Hot in the Lou

    We did not get enough Cahokia Mounds on Saturday, so we kicked off our Sunday morning before sunrise on the bike, riding from our hotel over to Cahokia Mounds. It was a cool, but humid morning bringing us some low-lying fog across the fields in the morning sunlight. My knee was actually a bit sore this morning. The ride helped the knee, loosened my legs and allowed us to discover a bit more of the park. We found Monk's Mound, the largest mound in the park. It has a staircase going up the four levels of the mound. We both wanted to climb the stairs, but we didn't want to leave our bikes, so that would have to wait for later.

Sunrise over Collinsville, IL

Fog hanging over the fields in Cahokia Mounds

Monk's Mound

Monk's Mound

     There was one very interesting part of the park we visited on our bikes. On the west side you can see a ring of wooden poles known as Woodhenge. They were used as a calendar to determine the change of seasons which affected their farming practices. The way the sun lined up with the poles is how they determined the season. It was a pretty clever way to come up with a calendar back in those days.

     The afternoon brought race three of the Gateway Cup weekend. This time we were over on The Hill for the Giro della Montagna. This is always a cool race as The Hill neighborhood always gets into the race. Most of the residents living on the course have the family over and the grill going.

     The course was the same as last year when they added an extra block on the north side of the course. I like this layout as it makes Turns 1 and 2 much smoother in a tight group. Before, the corners were too close to the end of the fast downhill and the back of the group nearly ran over the front every lap. The course is a rectangle with four 90-degree left turns. It is flat between Turns 1 and 2, then gradually rises out of Turn 2. Then there's a slight dip before a long climb up The Hill to Turn 3. It is again flat between Turns 3 and 4, followed by a screaming fast downhill out of Turn 4 to the finish line.

Giro della Montagna course

    Again, it was a hot day as the hottest weekend of my race season continued. I felt tired and sluggish again in my warm-up, but once in the race, I felt pretty dang good. I got to the start line later than I wanted and found myself on the back row of 118 riders. The pace was fast early so I took my time making up spots. Things calmed down after 15 minutes and I was able to move up more easily, eventually getting to the front by the 30-minute mark. Then I fought the surges to hold my spot, sometimes having to ride the uphill on the front into the wind. That took it's toll on my legs by the end of the race.

Strung out early in the Cat. 2/3 race

Still strung out. You can see me to the far left in the red First Endurance kit working my way toward the front.

Me in the red

Eli Wemyss of Treehouse Racing

The group in Turn 1. That's Cayce Tiesler, a fellow Tennessean, in the yellow kit with a white helmet

     A solo break went off with about 15 laps to go. I had a good run down the hill and went off the front with momentum. I had no intentions of making a break, but my acceleration made the group a little more active and led to us catching the lone leader. It was much less sketchy today, but there were still some crashes. I dodged three of them in total.

I'm in the group near the front at this point

Kyle Tiesler rode well again today, but was again caught up in a crash

Me going off the front in Turn 1 from Jeremy Stitt's camera

Out of the saddle up the hill in front of Jeremy Stitt

Dodging a crash on the backstretch

     Similar to yesterday at Francis Park, I was up front in the closing laps, but got swarmed again at two laps to go. I did everything I could to move up at the bell, but I could not get all the way to the front before Turn 1. I got pinched down on the inside and lost a lot of speed. My legs had nothing left in them to get back up to speed and I lost some spots. That turned out to be a good thing as there was a big crash in Turn 2 that took out most of the riders ahead of me. I had just enough time to react and skate under the crash. A video of my view of the three crashes today is posted below.

Video: Crashes at The Hill

    The crash caused a big hole to open in the group. I had little left to push into the wind up the climb the last lap and lost several spots before the finish. I ended up 37th. I was hoping for a little more, but the legs are still lacking in these harder races. I feel strong, but can only go all-out for about half a lap before I need to recover for five minutes. With a field this even, you have to be able to go really hard for the last five laps to hold a position up front. We raced 56 minutes with a 26.5 mph average today. I had my handlebar cam on today. Highlights are posted here. You can also watch the race from Jeremy Stitt's viewpoint here.

The group was packed tightly in the closing laps. I was near the front here.

