get that fun and funky message across day after tomorrow. How many bottles of wine do you suppose St. James Winery sold today to tourists before the race began? And the awards ceremony today took place in front of the gorgeous Missouri State Capitol; people from all over the world saw our state government building!

Missouri’s rich natural beauty is highlighted as racing fans all over the world watch videos of their heroes speeding up and down forested hills in the Ozarks, through prairies, past ripening crop fields, and up Market Street in St. Louis to finish in sight of the tremendously soaring Gateway Arch.

Local industries get in the act as sponsors; Missouri’s wine producers award the winners with big beautiful bottles of Missouri Norton; Michelob of St. Louis’s Anheuser-Busch sponsors the King of the Mountains jersey; and loads of smaller organizations and companies get their word out in the booths that set up at each start and finish location. In Jeff City, the local Optimists club had a bicycle obstacle course for kids and was passing out free bike helmets for children.




And the Missouri Farm Bureau has sponsored “Spirit Awards”—a thousand-dollar grant for community development—each day for the best city the tour passes through. Today, the dink town of Belle, Mo. got the award—they had put up a huge arch of balloons for the riders to pass under as a welcome to their town.

Then, each town that has won one of these awards is in the running for a final Spirit Award, which I think the Farm Bureau representative said is a five-thousand-dollar grant. This is seriously good stuff for towns like Belle, pop. 1,344.

Another wonderful thing about this race, though it is rather hard to quantify, is the long-term effect on Missourians’ health. Bicycling is an activity in which almost anybody with an able body can participate, and this race definitely gets you enthused about cycling.

I quote Lt. Gov. Kinder’s welcome statement in the Official Tour Guide to the race: “I want to see our children put down the game controllers, get away from the television, and put handlebars in their hands. Moms and dads will rediscover that a bike ride with their kids is not only healthy, but quality family time.” Here, here!

Another intangible is that bicycle racing is good for America—here is a sport that is truly international; not like our “World Series” or “Superbowl” where only North America is involved. Cycling is also a sport where the participants are indeed very sporting. Yes, there is fierce competition; yes, there is definitely friction among the competitors and sometimes even within a team. But it’s not like U.S. pro sports where drawn-out, angry verbal exchanges are tolerated or even expected, and brawls are relatively common. We Americans need more examples of true sportsmanship, and we need to compete in more sports with other nations, and not just in the Olympics.

So those are some of my thoughts after watching today’s race.

By the way, here is a “George-Lucky” photo that Sue took this afternoon: George Hincapie is at the left, in the red, white, and blue togs. Yay, George! Allez, allez!





If you have a chance, try to see some of the remaining stages!

Tomorrow: Stage 5, Sedalia, the time trial; start and finish is at the State Fairgrounds. First rider goes out at 2 p.m.; the last one comes in around 5 p.m.

Saturday: Stage 6, Chillicothe to St. Joseph. Leave Chillicothe at 1 p.m.; ETA in St. Joe is 5:30. (That’s 110 miles they’ll be riding.)

Sunday: Stage 7, Kansas City circuit race; start at 2 p.m. and finish around 4:30. Start and finish are at Union Station, including the final awards ceremony for the overall winners.

For more info on the routes, for ETAs for specific points along the routes, and other details, see http://www.tourofmissouri.com/.

I leave you with a picture of the Lincoln University marching band playing on the steps of the Capitol, and another image of the LU color guard holding the Missouri state flag. If none of the stuff I have said so far has made any sense, maybe these photos will get it across.






(Special thanks for Sue Ferber for letting me use some of her fabulous photographs of today’s stage!)

(Note: This post was written the evening of Thursday, Sept. 10, the day of Stage 4, and merely posted on 9/11/09.)

Fall Calendar

Hoooo, doggies, it’s time to get out your calendar and make note of all the nifty things you want to do this autumn.

Here in Missouri, when the hot, sweaty summer starts to ease off into the drier, cooler days of fall, we all feel like rejoicing. It’s the traditional harvest time. It’s less buggy. And in addition to the changing leaves and the pretty purple asters, fruits and berries of all types color the trees, shrubs, and vines.

To help you figure out what to do this fall, here are some of my picks. Links are provided where available.

If you think I’ve left anything out, it was because I don’t recommend it as highly as these—or else I have simply forgotten it!


