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A costly ride with Ditty Bops

This morning, I had the pleasure of riding with the Ditty Bops, Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge to Edwardsville, Ill. What came afterward wasn't so pleasant, but let's stick with the pleasant part first.

I parked on the Illinois side of the bridge and dodged a bunch of runners on the bridge to get over to the St. Louis side to meet Amanda and Abby. I immediately recognized them from the numerous photos I've seen of them the past few weeks while reading their journal of the 2006 Bicycle Tour.

I apologized for not making it to the show Friday night at the Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis because of work commitments, and Abby wondered how I found out where they were going to meet

"I have my sources," I told Abby. Then I revealed my sources. Paul MacFarlane of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation had talked to their tour manager, Greg Rutlidge, about their depature plans and relayed the information to me.

As they crossed the bridge and entered Chouteau Island, they both seemed surprised when I told them they were already in Illinois. As we rode on the Confluence Trail, I showed them where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi River. They seemed moderately impressed with that, especially since they've spent so much time along the Missouri while riding the Katy Trail last week.

I told Amanda how impressed I was that they were able to take the time to do a cross-country trip. I briefly talked about my weeklong adventures in various states. "That's a good way to see the country," she said.

I would love to spend more time riding with them. Both Amanda and Abby are outgoing and friendly and made me feel welcome. While they're strong riders, they don't take cycling too seriously. Both of them have streamers hanging from their handle bars! Pretty cool!

I started out strong, but I wilted on the New Poag Road hill leading out of the Mississippi River valley near the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus. That's normally a hill I have no problem with, but the heat and humidity -- combined with a lack of sleep the previous evening -- meant I had problems this time. I had hoped to ride with them as far as Hamel, but I knew I would have to turn back when we arrived in Edwardsville if I were to get home in time to go to work.

We parted company at a convenience store in Edwardsville, and my ride went downhill from there. I never made it to work Saturday afternoon.

While riding back on New Poag Road, I managed to hit a block of wood that had fallen on the shoulder for the road. The next thing I knew, I landed face first on the pavement. I never lost consciousness, but blood was dripping on the pavement. It was all too similar to the fall I suffered during the 1997 West Shoreline Tour in Michigan, but at least no one else besides me was injured.

Fortunately for me, several people saw me fall and stopped to help. At least two of them happened to be EMTs, and they helped stabilize me until Edwardsville's paramedics arrived on the scene. They loaded me on an ambulance and took me to Anderson Hospital in Maryville. They left my bike hidden in a farm field near a fire hydrant.

I spent seven hours at Anderson Hospital undergoing tests and waiting for doctors to analyze the tests. Fortunately, nothing was broken, and I ended up getting a bunch of stiches near my left eye.

By the way, Bubba, they did a CT scan of my head and found nothing there.

All in all, it was a ride I will remember, both for good reasons (the Ditty Bops) and bad reasons (the fall). A big special thanks go to the EMTs who stopped to help me and to Cheryl Eaton, the Belleville News-Democrat's Madison County bureau chief, who picked me up at the hospital and took me back to my car, which was still parked near the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

If you want photographic evidence I spent time with the Ditty Bops, check out the account of Saturday's ride. This is the last picture taken of me with my lime green cycling jersey, which was torn by the paramedics treating me and was well-soaked with my blood because of the accident.

Labels: Ditty Bops

Roger 2 comments links to this post 9:31 PM

Anyone go to the Ditty Bops in St. Louis?

Unfortunately, because of work commitments, I could not make it to the Ditty Bops' show Friday night in St. Louis. If you went to the show, I invite you to write some mini-reviews of the show in the comments section.

I hear from Paul MacFarlane of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation that the Mad Art Gallery was packed and that the Ditty Bops put on a great show.

If I can get out of bed early enough, I hope I can meet them at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and ride with them to Edwardsville or Hamel. I can't ride with them up to Litchfield because I have to work Saturday afternoon and evening, but I'll still get a good ride in.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:01 AM

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Landis fails drug test

Floyd Landis' Tour de France victory and his miraculous comeback ride last Thursday may be tainted. His team, Phonak, confirmed that his initial drug test taken last Thursday after his epic ride in the Alps showed Landis tested positive for excessive amounts of testosterone. Landis has been suspended from the team pending the results of a second sample analysis.

