Life is better on a bike!

Tag: KATY Trail (Page 2 of 2)

KATY Trail 2011 – Day 1

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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Posted from WordPress for Android–

Traveling by Bike

There is a theory that the slower you travel, the more you see. Traveling by bike is proof of that theory.

To travel by bike is to not only see what surrounds you, but to also be embraced by it. A good example of this is riding the Katy Trail in Missouri.

The Missouri Katy Trail starts in Clinton and ends in St. Charles. The Katy is an off-the-road trail made up of crushed limestone that travels 225 miles across Missouri. Much of the trail follows Lewis and Clark’s path along the Missouri River. Katy Trail is part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy which is an organization devoted to building a nationwide network of trails utilizing former rail lines.

Other than bicyclists you will not encounter too many other travelers, a few hikers, maybe a person or two on horseback – horses are allowed on parts of the trail, but aren’t a nuisance. You will however encounter a lot of birds, mainly Eastern Bluebirds and Indigo Buntings. At times it seems as if the birds are guiding you down the trail as they fly just ahead of you leading the way.

One of the best parts about riding the Katy and the rails to trails system in general, is that it allows you to ride on an off-the-road trail and not have to compete with cars for your share of the road. Bike touring doesn’t get any better than that. No cars, just miles and miles of tree covered trail, your bike and you.

Nothing compares to traveling by bike.

Katy Trail Adventure

 


A week ago today we rode the last miles of the Katy Trail State Park in Missouri.
Entrance to KT in Clinton
We began at the beginning – the Clinton trailhead and ended in St. Charles:  240 miles in total – 227 miles on the Katy, 13 miscellaneous miles, and 6 days of riding. Glorious riding.
 
 

Red line is our route.

We decided to ride the Katy from west to east because logistically it made the most sense. Plus, typically the wind blows from west to east this time of year and we looked forward to riding all week with either no headwind or if we were really lucky – a tailwind. Every cyclist’s dream.

We arrived in Clinton the evening of Thursday, May 6th. It was an easy drive taking us just over 5 hours. The bikes were safely tucked inside and had pizza and drinks in tow so no need to stop.

Pre-ride lodging was at the Hampton Inn in Clinton. We couldn’t stand it so we rode around a bit in the parking lot just to test things out. We cleared it with the hotel and then took the bikes up to the room via the elevator. I really wanted to ride mine through the lobby.

We left Clinton early in the morning and headed out into the wind and cold. It was cloudy but rain was not in the forecast. We decided to ride through downtown Clinton before catching the beginning of the trail.  This was the way we rode the entire trail – taking our time and enjoying the sites.

Stopping when the mood struck us.

 

There were many moments that stood out.

Riding alongside Mark, buzzing down the trail side by side.  Countless birds flying in and out.  No other sounds but our bikes and the birds.
Miles and miles of trail with heavily treed canopy.

Sunlight filtering in, birds leading the way.

 

Informative depots at every trailhead on the Katy Trail covering the next town/trailhead.

 

Endless miles of spring flowers along the Trail.

Silence. 
 
Iridescent blue of the Indigo Buntings and the more common, but still beautiful blue of the Eastern Bluebird.
 
 
 
The ring of Condor’s bell – which I rang to say hello to others on the trail and also to celebrate seeing an indigo bunting.

Miles of trail alongside the wider-than-I-expected Missouri River.

 

 

 
Hotel Bothwell and the endless noises throughout the night. Finding out the next morning that some believe it is haunted. Add me to that list.
 

Recognizing on day one that we had significantly overpacked and actually sending as much stuff as we could cram into a large duffel home via UPS. Nice, helpful people at UPS store in Sedalia.

Surprisingly few people on the Trail.
How clean and well maintained the Trail was. A donation from us coming their way.
Wishing Oklahoma had something like this. Being glad the Katy is so close.
Headwind for the majority of days. Rain only one. Cool temps most days. All in all very good weather.
The sun and tailwind on day 2 our longest day – 53 miles.

 
 
Beautiful skies.
The two of us practically inhaling a large pizza for lunch in what was probably less than 5 minutes after not getting dinner the night before. Things close up early on the trail, a good thing to keep in mind.
 
Crossing the Missouri River at Boonville, the butterflies/vertigo over how high we were.
 

Bob Irish and the pictures he took and sent to us.

 
 
Arriving in Rocheport late in the afternoon to the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Katy.
 
 
 
 
Partying with the locals at the General Store.
 
Our longest day and no dinner. Thankful for the large pizza at lunch. Our ongoing laughter at how fast we ate it!
Remembering how friendly people that ride bikes are.
Beautiful fields and farms.
 
