Velowander

Day 26 end: Farmersville, IL to St. Louis, MO

After leaving the church at 4 PM it was very hot as we were still in the heat wave. Around 6 PM I was overheating; my water bottle was over 100 degrees and I think I was hungry too. So, we stopped at a McDonalds and I got a Big n Tasty burger and a chicken sandwich, and refilled my water.

Talking to some locals, Mag determined a route we could use to get into the city of St. Louis itself from the east (it is still the state of Illinois until we cross the Mississippi). Our objective was to reach Minh's (spelling?) parents who live in a suburb on the West side of St. Louis.

We couldn't ride on the I-270 bridge so another local directed us to cross an old rail bridge. We found an Illinois sheriff who warned us that the area of St Louis between us and Minh's parents was dangerous and someone tried to mug us.

We crossed the Mississippi river on the old route 66 bridge, now unused by traffic and went to the QT gas station which the Sheriff had recommended as a rendezvous point. A family friend picked us up at the Jack in the Box and drove us to Minh's parents house, avoiding our need to bike through any sketchy neighborhoods.

So we made it to Minh's parents and are spending the night here. Tomorrow we will sightsee in St. Louis (Mag is already familiar with it, having lived here for 6 months on contract but it is my first time visiting).

Labels: Bike Touring

posted by David @ 7:12 PM