From the Arch to My House: 2380 Miles to Go

What a grand day to start my trek from the Arch to Tor House! It's a perfect Sunday. I've already participated by bike in the St. Louis Marathon. (See pictures below this post.) I'm downtown at the finish line. And the Cardinals are in town. A half mile further east is the Arch. It curves across a blue sky like a 2001 Space Odyssey monolith! I decided earlier to divide the trip out of St. Louis into two legs--one from the Arch to my house and another from my house to the start of the Katy Trail--and to complete them prior to the official start. So why not now an unofficial start!

Picture 1 shows me with my bike at the base of the Arch. I've already travelled thirty miles while participating by bike in the St. Louis Marathon. But I don't think that's a look of fatigue. I think instead the look is saying, "2400 miles from the Arch to Tor House--Aiieee!"

Picture 1: At Base of Arch

In Picture 2: First Rest Stop, I'm two blocks west of the Old Courthouse, where the Dred Scott Decision was handed down. You can see the courthouse at the base of my head. From the Arch to this point is a steep climb, but I don't stop to rest. I stop to show that the base in Picture 1 is in fact the Arch!

Picture 2: First Rest Stop

The next 7 or 8 miles out of downtown to the Loop in University City are uphill into a head wind. Thus, I also consider this to be a training ride. I'll very likely have achy legs in the morning! So maybe the next picture (Picture 3: First Starbucks on Route) is in fact my first rest stop. The picture is significant also because, after the official start on May 12, there might not be another Starbucks until I get to Durango, Colorado, hopefully by the second week of June.

Picture 3: First Starbucks on Route

Official Training Begins

The guys I go hiking with and I call ourselves the Gentlemen's Hiking Club. We've hiked trails all over the St. Louis area. The other day, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we were in Castlewood State Park with bikes, on trails that far surpass our skills. That's a picture of me, taking a rest, along the Missouri River. The picture looks goofy because I'm still learning to take self portraits with my Treo 700p.



In any case, while hiking/biking with the Gentlemen's Hiking Club, I declared that the short trek through Castlewood was the official beginning of my training for the marathon trek next summer from the Arch to Tor House. We probably covered 10 miles, most of it by bike, though there were a couple of long stretches with huge rocks and roots and loose dirt near bluffs. These were trails that other bikers zipped through without a worry in the world. They were cool but I kept thinking I hope the route next summer is nothing like Castlewood trails and, more important, that a saddle with the exact anatomical fit is necessary.

After outing, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. I had two legs, with the hot sauce, french fries, and a diet pepsi. That's a feast I'll miss a lot next summer.