Growing up in Farmington, Missouri, my older sister and I would ride our bikes up and down the street, to the park that was behind our home and to our grandparents’ houses.  I even remember mastering the art of riding with no hands. As I got older and my parents moved out of town, my bike riding days came to an end. That is, until the past year or so.

Inspired by friends at church who ride, my husband started riding in 2009. I really wasn’t interested then, but as time went on I realized that this non-athletic girl needed a way to exercise. So when we upgraded my husband’s bike, I kept his old one, bought the necessary gear, and my cycling days began.

I have discovered a rich cycling community in the Farmington area, with the central hub being a Facebook group. Included in this varied group of people are business owners, young adults, teachers, retirees, salespeople and others, all joined together by their enjoyment of riding their bikes.  Three to four rides per week are organized, and each ride offers different demand levels so all cyclists can find a ride that is appropriate for them.  After a group ride, one of the riders will post in the group information about the ride—things like where they rode, who was involved, the average speed, and how many feet of climb they had. If there was a funny or interesting story, it will be shared, and invariably, the good natured jokes will flow.

As a rookie rider, one of the things I appreciate about the group is the encouragement given to cyclists at all levels. Even when I ride a short ride and post in on Facebook, I know it will get likes and comments of encouragement. You don’t have to be a top-notch rider to be welcomed, and everyone is willing to help and answer questions when asked.

The athletic abilities and accomplishments of the group members are impressive. Members’ accomplishments include the 2011 Missouri State Time Trial Champion for women and a King of the Mountain jersey in the Category Four state road race for men. There are also runners and tri-athletes as well. Many of the group members have lost a significant amount of weight and have made major, lasting changes in their health as a result of cycling.

One of the members who made major health changes is the creator of the group, Brian McEntire. He is currently riding across America on the TransAmerica Trail, which runs through Farmington. You can follow his progress by liking his Facebook Page or following his blog.

Additionally, Farmington has distinguished itself on the TransAmerica Trail by having one of the finest hostels dedicated to cyclists, according to the guests who have stayed. Al’s Place was established in September of 2009 and is in the old county jail in downtown. It is named in honor of late Farmington resident, Al Dziewa, who brought his love of cycling to the area. The cyclists have a place to store their bikes, do laundry, have complimentary Internet access, comfortable beds and modern kitchen and bath facilities. In the spring of 2011, TransAm Cyclery bike shop opened across the street from Al’s Place, further strengthening the commitment Farmington has to cycling.

What started as a way for me to exercise has grown into a group of people I likely would not have met any other way and I am glad to be part of a fun, supportive community.

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Jennifer Wassenaar is a music educator, memory keeping enthusiast and is active in her church family and lives in Farmington, Missouri. Find her online at www.mycmsite.com/jenniferwassenaar or on Facebook at Jennifer Sitzes Wassenaar.

On my list of things to do before I celebrate my 30th birthday is learn to make martinis. Considering that I love fresh fruit and that I love to make things from scratch, it’s not far-fetched that I’d attempt making my own blueberry-infused vodka to use in blueberry cocktails (martinis included) later this month.

I’m fascinated by the berries and the vodka, coexisting in this chilled 2-quart jar. The longer the vodka sits, the more the skins of the berries tint the vodka purplish-blue, so that each time I open my refrigerator I’m graced with a new variation on the same ingredients. The vodka and the blueberries are on a journey.

While the flavors of the blueberries and the vodka will eventually blend, the berries themselves remain firm. There’s something allegorical about this relationship that gives me hope that I can continue to adapt to rural Missouri without losing what distinguishes my life experiences from those of the friends and family who surround me here.

As with so many aspects of my life in Small Town Missouri, the vodka’s incubation tests my patience. It’s the slow change of the vodka and blueberries that fascinates me though, and so my experiment with homemade liquor has become a lesson in enjoying the process – of my kitchen concoctions, and also of myself.

