In the Shadow of the Mighty Mississippi
Me eating a delicious snack of lettuce, bbq sauce, mustard, and a vanilla cookie.
Hey everyone. Jeff here.
We are enjoying an impromptu day off here in St. Louis. We got up at about 6:00 this morning, were ready to go a little after 7:00 for a short fifty-something mile ride when lightning appeared in the sky. We will ride in most conditions, but not in a heavy snow where the roads are slick, and not during thunderstorms.
We racked the bikes and were going to drive ahead 20 miles to see if things would clear up. During the van ride a National weather advisory came on warning of thunderstorms, dime-sized hail, and winds approaching upwards of 60 miles-per-hour.
The general vote was to not risk the ride and drive the full way to St. Louis. Of course, I dissented and stated that I wanted to ride, knowing full well that we would not be riding. I was able to keep up a facade of toughness (if only for myself).
We arrived in St. Louis and unloaded our bikes and gear just before the skies erupted. We had a medical school lecture at noon here at Washington University SOM, with about 70 first and second-year medical students in attendance. Sebastian and Leah did a fantastic job.
The past few days since I blogged in Sedalia have been pretty uneventful. On Wednesday we rode from Sedalia to Jefferson City, which is the capital of Missouri. It has a population of less than 40,000, but is a pretty neat city.
The ride was hilly, and we arrived a little bit before dinner. I think this was the day that Rachel and a few other riders got chased by a goat. Her name was Buttercup. They took pity on the poor animal, and stopped their bikes to help it back to her owner, who was very relieved to find it safe.
Some of us took a tour of the state capital, and poked our heads into a House and Senate committee meeting. The politicians in attendance looked pretty bored.
That evening Jess and I searched every dining establishment in "Jeff City" to see if we could find someone playing the Chicago Cubs baseball game, but our search was fruitless. I still have yet to catch a Cubs game this season.
Yesterday we rode from Jeff City to Washington, MO. While we were not chased by any goats, we were by at least two dogs. One looked a little bit mean. The incident went something like this:
-All the riders leaving the rest stop at the same time and descending a short hill, only to be confronted by a mean-looking dog.
-Dog barks at riders and Sebastian takes his water bottle out to spray dog.
-Owner yells at dog to come back but does not get it.
-Rachel asks owner to come get her dog.
-Owner replies "NO".
-Jeff responds that "there are a bunch of riders coming down this hill and we don't want any riders to get hurt".
-Woman responds that dog won't bite.
-We ride off and mean-looking dog gives up the chase.
Tomorrow we cross the Mighty Mississippi on our way to Kinmundy, IL. We have a little more than two weeks left and we will be in Washington, D.C. Hard to believe.
Take care.