Tour of Missouri - Stage 1
Well, with today being 9/11, my day started a little sad, but followed by a little happy. I woke up thinking about my friend who just left for his second tour in Iraq, but as soon as my roomie and I turned on the news to see Pres. Bush taking a moment of silence in front of a Color Guard, my mood changed when I saw another friend holding the stars and stripes (he's a member of the Old Guard in DC.) So our alarm clock was a little hazy this morning and we woke up about half an hour later than we intended. I was meeting my crew in the lobby at 9am to leave for the Start/Finish. Virginia, who I'm working for stopped by my room to drop off something for my roomie, so she and I walked to the lobby together to meet up with Amy and Ryan, the two we'll be working with in Hospitality this week. I've been designated as the driver for Virginia so she can spend all of the transfer time on the phone and the computer, which rumor has it she used to do anyway without a driver. (Now, we can be ASSURED that Virginia will make it safely to the line.) So we hopped in the car for our 20ish minute drive to The Plaza where the race was starting. We were station at the Hospitality/VIP tent right next to the Start/Finish. This is one of the areas Virginia oversees as Director of Client Services. We spent a bit of time setting up tables for the Hospitality and VIP check in as well as hang a few sponsors' banners around the tent in proper places. We then helped set up a table for the private auction which includes, among things like a Felt Cruiser and a ride in a team car (if it was the Disco car, I'd have bid!!!), the most popular item at this year's tour...a Build a Bear wearing the Best Young Rider's Jersey! As the line formed outside the tent an hour and a half early, I ran past the expso, past the beer tent, and past the Bud Clydesdales (sp?) to the car to grab five bears. It was REALLY fun walking down the road with both arms full of teddy bears wearing lycra. I noticed one kid jumping up and down telling his mom "Mommy! Look! Bears! BEARS!!! Teddy bears!!!!!!" and three others asking me where they could buy the bears. I have to admit, I want one just as bad as everyone else!!! When I got the bears back to the tent, I noticed that Bearmy, the Build A Bear Bear was neandering the tent. YES! I got a picture with Bearmy! Anyway...the tent finally opened at noon and I was stationed with Amy and Ryan checking in the VIPs and Hospitality folks. Sometime shortly after opening, riders began riding through our area looking for a way across the street to the Sign In stage. We had a break in the french railing so we let them through...so the entire peloton followed, one, sometimes two at a time!!! Including...guys like George Hincapie, Alberto Contidor, Levi Leipheimer...my favorite was Tony Cruise coming by and giving me another high five. So at 1:00 the State Flag waved and the riders took off. (Jason Callaly likes to drop the State flag to start a new race.) So after the first lap, the Hospitality tent really calmed down quite a bit and one at a time, we took a lunch break, me offering to be the last. (Yall know me, I won't eat unless someone demands I go away and get food!) I wound up at the Tex Mex place right next to the tent (so I could sit down that much longer!), Baha 600. (I recommend it!!!)So with two laps to go, the crowd returned to the tent and the beer. Ryan and I managed to grab a great viewpoint through the crowd for the final run into the lap. I have to say, the one major thing I noticed today were the crowds. This crowd was HUGE, especially for a new event! After the race and podiums, all of the big dogs of the Tour staff and Medalist sports gathered in the Hospitality tent for a Gatorade while the crews began clean-up. A few of us soon packed up the car and headed across the street from the car to O'Dowds, an Irish pub in the Plaza. Everyone had a good drink except me...the DD, which I don't mind at all. The new joke about me is I'm the non-drinker...the DD!!! ("Hm, wait...JC's not drinking...YEAH! I'll have another one!) So after about an hour and a half of hanging out at the PUB, we headed back to the hotel for showers and anything but standing on our feet! I got a well deserved shower then headed out to the lobby where half the peloton were sitting with their laptops (hotel only has free net in the lobby). Across the lobby is another type of lobby, restaurant, and conference rooms...namely the lobby and bar! That's where I met up with Angie and the two podium girls, one, I can't remember her name and the other is Whitney who always tells me War Eagle when I'm wearing something Auburn. So I hung out with them for a while until they finished their mini pizzas and then the four of us ordered a whopping chocolate brownie from the bar. That rounded out all of our nights...tomorrow is an early day with a LONG transfer. Every night after a stage, we usually stay in the town of the finish and transfer to the start town in the morning. Tomorrow is an earlier start so some folks ahve to be up super early to roll out for the two hour drive to the Start. I, however, head out at 7:30am for our FOUR HOUR commute to the finish town of Springfield to begin setting up the Hospitality area for Stage 2.So that was my day. Any questions, comments, concerns (other than me skipping meals), please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, it's getting late...I'm outta here!Your Hospitable Host,JC
