Sun wasn’t even lighting the horizon, and we were up and ready to go. Thankfully, McDonalds was open befor 7am and we hopped in the VW for 3 hours to affine in west St Louis and park at the Courtyard, our destination the last night after returning on the train. From there, we hit the surface streets to get to our first overnight.
First stop on the bike tour is trader joe’s; to pickup mints, snacks, and generic Oreos.
It rained for about the last 10 minutes into the hotel, so the streets were all wet. 15 minutes of packing everything on the bike, and the same amount of sun, and the streets started drying out and heating up. Nevertheless, we pointed our wheels toward the route, and BAM! We were off.
Following rolling streets up and down and up and down it was very much a roller coaster ride all the way to creve couer lake. Now we were on the trail. 3 miles on their side of the Missouri River, and 3 on the Katy headed to St. Charles, and our day is over. Much of the St. Louis populi were out on the trail enjoying the views, whether cycling, walking, running.
Parked the bikes to take in the lake views; and with sights like this how could we lose?
Since this is an inn-to-inn ride, our destination tonight was the country inn & suites in St Charles. Which is fine all by itself, I mean, I love camping out but there’s something really nice to be able to roll in to a hotel, pull the bags off the bikes, and enjoy the cool air from the A/C. We had a great surprise in store for us because the town of St Charles was very charming. Lots of 19th century buildings in the downtown with eateries, shops, art galleries, and more. Probably a mile log of this, and so peaceful.
With me following close on her heels; we head toward the bridge riding on two wheels
If you’re riding along the Katy, St Charles is a great stop. When I last rode the Katy in 2017 I went from Kansas City eastbound to Clinton and then stopped at Jefferson City. I called an audible after 4 days of rain and with 3 more days of rain in the forecast. So seeing anything east of Jefferson City is all new to me. I’m really looking forward to this trip.
St Charles as a town has such a charming feel; downtown has shops, eateries, and even a water wheel