One of my close childhood friends is now a large animal veterinarian assistant, working with cows, horses and other large animals. She lives on her family’s farm, where she’s recently begun bottle feeding a one-month-old, 200-pound calf named Bessie. Farmers don’t usually name cattle, but Bessie’s destiny is greater.

Cows have to bottle fed when their mammas die, so my friend has become a surrogate momma to little orphan Bessie. Bessie loves it when my friend gives her bottles.

Bessie also loves having the underside of her neck scratched. My friend figures that calves usually get nuzzling and other TLC from their mammas, so it’s only natural that a calf would enjoy getting a little bit of scratching and cuddling from her human mamma (and her human mamma’s smalltowngirl friend).

In this shot, Bessie’s getting her hips scratched by my friend. Seriously, how happy does Bessie look right here?

My grandparents had a cattle farm, but I was too young then to remember much about it now. Many thanks to my friend for teaching me so much about cows on Saturday, and for letting me come out to play with her and Bessie. Thanks to Bessie for the adorable photo opps.

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MORE Small Town Girl’s Guide writings about cows:

Milk and Cookies

Exes, Cows and Almondine

Robust is only one of two restaurants I’ve found in St. Louis that transported me back to New York City with its style, its service, and its patronage. When I walked in the door, the diners on the patio and at the bar were smartly and stylishly dressed. The hostess knew before I even mentioned twitter exactly what the tweet-up was and where the girls had been seated. The menu a touch of chic and a lot of subtle, and the servers knew or were willing to seek out answers to any questions that we had.

Before the meal, Stanley the voice of Robust Wine Bar on twitter (and, I believe, the owner) introduced himself to us.  A waitress showed up at our table with complimentary sparkling wine for the table, and we toasted twitter, wine, girlfriends and Robust.

Robust Wine Bar gets social media. As a business, seeking out key users on twitter, blogs, facebook, Yelp! or other online forums where clients or guests can formally or informally review your business is a smart move. Last night was an excellent example. Six of the seven of us at the table are active twitter users, at least two of us have active blogs, and another girl is employed at one to city’s fast-growing interactive agencies.

We’re activators in our respective social networks. In other words, we’re the girls who organize the parties, talk about our great restaurant experiences with friends online and offline, and go out of our way (this blog post, for example) to recognize businesses and people whose services exceed our expectations.

Stanley and his staff at Robust get it. They recognized that while we may not have had the deepest pockets of all the guests in the restaurant, we have some of the biggest megaphones. He and his team rolled out the red carpet for us, and the girls have raved about him and about Robust on twitter ever since.

Speaking of Ro(lling) Out the Red Carpet, that was the name of the flight of red wines I ordered last night. The wine menu was filled with clever but eloquent names for flights, bites and wines. There was one dessert, however, which has not yet been named. We cast our vote that the dessert be called the “St. Louis tweet-up sweet treat”, because based on our experience at Robust Wine Bar, there’s nothing about the place that isn’t a sweet treat for a twitter girl.

Robust Wine Bar is located on West Lockwood Avenue in historic Webster Groves, Missouri. Learn more about Robust by visiting them online or following them on twitter.

It should be noted that both of these coworkers are my elders, and both eat beets regularly at lunch. Being the young, tactless coworker that I somehow manage to be all too often, I chimed in that I also associated beets with old people, specifically with nursing homes.

Flash forward a few days…

Great friends, great beets. @ Local Harvest Cafe, photo my MilliGFunk

Yesterday I took two of my very close San Franciscan friends to lunch at Local Harvest Cafe in South City, St. Louis. Having recently developed a fascination with borscht, my friends ordered a bowl of it with their sandwich. I ordered the Farmer’s Market salad, which came loaded with beets.

Farmers Market Salad from Local Harvest Cafe, photo by MilliGFunk

If you love beets, or if you’re old…or if you’re not old and you don’t like beets…or if you’re vegetarian, vegan, a fan of local foods…and/or if you’re looking for fantastic soups, salads, coffees and deserts in St. Louis, I highly recommend Local Harvest Cafe.

