It was so good seeing Nick & fam. Amazing that only a few years ago we were romping around Loyola, and now this guy has a wife, house, two fuzzball doggers, a meatball baby and arrests people. While he may have rapidly transformed into a super adult at an unparalleled rate, it was good to see he’s the same old funny character. Don’t ever change, love ya bud. Yip!

It was a wet morning yet again, and on and off throughout the day but overall a decent day for riding. Just outside of Bloomington I dealt with my first bout of motorcycle maintenance. Nothing serious, the left handlebar grip came loose and after a little bit of emergency gas station super glue treatment, we were good to go. I also took this opportunity to pick up a tire patch kit, something I meant to have on the packing list before I left.

There wasn’t a whole lot to see along the way, only the occasional “mud creek” or “crooked creek,” maybe a river crossing here and there. The plains are beautiful in their own right, but not too exciting for a cyclist. Roads that are uneventful, straight as an arrow, sometimes not exactly brand new, no gradient whatsoever, nothing to see but farmland and the occasional weathered town.

I did make a quick stop in Carlyle Illinois, home of the largest lake in Illinois (who’da guessed?) and snapped this picture of a historic suspension bridge crossing over the Kaskaskia river.

Other than this, Lebanon was OK. Central Illinois isn’t exactly scenic I suppose.

That’s alright, because St. Louis made up for it.

Crossing the Mississippi river was pretty sweet, the city is littered with different types of bridges all over the place. I decided the goal was first to just check out the Arch and be a tourist downtown for a while. After getting closer, I remembered you can actually go up to the top and I am not one to pass up a good view.

13 bucks to get in and get a ride up seemed totally worth it. You’re assigned a time on your ticket and either a South Tram or North Tram. After standing in line for a while, you hop in one of eight space pod looking things that seat up to 5 people in a very tight space. Definitely cramped and not for people with claustrophobia. Then you sort of jiggle your way up to the top as strange clanks and creeks are happening all around you. Was pretty sweet. Very much worth it for the views though:

In line to get to the top, I met a fellow Star Wars fan, he appreciating my shirt and I appreciating his star wars shoes (now that I know that’s a thing, I need them) and eventually conversation led to grabbing some dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe down the street.

Here’s the route for today:

Tomorrow I start down along the Mississippi toward Memphis TN.