Oh my gosh! What fun today was! Stage 4 is a pretty tough, hilly course, with the "dreaded" Spring Creek Hill. This particular hill is a killer, really steep and long and it's where the peloton split up! WOW! Of course, they made it look so EASY!

Living in Rolla (and teaching in Castleman Hall on the campus of Missouri S&T - which served as the FINISH LINE!!) made this a big deal and SO FUN to watch. They averaged over 30 MPH! Having them zipping by was exciting and scary (almost lost my head to Michael Barry as I'm trying to see where he was!!). I think the most exciting thing, besides getting to see all those cyclists and their bikes, was knowing the route they were riding since I've ridden part of it. This was also the fastest stage so far in this Tour and, I believe they said, any tour in the US! They were supposed to be getting into Rolla around 3:00-3:30 to finish a 4 mile or so circuit through town; the winner crossed the finish line well before that! I believe the race was over by 3:10 or so! WOWZERS! The peloton was TEN MINUTES behind the four or so leaders (one reporter commented that they must have stopped for lunch!)

I was also pleased by all the people that came out to watch. Totally cool!

I have a few pictures that I'll try to post if anyone's interested. I'll be going over to St. James (Stage 5 start) to see if I can collect any more pictures or anything.

My dear husband and I have never been to anything like this. I'm still just in awe.....getting to see so many of my heros and "up and comers".....and it gave me some cool extra credit questions for tests I've given this week!

Lorie