In the summer of 2015 my best friend and I joined hundreds of doctors, dentists, principals, moms, and dads on a bike ride through rural Missouri. It was a real hoot.

Each day we started early and had a handful of alcohol related pitstops. (I think the earliest we started was around 9am, but who can turn down $2.50 for a pitcher!)

It was hot, hilly and the middle of nowhere. Along the way I admired all the little towns that opened up their square in parade fashion for the riders. These were primarily agricultural towns and they were for the most part not wealthy or luxurious. I love towns like this. There’s so much character. They’re quite frozen in an era long gone. I can’t help but feel for the younger generations though. Maybe it’s messed up to make assumptions about the youth in those towns. Coming from a smaller town myself, I know how sparse opportunities seem. It’s like a whole culture exists outside of your town but you’re just too small and insignificant to join it. The world is moving forward fast and you’re just being left behind.

These images were shot on 35mm film with an Olympus Stylus Infinity (mju i). I used expired Kodak TMax 400. Develop at home using HC-110 and scanned at home with the Pakon f-135 plus.

Blog

Posts tagged with rural-missouri

A Bike Ride Across Rural Missouri