 
Taking note and pictures of all the truss bridges for our son-in-law, Tyler.
 

Feeling like most of the time we were going slightly uphill.

Riding along the churning Missouri River.
 All the friendly, kind and iust wonderful people we met along the way.
Randy and Jeanette at the  
Briar Rose Inn in Jefferson City – their warmth and hospitality. The huge suite and beautiful antiques. Dinner at Arris’s. Our very early start to avoid the thunderstorms.  The lunch they packed that saved us.
Bone chilling rain all day. Grateful that it was just rain and wind. Started out with temp in high 40’s.
Tree downed from storm over the trail but park service already clearing.

 

Appreciating the lifestyle of small towns. The kindness and friendliness of the people.

 
The simpleness and straightforwardness of riding a bike.
Countless pictures of Condor and Traveler.

Tim Johnson aka fellow Brooks sufferer.  Riding cross country from Jacksonville, Florida to Oregon.
Feeling like a couple of punks when on the way home I read on Crazy Guy on a Bike website that the day we rode 43 miles in the soaking rain Tim rode 140.
Elden and Maggie at Meyer’s Hilltop Farm – Mark’s dream place.  The perfect breakfast for cyclists.  Beautiful farm, Oscar and Leon, Katy, the warm and inviting site of Elden on the porch and the glow of the candles in the windows.  Showing up and looking like a couple of drowned rats.  Good as new the next morning.
Dinner at the Stonehill Winery and looking out on the vineyards at dusk covered in mist.
 
 

Augusta – wine tasting and hill climbing. In that order.

 

Gene and Jacqui at Swan Haven Inn.  Great conversation, felt like friends.  Incredible home, built in 1860, updated throughout, simple on the outside, elegant on the inside, crumpets in the morning, delicious omelet.  More great conversation and a late start to the day.
 

Spending the evening walking around Augusta in place of eating. Hoping we would find something open.  Of course we didn’t.

Condor and Traveler’s home for the night.

Mix of feelings about starting out on our last day.

 

 

The couple from Michigan riding a tandem recumbent.  Just starting their ride.  Exuberant.

My butt’s growing fondness for the Brooks saddle.

Father and son walking the Katy Trail.

Those beautiful indigo buntings.

And flowers…

 

The HUGE tree just before St. Charles.

 

George and his buddy at Katy Trail bike rentals in Defiance and their help with Mark’s cleat and pedal.  Great ice cream.  Good prices.  Nice people.

Defiance.  Sounds like a place Mark and I would fit in.
Spending so much time at George’s that a storm was moving in when we were ready to leave again. Riding as fast as we could to beat the storm.  We did.
 
Slowing down and enjoying our last miles.
  
 

                  Feeling stronger on the last day than the first.

 

 
 
 
 
The week exceeded any expectations either of us had. 

 

Next time I will post on our ride with my netbook as we go.
We would do it again tomorrow.
We are doing it again in October.
Finally…
Nothing
Compares
to
Traveling
by
BIKE!

 


 
 

Riding the Katy Trail

Sunrise on the Katy Trail

This coming week Mark and I begin our excellent bike adventure; our first ride on the Katy Trail.

The Katy Trail extends 225 miles across Missouri covering most of the state.  We’ll ride the length of the trail from west to east, beginning in Clinton, MO and finishing in St. Charles.

We’ll break the ride up into 6 days of biking which should make for a very doable pace with plenty of time to stop and enjoy the surroundings and visit the many wineries and towns along the way.

Much of the trail follows Lewis and Clark’s path along the Missouri River.  The Katy Trail is part of the Rails to Trails Conservancy which is an organization devoted to building a nationwide network of trails utilizing former rail lines.

One of the best parts about riding the Katy and the rails to trails system in general, is that it allows us to ride our bikes on an off the road trail and not have to compete with cars for our little piece of turf.

When on the road rule #1 for cyclists is: Cars always win.  It will be a welcome relief to not have to contend with that.

The downside is I just read tonight that the biggest threats to cyclists are: severe weather, poison ivy and snakes.  Any one that knows me knows what I think of threat #3. Yikes!  As far as the other two go, it will be just like being at home.

Another plus, no camping and no carrying our own gear.  Because this is our first tour together we splurged and used a company that will transport our luggage (although we will carry a few things on the bikes) and arranged lodging (for the most part in B & B’s) in the various towns we will be staying.  So not exactly roughing it.

We are very excited to be just days away from starting our bike tour.

Happy Trails!

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