This morning I woke up and stepped outside. A light drizzle. Checking the radar it looked like we just might have a dry morning start. It had stormed all night so it was a guarantee the Katy would be a soggy mess this morning.
Todd had worked an alternate route, jumping on and off the trail as the roads would allow. Even though it had started to rain a few miles into the ride, we were all thoroughly enjoying ourselves. These little road breaks from the mud did the trick.
It was apparent that we’d missed some very big storms the night before, as there were several trees blocking our path. I don’t know what changed, but our frustrations from yesterday turned into glee today. Laughing as we navigated our loaded, heavy bikes through a myriad of branches and poison ivy, we all found our sense of adventure and even gained a little of our soul back.
A second breakfast seemed to come quickly at mile 62 today. Excellent coffee, tasty breakfast burritos, and a bike wash (courtesy Jack at the Bike Stop Cafe) really lightened our moods and we were all excited to hit the road. Our next stop: the St. Louis Arch! This stop would be bittersweet. Today we say goodbye to Jim after a month of riding together. I’ve enjoyed getting to know him and riding alongside him. I know I speak for all of us when I say we’ll miss him at the finish. We waved goodbye about 10 miles prior to the arch but not before one last adventure of riding through some floodwater that came over our cranks and shoes.
As Jon, Todd, TJ and I rode on to the Arch I could feel the excitement build. The last 5 miles were car free on a greenway along a very industrial area along the river. The first sighting coming a few miles out. I saw the Arch as a young child with my parents. Never did I ever dream I’d be back on a bike! It really sank in that we’re going to do this. We’re going to make it. We’ve skirted wildfires. We dodged severe storms, we’ve slogged through hundreds of miles of mud. This arch is a gateway. We’re going to make it.
After taking our pictures and talking to some of the touring families, we said goodbye to Jon. I really wish his first time on the Katy could have been dryer and maybe a more relaxed pace. But Jon is a strong rider and he jumped in and kept our attitudes positive through some very messy trail.
Just 20 miles to go to our hotel and of course we were racing a storm. Guess what? We won!
Until tomorrow.