Sept. 7–13: Tour of Missouri, various locations
If you’ve never seen professional stage-race cyclists, I encourage you to watch some of this. This race is basically like a mini Tour de France, here in the Show-Me State. Once you see what these guys can do, you’ll start to understand why the Europeans get so excited when the Tour goes through their town, or why they take off of work to have a picnic and watch the racers go by. This year we get to see world-class cyclists George Hincapie (for years Lance Armstrong's "lieutenant," as it were), Levi Leipheimer, Christian Vandevelde, David Zabriskie, Mark Cavendish (the world's best sprinter), Thor Hushovd, Heinrich Haussler, and many more who are household names in Europe and who deserve greater recognition in the U.S.

Additionally, attending race events is a great opportunity to tour the state. When in Chillicothe, visit the "home of sliced bread" plaque and get some great BBQ at the old Wabash train station; when in St. James, by all means, head out to the winery. Or simply find a pretty spot along the route, have a picnic, and watch the race (and its amazing armada of support vehicles) zoom by.




Sept. 12: Mill Fest, Bonnots Mill, Mo.
Sponsored by this small town’s Community Betterment Association, this festival features a parade, poker run, pork steak, brats, baked beans, a quilt show in the old schoolhouse, official Bonnots Mill wines, arts and crafts booths, a pie auction, plus a street dance, music, and clogging. Also, if you’ve ever wanted to see inside the historic Dauphine Hotel, they’re leading tours from 1 to 6. Last year, by the way, was this community’s bicentennial. If you haven’t seen Bonnots Mill, you should go.


Sept. 19: Ozark Ham and Turkey Festival, California, Mo.
This is the 19th year for this festival, which highlights two of California’s major businesses (we are partial to Burgers’ Sausage—yum, yum, yum, yum). Live entertainment, food and craft booths galore, car show, antique tractors, diaper derby, washer tournament, poker run, barbecue contest, horse show, ham breakfast, and one of the world’s largest submarine sandwiches.





Sept. 23–26: Black Walnut Festival, Stockton, Mo.
Pies. Music. Terrapin races. Bluegrass. Pancakes. Crafts. Pet parade. The “First Annual Nut Run.” Baby contest. Queen contest (yes: there’s a Nut Queen). This is the 49th annual Black Walnut Festival, so they must know what they’re doing. Stockton is the home of Hammons Products Company, which I think is the world’s largest producer of black walnuts: Yummy, yummy black walnuts. This is the place to get black walnut products ranging from all types of baked goods to b.w. peach preserves to b.w. fudge to b.w. pancake mix to b.w. . . . nuts.


Sept. 23–27: Hermann Victory Celebration, Hermann, Mo.
Goodness, has it only been two thousand years since the Germanic warrior Hermann defeated three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest and stopped Roman expansion, changing the course of history? To mark the event, the town of Hermann commissioned a bronze statue of its namesake, and this celebration features its official dedication. . . . Plus lectures, a youth-orchestra concert from Hermann’s German sister city, a banquet, oompah music, winery tours, a Volksmarch, a BBQ and brats contest, and much more.




Sept. 26: Oktoberfest, sponsored by the Old Munichburg Association, Jefferson City, Mo.
German-themed entertainment and food, a beer garden, lots of vendors, a grape stomp, a car show, a wiener dog derby and costume contest . . . and this year there will be a strongman who performs feats of “teethlifting, bar bending, and car pulling.” The Old Munichburg Association is the group that promotes and works to improve the historic “Germantown” neighborhood of the capital city. (That I live in.)






Sept. 27: Our Lady of Help Parish Fall Supper, Frankenstein, Mo.
This is another church supper we like to attend—we think their homemade country sausage is tops, plus the church and its grounds are incredibly scenic, and the cemetery has some really old German tombstones in it. The drive to Frankenstein is pleasant, too. And anyway, don’t you want to be able to brag to your friends you “visited Frankenstein”?




1st Four Weekends in Oct.: Oktoberfest, Hermann, Mo.
Hermann is probably the best-known of all of Missouri’s German communities, and Hermann’s several wineries produce excellent, award-winning wines. Events happen throughout the town, but particularly at the wineries. (And the new brewpub!)




Oct. 10: Oktoberfest and Prairie Day, Cole Camp, Mo.
Cole Camp is another lovely, historic German town in mid-Missouri. Brats, kraut, crafts, antique bicycles, shopping, entertainment, etc. Cole Camp is very picturesque, and if you’re like me (and you’ve got “sauerkraut in the blood”), you should check this out. Simultaneously, the Mo. Prairie Foundation and Audubon Society are having meetings, talks, and prairie tours (bus shuttles will be available). Ethnic festival + natural history: What a great time!


