BikeRide

Even though the Tour of Missouri was listed as part of the 2010 USA Cycling Pro Tour,  a recent news story suggests the race is not sure to happen without state funding:

ST. LOUIS (KMOX)  — Lieutenant governor Peter Kinder remains hopeful the dollars will be in place soon enough for 2010 Tour of Missouri planning to begin in earnest.

As chairperson, Kinder says the professional cycling event could still go on, even if state funding falls through, “It’s possible, but it becomes much more challenging because the $1.5 million in tourism tax money is about 45% of our budget.”   

This would be the fourth year for the event, which has grown in popularity each year.

Kinder says last year’s Tour of Missouri drew 500-thousand spectators and provided a $38.1 million economic impact for the state and its host communities.

The International Cycling Union calendar shows the 2010 event would begin August 31st and end September 6th.

Hopefully the Tour of Missouri will not go the way of the Tour de Georgia.

USA Cycling has unveiled their Pro Tour Calendar for 2010:

The 2010 Pro Tour features four major multi-day stage races across the country, giving spectators around the nation an opportunity to witness the sport at its highest level of competition. With Tours of California, New York, Missouri and the Univest Grand Prix (Pa.) on the calendar, cycling enthusiasts from the West Coast to New England to the Midwest can see world-class athletes as they race through local communities across America.

In addition to the multi-day races on the 2010 Pro Tour, road cycling athletes will also compete in six additional single-day events, including five road races, one criterium and one time trial. Collectively, the calendar offers 28 days of racing for the world’s best on U.S. soil.

“We are excited to see the USA Cycling Professional Tour continue to expand so that our professional teams have even more opportunities to showcase their riders and sponsors and compete against some of the best teams and riders in the world,” said Sean Petty, USA Cycling chief operating officer. “We applaud and thank the communities and organizers who continue to provide the venues for these world class events.”

For the first time the calendar will begin with the self-billed “America’s Queen of the Classics,” the Tour of The Battenkill. The one-day race will kick off the calendar on Sunday, April 18 featuring rolling countryside, covered bridges and passes through the small villages of Upstate New York’s Washington County. This race adds a unique element in that approximately 25% of the race is contested on sections of dirt roads.

A mainstay on the USA Cycling Professional Tour, the Amgen Tour of California is an eight-day stage race in the Golden State that has historically attracted the sport’s top international teams and athletes. The event moves from February to May 16 – 23 and will feature a much more challenging overall course and several new stages, most notably the opening stage in Nevada City and the final stage, a circuit race throughout Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Agoura Hills.

Next up will be the 26th edition of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship on June 6.  To steal a term from the Rose Bowl, the “Granddaddy of Them All” in Philadelphia is the longest running professional race in the country. Past winners of “Philly” include the who’s who of American and international cycling over the past quarter century.

The circuit will then move to Providence, RI for the U.S. Open of Cycling on July 4. Moving west across New England the 2.2-rated Tour de New York will mark the second all-new event and the fifth overall event on the Pro Tour, Aug. 7-12. The six-day stage race will begin with a short, circuit race in Rochester on Saturday, a 10-mile individual time trial on Sunday and will continue through August 12th with three road races and one circuit race. The USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championships will then take place Aug. 14 in a location still to be determined.

The previously traditional close of the calendar, the Tour of Missouri will this year serve as the seventh of 10 total events, Aug. 31- Sept. 6. , Many of the world’s top international teams are expected to again return to Missouri for the world-class, multiple-day professional cycling race and rolling festival.

Another long-time event, the Univest Grand Prix will bring the best back to Pennsylvania as riders look to accumulate late-season points towards an overall Pro Tour championship. The 2.2-rated event will consist of a circuit race on Saturday, Sept. 11 and a road race in and around Souderton, Pa. on Sept. 12. 

For the fifth consecutive year, Greenville, S.C. will welcome the top American road pros for the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships. This year scheduled for Sept. 18 and 19, the event will welcome America’s best as they gear up for the 2010 UCI Road World Championships set for late September in Melbourne, Australia.