You can read more on the links in the right column of this page.

Let's hope for the best with the second sample because that last thing the sport of cycling needs is another major doping scandal.

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:52 AM

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Bike thefts in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune's Red Eye reports about the frustration Chicago cyclists face as their bicycles continue to get swiped.

In 2005, more than 2,300 bikes -- including that of my older sister, Teresa Parod -- were stolen in the city of Chicago. I wrote about the theft of my sister's bike outside the Art Institute in March 2005.

Bike lock maker Kryptonite says Chicago is the third worst city for bike theft in the country, behind New York and San Francisco. Let's hope the city's Bike 2015 plan is successful in reducing the number of bicycle thefts in the city.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 3:15 AM

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Ditty Bops Springfield show

The Ditty Bops' 2006 Bicycle Tour has confirmed another concert stop -- Springfield, Ill.

Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald will bring their music to Illinois' state capital at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 30, at the Underground City Tavern at 700 E. Adams Ave. The club is located in the bottom level of the Hilton Springfield.

Amanda and Abby are cycling and sweating their way through Kansas this week. They play Friday night in Lawrence, Kan., and Sunday night in Kansas City, Mo. They're expected to take the Katy Trail through Missouri next week with a concert in Columbia on Wednesday. They play the Mad Art Gallery in St. Louis on Friday, July 28.

Once in Illinois, they're planning to travel the League of Illinois Bicyclists' new Route 66 Bicycle Trail. Bloomington remains on the tour calendar for Aug. 1, but no venue has been listed for the show yet.

Roger 2 comments links to this post 10:24 PM

Riding the storm out

Wednesday evening's Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society ride was cursed.

Just before the start of the ride in downtown O'Fallon, Ill., a freight train stopped and blocked the tracks, forcing us to take a two-mile detour to the Seven Hills Road overpass. We didn't know that at the time, but it was an omen of things to come.

As we turned north onto the Junior High Bicycle Trail in O'Fallon, we could see somewhat dark clouds to the north. When I got to the Simmons Road-Bethel School Road-Witte Road intersection, it was much darker.

By the time I got to the Witte Road-Lemen Settlement Road intersection, I knew trouble was brewing, so I turned straight back. As the ride leader, I knew I was going to have drive the course and make sure everyone got home safely.

Things got scarier when I got near the O'Fallon city limits. The city sounded the storm sirens and images of the April tornado that caused extensive damage in O'Fallon and Fairview Heights popped through my mind.

Fellow rider Glen Peterson also bailed out early, and we swept the course to make sure people got back to O'Fallon safely. Several big limbs fell on Bowler Road. Fortunately, the weather was holding out that the four riders I saw approaching the road could continue riding, so I warned them about the limbs.

One rider got hit by a small stick that fell on Bowler. She was rather fortunate it wasn't one of the big limbs.

Fortunately, everyone returned to O'Fallon safely.

As it turned out, more than 400,000 power customers in the St. Louis area lost electricity because of the storm. I'm one of the fortunate people who still have power, and I feel for the people who are without power today as temperatures are expected to hit 100 degrees. Let hope those people will be able to find cool shelter.

Roger 1 comments links to this post 10:47 AM

Wow!

I pretty much though Floyd Landis' chances of winning the Tour de France were slim and none after his collapse in Stage 16 on Wednesday, but he's proved me wrong. I couldn't be happier.

Landis put in the ride of his life and won the difficult Stage 17 today, finishing 5 minutes 42 seconds ahead of Carlos Sastre. Landis started the day in 11th place, 8:08 behind leader Oscar Pereiro. Now, he is in third place, only 30 seconds out of the lead. Sastre is only 12 seconds behind the yellow jersey.

Wow! It should be one amazing time trial Saturday!

Roger 2 comments links to this post 10:36 AM

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Tour de'Belleville recap

Hats off to the Belleville Neighborhood Associations and the Belleville Department of Parks and Recreation for pulling off a successful Tour de'Belleville.

About 500 people attended the ride Friday night, much more than organizers expected. Given that it took eight years to get Tour de Stooges to that number of participants, I say Tour de'Belleville organizers did a great job of finding their target audience -- people who normally don't do a lot of cycling -- and getting the word out. Tour de'Belleville organizer Phil Elmore did a great job in contacting neighborhood groups and the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society, among others, to encourage them to spread the news about the event.