Oct. 10–11: Heritage Craft Festival, Arrow Rock, Mo.
Loads of people, in costume, demonstrating and selling eighteenth-century arts and crafts, on the main street of a town changed surprisingly little since westering pioneers knew this area as the last outpost of civilization. This is the 41st year for the annual craft festival, and by now it and the village are ranked among the best heritage events/destinations in the nation. While there, you can see the A.R. State Historic Site (all over the downtown) including the visitors’ center and museum that explains the town’s importance as the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail.




Oct. 11: St. Louis Parish Fall Festival, Bonnots Mill, Mo.
This is one of my favorites because of the scenic quality of Bonnots Mill, which sits in a little hollow of rather steep hillsides, bounded on the north by the Osage River, right before it joins the Missouri. The parish’s fellowship hall is on a high bluff among hickory and oak trees, and the view of the river is mighty. And the food is good. And they usually have good, local musicians playing, too. You just cannot get this in any big city.




Oct. 17: Missouri Chestnut Roast, New Franklin, Mo.
Held by the University of Mo. Center for Agroforestry, this event lets you taste chestnuts, pecans, and black walnuts as well as other Missouri foods, such as mushrooms, goat cheese, honey, preserves, Missouri wines and beers . . . that kinda stuff. Plus there’s the historic 1819 Hickman House to see. Kid-friendly; held rain or shine.


Oct. 17–18: Deutsch Country Days, Marthasville, Mo.
Easily one of the best folklife festivals in the state as well as the nation, it focuses on the rural German immigrant lifestyle of the 1800s. (So—think Amish style as opposed to big-city-German lederhosen and dirndl style; zithers instead of accordions.) Tons of master craftsmen and artists, musicians, and many, many more gather to demonstrate candle dipping, hide tanning, iron working, kloppelei (lace weaving with bobbins), sorghum making, weaving, sausage stuffing, kraut making, steam-sawmilling . . . all on the lovely, rolling grounds of the Luxenhaus Farm.








Oct. 18 (?) [well, last year it was on 10/19...]: St. Joseph’s Parish Fall Festival, Westphalia, Mo.
Fall Festival: Sausage, turkey, all the other yummy country food and church-supper stuff. And Westphalia is a lovely town—relatively large compared to Bonnots Mill, Frankenstein, and Taos, but we love their 1848 Romanesque/Gothic church, made of that local tan “cottonstone,” that sits picturesquely on a hilltop, as well as the other historic buildings in the town.


Oct. 23–24: Wild Goose Festival, Sumner, Mo.
The 55th annual festival of the town famous as the Wild Goose Capital of the World and the home of Maxie, the World’s Largest Goose. Bring your camera as well as your camo! There’s a soup supper, gooseberry pie contest and auction, prince, princess, and queen contests, parade, petting zoo, clay pigeon shooting, horseshoes, a baby show, duck-calling contest, hay rack ride, bonfire, and hot dog roast. Of course, the reason for all these goosey activities is Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of the major stopover points for migrating Canada Geese, and a place to see all in itself.






Nov. 1: St. Francis Xavier Parish Harvest Festival, Taos, Mo.
“Our Harvest Festival is held the first Sunday of November. We have the most unique harvest festival menu. We serve roast turkey and ‘Taos Tasty Treat’ sausage along with trimmings of heritage dressing, sweet potatoes, fried Osage apples and much much more. We have available in the parish gym a country store, a Christmas craft booth, the large raffle, bingo and other games. This is also a time for all parishioners to work together for the good of the parish.” . . . This festival is a great warmup for Thanksgiving!


Nov. 21: Christbaumfest, Cole Camp, Mo.
It’s a craft show in two locations: the Lutheran School and the Jaycee Hall. Plus: lunch! Plus: all the town’s antique, craft, and gift shops will be open. As I have said, Cole Camp, a historic German settlement on the border of the Ozarks and the Prairies, is a lovely place to be.



[A note about my pictures: Just because a picture is positioned next to something, doesn't necessarily mean it's "of" that thing. That "fall supper" picture next to Frankenstein is actually a summer picnic at Wardsville. So, shoot me. I was trying to be illustrative, but not literal. Also, a big thank you to Susan Ferber for letting me use so many of her lovely photos, particularly of the Old Munichburg Oktoberfest, Deutsch Country Days, and of the Tour of Missouri 2007.]