Category Archives: Biking

MO70 Pedal and Paddle Adventure

October 25, 2024 hannahviolin

Back in early summer, I saw an advertisement for an event run by Terrain Magazine called the MO70, a Two-Day Pedal and Paddle Adventure. Louie had just been talking about how he wanted to bike more and we had also been talking about how we didn’t have any camping planned, so signing up seemed like a great idea.

Now, I’m a musician, as you know. So taking a weekend away can be tricky: I had to turn down a variety of things, but I really wanted to do this event so it was worth it. We started doing longer rides in the summer, with our longest topping out at 25 miles. We would have liked to have done more, but if you recall, my September was the busiest ever (I don’t know if I’m exaggerating or not, but seriously, everybody is saying that, what is going on) and biking long distances was not possible. We got one more longer ride in the weekend before the trip and that was it.

So, we loaded up the car the day before: light camping gear, bikes, overnight bags, etc, and bright and early on Saturday morning we drove an hour to Washington, Missouri to meet the tour. The plan was to bike on the Katy Trail (mostly) from Washington to Hermann, to camp overnight in Hermann, and then get into canoes from Big Muddy Adventures and canoe back down river to Washington on Sunday.

We had our tent, two sleeping bags/pads/pillows, and each a backpack with items to wear, toiletries, and headlamps. We got new bags for the bag of our bikes which you can see in the photo above, and that was useful for keeping important stuff we would want for the day: OTC meds such as advil and pepto bismal, sunscreen, wallets, etc. We debated rain gear but there was a 0 percent chance across the weekend so we decided to risk it and that was fine.

Our gear was loaded onto a shuttle and we would see it later that day. Otherwise, they had beer and snacks and other cold drinks for us along the way, and some people started on the beer right away (fun for them I suppose but I cannot drink in the morning and function over the day).

We set off as a group then: it was a few miles on roads to get from Washington to the Katy Trail, first up to a bridge over the Missouri and then a bit on a gravel road that was a little less fun, and then to the Katy. The group stopped a few times along the way to let everybody catch up.

The ride was pretty easy at first, of course. The bridge was fun to bike over, and it was really nice once we got to the Katy. I had been thinking we were biking a part of the trail we had never been on, but then we stopped for our first break in Dutzow, where we had been before.

They had various drinks to choose from (the shuttle brought coolers along) and I enjoyed a cold gatorade and a snack. We continued on then, mostly in a large group, though a bit spread out.

Our next stop was Marthasville, for another quick snack/bathroom break as needed. And then at Peers, and then finally lunch at Treloar.

They brought sandwiches we had preordered (from a few choices) from the Gramophone, and we enjoyed those with cold drinks, chips, and cookies. It was a nice break! We felt like the ride was easy so far with all the stops and it was a nice day.

The rest of the day was much harder, as you might imagine! First off, there weren’t any more planned stops between Treloar and McKittrick, and I had overhead them saying it was about 10 miles, but no, it was about 15. We got much more spread out and it got hotter (almost 90!) though thankfully minus the summer humidity.

But we persevered and just made a few stops along the way. We chatted with some other people, had a nice time, struggled a bit, and finally got to McKittrick where I had been dreaming of a nice cold beverage from the cooler…only to find out that the coolers were gone because the shuttle had had to go pick somebody up. NOOOOOOOO!!

So we had to continue a few more miles from McKittrick into Hermann. This meant getting off the Katy again and going a few miles on a highway, over a bridge, and then downhill mostly into the campground. This was hard, especially the bridge. I was exhausted and there was a big uphill to get to it (or it felt like a big uphill, who knows), but once we crested that, it was fine. We were riding with a small group still, and we were so happy to see the shuttles when we got into the Hermann City campground.

They were out of gatorade, sadly, but I had a sprite and a cold water and it was glorious! According to my phone app, we had biked 38 miles that day.

So then we grabbed our camping gear and set up our tent in the middle of a field. We took showers, and then just hung out the rest of the day. They provided a nice dinner of bratwursts, sauerkraut, potato salad, etc. (notice an Oktoberfest theme?) as well as plenty of drinks (and I did enjoy a couple of beers in the evening).

For some reason I didn’t get a picture of our tent! I usually do that every time we camp, but I didn’t do it this trip.

We enjoyed hanging around the fire and chatting with a variety of people. And then by around 9 I was utterly exhausted and turned in early!

You’d think I would have slept well, but no. I woke up a bunch, and tossed and turned all night. So did most people we talked to. I suppose it was the new place, the fact that we were just sleeping on thermarests, it was a little warm at first, and then the camping area was really light, tons of streetlights around.

So when morning came, it was both too soon and also a relief, ha! We packed up quickly and then enjoyed some coffee (though a dangerously small amount for the group) and breakfast burritos. Then we all biked to the riverfront to board the canoes.

