Show me the Tour of Missouri

We made the trip downtown after the hurricane. Pretty disappointing turnout if you ask me and wonder if the promoters might have thought the same thing. Granted, it rained for 7 hours prior to the start of what was a shortened version of the original course, a 7 mile circuit race going up to forest park and around in a figure eight. The Expo Center was cancelled so there wasn't much of a reason to hang out at the Pfoodman/Trailnet tent, because their wasn't one. I invited a bunch of folks down to enjoy the day, most of them bailed for various reasons, hey, it was a pretty lame day for bike racing. What was cool was the VIP tent, great food, done up right by a local caterer.

I wonder a bit about the Tour of Missouri. There are some very significant corporate dollars floating into that machine. And at the risk of pissing everyone off in the cycling community, it seems a bit indulgent. I mean, they really have their hand out looking for corporate donations, volunteer hours, special event support. Pfoodman was asked to support too. We fed the volunteers. In return we got free expo entrance space for the expo center, a tent that we were to share with Trailnet. I suppose our in kind donation wrapped up at around two grand. That is what it cost us to produce the 600 box lunches for the volunteers that day. So arriving at the tour, no expo center, rain, a piece mealed shortened course and lackluster crowds, was a bit of a disappointment. Especially if it cost me two "big" bills. I wonder what the tours margin looks like and how the corporate sponsorships filter in to the margins of the promoter? I wonder what portion of the funding might have made it in to the budgets of local charities, should these dollars have gone unsolicited by the Tour of Missouri? I like the idea of the tour and certainly understand the template by which they manage their business. I even wrote Nixon a letter, assuming he was a shew in for Gov. at the time, when Blunt backed away, encouraging him to support the Tour of Missouri, a long with a check for 500 bucks for his continued support of small business.

I wonder if this is truly that big of return on investment, the Tour? While I am definitely a cycling enthusiast, an occasional race promoter and supporter of lots of events cycling (I still race bicycles and plan on doing it for a couple more years). I can't help but wonder if this is really what is in the best interest of these businesses, spending the big bucks for a slice of the fitness culture. After all the face time in St. Louis was limited due to the weather.

I have already told you what I don't like about the concept, I should also mention what I do like about it. The tour does indeed provide advocacy in regard to active lifestyle. It is enormous, the lifestyle display. The message is simple: "Get out on your freaking bikes folks, spend time outdoors, off the couch, out of the drive through at K-fry" I say. This is a good thing. The corporate sponsors must be "down" with the statewide traveling display of health and wellness that the tour provides. I guess I buy that as many other regional companies have. Where else can you find a couple thousand people looking to purchase a slice of rockstar status in a healthy forum other than the Tour of Missouri? Well, there are really quite a lot, with charitable interests.

So, If I change it up a bit with due to all of the pageantry, it would come out something like this: "Get out on your CC and purchase a freaking 6000 dollar Pinarello Folks, take another 6000 and follow the stages while taking pictures with a 3000 Nikon, geta couples massage between meals, eat tenderloin and drink Missouri wine at the VIP tent donated by hard working local business people who likely won't see dollar one back on their investment".

Nope, a lot of folks won't like this post, ifyouknowhatimtalkingbout.

Liza

Ok, we got through the Liza Minelli concert last night and have one more tonight. And I want to tell you, it was really a good show. The story telling that she provided the audience, her ability to dig deep and perform was something that I had not seen before, authentic and professional. She is 62 years old, been through a recovery or two, a marriage or....two. She got winded a couple times but worked that discomfort in to her act. The longer she went, the better she got. It was a very, very good performance by a woman who has seen it all, been there, done that. Her band of 30 years was with her as were a quartet rendition of the Williams brothers. She talked about losing her mother at age 22 and the influence of her GodMother, St. Louis's Kay Thompson.

She was nervous at the beginning, struggling a bit with her comfort level, like she was coming back from a long hiatus, returning to the stage after years of being away. She seemed to want to exude being "new and improved", talked about recently losing weight, her life, her tribulations. I remarked to Janie that she seemed to limp a bit, in 2000 she went through her second hip replacement and surgery again for brain encephalitis. The show unwound from the beginning, into a buildup where everyone felt satisfied that we had "gotten" Liza, regardless of her imperfections. I feel like I made a friend. I think that is what she was trying to do. So she gets two thumbs up from the Pfoodman.

Greensfelder

Thanks Bob and Sunset for putting on a good race on a very good course. The DRJ always delivers a good race, extremely good competition. Even better was seeing ole Dave Ploch walking again after surgery repairing his achilis tendon. Friggin elephantiasis or what? The good news is that the doctors said he will recover to full downhill majesty.