Now, a seven-mile ride isn't much of a challenge for people who belong to the BABES, so we decided to make a celebration out of it. More than 20 people showed up for our pre-ride meal at Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, then a good number of people went to Main Street Jazz & Blues for a post-ride happy hour, which turned into hours. Several of us finished early enough that we got to do a second circuit of the route.

While several of us wished the route was a bit longer, I think seven miles probably was enough for the vast majority of participants. Hopefully, they got a taste of how much fun cycling can be and will consider doing longer rides in the future.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:48 AM

Monday, July 10, 2006

Tour de'Belleville tips

A lot of people were out on their bicycles Sunday night in Belleville, more than I'm used to seeing on the trails and roads in the area. I'm guessing people are trying to get some miles on their bikes -- I suppose those were training rides -- before the Tour de'Belleville this Friday, July 14. My Tour de Belleville "training ride" was more than 20 miles and included a climb of Shiloh Station Road hill.

Hopefully, the event will create some momentum for bicycling in the Belleville area by showing people that bicycling is great exercise and a great way to see their community.

Nighttime rides such as the Tour de'Belleville and Moonlight Ramble draw bicyclists with a wide range of experience, and that can be a recipe for problems. Here's some tips that can make those events more enjoyable for everyone:

Tips for newbies:

• If you're a slower rider, try to ride as far to the right as safely possible so faster riders can pass you. If you have to walk up a hill, walk your bike as far to the right as safely possible.
  
• Groups of cyclists should not take up the entire lane, again so other people can pass.
• If you plan to stop, be sure to give some type of warning. At a minimum, give a verbal warning such as "braking" or "stopping." It's also a good idea to give a hand signal by extending your left hand toward the ground. For a good illustration of that, download the Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road (pdf file).
• If you're stopping for an extended period of time, pull off the road so other cyclists can pass safely.
• Use your gears. Most new cyclists tend to use a gear that's too big for them. Find a gear where you feel comfortable riding 60 to 90 pedal strokes a minute. When you approach a hill, you probably want to shift to a lower gear before you start climbing.
  
• Above all, ride at a pace that's comfortable for you. The Tour de'Belleville is not a race, so don't get tempted to ride at a faster speed than you're used to just because you want to keep up with other people.

Tips for experienced riders:

• Be patient with the less experienced riders. Remember that you once were an inexperienced rider yourself.
• Ride defensively. When approaching a family with young children, give yourself plenty of room to get around them because you never know when someone will suddenly veer to the left or right.
• Use caution on hills. There's a good chance someone will try to climb a hill only to run out of gas and suddenly stop. Give yourself plenty of room to maneuver around them.
• Slow down. This is not the time for a 20-25 mph training ride and long pacelines. Events like the Tour de'Belleville are meant for fun, so slow down and smell the roses.
• Be a good ambassador. The way you behave will influence whether a newcomer will stick with the sport.

Let's hope that everyone with have a safe and enjoyable Tour de'Belleville.

Roger 1 comments links to this post 11:53 AM

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Tour de Donut column

Amanda St. Amand of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote a column about Saturday's Tour de Donut bicycle "race" in Staunton, Ill.

Generally, I thought she did do a good job with the column, but there were a few holes in it. For example:

The race was born in 1989, the creation of a group of Staunton cyclists who thought a race spoofing the Tour de France would be a natural.

Actually, the group was the Mid-America Bicycle Club. Only one of the ride's co-founders was from Staunton, Mark Pace. Joe Booth was living in Wood River, Ed Taylor was living in Bethalto, and I was living in Alton at the time.

I wish she would have taken the time to talk to one of the ride's co-founders about the ride's beginnings. While I wouldn't been able to talk to her because I work at a competing newspaper, one of the other co-founders could have added some great insights about the ride's origins.

Nevertheless, I'm glad Mandy gave the ride the attention it deserves.

I, sadly, won't be there this year. I have to work on a special section for the Belleville News-Democrat, and my work has to be done Saturday before I go on vacation. No, I'm not doing a weeklong trip this time around, but I hope to get some long rides in next week.

Roger 0 comments links to this post 8:56 PM

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

More details on Ditty Bops' St. Louis show