Day 26: Washington, Missouri: "Gateway"

The last time I went to St. Louis I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. I'm certain that my parents showed me a great time when we went, but all I remember from that trip is going to a science museum and touching one of those big glass balls that make your hair stick up.

Sarah Graham, one of our proud St. Louis residents, assured us from the start of the trip that there was so much more to the city. There was talk of sight-seeing, bar-hopping, and delicious food, and the morning we woke up in Greenville we all were raring to get there asap.

The start to that morning's ride was lovely. We traveled at a very healthy pace and enjoyed the quiet farmland of Illinois. As I've said many a time, the land out there is flat, which doesn't leave much in the way of exciting details to blog about, but I'm starting to understand the kind of effect it has on the heartland psyche. It makes a man quiet. Reflective. I was left on that morning with a lot of time to process my thoughts, to reflect on why I'd joined this trip, and what I wanted to ultimately get out of it.

When we weren't thinking to ourselves, Sharif, Jen, Heather and I played word games to pass the time, and of course yelled at cows whenever we saw them. Before we knew it we had hammered halfway to lunch, because hey, there's nothing to really do but go fast. We happened upon a really sweet little farmer's market and I excitedly sprung for some cream soda and Georgia peaches. Also, if perhaps only for their novelty, I bought I jar of pickled eggs for lunch, because I figured I was on Bike & Build to expand my horizons. When i ate them about 15 miles later, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how edible they were. I and a couple other brave souls scrafed some food down and, though a nap was tempting, decided to keep moving to get to St. Louis and its goodness as soon as possible.

Full of pickled eggs and marshmallows, I hopped back on the bike, and the route did an immediate 180. We went from a morning of quiet farms to an afternoon of hectic windy highways and terrifying traffic. Illinois State Highway 3 may be the absolute worst road for biking on the entire route. The only thing it has going for it is that it's overall flat, but it's windier than a hurricane and crowded from side-to-side with drivers who are not accustomed to bikers or sharing the road with them. Trash littered the shoulder so we spent a lot of time dodging debris, pounding headfirst into the wind, and swearing. There was a lot of swearing.

After a good 6 or 7 miles of that ruckus, our morale was drastically low, and the only thing that was keeping us pedaling was the idea that we would soon *bike* across the Mississippi River. Before we headed West to cross the border we stopped in a gas station. It wasn't much, but I managed to talk the manager into donating a huge powerade for each of the folks I was biking with, and that at least helped restore the team's faith in humanity. We drank to the death of Illinois, and then rolled down the road to the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

It's really hard to put into words the immediate transition to a sense of accomplishment and elation when We hopped on the bridge and began rolling over the Mississippi. Creedance Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" was the jam we howled as the water roared under us, and the team stopped for many pictures and a much-needed and much deserved break as we saw Illinois behind us and the skyline of St. Louis before us.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as we rolled into the insane traffic of East St. Louis. It was a real test of our road safety skills, awareness, and communication, and we made certain to stick together. Everyone made it safe to UMSL, our host for the night, but we were all certainly frazzled by that time.

The only proper recovery plan was a good shower and a nap. Following that, Sarah Graham's parents came and cooked dinner, and I discovered one of my new favorite foods: pork steak. It's a St. Louis favorite. Imagine, if you will, a rack of perfectly cooked barbecue ribs. How can this be improved, you ask? Take the bones and just replace it with more delicious rib meat. I ate an inappropriate amount, and then the team prepped to head into town.

Christina's dad drove us in a bus to the Arch, which is, in fact, even more impressive than I imagined. It was impossible to get the entire Arch even inside one picture shot, but even if we could, it wouldn't do the architecture justice. The sun made the entire arch glow orange. I picked a spot right in the middle of the arch to sit down, stare up, and, again reflect.

I think the symbol of the Arch as the "Gateway to the West" carries extra weight when you see it on your way from coast to coast. Suddenly, three and a half weeks into this trip, I'm in the heart of this country, and the pace I've been traveling at has allowed me to learn more about the land and people than I think most of us can ever hope to. It's fascinating to see what makes each American citizen and state similar, and to appreciate the subtle differences that make you realize you really are moving. this country, as it turns out, is big, and despite the best efforts of pop culture, we're still very much a patchwork of smaller cultures. St. Louis is certainly a world away from, say, Marlinton, West Virginia, or Virginia Beach, or Nowhere, Illinois. Every day has led to a new adventure on this trip, and seeing the Arch, and passing through it into the West, only gets me more excited for what lies ahead.

