Today I spent the early morning roughly planning out the next week. I say that lightly because the weather is a main driver in the next month as I move west and out into the plains. So packing up and heading downtown to see the arch for the very first time up close and personal. What a very interesting structure and how it draws people into St Louis. The arch was surrounded by a beautiful park with many paths but yet in the heart of downtown. My goal today was get to a bike shop to have a mechanic go over a couple of items that I wanted adjusted.
The bike store I had originally planned to connect with had moved from two blocks from the hotel to mid town. So after visiting the arch I plotted a route to the Midtown shop. I can tell you at this point saint Louis Missouri drivers are terrible. I would not want to be a bike courier in downtown St Louis. Even though I was on a bike lanes cars still came too close for my comfort. Moving across town I wiggled through small neighborhoods and eventually found the bike shop in an old industrial park called the foundry. This was a large warehouse complex that was converted to a closed street with shops and a food court which offered a variety of choices. The bike shop offered many urban bike options along with your traditional road bike and even cycle turning bikes. Their chief mechanic made quick work of my adjustments and they allowed me to keep my bike in the shop while I walked to the food court to get lunch.
And after having a quick meal I wanted to get moving because the rain was coming again. Today was a short urban ride through a variety of different neighborhoods some which I did not like at all. Frankly I was glad it was Saturday and pouring buckets so nobody was outside and I quickly made my way to a different hotel across town. I had an opportunity to be meet up with my cousin and his wife and their new baby. They were about 10 minutes away from the hotel so they decided to meet me and we talked for probably two hours. We had a great time reconnecting and talking about family. I’m sure we’ll connect again and it was good to just have a short easy day. I’m looking forward tomorrow to get back onto a trail and not have to think about any cars for the next few days.