I did my best to stay up front in the end

Me on the left

Last lap crash from my GoPro

Guy on the right really bit it hard

The end of the crash. Guy on the right is running over someone's bike

     After the race, we ate at Mama Campisi's, which is a nice Italian restaurant on the backside of the course. We sat outside and had pizza and pasta while watching the Pro races. It was a great pizza and I recommend it if you want a little grub while visiting The Hill. It was a day for breaks in the Pro races in a race that closed out the USA Crits Series. Rushlee Buchanan won the Women's race, while Karl Menzies made the break in the Men's race then soloed off late to get the win. You can watch the livestream from a still camera at the finish line below. It begins with the Cat. 3/4 race, then covers the Cat. 2/3, Pro Women, Kids and Pro Men. My video of the Cat. 2/3 race and Pro Women is posted here.

Livestream video from the Giro della Montagna finish line camera

    On the way home, we stopped by Cahokia Mounds yet again. This time it was to do the stairs on Monk's Mound. There were some dumbbells lying at the bottom of the stairs for all the workout folks. I couldn't resist. I walked up the mound once to check out the sights and the awesome view at the top, then I did it a second time with a 20-pound dumbbell in each hand. The legs burned, but it was fun and just felt right. 

Monk's Mound and the stairway to the top

View from the top looking over the park

St. Louis in the distance

Dumbbells at the bottom just begging to be used

Going up with a pair of 20s

Headed back down. Pretty sure every old person walking those stairs scowled at me with my weights.

     Monday was Labor Day and we labored much. Shannon and I were again up early to get in a spin on the greenway, this time riding down to Horseshoe Lake and back. Then we had to do a little laundry so we would have fresh clothes for the start of our vacation. Our hotel did not have laundry, but the one across the street allowed us to use their machines. Then we grabbed a little frozen custard at the Dairy Haven in Caseyville, IL before heading over to Benton Park.

Horseshoe Lake in the early morning light

Shannon on her mountain bike

     The Benton Park Classic wrapped up the Gateway Cup weekend with a technical 10-turn course through the Benton Park neighborhood and by Anheuser-Busch. I hated this course the first few times I raced on it, but over the last two years I have really started to like it. It is much longer than a regular course and features all sorts of obstacles including two hills, some rough corners where line choice is crucial, crosswinds over I-55, and a tricky chicane in the middle of the loop.

Benton Park Classic map. It's like two crit. courses in one.

     We had a little trouble finding a parking spot as we had a lot of stuff in the back of the truck today, so we had to find a spot along the course that would allow us to keep any eye on our things. It took some searching around, but we ended up finding a great spot that was much better than any place I have ever parked here before. We could sit in our chairs right next to the truck and watch the riders fly down the long backstretch.

A loaded truck

     Today, the Cat. 2/3 race was after the Pro races so it was nice to be able to watch them race while getting ready. UHC were on a tear taking three of the top four spots in both races. Linda Villumsen went solo to win the Women's race, with her teammate Cari Higgins taking the sprint for second. Sam Schneider's consistency grabbed her the Omnium win for the weekend. In the Men's race, Carlos Alzate grabbed his second win of the weekend by sprinting in ahead of Dan Holloway and Karl Menzies. Holloway's second place secured the Omnium win over Alzate. There was a livestream of several of the races, including both Pro races using a still finish line camera. It is posted below and you can link to it here. They did not cover any races after the Pro Men, so if you did Cat. 3/4 or Cat. 2/3 you will not see your race.

Pro Women

Video: Livestream from Benton Park

     We had the last race of the day. That's usually very annoying because it gets us home late, but we had no cares in the world today. We were on vacation! I felt good warming up and had a good race. I felt strong, but could tell I faded a little near the end. The start was very fast. At 94 starters, it was the biggest race I have done in the Cat. 2/3 at Benton Park. The numbers usually dwindle by the last day. I started on the third row and lost a lot of spots up the opening hill. Crits usually start pretty slow to the first turn, but this start was furious like an XC mountain bike race.

Cat. 2/3 field strung out on the first lap

     Things settled down quickly and I got comfortable in the group. I moved to the front fairly easily after about 20 minutes. There were two riders off the front, so I pulled through to the front trying to get everyone to start the chase. But they hung me out. I slowed way down before somebody finally came by. I was laughing as we came through the finish line because we were going stupid slow and nobody would pass. All that did was just get us further behind. So much so that we never did catch those front two and wound up sprinting for third.

The winning move

Me sitting second wheel in the group.

Rode with this guy a lot today. I was digging the skull sticker on his seat tube.