Across the street from Local Harvest Cafe is the Local Harvest Grocery, which carries – among other things – my favorite Missouri brie, made by Baetje Farms in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. I wrote about Baetje Farms last fall.

Local Harvest Cafe is located at 3137 Morgan Ford Road, just south of Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Local Harvest Grocery is located diagonally across the street at 3148 Morgan Ford Road.

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I dedicate this post and my beet-filled salad yesterday to my two fantastic, beet-eating coworkers. Judy and Cat, beets aren’t just for old people. Thanks for opening my eyes to the beauty of the vividly-colored root vegetables. And to my coworker Julianne, thank you for teaching me about Local Harvest last year when I’d just moved back to this area.

As a case in point, here I am lacing my running shoes:

The morning brought 40 degree temps and a strong wind. Despite the cool air, I think I speak for most of the runners when I say that I was content with wind and low temps in exchange for a lack of rain (which was impending that day).

A very cold Small Town Girl, pre-race:

I’m infamous in my circle of friends for having cold hands no matter the outside temps, so forgetting to wear gloves wasn’t good for me. The windy 40-degree day in Cuba left my hands beet red.

2010 was only the second annual race, but already the race has grown in popularity. According to Big River Running’s race results, there were 155 finishers in 2009 and a whopping 433 in 2010 (JOG, Inc. had set its goal participation at 300 runners).

According to the Cuba Mural Project blog, the race raised $12,800 for the Cuba high school track program. In addition, 650 pair of shoes were donated for Shoes4Souls, a Nashville-based nonprofit supported locally in Cuba by Hayes Family Shoe Store.

Race to the Rocker is organized by JOG (Joggers of God), Inc. and proceeds benefit the Cuba High School Track team. To read more about my experiences with Race to the Rocker and the World’s Largest Rocking Chair, click on the following links:

Previous post on Race to the Rocker

Summer 2009 post on the World’s Largest Rocking Chair

Cuba Mural Project Post about my post about Race to the Rocker

Cuba Mural Project’s most recent post, including a photo of me (look for the royal blue sweatshirt).

Easter Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day in the far reaches of Southeast Missouri. I sat in a riverside park in New Madrid, Missouri watching barges move down the Mississippi by tug boat, feeling the wind against my skin and the quiet calm my soul.

When’s the last time you took a picnic? If you can’t remember, then pack up your favorite blanket and head to the park as soon as possible. There’s nothing…nothing at all…quite like a picnic in the park.

This particular “fine dining” establishment has opted out of ladies’ room stall doors completely, leaving the two toilets in plain view.

There’s also full-length mirror in the bathroom which provides a clear reflection of yourself sitting on the closer of the two toilets.

And finally, the bathroom is laid out in such a way that anyone in the bar would be able to see the person on the first toilet if the door were opened.

You think I jest?

*sigh* What am I going to do with you, Missouri?

Happy Humpday.

Saturday night, March 20th was a cool and rainy spring night in St. Louis, but that didn’t stop seventy or so young professionals from gathering at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in University City for the COCA Junior Board’s first-ever fundraiser, “COCA Immersion”.

The event was casual, with guests moving between a food table (fantastic catering by Butler’s Pantry), two drink tables (courtesy of Major Brands), guest seating, and COCA’s Millstone Gallery.

Performances were given by COCA’s a Capella choir, and performances will subsequent group instruction were offered by hip hop and tango dancers.

Despite the motion blur in the following photo, I was neither hip hop dancing nor tango dancing. In fact, I wasn’t dancing at all – I was just unable to control  my enthusiasm for the art project we were each invited to help create…

We were each invited to paint one small canvas of a larger mural created during the course of the evening. The mural project was facilitated by St. Louis artist Dennis DeToye.

Here’s my contribution to COCA’s new mural – Tile #78:

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The Center of Creative Arts is located at 524 Trinity Avenue in University City, St. Louis, just off of the Delmar Loop. COCA enriches lives and builds communities through the arts. For more information on COCA, visit them online.