western St. Louis to Hamel, IL

Sunday 20 May 2018

Today's ride went from western St. Louis to Hamel, IL

The start of the day began with a thunder and lightening storm going through St. Louis.  Jim, Diana and I drank coffee and talked about bicycle touring.  Soon the storm dissipated, with hopes of staying dry for a few hours,  I headed out.  The Adventure Cycling Route around St. Louis was excellent.  Minimal traffic and the good roads.

 There is an area south of the St. Louis Arch, along the Mississippi that graffiti artists have free access to express them selves.

Kosciusko Graffiti Wall

The St. Louis Arch.  There are small cable cars that travel inside the arch to the top.  There is an observation area at the very top of the arch where you can get a great view of St. Louis and the Mississippi River.

This statue of Louis and Clark is near the St. Louis Arch

A very good bicycle path along the Mississippi on the Missouri side of the river

The Chain of Rocks Bridge

flowers on the Missouri side of the Mississippi

going across the Chain of Rocks Bridge, you can see the 30 deg bend in the bridge.

Storm is coming. You can see St. Louis in the distance

Entering Illinois.  I got a few miles into Illinois before I had to find shelter from the storm.  I waited about 30 minutes until the storm passed.

I had maybe 20 miles of bike path riding.

coyote, he must be watching a squirrel or something.

St. Clair to western St. Louis

Saturday 19 May 2017

Today's ride was from St. Clair to western St. Louis

The ride today, weather wise, was OK. It started out with heavy overcast then it became partly cloudy.  But very high humidity.  The road was over more rolling hills and farm land.

Another mural on Route 66

I didn't know I had a state park

 The name of the street is Woods Road in Grover, MO

Beautiful ride but very difficult uphill

There is a main street that heads into St Louis called Clayton Road.  For at least 10 miles the road has this type of housing on both sides of the street.

This one is for sale

Tucson could use a few of these signs, all three.

I turned off Clayton road and onto Clayton Ave.  I passed a brick school that reminded me of the first school I went to.  Chittick Elementary School in Mattapan, Massachusetts.  Sorry, no picture.  But past the school was old brick housing.

Near the St. Louis Botanical Gardens were several of these bicycles.  Apparently with an App on your phone you can send a code about a specific bike and it will remotely be unlocked and you can pedal it away.  I don't know any more information.  If interested check out LimeBike

At the end of the day, I had made prior arrangements to stay with a Warmshowers.org hosts Diana and Jim.  They are great hosts, and hopefully will come to Tucson to do some bicycle riding and stay at my place. 

They were dog sitting Toto

Diana has a mural on her garden wall.

One of the things that is missing from all the pictures is the panorama of the country side, fresh smells after the rain, the smells and sounds of all of the dairy.   On the roads less traveled the sounds of the birds, the toads or frogs in the water, ground hogs, squirrels, deer, and miscellaneous wildlife you hear but don't see.  The other thing missing is the stench of roadkill. In some areas there might be 4 or 5 dead animals per mile.  Armadillo, possum, raccoons, skunks, fox, coyotes, and box turtles.  

Why did the Chicken cross the road?            To prove to the armadillo that it is possible... 

St James to St Clair

Friday 18 May 2018

Today's ride was from St. James to St. Clair

I left St James today knowing it was going to start raining sooner or later.  The weather was good for the first 12 miles.

I arrived in Cube, MO.  Cuba is known for the large number of murals painted on the side of buildings in the town.

After I took theses pictures and elderly gentleman stopped his car and asked me if I wanted an apple.  I said sure.  Then I asked him if he knew of a good place to eat breakfast.  He gave me directions to Shelly's.
More murals to photograph before breakfast.

This is just a wall

The next two pictures explain the following murals

At this point there was a light rain starting so I headed to Shelly's for breakfast.  Not sure what was going on when I got to the restaurant,  there were a half dozen police cars around the building.  I went in and it must be the local hangout for the policeman.  No wonder, the food is excellent.  And the coffee is hot and flavorful.

 I ordered the breakfast special 2 eggs, bacon and a 1/2 order of biscuits and gravy.

 When I went outside there was a light, steady rain.  I put on my rain jacket and headed down the road.  It rained for the next 35, until I got to the hotel in St. Clair.  I was soaked by the time I got to the hotel.  A couple of positives, it was a warm rain, it washed the pollen out of the air, and the hotel had a washer to get the mud out of the cycling cloths and a dryer so everything is ready for tomorrow.