Tour of Missouri bike race

Fun rides and cycling activity booklet for kids

Teams of professional bicycle racers will be the featured attractions of the first Tour of Missouri held this month. But, there also are a number of unique activities especially for kids during the six-day race, Sept. 11-16.

One tour-related kids' attraction is the 30-page "Tour Of Missouri Youth Activity Book." That multi-colored booklet mixes trivia about Missouri's surprisingly rich biking history with lessons in math, geography and history based on cycling facts.

In the St. Louis area, Trailnet has scheduled a special "fun bike ride" on Saturday, Sept. 15. The ride will be between St. Charles and Augusta, Mo., along the Katy Trail route. (For instructions how to participate, visit www.trailnet.org.)

That's the same trail the pro bikers will use as they finish up their 5th stage from Jefferson City to St. Charles.

Kids and families taking part in the "fun ride" might want to use their ride to scout out ideal viewing spots where they can watch the pro riders come through later in the day.

Stacey Blomberg is a special assistant in the Missouri Department of Tourism. That state agency is coordinating planning for the Tour.

She said kids and families might like to do part of the "fun ride" before the pro cyclists come through. Then, they can stop and watch and then finish their ride after the racers go through.

She also said each "stop" city will have "health and wellness expos" to give kids information on bike safety and maintenance as well as general health information.

Ms. Blomberg also urged kids to visit the Tour website (www.tourofmissouri.com) for the latest, up-to-date information. Because this is the first event of its type in Missouri, there will be last-minute details that will be completed just before they happen.

The Tour of Missouri race will be in six stages and total nearly 600 miles. It runs from Tuesday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 16.

For a first-time event, the race had attracted an elite field. Tour de France winner Alberto Contador of Spain and 3rd place finisher Levi Leipheimer of the U.S. are entered. They anchor the Discovery Channel team, previously led by famed Lance Armstrong.

This race will be the final one for the Discovery Channel team, which is disbanding.

The stages are (1) An 85-mile circle route in the Kansas City area; (2) A 126-mile road race between Clinton and Springfield; (3) An 18-mile time trial around Branson; (4) A 133-mile road race from Lebanon to Columbia; (5) A 127-mile road race from Jefferson City to St. Charles, and (6) A 74-mile circuit race in St. Louis.

Ms. Blomberg said each "stop" city is planning its own local supplementary events. For instance, in Springfield, the city is planning routes for both kid and family rides.

She said, at Branson, a "celebrity" race will feature some of the entertainment personalities, riding tricycles.

But, one of the highlights of kids' programming for the Tour is the 30-page activity book. It is a combination of information about bicycling in the state and lessons suitable for classes.

The colorful booklet features illustrations from Michael Ward's book, "Mike and the Bike." Mr. Ward is a musician in a touring band who is also an avid biker. In addition to his Mike book for kids, he's recently finished another, "Lucille and the Wheel." (If you're interested in more about Ward, visit his website: www.mikeandbike.com.)

One of the features of the activity book is the trivia information, including a lot of past Missouri cycling history.

For instance, one of the coordinators of the Tour of Missouri is Kevin Livingston. He's a native Missourian who was a pro racer for eight years. He is now a personal trainer at PedalHard.com.

Also, the World Championship Bicycle Race was held in Clarkville, Mo., in 1887. The area in Pike County was picked because it had a network of paved road that made it ideal for racing.

The St. Louis Cycling Assn. is the oldest continuously active racing and touring club in the U.S. It was organized in 1887.

The U.S. national biking championships have been held in Missouri three different times. In 1936 and 1953, the meet was in Forest Park; in 1962 at the Penrose Park Velodrome.

At the end of the booklet, there are two pages of biking vocabulary words. For instance, the term "Big Ringing it" refers to a bike chain that goes around a larger-than-normal pedal ring to allow for maximum speed.

"Wheel Sucker or wheelsucking" refers to a rider who stays close behind another rider and refuses to pass. This is done to let the lead rider break the wind for the follower.

The booklet also includes math, science and geography lessons based on biking.

A total of 36,000 booklets have been distributed to elementary schools in "stop" cities, Ms. Blomberg said.

But, other kids or schools can download the booklet's entire content from the Tour of Missouri website. (To download, your computer needs Adobe Acrobat Read software. Such software can be downloaded for free from the Internet.)