Two Wheel Blogs

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working as an official at the inaugural Tour de Grove in (where else but) the Grove section of St. Louis. Now, I wasn't one of the officials who spent their day in the shaded and sheltered start/finish area. I was the lowly official set off to the back side of the course to man pit #2.

Two pits? Yes. Each lap was just over 2.5 miles long. That's a long way to hoof it if you have a mechanical. It's a smart rule that says you need another pit if the course is too long for one. I was the lucky one whose name was called for Pit #2.

And I do mean lucky. Despite the relative isolation out on a remote corner of the course where irate motorists and local citizens outnumbered race fans 200 to 0, I had a quiet corner to share with a course marshal who was more than happy to extend his shift knowing he'd be working with a fellow bike racing enthusiast in the shade of my tent.

Another thing that made the day so enjoyable for me was hearing and seeing things you don't normally get to experience as a spectator at a big race. Without fan noise, music from the race venue and local businesses, race MC banter about drafting and other educational intricacies having to do with bike racing, generators, and - you get the idea - you can hear the riders themselves. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Hey Mark, we're racing!

This one came from a friend in the middle of the Cat 5 field on his first lap past my position. Yes indeed, they were racing. The lead car, lead moto, peloton, follow car, and police follow vehicle gave it away. I don't know if he was excited/relieved at finally getting to race (start was an hour late) or he just wanted to be sure I knew b/c they were doing maybe 18 mph at the time. Maybe he shares my sense of humor that simultaneous under- and over-statements of the obvious are indeed funny. I won't soon forget that moment.

I haven't ridden more than an hour and a half at a time in the last two weeks.

I don't know who said this. Most of us know it's something pretty common to hear no matter where you're riding. I had always figured the further up the cycling category ladder you climbed the less you'd hear it. If so, hearing these words from a Pro/1 rider at the start of his race is even more special.

Lastly, I leave you with a conversation I had as an official with a rider who rolled into my pit.

"My skewer is loose."

"That's bad. Let's tighten that up and get you back out there."

"But it's dangerous. I have to take a lap to fix it."

"Yes, it's dangerous. If you had tightened it before the start you wouldn't have to stop here and then chase to get back on."

"I don't get a lap?"

"You're chasing."

I didn't hear his reply. He waited until he was around the corner, but I don't think it was an expression of gratitude.