The next day in St. Louis was a Build Day. We volunteered with Rebuilding Together and I spent the majority of my morning powerwashing a porch while the resident's grandson, watching from the kitchen window, kept shouting words of enthusiasm and encouragement. "Awesome! What is that thing?!"

That was a great boost of morale, because while the first five or six minutes of powerwashing were filled with excitement and novelty, it started to wear off after I shot my third or fourth yellow jacket out of the air.

That afternoon I helped another team of BNBers lay down a new floor in a house down the block, and during breaks, when we'd wait for another team to cut wood, I huddled around the radio with about 10 other folks and a few of the residents to listen to the World Cup.

I love the idea of the World Cup a lot. Soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it) really is a universal game. It was awesome to imagine that I was sharing listening in on this much-anticipated game with potentially billions of strangers, including Steve, a dude from the neighborhood, who was quite the character, but a nice guy nonetheless. Steve had a spacey demeanor. He asked us how Africa was doing, and he predicted that America would rush England because our players were healthier. This side sportscasting only enhanced the experience for me.

Once again a thunderstorm cut our work short, but it was perhaps for the best because the humidity was getting to all of us. We went back to UMSL, enjoyed the pool, and then enjoyed a quiet night at the university. I spent some time beginning work on a song for Bike & Build, which I had been commissioned to write by Sarah Crawford. I'm not gonna get ahead of myself, but I am actually very excited about what I have so far, so we'll see where it goes.

Then today's ride. As it turns out, the best way to bike out of St. Louis is along a ten-lane highway. We hugged the shoulder and the traffic definitely woke us up. By the time we reached the fabled Katy Trail, we were all wired and ready to get off the highway and onto a biker trail.

I really recommend riding the Katy Trail if you're ever in the St. Louis area. The Mississippi Delta swamps and hills are lovely, though I also must advise that you don't rest in one place for more than around 30 seconds, lest the mosquitos swarm on you. I rolled with a group that made the humidity and mosquitos more fun to ride through. Even Emily, the team vegan, was smacking mosquitos, saying it was alright because "mosquitos aren't animals. They are from hell."

Along a more secluded portion of the KT we did something secret and awesome. I can't write about it, but if you're curious, ask me about it some time in person.

We got into a great rhythm on the KT and hummed along for a good 20 miles or so before we finally started feeling the heat sink in. Relief was sorely needed, and it was answered by a sno cone stand right along the trail. Out of no where the forest opened up into a quaint little shady farm. A man who looked like a more sun-dried version of Jeff Bridges sold us sno cones at half price and we enjoyed them as we listened to the Peter Frampton drifting through from his radio.

That little sugar rush helped us push about another ten miles when Zach excitedly saw signs for a trail-side beer garden. We all stopped at least for some shade, and weighed our options. Those over age were jonesing for a good beer, and the laughter and sweet music floating from the garden certainly didn't help things, but Bike and Build understandbly frowns upon BUIs. Fortunately, as Caroline put it, those of us who are underage are not plagued with such moral dilemmas.

We all decided to just settle for a picture of us looking sad in front of the sign, and the hammered out the last ten miles to Washington to constructively channel our frustration.

We celebrated finishing up that nasty hot ride with a round of cherry limeades from the local Sonic. After that I napped for 3 and a half hours. I sat down on a couch in the church and suddenly couldn't even find the strength to get back up and shower.

After that glorious nap was dinner. After dinner was a hilarious round of a game Kristen brought called "Curses". The basic idea of the game is people take turns drawing cards which prompt them to do challenges like "Demonstrate how to surgically remove an appendix". After you complete a challenge, you pass on a curse card to someone, which they must carry out for the remainder of the game, for example "talk with your teeth constantly clenched", or "you're not allowed to move your elbows". By the end of the game everyone is cursed and each challenge is like watching some horrible street performance.

And that leads me to right now. I literally have one minute until lights out so I should definitely go, but things, as you can see, have been as great and as eventful as always.