To the River's End: Chapter 18 Approaching St. Louis, A most agreeable host in St. Charles

Winfield had jumbo mosquitoes that clearly eclipsed our highly vaunted Minnesota
State bird

I left Elsberry that afternoon with a twinge of sadness as the place had been like a home for the past 36 hours. I only cover about 25 miles today given my late start and spend the night in Winfield a town down the road about the same size as Elsberry. One strategy for finding a place to pitch a tent unmolested is to just ask the police. Better to make your presence known than have someone call and report you. After a quick phone call am a soon being escorted to the local fairgrounds. The only problem is to find a place to locate my tent that is out of the glare of street lights that typically surround such a place. You have to wait until it is dark enough for them to kick on and then find a spot with the most intersecting shadows from trees and buildings to be able to feel like you are not sleeping in a jewelry showroom. These days it is finally cooling off at night even if the afternoons are hot. This morning I know that the day will bring me within striking distance of my first major metropolitan area I need to traverse: the City of St. Louis. This poses some challenges because camping is not realistic leaving motels ($$$) or Warm Showers. Www.warmshowers.org is an on-line organization that matches up people traveling by bike with hosts who are willing to provide as a minimum a spot in their yard to tent and a shower. I have yet to try it and thus far have found few hosts along my line of travel. However, there are dozens in the St. Louis area. That morning I get on the phone and after reviewing their bios select 4 contacts, leave messages and wait for a bite. It takes a bit of research to find suitable contacts. One for example, invites travelers to stay with a community of disenfranchised international drifters who offer the opportunity "to see first hand the devastation wrought by urbanization and globalization". Ah, no.


Jason and precocious daughter Charlotte were my first Warmshowers hosts

Jason Kumla call me back and says "no problem" so I am thankfully not homeless that night. He lives in St Charles a outlying town at the western edge of the metro area. St. Charles I later learn played a role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was the last outpost of civilization on the Missouri River that they left behind as they headed into unknown wilderness and eventually a passage to the Pacific Ocean. The comments in the expedition journal describe the inhabitants as "miserable and poore but agreeable enough". I found Jason and his family more than agreeable. I told him he was my very first warm showers host and he feared he would be a poor first impression. Not so. He invested a great deal time in me and in addition to providing food and shelter armed me with the information I would need to safely get through the city. He is an uber cyclist. He had completed the TransAmerica route in a competitive race in June. Sixty six riders started, some 30 made it, he was no. 15. This bicycle route takes you from coast to coast, Oregon to Virginia across the heart of America and was first run for the 1976 bicentennial. Here's what's astonishing; he biked 4,200 miles in 24 days. He slept 4-6 hours a night. That is 175 miles per day traveling unsupported. My daily mileage averages 35-40 miles. He travel with only 20 lbs of gear to my 150 lbs with a wet golden retriever. We share a love of long distance bike travel but our approaches are slightly different. Jason continued to look after me and the next day arranged a host for me using his cycling connections for the following night. He is a great guy.

Charlotte meets a even more precocious dog.

The next day my route takes me through historic St. Charles along the original main street off the banks of the Missouri. I could easily spend a day there. It is fronted with sturdy 2 story stone and brick buildings that date back to 1769. It was Missouri's first State Capitol and once home to Daniel Boone. Today the district is a charming and thriving string of shops and eateries (unlike most of the river towns I pass through). Before I rolled in I had never heard of the place. Now everyone should visit! St. Charles is also along the Katy trail. This I had heard of. It is the longest rails to trails conversion some 240 miles running east west across the state. Its surface is crushed limestone and the name comes from the original name Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad or MKT in railroad parlance that was shortened to KT. I get to ride it for 4 or 5 miles today on my way into St. Louis.