The TradeWind Energy Team is off to St. Louis for the Gateway Cup that starts tonight at Lafayette Park. There are 4 criteriums starting tonight at 9:30pm and ending Monday, with a criterium around Benton Park, which is a new course.

I’ve done these races for a long time. On and off since the mid 90’s. The courses have changed up a bunch. They used to be much more challenging. Way more altitude gain, which I prefer. Now, 3 out of 4 are flat, wide open races. I pretty much like any criterium. Well, I’m not big on parking lot criteriums, lined with cones, or park type criteriums, that don’t really have any corners, just curves. But, I don’t like these courses as much as the older, harder ones. I’d much prefer a hard course with technical handling skills required.

Anyway, I think it is amazing how much it costs to race bicycles now. The entry for these races is $159.25. We’re staying at a pretty inexpensive hotel, but it will still be around $80 each for the three days. Gas and tolls have to be close to $40 bucks each. That isn’t even counting food. And equipment. So, $300 for the weekend plus all the stuff that gets worn out or destroyed. That is the cost for the regional Labor Day Races in St. Louis, on a budget. If I had to pay for this out of my pocket, every weekend, I’d have to get a job.

I’m still not going any better than last weekend. I probably shouldn’t have destroyed myself on Tuesday. I only rode an hour today, so maybe tomorrow I’ll feel better. It isn’t supposed to be hot at all, so that is a plus.

I’ll try to keep up to date on the results, etc. I like the late night racing, but not so much when they throw afternoon racing into the middle of it, which is the case here.

My brother, Kris, brought home a new cat a couple weeks ago. It is a full grown cat. That are 4 cats here now. I don’t really mind. 4 cats aren’t much more trouble than 2 cats. I am most likely allergic to cats, but that doesn’t matter either. I like animals enough that I can’t let stuff like that come into play when deciding whether they are around or not. I don’t really think you can own animals. I think you can take care of animals and be responsible for them, but you can’t own them. They live with you by choice. At least domesticated animals do. I suppose most fish and birds wouldn’t hang around too long if given an opportunity to take off.

This cat isn’t a normal cat. It goes on the dog walk. It doesn’t seem to be fazed by much. Two nights ago, a crazy storm came through at 3 am. Lightening, thunder, rain and wind. I had opened the window and shades by the bed to hear and see the storm. This cat jumped up on the bed and climbed out the window and disappeared into the storm. That isn’t a normal cat trait. I’d bet that I could just throw this cat into the van and go to St. Louis with no issues. And the cat would be with me on the return trip. It is fun having new blood around the house.

This is how comfortable this cat can get. This was nearly the first day Bromont and her met.