The Lou, not to be confused with the loo, British slang for toilet, is a hip way to refer to Saint Louis, as in to announce on Facebook, “I’m back in the Lou!” The Lou is a much shorter appellation than Saint Louis or even St. Louis, but it cannot entirely escape its phonetic similarity to loo. This is especially true at this time of year, the summertime, when the temperature soars and storm water sewers can take on a displeasing odor. That connection not withstanding, referring to this burg as the Lou, has a certain amount of panache.

The Lou continues under a heat advisory. Combined with an orange air quality day makes this not just an unpleasant weather condition, but down right unhealthy. In an attempt to avoid the afternoon’s high temperatures and ozone levels, I got up at the butt-crack of dawn and rode in the Park. It was still in the eighties when I left home just after five. I was not alone in this pursuit; the oppressive forecast coaxed quite a few other cyclists out at this early hour. I hope that the pictures with this post convey the sultriness on the morning, combined with the clear signs that this day would be a scorcher. I got 15 miles.