Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Katy Trail in Missouri

Decided to ride the entire Katy Trail (225 miles) in two days. Here is the ride report.
http://paltnether.blogspot.com/

Great job. A buddy of mine and I have been wanting to do that for a long time. We've rode a number of sections of the trail but never the whole trail in one shot. Good blog and pictures. Thanks for the report.

Mark

Good writeup... I did my first century on that trail (Jeff City to St. Charles) a couple years ago; have been talking about doing the rest of it or all of it sometime.

Given the crushed limestone surface, what kind of tires are good for this trail? My Rivendell road bike has 28mm tires and I wonder if they would be optimal.

My wife and I just did about 26 mi (Rocheport to Boonville and back) weeks ago. The day before there had been about 5 inches of rain. We both had 28s and did well. The surface was only a little soft, usually it would even be firmer.

I rode a mountain bike with 26" x 1.95" smooth road tires. I liked the wider tire for the improved ride comfort and the toughness of the mountain bike tire for some of the poor road conditions. We had no flats in 225 miles so the tire choice was a good one. I would suggest getting the toughest tire you can fit on your rim, even something with a puncture resistant layer like kevlar.

I rode on 28mm and it was OK, but I would prefer fatter. 32-35mm slicks would be great, IMO.

Well done!

One other thing: I consider the century on the Katy Trail the hardest thing I have done on a bike.



I did a double century on the road (STP) last weekend, and it was a bit easier. I think this is mostly becuase I'm in better shape now, though. And I eat and drink a lot smarter.