Cruising through the turn in front of Anheuser-Busch

     I was sitting good until two laps to go again. That lap seems to be my nemesis lap this year. Last year, I would get shuffled back at five to go, so at least I'm getting better. It was either too fast to pull out of line, or too packed up to find room to move the rest of the race. I wanted to move up on the hill starting the last lap, but got blocked in. My next thought was to try the hill by Anheuser-Busch, but it was a full-on attack at the front and it took all I had just to hold my position at that point. There was nowhere to go through the chicane, then I finally got an opening going onto the last long straightaway. I gave it all I had sprinting into the last set of turns. I passed a lot of people, but I was outside the top 40 so passing a lot still doesn't get you to the front. I had a better sprint today and only gave up two spots from the last corner to the finish. My legs are slowly getting their snap back after this knee injury.

     I finished 28th today. I am happy with that. I'm seeing progress and I'm not having pain so I cannot complain. I'm just disappointed the crit. season is over because I am more motivated now than ever before. Benton Park was again a lot of fun with all the corners and high speeds. We averaged 27.0 mph for 50 minutes. I hit 38 mph going into the next-to-last corner on the final lap.

     Below is a video featuring highlights of my race from the handlebar cam. Watch more video footage from the Pro Women and Cat. 2/3 races shot by Shannon and myself here. If you want another perspective of the Cat. 2/3 race, check out Jeremy Stitt's bike cam video posted here.

Highlights of my race from the GoPro

     With the racing over, it was now vacation time. We were loaded with bikes and headed west!

Deja Vu With the Squirrels

     The Gateway Cup continued on Saturday with the Tour de Francis Park, which has been one of my favorite courses since the first time I raced here in 2011. It can be a frustrating course if you want to get in a breakaway, but it's hard to beat the just flat-out speed the wide, fast course provides. And the community really gets behind this race. There are always plenty of families lining the course that goes around Francis Park, which features historic churches on every corner. It's just a cool place to race in my opinion.

    Shannon and I went for an easy spin in the morning to loosen up the legs. My legs felt tired, but at least the knee was not sore at all. We rode part of the Schoolhouse Trail Greenway in Collinsville, IL. We were able to ride right from our hotel out to the greenway, go down 20 minutes toward the town of Maryville and back to get in a nice hour. We didn't have room to bring both of Shannon's bikes, so she was on her mountain bike with slick tires. She definitely worked harder than I did on this ride.

    During the ride, we saw a sign for the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and decided to check that out on the way to the race. It was a really cool place with many more features than either of us expected. Cahokia Mounds is the site of an ancient city that was located along the Mississippi River back in the 1200s. The city had an estimated 40,000 people living there at its peak. It was actually larger than London at one time. The city featured 120 mounds which were built to raise important buildings above the rest of the city. The park has about 60 mounds in it today and you can hike around many of them. There is also a museum in the Interpretive Center that displays many artifacts found in the park and teaches how the people of Cahokia likely lived. We had just enough time to tour the museum, then had to head over for the race.

Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center

Marsh area in the park

     It was another hot day when we arrived at Francis Park. The course was the same as in years past. It's a big square with four 90-degree left turns. There is a fast downhill from Turn 2 down to Turn 3, followed by a short climb out of Turn 3. The course descends slightly through Turn 4 then begins a slight rise for the final 150 meters to the finish line, continuing gently uphill to Turn 1. As I said before, the course is very wide and fast. I actually thought the race was slow today. Everybody must have been feeling it from last night's furious race at Lafayette Square. Or maybe I was just having a good day.

Francis Park Course Map

2 laps to go in the Cat. 3/4 race

     I had a good start spot and stayed up front most of the race. It was a slower race, but that did not cut down on the sketchiness of the group. Again, people were doing crazy things. And again, many riders left with less skin than they came with. I have never seen so many people blindly weaving through the middle of the group. There was a crash at the end of the first lap and I just managed to get through it. I had the camera on so you can see the carnage in the video clip posted below. I thought I was going down, but then I saw a small hole and I shot through it just before it closed up with bodies and bikes.

Crash starting. Guy in the orange on the right is plowing into the rider ahead of him.

Video: Crash on lap 1

     Two laps later, the pit was releasing all the riders from the crash and one of them shot across the road right into the middle of the group and caused another huge pile-up. Luckily, I was ahead of this one, but Kyle Tiesler, a young rider from Nashville who just got his Cat. 2 upgrade and has been racing great, was caught up in it. Jason Tatum also went down in one of the crashes and was out for the rest of the weekend. He too has been racing really well lately.