It was a lovely morning: not too warm, just comfortable for me in leggins and short sleeves, and you can see we had large canoes. We paddled for several hours and then stopped at the Paddlestop Brewery in New Haven for a barbecue lunch. Louie and I split a beer there as well: it was a fun little place!

And then we continued paddling after lunch until we finally got back to the waterfront park in Washington where we started. We did enjoy the canoe, but we were pretty tired of paddling by the end–I think the morning was more fun than the afternoon, but the scenery was lovely, and it wasn’t too hard to be with a big group like that.

We got the canoes out of the water, retrieved our gear and bikes, loaded up the car and said our goodbyes. It was a super fun trip and we would be happy to do it again! It was well organized and well run, and we enjoyed the food. We always felt safe and well taken care of, and we enjoyed meeting new people and chatting with them.

Biking, Cat

Why isn’t it July Fool’s Day?

July 1, 2024 hannahviolin

This summer is flying by! Truthfully, I’ve been busier than ever, which has contributed to the frantic feeling. I’m finishing up the second week of playing a musical at the Muny (for non-local readers, this is an outdoor amphitheater which does musicals all summer: it has been running for 106 years and is the largest outdoor amphitheater of its kind in the US. )

I have played two shows so far: Les Miserables and Dreamgirls, and it’s been a lot of fun, but late nights! The shows start at 8:15, so depending on how long the show is, I’m not getting home until after 11:30 sometimes, and then I need some time to unwind. It’s the complete opposite of my schedule during the year (which is no longer, though, I keep remembering and feeling free about the fact that I don’t have to get up at 5:30 am in the fall again). I’ve also been teaching and playing some weddings and such, so it’s been a full work schedule.

We did have time to do some biking. It’s usually too hot to hike in the summer here, plus the bugs can be really bad, but biking is easier in the hot weather (you make your own breeze, sort of). We’ve done three segments on the Katy Trail this summer, making an out and back with lunch either in the middle or at the end. Yesterday was our longest in awhile, over 19 miles round trip. I’ve been getting more used to being on the bike.

This was on a particularly hot weekend…yesterday was much more pleasant temperature wise and we even enjoyed our lunch sitting outside on a patio. Summer is more pleasant with lower humidity.

It’s been a fun month: Louie and I saw 3 operas together (he saw one more without me) and we did the bike rides. I had a pretty social month too, catching up with a variety of friends and seeing lots of people and chatting with them at gigs. Playing out more means seeing more people, and I’m friends with so many of my colleagues. We had some nice dinners before the shows and I have had a lot of lunches out.

Oh, and I realized I never shared about earlier in the month either: we went to a wedding (daughter of Louie’s boss) and had a lovely time.

And the cats are well: we got them a new hammock on their tree.

Biking, Food

Dog swim and more

September 14, 2015 hannahviolin 2 Comments

Here we are again, on a Monday. I ran 8 miles this morning as part of my training for the Go Halloween Half Marathon and now I’m catching up on some things before I start teaching for the week…

The weekend went by quickly, as they are prone to do. At least I only had one work-related commitment so it wasn’t too crazy!

Friday night we went to a local Mexican restaurant, Lily’s, with some friends. I think Louie and I have developed a problem (it’s been years I’m sure) where we really will always pick a Mexican restaurant over anything else. It’s not JUST the margaritas, it’s also the tacos, and the beans, and the chips…I promise! We had a great time.

Saturday was the Maplewood Dog Swim. Mackenzie had had a rough day on Friday involving having to spend a good deal of time at the vet (no worries, everything seems to be under control) so it was nice for her to get to run around with other dogs and swim to her heart’s content. We were there about 1 1/2 hours, and by the end she was really dragging, but kept insisting she was still having fun.

She didn’t like to jump into the pool and instead always used the stairs or a shallow entrance. She was very smart though and also knew how to use the stairs to get out of the pool!

The pool was fun to watch for us too—there were dozens of dogs running around and frolicking and trying to fetch tennis balls. It was a real hoot!

Saturday night I had a performance with a pianist I hadn’t played with before. He is also a doctor, but is an excellent performer! We played two pieces together for a program at a local synagogue. Afterwards he and his wife and Louie and I went to Basso for a bite to eat. Louie and I had been there before but not for awhile. We each got a little pizza and shared some roasted cauliflower, and it was very tasty.

Sunday we went on a bike ride on Grant’s Trail. I like it, but I think Louie found it a little dull. We’ll have to get out to a more scenic ride next time, probably along the river (and NOT the River Des Peres) would be better but we just weren’t sure how all the rain over the summer had affected those trails and didn’t want to have to turn back. Otherwise I spent Sunday cleaning and doing other stuff around the house and then had dinner with my friend Sarah. We are both violin teachers and spent a lot of time sharing stories and possibly making some plans for joint studio projects.

I saw this on the internet the other day and thought it was great. Maybe I need it printed out to show my students. A small percentage of them would find it most amusing and helpful, and the rest would probably just be baffled. LOTR is so a few years ago, isn’t it?

