Gateway Cup Day 4: The Delmar Loop

Another great day for bicycling in the St. Louis area. Today’s race in University City with a loop that included part of Delmar was exciting. In the pro men’s category a few riders broke away from the peleton and led to an exciting finish.

This video is from the final mens race of the event as well as the recognizing the top 3 riders for the Gateway Cup (all four days of racing):

So another year’s racing is done. But, come next Spring look for more racing in the St. Louis region. For information on the local bicycle racing scene go to stlbiking.com.

– Steve

Gateway Cup Day 3: Giro della Montagna on The Hill

Another beautiful day in St. Louis and hundreds came out to watch all levels of cyclists compete for some cash prize money racing in the streets.

I’m trying another video site that looks to have better quality than YouTube. In this short video you’ll see the afternoon take off of the category 3 mens race, the same race rounding a corner and finally the pro-level womens race. In the second part where the men race around the corner the sound gets messed up — that is from the wind off the riders rushing past me and the camera.

Monday, Labor Day, the racers move to the county — barely. They will be racing in the Loop just east of the Lions in University City. Click here for races details.

– Steve

Gateway Cup Day 2: Downtown Loft District (Video)

Day two of the annual Gateway Cup bike races held in the St. Louis was in a new venue this year: the downtown west neighborhood.

The large old commercial buildings turned retail and living spaces set a dramatic stage for the races. The scale of the buildings combined with the narrow streets gave a wonderful feel to the races — a quite different feel than rest of the venues although the Loop comes close. I love the races in Lafayette Square, The Hill (Sunday) and The Loop (Monday) but downtown was tops. The route was Washington Ave, 20th St, Locust and 14th, counter-clockwise.

For photos from the event check out my day 2 set on Flickr.

I’m continuing my experimentation with video and I’ve compiled a few clips together for you from a couple of races, one earlier in the day and then the final mens in the early evening. Don’t look for any fancy transitions, this is raw video at its finest (well, finest for me):

Tomorrow is the Giro della Montagna in St. Louis’ classic Italian neighborhood, The Hill.

– Steve

Video: Gateway Cup/Tour de Lafayette

Tour de Lafayette:

A racer shows off his trick wheel:

… Continue Reading

Former St. Lousian Authors New Book on Car-Free Living

Check out an article in the current West End Word on a new book by former St. Louisan Chris Balish, How to Live Well Without Owning a Car:

Balish is disarmingly frank about his own situation. In the book he tells his personal story of going “accidentally car free” while working for KSDK-TV Channel 5 as the host of Show Me St. Louis. At the time he worked in downtown St. Louis and lived on the western edge of the Central West End.

“In 2002 I was driving a shiny new $36,000 SUV,” he writes. “It was a dark blue Toyota Sequoia with a big V8 engine, power everything and enough seats to fit all my friends. I loved that thing, and I kept it immaculate. It was expensive, but I thought my status as a TV news anchorman necessitated an impressive ride and a flashy image.” Then when gas prices spiked, he thought about selling the SUV and downsizing. But, as it happened, the first person to respond to his classified ad bought the vehicle on the spot, before Balish had a new set of wheels lined up.

Balish was still living and working in St. Louis while writing the book and interviewed a number of locals, such as my friend Jeff Jackson, that manage without a car. From the promotional website for the book:

Despite what $20 billion of automobile advertising every year would have us all believe, buying or leasing a car, truck, or SUV is the worst financial move most people make in their lifetime. And they make this mistake again and again, at a cost of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. High gas prices, car payments, insurance, depreciation, parking, repairs, maintenance, and nearly one hundred other expenses add up so quickly and silently that most car owners don’t even notice—they just see how little money they have left at the end of the month and wonder why.

The first two chapters are available as a free download on his website, LiveCarFree.com. You can order the book from locally-owned Left Bank Books for the published price of $12.95.

I’m going to move in this direction by selling my ’06 Scion and getting an old basic car outright. Goodbye car payments and goodbye expensive full coverage insurance. The trick is finding something that is cheap, reliable and not overly embarrassing. With my scooter serving more and more of my daily needs the car becomes less and less important.

– Steve