COLUMBIA, IL TO ST. LOUIS, MO

May 16, Saturday
20 miles

We picked up our bikes from Dave's bike shop and got the verdict. Both bikes needed cables, tightened, brakes adjusted, the usual easy stuff but my front wheel was out of alignment (I'd been noticing a slight wobble) and the front hub was dry and needed new bearings. We rode our bikes around the block to test them out and they felt so tight and solid our confidence. was renewed.
Yesterday when we were walking back to our motel after dropping our bikes off at the shop we stopped in at a neighborhood garage sale. A semi-annual sale that seven women do and the community waits in anticipation for it. We definitely had a "different look" about us and eventually it came out that we were riding bikes up the MRT. It was great fun chatting and making new friends. We were asked "what do you do for money to pay for this ride?" Rusty replied" We rob banks along the way."I bought a pair of heels for $1 to wear to church and the temple. I'd been feeling very casual in my Teva's and wishing I'd squeezed in a pair of nicer shoes. The deal is that a girl CAN have too many shoes on a bike ride.
Sooo, riding back to our motel after picking up our bikes to load up and get ready to leave, we stopped in at the garage sale, said good bye to our new friends and got some pictures. One woman said "Oh, I feel like we've been friends. Well, we are now!" We invited all to come visit us in Oregon! You never know!
Our route to St. Louis, MO took us through East St. Louis, IL. Here again, we had been cautioned about riding through this area but the consensus was that it would be okay since we were riding through in the day time. We noticed a difference about the area. Vacant lots where buildings had been torn down, poorly cared for yards, litter, broken up pavement and impatient drivers. We were honked at three times in as many miles and I think it's the most we've been honked at the whole ride. And drivers were not giving us room in the lane even when there were no on coming cars. We just didn't feel welcome. Does poverty breed apathy?
We rode across the Eads bridge in to St. Louis, MO. We arrived in the BIG CITY a bit over whelmed and in culture shock comparing this with the towns we had been riding in up until then.
Of course there was no camp site in sight and we checked in to a motel. The St. Louis Cardinals were playing the Milwaukee Brewers in town that weekend so the place was jumping! We walked to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and were amazed at the St. Louis Arch close up! We viewed the film on the construction and I got butterflies in my tummy watching how the workers teetered and maneuvered so far above the ground. Not one life was lost during the two years of the construction of the Arch.
We walked down to the riverfront and witnessed a Revival in process with scripture readings, music and lots of enthusiasm. It was a great sight with the Mississippi River as the back drop, the Arch in front and helicopters doing tours flying above.
A young couple on the street recommended a restaurant for dinner, Charlie Giotti's Italian. The game was out by now and it was a packed house full of Cardinal fans in their red shirts. The food was delicious and the ambiance exhilarating. We were lovin' every minute of it!

A RUSTY WISDOM: "It's depressing to see areas like East St. Louis. It awakens an awareness in me and I wonder how I can help to make changes and make a difference."