Day 65
July 20, 2015
Miles: 0
Miles: 0
St. Louis to St. Louis
It was sad to see
Brian and Michelle leave last night. We had
such a great time as you can see from Steve's previous double day post, but all good things unfortunately have to
come to a end. Brian and Michelle flew out this morning to Galveston
TX to sun their buns on a beautiful beach and take in a Red Sox game with the
Astros in Houston.
A funny story that we remember from last night - Michelle and Brian said that one of the things that
shocked them the most was Steve's 3rd new bike seat. After reading the blogs about us buying new
seats, in their minds the seats were getting bigger and more cushier. As you can see below - just the
opposite. The best seat for long tours are
actually smaller, flatter and harder ones that fit to the anatomy of the
rider. At one point they took one look
at Steve's seat and said. 'OMG what is that?
You got to be kidding me'. When
they told us what they were imaging and then finally seeing the actual seat -
well the story as Brian told it last night was extremely amusing. It made us laugh
even today remembering the conversation from last night.
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| Steve's bike seat |
Another memorable moment was learning that
Michelle and Brian have a travel companion - stick Brian. He came along too. Michelle takes him on all
their vacations and photographs him everywhere.
Here is stick Brian saying goodnight to us late last night via a text
message. Michelle and Brian you guys are so funny!
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| Stick Brian |
This morning we slept
until 10:30. It was wonderful. Its the first
time we slept this late since we started the tour. We did the usual - washing of
clothes and looking for a good coffee shop, which we found at Café Ventura. We also
went to the hardware store because Steve needed to make a repair on his pannier
bike bag. He lost one of the bolts that
holds the part that fastens the pannier to the bike rack. It was missing - probably from riding so many miles on the KATY trail. It was rough riding given the surface and
unwanted bumps. We also went to the local bike shop. I needed to replace my handle bar tape because
it was worn so thin that my hands started hurting from the vibration - again
because of the rough surface of the KATY trail.
I bought tape this time that has a built in gel cushion designed to break
the impact of the bumps and groves of the road.
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| Finally a good coffee shop |
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| Louisiana Beignet |
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| Steve not happy with the hollow center |
We rode our bikes today through Saint Louis University campus and stopped at the John Cook School of Business. The former dean of URI's business school, Mark Higgins, started as dean here at the university in January. So Steve and I went to his office to see if he was in, but when we got there he had already left. His assistance took my name and number and said she would give him the message. Mark called a few minutes later and invited us out to dinner. It was great seeing Mark again. We certainly miss him at URI but now knowing how much he loves St. Louis and his new post makes it easier. Mark took us to a local brewery for dinner and then to Ted Drewes on Route 66 for the famous St. Louis frozen custard. It was yummy! It was great seeing Mark and we are thankful for the great dinner and him taking us to Route 66 to end our night sweetly!
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| Sflatfly Brewery |
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| Ted Drewes on Route 66 |
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| Dean Mark Higgins |
Tomorrow we are off to Chester, IL.
When I first saw that picture of the seat I thought you had gotten a new one! Thankfully that is not the case. Your rest day sounds so perfect, and it's really awesome that you got to catch up with Dean Higgins! Enjoy your ride today, I can't believe you are about to cross off another state! Wahoo!
ReplyDeleteI was also confused on the seat situation. And what is happening with the unwanted seats? I know Di had said she held on to at least one because she gave it to Ben correct? But you aren't holding on to all the spares are you? Also I think it's awesome that you were able to meet up with your old colleague Di! Looks like he showed you a great night out on the town.
ReplyDeleteThe two day rest looks good on you guys! What fun to spend so much time with friends. Hope your travel day to Chester, IL today is going well! I called today to confirm our reservations in Virginia beach and also to rented a car for the week. Only 25 days to go! Miss you sis. xoxo (You too Steve) :-)
ReplyDelete