St. Louis to Indianapolis

     We left the Katy Trail like sad kids who have to go home after the blisses of summer camp, faring the world of automobiles and other fast, loud things.
     Not long after departing the Katy Trail did we have the treat of riding on an unopened, brand new freeway. The freeway was set to open for cyclists the following day before motorists would have it forever. We had heard this from a suburban bike shop a few miles off the Katy Trail. While we were cycling through the road construction, Brant and Reid decided to ask the construction workers if we could ride on the new freeway today, as it would eliminate some extraneous mileage and would be pretty awesome. Hannah and I had our doubts as the boys chit chatted with the men in orange hats. Within a minute, Reid was waving Hannah and I down the onramp, and we were all flying into the open space of a 4 lane freeway with no cars. It was AWESOME.
     We took a left and made our way down a rolling street, lined with stately houses with lawns the size of a football fields.

     We made it to Clayton, a metropolitan suburb of St. Louis. We stopped for a cup of coffee at a little cafe called Half and Half. A waiter, in an obligatory blue v-neck shirt, greeted us with some great menu recommendations and questions about our trip. It was a great introduction into this fabulous city. After we cooled down and felt rested, we made our way towards REI to fix our stove. We were flying down a hill only a mile past the cafe and eyed a beautiful public pool. This pool was smack in the middle of the Clayton financial district. With two towers marking huge diving platforms, Brant and Reid were sold. We skidded to a stop and pulled out our suits and swim trunks. The boys went and asked the front desk how much the pool cost, and came back with their tails between their legs.
     "You have to be a Clayton resident to get into the pool."
     We packed our suits back up, and inched our bikes down the sidewalk. As we were about to get on the road, a young dad and his kids stopped us and asked where we were coming from. And Reid responded with, "Well, we were going to the pool, but you have to be a resident. But we biked from California."
     And the dad responded back, "Anyone who biked here from California can be my guest!"
So we turned around and introduced ourselves, and  then thoroughly surprised the lifeguard at the front desk. We paid our dues and suited up, and spent the next three hours jumping off the 5 meter platform and  getting to know Kevin and his children. 
      Kevin invited us to come over to his house for pizza afterwards. So we biked on over and played soccer with Harry and Alex in their backyard. We  ate St. Loiuis style provolone pizza with their big family. Many neighbors came over to see the hoodlums who had rolled into their neighbor's yard. 


I think we could have stayed with this wonderful family for hours longer, but we were supposed to meet our warm showers host in the Tower Grove neighborhood of the city. So we said our goodbyes and navigated our way to the south east. The sun was setting and the city streets were quiet. We rode by the infamous Washington University. And then ventured into St. Louis's magnificent Forrest Park.  The park was filled with people walking with their blankets and pillows to an outdoor movie outside of the Museum of Art. It was beautiful. 
    We met our hosts, Dana and Jerry, at their house around 8:30 pm. Dana and Jerry welcomed us into their home with cold water and fresh peaches. They live in a great old neighborhood called Tower Grove, named after the huge community park only one black away. Their house was a three storied, classic St. Louis house. But Dana and Jerry were anything but typical. They met playing ultimate frisbee (Dana manages the entire St. Louis ultimate frisbee league); they are urban bee keepers;  they ride their bikes everywhere, love to cook, and are ultimate community movers and shakers. They got us all set up with beds and towels and told us that the giant spa like bathtub was a "must do." 

    After the Katy Trail all of us were covered in dust. Our bikes and bags were covered with the white hue of old limestone, and if we were in California, everyone would have thought we had just returned from Burning Man. Dana gave us micro fibre towels, and we hosed and cleaned up our messy selves before sleep. 

     The next morning we all shared a wonderful meal of fresh coffee and  pancakes from-scratch with peaches and blueberries before heading off to the big Saturday farmer's market in Tower Grove Park. This felt like Disneyland to Brant and I, and we splurged on peaches, fresh homemade popsicles, and fresh bread. The market was right next to the park's wading pool and old art deco bathhouse. We got our toes wet and sipped lemonade in the humid St. Louis morning. 

