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Katy Trail Oct 16


Tues Oct. 18 took Amtrack to Sedalia arrived after dark. 2 &1/2 miles to the campground, no food found on the way. Too much lighting in the campground, a nice shower house, clean, lukewarm shower. The RV people were quiet, the fans drying the grain bins were not. Bring earplugs!!

Wed 19. Sedalia to Clinton and back. 70 miles. up and out by 9am off to Clinton and back. Enough water but food harder to find. Rolling hills seeing mostly the back sides of pastures. Grade 2% or less mostly 0%. Overcast and chilly. Met 4 20somethings from KC. The Rock Island is passable, some bridge work let to do. speed 6-12 mph mostly 8-10, with breaks 6 mph. I’m not in the condition I was hoping I was. Came in under headlight the last hour. Same fairgrounds camping.

Thurs. 20 Sedalia to Coopers landing 65 miles. Same weather. Kinda weird getting through Sedalia on city streets. Same scenery as yesterday to Jeff City. I’m a bit scared of heights, the bridge was difficult for me. Met some day riders on mostly MTBs, some locals on dept store bicycles. River bottom land to Rochport. I hit a sharp rock and the rear tire went down fast. No tire cut, but could have been. I’ve never had a tire slash but I might bring a foldup in the future. Last 10 miles under headlight. The trail is between the bluffs and the river, very nice. Cooper’s Landing very funky, Food was excellent, inc breakfast, night temp 40 * cozy in my tent and quilt.

Fri 21 Cooper’s Landing to Portland 45 miles Tried to get out early, did not happen. Very pleasant views of the river mixed with grain fields. Temp warmed up quickly, soon in shorts, no tights. A real grocery store just off the trail at Jeff City. A small grocery in Mokane. Mph about the same. I’m getting tired, the fatigue is setting in also the tender sit on parts. I wanted to get to Herman 62 miles, was not gonna happen, stopped in Portland, 15 miles short, A bar with food and a nice little campground with a wonderful warm shower.

Sat 22 Portland to Marthasville about 40 miles. Views, River and bottomland fields. Getting more worn out, just don’t have the endurance I hoped for, A pleasant ride none the less. Augusta Octoberfest and fatigue cut the miles short of Augusta. I heard the campground was full. Marthasville is nice camping at the baseball field with showers and flushing. A bar grand opening with free burgers. A market and Dollar Store, ask locals how to get there. A good pizza place. I met some other cyclists doing out and back, day riders and dept store locals. And an unusual couple. Weather perfect.

Sun 23 Marthasville to Machens 51miles Tender parts getting more tender. Same fatigue, same MPH, same views to St. Charles. St. Charles food is not close to the trail. St. Charles to Machens pretty in its own way. Flood plain but trail is mostly tree lined. A rough mile through some woods, bad surface on trail in that section. I got in right at dark, decided to sleep in the very clean privy as nothing real great for a tent. The 3 am train 100 yards away was annoying.

Mon 24 Machens to home 40 miles Not much of an idea where I was. A gravel road right next to the trailhead. 100 yds and a kinda paved road, less than 1/2 mile to hiway 94. But right or left to Alton. 1 farmer answered his door, east 10 miles to the end of 94 and the road to the Alton bridge. Very nice bicycle lane across. Easy to find the river front trail. 30 miles or so to downtown STL. Basic levy top bicycle trail. Gates at road intersections a bit troublesome. A lot of it is an industrial area. Met a few day riders. The metro train near the end of the trail is easy to find. And the riverfront is a nice tourist area. A person could take the metro to the airport if desired. But I was glad to be home to rest the weary parts.
99.99% of the trail was is very good condition hard packed with a bit of very small gravel on top. I didn’t like the gravel noise. Nice views nice weather.

Gear and stuff
tent-- Big Agnes copper spur 2 worked perfectly. With ground sheet 3&1/2 lbs. not very ultra light but lighter than most other double walled tents. nice amount of room inside for 1 person.
Enlightened Equipment quilt 30 * was fine ,
Thermarest neoaire no problems
20L front 28 L rear panniers were the right size. no handlebar bag, used the top of front rack for tent poles & pump, rear trunk was a good choice, space for food without getting crushed, and 3 little pockets for stuff. 2 water bottles was enough no need for 2 L water bladder.
Food along the way, no need for kitchen stuff, wt 2&1/2 lb or so.
Used the heavy fleece at night, no need for the mid wt.
brought too many socks & underwear
no need for jerseys. wool t shirts were good, also wool base layer needed
smart phone camera not a sepparate camera, I’m not much of a photographer.
No street clothes, nice warm ups enough. non cycling shoes needed crocs are good.
I brought too many gloves
Air mattress pump was a nice luxury 3 oz
rain gear needed not used, maybe leave pants.
Did not wear my helmet on the trail.
no sit pad or chair
I made a more accurate list the day after I came home , sure hope that I find it.
So I could have left 10 lbs of unneccessary stuff
In warm weather I will get rid of the warmer clothes, a few lbs. and maybe the front panniers and rank, another 3&1/2 lbs
So I’m hoping for 20 lbs total with panniers & rack for warmer weather.
30 lbs for cooler weather, 35 maybe 40lb for cold weather.
Bring chamois cream or such

might bring a fold up tire.

Congrats!! I know you are happy to finally "git r done."

Congrats +1. Check out crazyguyonabike.com as a way to post tour journals - you can also upload pictures and maps there.

Yay!!!!!

See...this is why experience counts. Imagining what you need is fools game IMO.

Whoa! Now this is a backtrack. Did you need an extra tire? Were your tires so untrustworthy? Why not bring an extra wheel?

Great report. Those gates on the bike path south of Alton are a PITA. I often just ride on the shoulder of Hwy 3.

Anybody want to do it again Thanksgiving weekend or such?

Nicely done, Squeezie ! Enjoyed the report. I'm not sure what you mean when you say, "St. Charles food is not close to the trail." ? Are you speaking about grocery stores? because there are a dozen restaurants a mere stone's throw off the trail when you get down to the park along the river.

Also, did you have a favorite or least favorite section? I always felt the Clinton to Sedalia was rather mundane.

You spoke about the Rock Island trail being completed, are you speaking about the Kansas City to Clinton section? I'm interested in increasing the days of riding by starting in Kansas City and using the Rock Island to Clinton before jumping on the Katy.

Rock Island apparently not officially finished. But I met 4 people from KC that made it through. Mostly mentioned bridges not finished. It ties in to Katy near Windsor 16.6 miles from Clinton. I wonder if it is also a state park.

Yes, it is the Rock Island Trail State Park. The plan is to have it open from Pleasant Hill to Windsor by or in December of this year, so it should be getting close to being finished. Kansas City has purchased the Kansas City to Pleasant Hill section and plans to have parts of it (from near the sports complex to south of Lee's Summit) opened in 2018. I'm guessing they will have an on-road route filling the gap between Lee's Summit and Pleasant Hill, MO.

Thanks squeeze/tcarl, sooo, take amtrak to Lee's Summit, looks easy enough to ride down to Pleasant Hill, hop on the Rock Island R2T, pick up the Katy at Windsor and continue east. Sounds like a nice week+ long ride by continuing over to Illinois and heading up the Great River trail.

Nice report, esp w/doing tent camping. Carl Edwards would be proud of you (NASCAR ace that used to do annual Katy ride w/friends & converted it to a charity ride). Multi-day tours always a great way to discover which saddles don't work great, heh.