We’re in St. Charles today! The end of the trail, at least as far as we are concerned. Got here around 1:00.  It was only 30 miles. We met Thierry and Jeff today, rode over 20 miles with them. We all had lunch at the Bike Stop Cafe just 1 mile past our hotel. They still had 45 miles to go after we separated. We had 1 mile to go. I didn’t feel guilty, although I think they may have slowed down a bit for me.  Fun fact: Thierry and Jeff met at a hostel on a trail in Oregon on their way across the country. 

Our average speed today was 11 mph. I think it’s because I had people to talk to. Or maybe because I had people to chase. Or because my computer broke, so I wasn’t focusing on numbers. Or because I knew it was only 30 miles. I am a very psychological athlete.

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4:00 PM

We are sitting in a park on the river, watching people on the trail. We’ve seen a lot more locals than bike tourists, which is great. Because we’ve seen maybe 10 other tourists. 

St. Charles is an old, historic French town. And I’m going to spend a little more time here tomorrow, because… Dana is going to ride to St. Louis tomorrow without me, and without his panniers and front pack. So he gets some Carolyn-free time, and I get some ass-not-on-a-bike-seat time. I’ll pack and move everything and check out.

It’s a win-win. Okay, maybe I’m winning just a little bit more. 

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5:15 PM

We’re sitting on Main St. in St. Charles, drinking malteds. If we are still hungry later we will have dinner. This may not be good for us, but we think we deserve it.

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6:30

Ok, we’re having dinner. But it’s tapas, so we can go slow.

I may not write any more of these, at least not every day, unless something really good or really bad happens. We’ll be on I-70 tomorrow, so you never know. And a big THANKS to anyone who’s read any of my ramblings and observations.