July 13, 2023
Snake Plissken vs St Louis And The Great Escape
DAY EIGHTEEN
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I drag my feet around the suite. Checkout is 10 and I thought I’d get an early jump across the river. The rains last night had some potency and instead I eat donuts and plot courses. I make a new route across the McKinley Bridge and through some rural industrialism to avoid as much of the low lying trail around St Louis as possible. The sections I do see are indeed flooded and reeking of rotting dog food and ammonia. So long, Missouri.
A dead snake in the road points me back towards the MCT trail system. I’m in the company of deer, rabbits and chipmunks, all vibrant with life in the early afternoon sun.
Edwardsville comes with fresh tacos and water bottle refills, a chance to plug in and update my human software. I haven’t seen any real news in awhile, I feel guilty and relieved not knowing.
I get a txt from my WS host’s brother explaining the details and that he’s on tour in Michigan and here’s my brother’s number so better txt him. Done and done.
They both give me an alternate route to their place but I’m pedaling the ACA route before I realize the mistake I’m making. The road from Alhambra to Greenfield sucks. An almost endlessly straight two lane tarmac with only a gravel shoulder stretches the nearly 17 miles. The IL-140 is a wasteland of trucks, all of them oversized, creek bottoms, all of them deep, and no apparent speed limit short of ludicrous. Even google doesn’t give you this route.
Halfway through I stop and steel myself with candy and gatorade, white knuckles barely able to count out the bills to the attendant suffering through my existence.
And just when the candy gives out I hit the final hill of the day. A steep grade like I haven’t seen in weeks gets me off the bike and pushing. I’m almost spent at the top and feel shaky and nervous. The sweat rolls off of my face and arms covering my phone screen. I can’t see anything and the wet touchscreen shuts down. I move to the shade, any shade, and drink water. I stand still and breathe. I recover, slowly.
The WS is only a few flat blocks away and I arrive in a soft cloud of my final fumes.
Rodney welcomes me in and lets me just sit there with a fan pointing into my face. Thankful. He tells me everything that is available for me and before long I’m doing laundry, showering and cooking a frozen pizza.
Rodney makes a run to the little store and returns with a watermelon. He then imparts some age old knowledge about eating watermelon, passing truth on to those willing to hear it. All you do is slice it in half, grab a friend and two spoons and dig in.
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 743 miles (1,196 km)
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9 months ago