July 28 and 29

 July 28 - 65 miles to St. Charles.

Another hot, humid day.  94 degrees, heat index 103, humidity 85%.  But it didn't matter.  It was our last full day of riding and the KATY Trail was essentially flat the entire way.  As usual, the first 20 miles disappears easily.  Then we start attacking smaller goals - lets get to mile 30 without a break;  lets get to miles 42;  lets get to mile 55;...  After a while we eventually make it to our destination.  Of course today was a big day.  We were going to meet Sue and Patrick for dinner.  A chance to return to normalcy.

After getting to our hotel and showering we met Sue and Patrick and went into the charming town of St. Charles for dinner and ice cream.  It was great to see them in person and talk about our trip and hear all the news from home.  A terrific evening.

July 29 - 28 miles to Patrick's house in St. Louis.

An easy ride today with just a few early hills sprinkled in as a fond farewell to the trip.  After about 18-19 miles of riding we were passing through the beautiful campus of Washington 
University.  Stately buildings and beautiful grounds.  Students here pay a huge price tag to attend this school.  Directly after the University we entered Forest Park.  The Park is huge - over 500 acres larger than Central Park in NYC.  Inside the park is a golf course, tennis center, history museum, zoo, art museum, skating rink, science center, Shakespeare festival amphitheater, multiple restaurants, and more.  A really wonderful resource for the residents of St. Louis.

Another interesting ride has come to an end.  Thank you all for following along.  See you soon.

PS: Forgot to mention - we got weighed at Patrick's house.  Brian lost 7 lbs during the trip and I lost 10.

The Art Museum at the top of the hill in Forest Park.

If you enlarge the picture you will see the St. Louis arch in the middle of the picture off in the distance.