Following the donning of the Stars-and-Stripes in Greenville, the overall Pro Tour standings will be used to determine an individual and a team champion who are considered the best and most consistent performers in international-caliber racing in the U.S. To view a complete wrap and winners of the 2009 USA Cycling Professional Tour, click here.

2010 USA Cycling Professional Tour:

April 18: Tour of the Battenkill - Cambridge, NY
May 16 – 23: Amgen Tour of California - California
June 6: TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship - Philadelphia, PA
July 4: US Open of Cycling - Providence, RI
Aug. 7 – 12: Tour de New York – Rochester, NY
Aug. 14: USA Cycling Professional Criterium Championships - TBD
Aug. 31 – Sept. 6: Tour of Missouri - Missouri
Sept. 11 – 12: Univest Grand Prix - Souderton, PA
Sept. 18: USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championship - Greenville, SC
Sept. 19: USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championship - Greenville, SC

The town of Plainville, Connecticut is hoping to be designated as Bicycle-Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists according to an article in the Bristol Press.

This story caught my eye because not only do I live fairly close to Plainville, but I used to ride through Plainville almost daily on my bicycle commute when I worked at ESPN, which is located just over the Plainville border in Bristol, Connecticut.

It has been a couple of years now since I changed jobs, but at the time it would have been nice to have better bike routes through the town.  Many of the streets have wide lanes which are nice for bicycling, but striped bicycle lanes would have been great in some areas.

At one point a major road (Route 177) was being “improved” to add a traffic light, repaved, and restriped for more auto lanes.  The problem is it took away the nice existing shoulder for riding without any consideration for bike lanes, and that was one of the few routes I felt safe riding my bike.

There are some abandoned railroad lines in the town that I hope are converted to a bike path as an extension of Farmington Canal Trail.  When I was commuting by bike it would have been nice to use the trail to avoid some of the roads that have heavier auto traffic.

Jim Cassidy, chairman of the Bicycle Friendly committee said he would like to give people a chance to ride alongside an abandoned stretch of railway in the northern section of town. If the town purchased the railway and made it part of the bike trail, it could encourage Farmington to complete the part of their route that connects to Plainville, bringing bicyclists down a safe and quiet path to the center of town.

To be considered a Bicycle Friendly Community, I think you have to do more that think of cycling just for recreation, but think of building routes that encourage people to ride as transportation to work, schools, or other popular destinations.

Encouraging cycling for recreation is also important, because that can boost the local economy by bringing people to town to ride the trails or participate in cycling events.  One example is the Plainville Spring Series, a local early season race series and a business park in Plainville.

Cyclists Ride In The Plainville Spring Series (BikeRide.com Photo)

At this point, no town in Connecticut is designated as Bicycle Friendly by the League of American Cyclists, but I would say there are certainly areas in Connecticut that are great for riding. The cycling culture here just seems to be more about cycling for recreation than transportation.  There is hope though.  In 2009, the Connecticut Department of Transportation passed a Statewide Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan.

If you are interested in Bicycle Advocacy in Connecticut the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance is a good resource.

Cylce Oregon includes a weekend ride in July, and a week long tour in September.

Race founder and longtime master of ceremonies Jonathan Nicholas said the weekend ride in July will be at Monmouth, based at Western Oregon University. This is more of a family ride, with a kids camp and activities for younger riders. It will also include covered bridges and an option for a 100-mile ride on the first day.

The week-long ride in September will include a loop in Eastern Oregon and Idaho, and a stopover at the 100th anniversary edition of the Pendleton Round-Up rodeo. Starting Sept. 12 in Elgin, the route includes a night in Enterprise, a cross of the state border into Washington for layovers in Clarkston and Waitsburg, a cross back into Oregon for a two-night stop in Pendleton (with an optional 55-mile run in the morning) and a final day of serious climbing back to Elgin.

Details and maps are available at the Cycle Oregon Web site.