Two Wheel Blogs

[Ride Tunes: The Clash, SANDINISTA]

I had planned to do the St. Charles ride tonight. My plan was put my front tire behind Boz's rear tire and let him pull my tired a** around the 25-mile route at whatever pace he wanted to go. So I had my bike racked and all my gear ready to go.

Then I got a call at work. I was asked to "host" the firm's box at tonight's Cards-Brewers game, the do-over from Friday night's rainout. ("Hosting" requires that you arrive early, greet people as they arrive, and make sure no one orders unauthorized food or beverages.) Never one to pass up a free ballgame -- especially in the firm's super-sweet suite -- I said "Yes," knowing that it meant I wouldn't get to ride St. Charles tonight.

I called Boz to ask him if he wanted to join me for the game. To entice him, I offered that we could ride the Riverfront Trail up to Chain of Rocks before the game. He declined, telling me he really needed a speed workout tonight. The hammerheads at St. Charles would give him all he could handle. Me? After 80 miles yesterday, I was not exactly going to be pushing the pace. He made the right call.

I rolled out of the staidum parking lot around 4:45 and headed down to the Arch. I'd not been down there for a long time, and did not realize the river was so high. I had to detour through the cobblestone street of Laclede's Landing to avoid water covering the road in front of the President Casino. Once on the trail, I rolled at a wind-assisted pace of 18-20 mph. I got up to Chain of Rocks in around 45 minutes.

I could've just turned around in the parking lot and headed back. But that seemed silly. Why ride all the way up there and not take advantage of the view? So I climbed the bridge to the center span and took a moment to enjoy the height, the view of the river, the view of the St. Louis skyline. It was a rare opportunity to see the point from which I had just ridden and to which I was about to return. Reflection time over, I pointed the bike south and headed back toward downtown -- praying I didn't flat.

Fighting what wind there was, I worked to keep the pace around 15 mph. As I got up on the part of the trail that runs across the top of the levee, a rider approached from the opposite direction, then did an "about face" and headed south. For about a split second, I considered pushing it to catch up with him in hopes of drafting off him. But I doubted I'd be able to take my turns pulling, and I didn't want to be a leech. Plus, he looked a lot fresher than I felt, so I decided to let him go and limp home on my own. I made the right call as, a short while later, he turned around and headed north again. [I assume he was riding spring repeats.]

I made it back to the stadium around 6:30. I covered 26 miles in a little over 90 minutes -- an easier ride than if I had ridden St. Charles, but I'll take it.

Unfortunately, the ride was the best part of the evening. The ballgame was a bust. Lohse had nothing, and neither did the Cards' bats. They spotted the Brewers to an 7-0 lead, before scoring 4 in the 7th to almost make a game of it. They gave the Brewers a run back to make it 8-4, which is how it ended. Oh well...