We left Hartsburg around 9:45 after after a delicious breakfast complements of Globe Hotel owner, Jeanette.

We said goodbye to the five from Oregon/Florida and wished each other safe travels. They are riding over 2000 miles on their journey – and I envy them. More about them in a later post.

We felt refreshed: Mark’s saddle was fixed, my Brooks actually felt like it was supporting my butt instead of torturing it – so away we went – all smiles.

That lasted for about 15 miles when Mark’s left knee and my left quad started complaining. We made a couple of adjustments, took a couple of Ibuprofen, and away we went.

A little later we grabbed a sandwich in Mokane at the 28-mile point of our day’s ride. The food and break from the bike helped, and more smiles as we pushed off and headed toward McKittrick.

This section of the trail is one of the prettiest – heavily treed – tall bluffs on the left and the mighty Missouri river on the right.

We stopped frequently to take pictures as we took in all the sights and sounds of the trail and beyond. Words and pictures fall short – dark and pristine woods, lots of birds, and a heavy tree canopy over much of the trail.

The forested part of the trail lasted until our last 10 miles. We arrived at the McKittrick trailhead around 5:00 and headed UP toward the Meyer’s farm.

Once at the farm I ditched Condor and climbed into the hammock- a perfect ending to a perfect day – 54 miles/5.5 hours of riding.

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Today the cycling gods smiled upon us with spectacular weather and a harder packed trail surface.

Our mileage today was to be only 35, but we decided to ride the Columbia spur, adding about 18 more miles in total.

We did have a mechanical (in the words of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin) today. Mark’s seat post bolt somehow stripped and wouldn’t hold his saddle in the right position. It kept slipping down and resting on the top of the seat tube! Which was just about 6 inches too low! He had to pedal the last 10 miles – in his words – “riding a clown bike”. When we got to the Globe Hotel where we’ re staying tonight, we met a group of cyclists who were on day 2 of a 2700 mile bike tour! They helped him MacGyver it so he’s all set for tomorrow. Tomorrow we ride to McKittrick, about the same mileage as today.

Today’s ride began in Boonville and ended in Hartsburg, via Columbia, for a total of 54 miles. Words can’t do the Katy justice so I’ll close with pictures and a video to give you an idea of the sights and sounds of the KATY Trail.

 

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Riding on crushed limestone with 22 pounds of gear on the bike isn’t easy. It is enjoyable and fun, but somewhat difficult and definitely more tiring than road riding.  My piriformis muscle and IT band have complained all day. 

The trail is softer than last year, probably because of recent rains, and more difficult to handle with a loaded bike.  I expected it to be harder going carrying our own stuff but it was actually tougher than expected.

All the pain and difficulty aside, it was a perfect Spring day and a great ride. The wildflowers are out as are the indigo buntings and bluebirds. The KATY is an amazing park and just a great place to ride.

We are staying in the Hotel Frederick, a beautiful old hotel with unique rooms. Dinner at the Blind Ref and now back in relaxing and wondering why I brought so much stuff!

By the way, I am typing and uploading each day’s KT post from my Samsung phone.

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