How’s your Monday going? What is your favorite Mexican restaurant?

Biking

Moonlight Ramble

August 10, 2014 hannahviolin 1 Comment

I have so much to tell you guys! If you are still reading…I know my posting has been sporadic, but life has just been absolutely crazy, and is finally (famous last words…) settling down a bit. This has been a ridiculous summer. I’ve been waiting since June for things to settle down and they just haven’t. Part of that is me saying yes to possibly too many things, but honestly, it’s been a fun time, and I’ve worked a bunch and done so many interesting projects! In between all of that, I moved…again…which meant packing and packing, actually moving, and now unpacking and working on some house projects. It’s been a really fun summer, but I’m exhausted and looking forward to the next few weeks: just a bit of teaching, a week of vacation, and then back to regular teaching schedule WHICH after the weeks I’ve had will be a relief.

Note to everybody: moving is harder than it seems. Try to avoid scheduling as many things as possible during the time leading up to, during, and immediately thereafter a move. Unless those are awesome things like quartet concerts, recording sessions, opera, family visiting, etc, and then you just have to do it, and hopefully come out stronger on the other end. I learned that I can do it all, but that I can’t do it all as well as I’d like.

I can’t possibly fill you in on everything I’ve been up to since I last visited this space, so I’m just going to dive right in.

Last night my boyfriend Louie (yes, I have a boyfriend now, that I’m mentioning on this here blog, which is possibly big news for you all, and possibly you’d already picked up on that…) and I rode our bikes in the Moonlight Ramble. The Moonlight Ramble is a ride, not a race, so there’s no timing. It is evidently the oldest nighttime bike ride and this was the 51st time it was held. The ride started at midnight, with two options, a short (9 miles) and long (19 miles) course. We definitely wanted to do the long course, even though I was pretty nervous as that was longer than I’d ever biked before! An additional challenge for me was that the ride was right after my last performance with Union Avenue Opera (in the pit, of course!) playing “A Streetcar Named Desire” so I had to go directly from a three hour opera to a two hour bike ride. The advantage was that I didn’t have to wait up for the ride since I was working!

There we are getting ready to go. We ran into our friend Matthias as we were figuring out where to go (tried to post a picture with him but it was upside down and I can’t fix that for whatever reason) and then ended up waiting until around 12:30 to finally get going on the ride. It was a tough ride (for me at least!) with lots of rolling hills, but the weather was amazing—cool and clear—and the ride was well marked, busy enough throughout, and so much fun! I finished and felt really accomplished and proud of myself.

I miss blogging regularly, and I hope to be back to it. I feel like if I stop writing now, I’ll have more to say soon! That is, I have so much to say, and so much that I’ve been doing and plan to do, that it’s hard to sit down and write about it. But I love having this little space of me on the internet and I love sharing my life (to an extent) with you all, and I love keeping a journal, so here’s hoping I’m back to it!

Oh and:

Biking, Weather, Weddings

If I title this post using the phrase Breaking Bad does that mean I’ll get more traffic?

September 30, 2013 hannahviolin 1 Comment

No, I haven’t finished watching the final season yet. I will tomorrow. (Probably). But I’ve read all the Game of Thrones books so I know what happens after that. Also I watched the movie Prisoners and figured out what was going on about halfway through so I definitely feel good about my chances here.

The weekend flew by. Saturday was full of work.

Wedding ceremony at Our Lady of the Pillar

Cocktail Hour at the Artist’s Guild. This was not our setup, obviously—this was for the band who would be playing after us. I bet they were more fun, though we played opera arrangements for 90 minutes, and the Carmen arrangements made me want to brush up on my Carmen Fantasy. And then thinking about Carmen Fantasy made me want to really buckle down and compose my dream piece: Fantasy on Themes from the Sound of Music. I wonder if I have the skills for that?

Sunday was full of entertainment, including a bike ride on the Riverfront Trail. Action shots–

It looks like the seat could probably be higher.

It is worth noting that I wanted to get a cool purple-ish helmet at Target but my head is too large for ladies’ helmets.

Biking is so much funner than running. Why did I just learn this recently?

Monday was different because instead of my full day of teaching I did some canceling/rescheduling in order to play at a fundraising event. The cool part was that the Mayor was there and also the Attorney General of the State of Missouri. I didn’t take any pictures because I was on good behavior and that can seem creepy, but it was enjoyable and we got to hear some speeches (totally made me feel like I was on the West Wing for awhile there.) We also got to play an arrangement of one of my favorite songs—”The Luckiest” by Ben Folds. It always makes me a little teary.

Saw this on a blog I read recently. It’s from the 30 Happiest Facts of All Time.

Speaking of running—I figured I’d sign up for a 5k after Thanksgiving (this is in addition to telling Leslie to find a Thanksgiving 5k in Phoenix, where I’ll be spending my Thanksgiving vacation. Yes, why don’t I say Thanksgiving again.).