Ike Won

Spent the end of last week following the Tour of Missouri. Went to Rolla for the finish and then went to St. James for the start. It was pretty fun to see them ride roads I used to ride all the time. J hill looked like they were hurting just as bad as me, but going 10mph faster. At least they were standing and were in their small chain ring.

The start in St. James was carnival like. A lot of local booths and wares available for purchase. Most of the riders were just hanging out and relaxing. It was very low key except for the crowds around Columbia and Slipstream and those people were very polite to the riders. I guess that is what impressed me the most. People wanted to see riders, but they gave them room and always said "please" and "thank you." I think the riders, esp. those who ride in Europe, were very taken back. Even Cavendish who just finished in Rolla and was tired as hell took the time to smile, sign autographs and pose for photos after he got off the bike. The funniest thing was Danny Pate. He crossed the finish line after drilling it for 95 miles in 3 hours and 18 minutes to keep Vandevelde in yellow over Michael Barry. He rolls over to a BBQ they had for the motorcycle support riders at the finish line and asks, "Hey, what's cooking? Can I get some?" They gave him a brat right from the grill, he said "Thanks a lot! This tastes so good! What else would you eat after a tough stage?"

While in Rolla I saw some good friends and enjoyed some Alex's and Slice of Pie. The Tecos team was at the local Trek dealer so of course we saw them. I think I stop at the bike shop in Rolla almost everytime I'm there since the shop owner is a former roomate and good friend. While there I picked up a new set of cranks and bottom bracket for my Rig. It needed it badly. It took some work to get the old cranks off, but I eventually got it. The new set is installed and ready to roll. I went with the current Bontrager SS crank offering and opted for a Crank Brothers bottom bracket because it has a 5 year warrenty. 5 years for a bottom bracket! What do I have to loose?

This weekend was supposed to be a the Chubb TT, but Ike came through and flooded the trail. Now I'll be studying most of the weekend - including Friday night. I'm taking a break Saturday evening to go to Herman to race under the lights. It should be interesting since I haven't been riding or running much lately. I think some others will me more prepared than me for it, but who cares. I've never been super serious about cross races except for Nationals. I figure I have 3 months to prep for that.