Cat. 2/3 Men in Turn 1 with one of the historic churches in the background

Tree-lined streets around Francis Park

This is the way the front of the Cat. 2/3 race looked all day. Wide across the course.

Cruising 26.9 mph from Jeremy Stitt's camera

     I got shuffled back at one point and had to take some chances with the sketchy guys to get back up front. At one point, I shot up the left at the start/finish line right as the group slowed down. I had not intended to go all the way to the front, but I had a head of steam coming by the group right before Turn 1. I did not want to cut under everyone going into the corner, but I had a line of guys behind me and if I had checked up to get into line, I am sure I would have been run over. So, I took a chance and trusted myself over those behind me. I knew I could hang that corner tight, so I went for it and we all got through safely. Of course, I got fussed and cussed at for the next lap, but I stand by the decision as being the safest option at that point. The slower pace up front caused that and other incidents during the race. It was ridiculously slow at times.

     After that scare, I was determined to stay up front. Sometimes that meant getting on the front and pulling, but I did what I had to do to keep from getting blocked in. All went well until two laps to go and a surge from the left came by at the one moment I had no chance to get out of line. After that, I could not seem to get out of the mess to move back up. I had great legs and felt I needed to be up there in the last lap. I could do something today!

Me sprinting from Curtis Luckett's camera

Rider attacking at 2 to go

The group at 2 to go

     The last lap started off extremely slow as we slowed under 20 mph after Turn 1. It was so spread out that I could not find an opening to move up. I was trying to go left, but nobody on the left side seemed to want to move up even though they had the opening to do so. What more of an opportunity could you possibly dream of?!!! That slow pace lasted until just before Turn 2. I was stuck in about 60th as we went down the hill to Turn 3. Finally, a hole opened up as we topped the climb and I let loose, picking up a lot of spots before the line, but I could only get up to 39th. I had such good legs today and wasn't even breathing hard when we hit the line. That was definitely an opportunity missed. It was hot today, but with less intensity during the race I handled it fine.

     Despite the slow start to the last lap, it was still the fastest lap I have ever turned on that course according to Strava. I guess I really did turn it on that last quarter-lap. I felt it was a slow and easy race, but nobody I talked to felt the same way so maybe I was just on a super day. I've got to be better about holding my position in those last two laps, but a lot of times these big Cat. 2/3 races just seem like Russian roulette with positioning. I'm not sure how much skill is really involved. Sometimes you just pick the right line and end up at the front at the finish. Highlights of my race from the handlebar cam will be posted soon. We averaged 27.3 mph for 52 minutes, which is a shame on a fast course like this. If we had raced as hard as last night we should have averaged over 29 easy. Highlights of my race from the GoPro are posted here. There are also videos posted from other onboard cameras in the Cat. 2/3 race here (Jeremy Stitt) and here (Curtis Luckett).

    The Pro races were again very entertaining. The Schneider sisters, Samantha and Skylar, went 1-2 for the ISCorp Cycling team in the Women's race. In the Men's race, there was a big crash early in the race that took down a lot of the favorites, including Dan Holloway and Brad Huff. Both were able to continue and contested a fast finish. At one point in the closing laps, there were three different trains spread out across the front of the peloton as United Healthcare, AltoVelo-Sea Sucker and Astellas were locked in battle for their sprinters. This time it was UHC coming through with Carlos Alzate taking a close win over the battered Holloway, who crossed the line in a tattered, bloody stars-and-stripes skinsuit. There's pictures posted below along with a clip of the Men's finish. A video of the day's racing is posted below under the pictures.

UHC stringing out the Pro Women up the hill

My view for the Women's race

Pro Men

Two riders on the attack in Turn 4

Andy Reardon of Sonic Cycling finished well today

Brad Huff had a few scrapes after the early crash

Fast racing for the Pro Men

Single-file

Turn 2

Two laps to go and the trains are fighting!

Video: Finish sprint won by Alzate

Video: Tour de Francis Park

    The Gateway Cup crew also livestreamed the race using a still camera at the finish line. They covered over five hours of racing, including the Cat. 2/3, Kids, Pro Women and Pro Men races. Watch it below.

Livestream of the Francis Park races

    After the race, we cruised back to the hotel and made some fajitas in the parking lot while listening to the first college football games of the season and battling some of the biggest mosquitoes I have ever seen. I may not have been drug tested at the race, but I definitely lost some blood tonight!

Mmmm fajitas!

     Next up is the Giro della Montagna on The Hill. Then we wrap things up on Labor Day with the technical Benton Park Classic.