Falling in love with riding...

[jujubebe]

you could rent a bike when out of town. I rented a lovelty Fuji in NYC.

[Bad JuJu]

As DebW said, DEFINITELY make time to do a few miles on the Katy Trail! You will fall in love all over again--it's such a beautiful trail.

And now that you've got your helmet and your bike, you'll need some biking shorts, with a chamois built into the seat of them. The longer rides you do, the more you'll appreciate that extra bit of padding. I know among those of us who--ahem--"got back," as the song says, there's a tendency to think that our natural padding is sufficient. Trust me--it isn't. The great thing is that it's fall (though here in Florida it still feels like summer ), so there are some great sales going on on summer biking gear like shorts. Check your LBS and if they don't have anything that works for you, go online and check out what Team Estrogen has to offer. They're great.

I'd consider renting in St. Louis rather than taking your own bike. I know it's hard to leave her so soon, but it's better for her and easier on you if she just stays home. I'm not from St. Louis, but I've been there to visit, and it seems like there are plenty of bike shops and rental places there, esp. close to the Katy Trail.

Have fun!!!