I wish I had enjoyed this race more. For crying out loud, I have trained out there for two weeks an all. I got a flat on the root dip/creek on the first lap and had a hell of a time getting it fixed, by the time I got back to the lot to boot it, it was pretty much over. I should have gone ahead, thank you very much B.I.G and Zack, but I was thinking in terms of my knees which have been bothering me a bit as of late, yes, I bailed. So the seven laps might not have been ultimately groovy in the bigger picture, which is the Cross Races and some other stuff I had planned. Bottom line, I should have jumped back in because Scott Mortimer and the other Mesa dude, and others all flatted too. So kill me.

Hey, Thrasher was back, and did quite well on his home course. I wish he would quit leaving all of those gu wrappers out there, embarrassing to take a brow beating from the promoter. If the dude had an ounce of profundity....Regardless, he rocked, took 4th in the SS class, just back after a broken hand suffered at the Dirt Crit Series, which is concluding on Oct. 5th, btw.

Scuck did very well too, 11 laps???? Holy crap. That is some serious damage on some serious singletrack with over 3000 feet of climbing. Pretty cool.

Mike Tieber, flat, came back and rocked, not sure of finish but he is on fire now. Looking forward to getting him up to magical form the rest of this year and next. Mike Gibson, first race back from two broken wrists and a dislocated hip. He did extremely well and will soon be taking the podium. He broke a chain, btw, and jumped back in, but I did not.

Becky Cato took 2nd in her usual display of incredibility. Way to go Becky. Saw Pauli in a Wapiti kit, Jeff Powell looked real strong, flatted, jumped back in, I did not.

Thanks Jeremy Meitz for the pics.

Dirt Crit Finale

Presents

The Short Track Dirt Crit Championship

and

The Velo Force Short Track Dirt Crit Series Finale

Race Date: Oct 5^th 2008

Fun, Low Pressure off Road Short Track Mountain Bike Racing

ABOUT THE RACE/SERIES:

Races were held every Thursday in July/August at Castlewood State Park. Racers showed in abundance to test their skill against others of the same level. Each week payouts were given3 deep for the winners of each class and points awarded for the series. These racers are now in competition for the Championship to be held on Oct. 5^th. Come test your skill against the best and personal best in the state while having fun in the dirt.

Series Standings are here

The races will be “geared” towards all levels. All racers are encouraged to race in the group they feel most comfortable in. Women are encouraged to participate in the B’s so we can award the top female championship podium.

REGISTRATION:

Registration will open at 8:00 AM for all races.

RACE TIMES:

The “A” Race (Expert racers and ewannabes) will be @ 9:00 AM, 45 minutes+ 2 laps

The “B” Race (Sport Racers, Women and swannabes) will be @ 10:00 AM, 25 minutes+ 2 laps

The “C” Race (Beginner Racers and Juniors over 12) will be @ 11:00 AM, 15 minutes+ 2 laps

The “K” Race (Kids, 12 and under) will be @ 11:30 AM, 1 lap.

And introducing…the much anticipated….

The “PF” Race (You pick two person baton pass) will be @ 12:00 PM 45 plus 2 laps

RACE FEES: $20 per person, as many races as you want! Kids race free but need waiver.

PRIZES (each race):

Awards for top 3 in each category (Cash for A race: 1st=$40, 2nd=$25, 3rd=$10).

Food, drink and heinousnicity included

PRIZES (series points total):

Awards for series winners (3 deep) given at party after PF race-

Cash for A race: 1st=$100, 2nd=$75, 3rd=$50

DIRECTIONS:

From the south on I-44 or I-55: Take the Hwy. 141 exit and travel north on Hwy. 141 to Big Bend Road. Turn left onto Big Bend Road and travel west to Ries Road. Go left on Ries to T at Kiefer Creek Road, turn left on Kiefer Creek into park.

From I-270: Take the Dougherty Ferry Road exit and travel west on Dougherty Ferry to Big Bend Road. Turn right onto Big Bend Road and travel west to Ries Road. Go left on Ries to T at Kiefer Creek Road, turn left on Kiefer Creek into park.

From the north on U.S. Hwy. 40/61: Take the Clarkson exit (near Chesterfield Mall) and travel south. Clarkson crosses Manchester Road and becomes Kiefer Creek Road which leads into the state park.

When you get there: Enter park and continue along road, under RR bridge to first parking lot. 20 MPH speed limit in the park

All racers must have NORBA license, one day licenses available for $5.

