This year the Tour of Missouri annual bike race started off in downtown St. Louis before criss-crossing the state. Since I was conveniently in town, I went down to check it out. I brought my Mom with me, who is now marginally a fan of cycling. Okay, that may be an overstatement. But, she did enjoy it. My Dad was going to come as well, but we were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to park close by and with his various health issues, he wouldn’t be able to walk to the venue. Boy were we misinformed! We must have passed 294 handicapped parking spaces within 10 paces of the event. Maybe not 294, but its my favorite number and I wanted to get it in there.
We finally happened upon a parking spot that seemed too good to be true, but after consulting each other, decided it was just a rental car and wouldn’t be too much of a loss if we came back to an empty spot. The biotch would be picking it up at the tow yard in Soulard....
By the time we found our way to the event, they were already on lap 6 of 10. We watched a few from the corner of Market Street before making our way to the finish area where all the booths and entertainment were located. I left my Mom at a table and chairs outside a downtown pub while I went in search of beverages. While she was sitting there amongst a crowd of thousands, a guy approached her and asked “Are you Keith’s Mom?” My Mom said "Why yes I am." Turns out it was this friend of my brother’s from when they were freshmen in high school. BIZARRE! I had no idea who this guy was, so that just goes to show that he didn’t hang out at our place much and makes it even more impressive that he recognized the Hooty! He was also apparently interested in me. He kept asking my Mom about me and was stalling time, hoping that I would return from the booths in time to meet him. As my luck would have it, I missed him by oh, about, 5 minutes. My Mom took a picture of him with her cell phone and I could see she was already imagining her grandchildren. Such is the story of my life.
I digress. The next several laps of the race were exciting and Mark Cavendish was the winner. I didn’t get any autographs, but did nearly get bonked in the head by an errant water bottle. All in all, it was a great way to showcase the city and I hope that they raise enough money to bring the race back next year.
Market Street. What a great day!
St. Louis City Hall... one of my fave buildings
The Peloton on Market Street
The Arch and Old Courthouse
Peloton coming around the final turn by City Hall
1 comment:
Why is 294 your favorite number?
and why didn't your mother get the number of said guy for you?
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