480 Miles with No Experience...???
Well I am a 24 year old bike enthusiast. I bike almost daily and am in great shape. Because of some things that have happened recently in my life, I have decided I would start living life to the fullest and start checking things off of my ever growing 1000 things to do before I die list. One thing I have always wanted to do is bike the Katy Trail in MO. It is a 240 mile trail. I live close to one of the starting points. I have never biked long distances (100+) but I know I have the day to day endurance to do this. I am a very fit person from swimming and running everyday. I am planning on doing this either next month or early fall (depending on which one of my similarly crazy friends I convince to do this with me). I will have a total of 9 days for the round trip (480 miles), which should be more than enough but I want to do some sightseeing/exploring along the way. For me it isn't about accomplishing this feat as much as it is about the adventure of it all ("The journey is the destination" - Dan Eldon). I will be using my Mt. Bike mainly because I have used that bike so much and know that bike so well there is no way I would feel comfortable on any other bike. I regularly replace/fix issues with my bike and it will be reliable. I am planning on only bringing one backpack with light materials and some food. We will be staying at hotels. I am not planning on making reservations so there is no pressure other than explore and end up where we end up.
So I have come here for suggestions and advice. Things maybe I haven't thought about yet....What should I bring....What should I expect from this particular trail? Anybody here been on it?