     We all walked home to meet up with Jerry and a neighbor girl, Emily, to bike down to the Arch and to the infamous "City Museum." Dana had told us that if their was anything to spend money on in St. Louis, it was this place. The old shoe manufacturing warehouse from the turn of the century,  was purchased around 2002ish by a local artist. This guy had a vision, I don't know exactly what that dream was, but this museum kicks booty--with caverns, labyrinths, suspended airplanes connected by wire tubes, a schools bus floating off the roof of the building, and a 7 story slide. Oh my goodness, it was perfect chaos. We all played like nine year olds, and went home utterly pooped. 

     The next day was errand day. Brant and I took the MetroLink train to the western part of the city in search of the REI, and Reid and Hannah took the MetroLink to the airport. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Hannah, who flew home to visit family and to start preparing for the upcoming school year. With her bike all packed in a cardboard box, we stepped off the train and waved goodbye to our dear companion and friend. Sad day.

     We continued on our journey, and found Whole Foods and Trader Joe's along the way. We came back prepared for our next few days of riding with a fixed stove and good grubs. 

     The next morning, after eating bagels and cream cheese with eggs, we packed up, and left around 8:00am--headed to cross the great Mississippi River and to venture on into Illinois. We moseyed out of St. Louis on a bike path that ran north along the Mississippi and took us across the river on the old pedestrian bridge called "The Chain of Rocks." We got across and into Illinois, and before we knew it we found another bike path that took us exactly where we wanted to go for 20 miles. It was great. There is nothing like not riding your bike in traffic. It's so peaceful. We have all discussed this: when you ride your bike in traffic you have to spend a ton of energy and stress on protecting yourself from cars, and when you are on a bike path, you get to save that energy; you get to enjoy the landscape and the conversations of those around you. And for that, I am ever grateful for the moments and miles we get to log off the road, and for those people and advocacy groups who make bike paths happen. 

     We biked about 80 miles and camped at the Vandalia Lake Reservoir.  With our crew dwindling to just the boys and I, our daily milage picked up. Mostly because  we have to get Reid to the east coast so that he can fly back to Davis to start his masters program in public health on August 5th. 

    The following day we pedaled the most miles I have ever ridden in one day: 106! We pedaled from Vandalia, Illinois to Tera Houte, Indiana. And I was totally proud of myself. We landed in Tera Houte just after a thunderstorm, and the campground we pedaled to was deep in tall trees and forrest and the moisture in the air made the place feel like a giant swamp. We were all pooped, so we made burritos, took showers in the camp showers, and laid down for bed. Not even five minutes after hitting the pillow, did a Raccoon start dragging our bread bag away across the campsite. Reid watched our bread bag scoot across the dirt in the dark and he knew something was wrong. Seconds later, both Brant and Reid had their bright headlamps out to scare the raccoon and retrieve the stolen goods. We hung our food up at a raccoon safe height and continued on with our sleeping. 

     The next day we had 72 miles to pedal to our dear friend, Louis, in Indianapolis. Brant and Louis studied together at Cal Poly, and Louis just moved to Indianapolis for a job as an environmental engineer for an up and coming algae wastewater company based in the capitol city. 

     The outskirts of Indianapolis were quite unpleasant, but all was well once we got downtown. Louis's apartment overlooks the Indiana Pacers' stadium and is literally right downtown. Louis was stoked to show us his new city. He doesn't own a car, so he has learned the city by bike and wanted to show us one his favorite neighborhoods, Fountain Square. So we took showers, put on fresh clothes, and biked on down to the square. We ate dinner at a hip little diner, and scarfed some gourmet pizza's and craft beer, laughing and catching up. By the time we were finished it was after ten, and the "duck pin" bowling alley on the second floor was closed, so we did what was best for us, and went home for a good night's sleep. 

     It was a great way to experience Indiana. I never would have imagined Indianapolis to be full of so much culture, art, and good food. But it just goes to show that there is life outside of my Californian bubble. Not to say that I want to get up and move to Indianapolis, but there are a lot of good things going on there. 

     That is one of the greatest aspects of this trip. We are going through a part of the country that I really had no interest in seeing. I have always had a great interest in seeing The South, in the Great Lakes, and in the East Coast, but I would have never gone out of my way to see Kansas, Missouri, or Indiana. In doing so, I feel like I have seen a new side of America, and have found much of it to be quite beautiful...