Well, with today being 9/11, my day started a little sad, but followed by a little happy. I woke up thinking about my friend who just left for his second tour in Iraq, but as soon as my roomie and I turned on the news to see Pres. Bush taking a moment of silence in front of a Color Guard, my mood changed when I saw another friend holding the stars and stripes (he's a member of the Old Guard in DC.) So our alarm clock was a little hazy this morning and we woke up about half an hour later than we intended. I was meeting my crew in the lobby at 9am to leave for the Start/Finish. Virginia, who I'm working for stopped by my room to drop off something for my roomie, so she and I walked to the lobby together to meet up with Amy and Ryan, the two we'll be working with in Hospitality this week. I've been designated as the driver for Virginia so she can spend all of the transfer time on the phone and the computer, which rumor has it she used to do anyway without a driver. (Now, we can be ASSURED that Virginia will make it safely to the line.) So we hopped in the car for our 20ish minute drive to The Plaza where the race was starting. We were station at the Hospitality/VIP tent right next to the Start/Finish. This is one of the areas Virginia oversees as Director of Client Services. We spent a bit of time setting up tables for the Hospitality and VIP check in as well as hang a few sponsors' banners around the tent in proper places. We then helped set up a table for the private auction which includes, among things like a Felt Cruiser and a ride in a team car (if it was the Disco car, I'd have bid!!!), the most popular item at this year's tour...a Build a Bear wearing the Best Young Rider's Jersey! As the line formed outside the tent an hour and a half early, I ran past the expso, past the beer tent, and past the Bud Clydesdales (sp?) to the car to grab five bears. It was REALLY fun walking down the road with both arms full of teddy bears wearing lycra. I noticed one kid jumping up and down telling his mom "Mommy! Look! Bears! BEARS!!! Teddy bears!!!!!!" and three others asking me where they could buy the bears. I have to admit, I want one just as bad as everyone else!!! When I got the bears back to the tent, I noticed that Bearmy, the Build A Bear Bear was neandering the tent. YES! I got a picture with Bearmy! Anyway...the tent finally opened at noon and I was stationed with Amy and Ryan checking in the VIPs and Hospitality folks. Sometime shortly after opening, riders began riding through our area looking for a way across the street to the Sign In stage. We had a break in the french railing so we let them through...so the entire peloton followed, one, sometimes two at a time!!! Including...guys like George Hincapie, Alberto Contidor, Levi Leipheimer...my favorite was Tony Cruise coming by and giving me another high five. So at 1:00 the State Flag waved and the riders took off. (Jason Callaly likes to drop the State flag to start a new race.) So after the first lap, the Hospitality tent really calmed down quite a bit and one at a time, we took a lunch break, me offering to be the last. (Yall know me, I won't eat unless someone demands I go away and get food!) I wound up at the Tex Mex place right next to the tent (so I could sit down that much longer!), Baha 600. (I recommend it!!!)So with two laps to go, the crowd returned to the tent and the beer. Ryan and I managed to grab a great viewpoint through the crowd for the final run into the lap. I have to say, the one major thing I noticed today were the crowds. This crowd was HUGE, especially for a new event! After the race and podiums, all of the big dogs of the Tour staff and Medalist sports gathered in the Hospitality tent for a Gatorade while the crews began clean-up. A few of us soon packed up the car and headed across the street from the car to O'Dowds, an Irish pub in the Plaza. Everyone had a good drink except me...the DD, which I don't mind at all. The new joke about me is I'm the non-drinker...the DD!!! ("Hm, wait...JC's not drinking...YEAH! I'll have another one!) So after about an hour and a half of hanging out at the PUB, we headed back to the hotel for showers and anything but standing on our feet! I got a well deserved shower then headed out to the lobby where half the peloton were sitting with their laptops (hotel only has free net in the lobby). Across the lobby is another type of lobby, restaurant, and conference rooms...namely the lobby and bar! That's where I met up with Angie and the two podium girls, one, I can't remember her name and the other is Whitney who always tells me War Eagle when I'm wearing something Auburn. So I hung out with them for a while until they finished their mini pizzas and then the four of us ordered a whopping chocolate brownie from the bar. That rounded out all of our nights...tomorrow is an early day with a LONG transfer. Every night after a stage, we usually stay in the town of the finish and transfer to the start town in the morning. Tomorrow is an earlier start so some folks ahve to be up super early to roll out for the two hour drive to the Start. I, however, head out at 7:30am for our FOUR HOUR commute to the finish town of Springfield to begin setting up the Hospitality area for Stage 2.So that was my day. Any questions, comments, concerns (other than me skipping meals), please feel free to let me know. Otherwise, it's getting late...I'm outta here!Your Hospitable Host,JC
posted by JC Gillespie at 11:34 PM
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