Helmets required.

Contact Ralph@pfoodman.com or check the STLBiking..com message board.

Who sent this?

Below is an email that seems to be floating around out there. I post it here to clear up a little confusion. I hope you all like what is brewing (coffee, get it?)

Ralph, can you give us the skinny on your coffee house concept we heard about?

Well, since you asked, but we are still early in our planning....

The Lone Wolf Coffee Company: Active Food and Folk. Dude, Colorado style means "no worries" attitude. It's a Coffee House and Cafe to be introduced in affluent West St. Louis County on Clayton Road near Kehrs Mill in Ballwin/Chesterfield. It will ooze active lifestyle, cycling, hiking, mountain biking, orienteering, kayaking, running, multi-sport. We'll serve our own private label coffee from a custom roaster using the best coffee in the world. Menu items will include wraps, panini's, soups, salads, scones, sweetbreads, bagels, and always a "Wild Thyme's" feature (power foods). Cyclists passing by on Clayton road can grab from a selection of energy drinks and hydration products. We will have a in house PA system for acoustic music at times, cool as folk music programing, a meeting room and lots of local characters to hang out with. There will be an indoor, yes, indoor bike rack, a small "community outfitter" for self repair and parts, other "leg up's" to help move people in to active living. There will be a communication board, TV's, did I say interesting people? It is a reflection of my lifestyle and commitment to active living.

What's up with the name Lone Wolf?

The Lone Wolf is the name of a very steep hiking and biking trail with a panoramic overlook of the Meremac River Valley in Castlewood State Park, also in West St. Louis County. I am quite fond of this trail for many reasons. First, because it has some sweet single track found nowhere else in the state, the place is my Country Club. Second, I did my first mountain bike race there in 2000 and subsequently got my life together after years of over indulgence. I embarked on a healthier and more active lifestyle with a complete wellness re-invention. Yep, my encounter with The Lone Wolf afforded me increased confidence and determination, personal and professional; better life fulfillment and entrepreneurial success. I pretty much owe my life to that experience.

So you didn't always shave your legs?

What? No! The trails nasty climb forced me to push my bike (and my then 240 lb frame) to the top of The Lone Wolf no less than three times during the two hour race. I finished exhausted yet exhilarated. I was alone out there, nobody to help me get through it but a distinguishable presence on that trail that kept me from quitting. I eventually continued on to the finish where lots of people were feeling good and having fun; pretty much what my life consists of now. This is one of five concepts that I am developing for use in retail and institutional settings in our restaurant company, Pfoodman. BTW, the human interest is 100% factual.

Where is it located?

It will be right next door to our new corporate office which we call Pfoodman Foodworks, an off premise catering operation where we produce meals for private k-12 schools under the Pfoodman companies Wild Thyme's Wellness brand.

Foodworks will connect the corporate headquarters of Pfoodman and The Lone Wolf Coffee Company. The entire operation will be in the former Zhivago's Russian Restaurant space. Call me if you have questions

Ralph Pfremmer aka "Pfoodman"

314-496-2317

Hose me off, Mr. Pierce.

I knew when I called Rich and told him that I would be at Forest Park tonight for Cross practice that I would experience his majesty's "heinous-ness". And that is what he delivered. "Epicnicity Heinous-ness". Thanks Rich for a good time had by all. Mud, sweat and....mud. Spongy friggin mud. And not only that, Drew Black was kickin our A.

After what seemed like 10 laps, I decided to get the camera out, cover it with mud and take a couple pictures because I was tired and couldnt seem to get a gap on or catch anyone. So enjoy. If anyone feels like raking, sodding and strawing the mess that we made, forget about it, there was no damage.

Hey Yielding, we got steps.

Powder Blue

I was hoping my sister would do something colorful for her marriage ceremony to D-Hawkins, the former femur. I call him the former femur because it is impossible to get him to ride a bike anymore because he is consistently on the road. Either to Columbia to see Kathryn, or somewhere in B-bomb Egypt where they make a bunch of equipment that nobody knows what the hell the stuff is used for.

I loved my senior picture, (taken in a powder blue tux just like the above) it is one of the few pictures of myself that I actually like. Not because of my full head of hair, my recently straightened teeth, my clear skin an flawless features. I like the picture because it captures a certain moment of relief. I look back on high school and struggle to find much that was really all that meaningful. Is it so wrong of me to look back and say, "hey, that really sucked"? I don't think so. Because I find that there is a framework that was being built during that time and, even though it was a little off kilter, I look back on high school as a stage of perseverance. I had to persevere each day to get through the boring material, the clicky people, the racial tension, the day to day humdrum bullshit of status quo. It was too slow for me to use my abilities. I was, for a long time, embarrassed that each day during my junior and senior year, I left school to go to work in a restaurant at 11:00 AM. I was one of those kids, early out to work.

