One of the summer’s most exciting weekends is upon us with four great races near the Quad Cities, three days of masters racing in the suburbs and a two-race series in Indiana.

The weekend’s jewel is the legendary Snake Alley Criterium on Saturday. The course features a steep, famously crooked switchback paved with brick, followed by a steep, technical descent. As the day goes on, the hill becomes a spectacle as rowdy spectators badger and cajole riders struggling to navigate the climb. (Tradition in the Pro/1/2 race is for fans to hand cold beers to racers as they throw in the towel.)

The race plays out almost like cyclocross: The sprint comes at the beginning, not the end, and packs will immediately disintegrate into small clusters of riders. Success hinges on being among the first to the Snake on the first lap, lest you get bottlenecked behind the inevitable crashes. Get forced to dismount and you’ll be half a lap down by the time you get to the top.

Once the race starts, riders will be too fried from climbing the Snake to think straight, so it’s important to have a reliable routine for getting through the rest of the course. This turn-by-turn guide from Steve Thordarson (Smart Cycling) is essential pre-race reading. Read it. Memorize it. Tape it to your stem. Also be sure to consult last year’s reports.

The weekend stays hot with big criteriums in nearby Muscatine, Iowa, and Rock Island, Ill.

Locally, ABD is hosting not one, not two, but three days of masters racing in Wood Dale and Batavia. This year the categories start at 30+ for both men and women.

Also close is the Great Race in Elkhart, Ind., which features a crit on Sunday afternoon and a road race on Sunday. The road race route is new, but count on rolling hills and narrow roads.

Friday
Wapello-Burlington
Road Race
USCF road race
Burlington, Iowa
Distance from Chicago: 4.5 hours

Saturday
ABD Memorial Day Weekend Masters Race
ABR criterium
Wood Dale, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

Snake Alley Criterium
USCF criterium
Burlington, Iowa
Distance from Chicago: 4.5 hours

Sunday
ABD Memorial Day Weekend Masters Race
ABR criterium
Wood Dale, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: .5 hours

The Great Race: Elkhart Criterium
ABR criterium
Elkhart, Ind.
Distance from Chicago: 2.5 hours

Melon City Criterium
USCF criterium
Muscatine, Iowa
Distance from Chicago: 4 hours

Monday
ABD Memorial Day Weekend Masters Race
ABR criterium
Batavia, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 1 hour

Quad Cities Criterium
USCF criterium
Rock Island, Ill.
Distance from Chicago: 3.5 hours