May 31, 2025
Day 5: Hermann to St Charles
It’s Not All Sunshine and Rainbows
Hermann had a nice campground, but it was not quiet. I woke up at 4:30 and struggled to fall back asleep. Eventually, Armand woke up and we decided to pack up for the day. We grabbed a quick breakfast downtown and headed out. Armand didn’t want to take the Katy, so we separated once again, and this time for good. He was headed to St Louis, and I was going to St Charles.
I hopped back on the Katy Trail. It was nice to be in the shade of the Katy, as it was pretty hot out today. The views today were gorgeous.
I ended up taking a break at The Caboose in Marthasville. It was a great place to talk to other cyclists and get some lunch.
Not long after this, things took a turn for the worse. The Katy Trail ran out of trees for a while, and it got hot! I’ve been applying sunscreen 2x per day but the sun has found the small places I miss! And not much longer after, I had a pretty big problem.
This was detrimental. I was unsure of what to do next. Just kidding, I bunjee cabled that sucker and the back that sat on top of it right to the back of the bike and kept on pedaling. It was a little unwieldy with so much weight on the back and none on the front, but I made it work. 10 miles down the road, I met up with Richard, my Warmshowers host for the night. Richard is 71, and he definitely had my number in the speed department. He’s been on many tours all across America.
He lived very close to the Katy Trail. At least, distance wise. In terms of elevation, I felt like we were climbing Mount St Charles. It was awful. Once we got there, his wife had cold watermelon waiting for us… YES! And we went to a couple of bike shops to find a new front rack. Alas, nobody had any in stock. I’d have to wait until Thursday. Yeah right. I’ll shove the bag down my shirt before I wait a week for a damn rack! We came back to his house and we had supper together. It was like eating with the family at the dinner table. While we were talking, Richard made a comment to his son Andy about my bike rack, and had him take a look at it. As it turns out, Andy is big into 3D printers and he is working on a temporary fix for my bike as I type this! We will find out how well it works tomorrow I suppose… I’ve changed my route to stay North and go through Indianapolis on my way to Cincinnati instead of Louisville. I hear there are much less hills. A lot rides on tomorrow. Including me!
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 197 miles (317 km)
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