Metro-biking

Today a group from International Friends (an Intervarsity group at WashU) went on a biking trip. We all met at a MetroLink station and took the Metro to Arch Laclede’s Landing station, which is near the arch. We had planned to bike on a trail that goes along the Mississippi River, but when we got to the riverfront the trail was nowhere to be seen. It was under 5 or more feet of water! In fact, there was a stop sign that was barely visible. We had known that there was a flood warning for Saint Louis, but the news had not said anything about whether the bike trails were clear or not.

So, we went to the park where the arch is (which was not flooded), and had lunch. One of the Chinese students (Fung) knew of a bike trail that was in East Saint Louis, so after lunch we hopped back on the Metro and went to one of the last stops in Illinois. Another Chinese student suggested that we call our activity ‘Metro-biking’ since we spent so much time on the Metro (probably about an hour and a half).

The trail provided a peaceful ride, at first passing through a nice neighborhood, then going through some farmland, and always following the train tracks. I enjoyed listening to the birds sing and seeing the variety of wildflowers. The occasional rumble of a passing train also added some life to the setting.

Fung fell behind everybody else, so I slowed down to join him. At first I was impatient with him, because I wanted to catch up with everybody else, but he said he wanted to go slowly so that he could enjoy the surroundings more. He said that the trail was not very long, and that if he were to go fast the ride would end too soon. I was impressed by his desire to enjoy nature, so I purposed in myself to pay more attention to my surroundings and not to worry about being with everybody else.

We reached the end of the trail about an hour later, at which point we took a water break and ate some snacks under the shade of a tree. The weather was very nice, and occasionally a soft, warm breeze blew across us, as if hugging us, like a loving parent embracing a child.

I had noticed many different kinds of flowers along the trail, which had reminded me of a time when Andrea, Audrey, and Micah and I had taken a walk in the woods around our house. Prompted by the girls’ idea, we collected a variety of flowers and made a bouquet for our mom. The bouquet was very pretty, and I was impressed that although (to me) the individual flowers seemed rather plain or even boring, yet together with a variety of other flowers they made the bouquet beautiful.

So, on the way back, I decided to pick flowers. Fung was so impressed, that he decided to pick flowers with me. I found about ten different species, including some nice thistles. Fung said that I saved his life by picking the flowers (I think that he was being dramatic), because it made the trip much more interesting 🙂

Unfortunately, the stop sign was facing the wrong way.

Sad Bikers

Metro-Biking!

Fung holding a thistle

Fung with his flowers

Fung and I showing off our collection

Todun Osunloye (from Nigera)

Allison Schafer (one of the Intervarsity staff workers)