This worked for me, gave me a reason not to skip class. Before I had skipped because the others skipped. The others could skip and get away with it, get good grades, skirt the system. It was total peer pressure. I won't say publicly the things we would do while sitting in our cars in Proctor park, Bethal Park, Rockbridge Park, or any other park within a 10 minute drive from the high schools. It was really quite sad the reaction we would get from our teachers when returning to class, no reaction.

I look at today's schoolkids and wonder if some are disappointed with the system. I can compare quite nicely the goods and the bads. I think the food is miserable now. It used to be pretty good where I came from. I think the sports facilities are so much better now, the teaching methods, the mentorship, the parent involvement, the resources, the logistics. Not so good back in the 70's. I wonder what kind of sincere strategic support for underachievers the schools have now, in relationship to their evaluation scores. My school wasn't so good at that.

I sat at My kids school the other day on some business in the counselors office, watching the students coming in though the front door. I saw the city kids get off the bus and the local parents dropping off their kids in an assortment of SUV's. There were groups and clicks; athletes, freaks, drama queens, bad boys, cheerleaders, nerds, geeks. I was able to label and categorize the social status of just about every kid walking in the place. I then turned to the teachers and the administrators and thought to myself how they were once members of these groups; former students of the same classes.

I guess I carry a bit of resentment when it comes to the American high school experience cultivated from a combination of academic and social stigma. There are always those kids who don't think they fit the system very well. They are the "them", they others the "us", especially when it comes to grasping academic material and/or embracing social groupings. I responded to the academic conditions poorly and inward I went, heading out to the parking lot, skipping class and eventually signing up for early release. I was at a shortfall, couldn't grasp the things that the other kids could. It was degrading and I fell victim to that which would define my academic experience and off to work I went. For some it is not the academics at all, rather the social groupings that cause alienation; pull back and lack of achievement.

Take a look at your high school picture and see how you measure up from time to time. Put on a little "Re-united" by Peaches and Cream, remember how things were then and look at things now. Hopefully you will see just how significant and/or insignificant the experience was, ifyouknowhatimtalkingbout.

On Education Politics

Sheetz sent this...

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his . One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, ' Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.' Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean 's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.' The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!' The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'

What I will do

I was talking to Kevin the Bald guy last night. Just after a happy hour meeting that left me with only a stomach full of fried onions and spinach dip. I hate this. Since making a commitment to actually placing in mtb races this season, I actually have to eat right, and with more regularity. The Guinness and chips didn't quite put me into form. Dammit man!

So I got on the scale this morning, to weigh myself, again, and wtf? 198 pounds, ahem, empty. Now, I was able to get down to 188 in 2003. See picture above with my father Ralph. He had been quite sick but made it out to Rhett's run that day to watch me get slaughtered in the state championship. If it looks like I had been hit by a bus, that is what I felt like. Sorry ladies, for the camel toe. I am thinking I was too thin and look like hell.

It seems I am hitting on all cylinders but weigh 10 lbs more than when I was struggling to be in the sport class. I would love to be able to climb like a "buck forty five". Shoot, I gotta work harder than all those little guys.

In the face

Thrasher Turns Farty Uno

Doug and Carolyn Carlson sharing an embrace at the Giro.

If facial hair is an indication of said midlife crisis, then give Craig a shiny red paint job on his 911. Because it is another year gone by and he is well on his way to achieving GNOD status. Congratulations on receiving your cheesecake, as delicious as the family chicken salad recipe, ifyouknowhatimtalkinbout.

Furby Sited

I wasn't the only one who thought something strange about the figure appearing across the street from Pirtles house at the Giro yesterday. I told the missus to snap shut the cooler but it was too late. I did have a couple extra "items" from Saturdays sweat fest, so I was eager to share, honored that I could indulge Shoemaker with a cold beverage. Based on the Irishman's tan lines, I would have said he was racing this weekend. But no. Is Furby fo real?

Super Smart People

I couldn't just let this go, poaching this pick from the Team Seagal site. It is important that my people know the kind of folks I strategically interact with on a regular basis as our country faces the current political and socio-economic situation. The nation is at odds with where to go in the next election, hurricanes are pounding the gulf, there is the health care thing, the rising cost of commodities, fuel, danger, crime, war unrest...the solution...

Superheros.