Upcoming Bicycling Events in St Louis

First up is tonight — the Moonlight Ramble.

Held on the Saturday night nearest the full moon in August, the Moonlight Ramble® typically draws more than 10,000 riders. The ride itself begins just past midnight and follows a short (10 miles) or a longer (20 miles) route through the streets of Saint Louis.

The registration area and midnight start is on Market near the Soliders Memorial. I gave them a hard time in the past about having an annual fund raiser for a youth hostel but it looks like plans are firming up for a hostel in Old North.

Labor Day weekend is the annual Gateway Cup bike races. For most of us this is a spectator sport as these guys (and gals) are very quick on the bikes and show great endurance. The Cup runs four days – Friday night, Sat, Sun and Monday. The event starts off Friday August 30th 29th in Lafayette Square with the Tour de Lafayette. Lights are set up on the four corners of the park as riders do very fast spins around the park. Always a great evening.

On Saturday the riders come downtown for a criterium. This year the start/finish line is the Tap Room on Locust. The route this year is said to be a figure 8.

Sunday the riders go to The Hill for the Giro Della Montagna. Bike racing in the Italian neighborhood — just a natural fit.

And on Labor Day the action moves to U-City and the Delmar Loop.

Here is a video I did last year from all four days of the Gateway Cup 2007:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEQPG7tRGP8[/youtube]

And finally professional cycling is coming to St Louis at the conclusion of the Tour of Missouri. This is your chance to see some of the same riders that compete in the Tour de France! Stage 7 will take place in the City of St Louis on Sunday September 14th, 2008. The route includes Forest Park and downtown.

Happy riding!