Has anyone here ridden the KATY Trail in Missouri?

A group of us are going up there in October to do the ride and wondered if anyone who has done it self-contained had any advice.

My only claim to fame (how sad) is that I rode the Katy Trail up and back last fall.

Here's the thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...katy+trail+548

There's a link to a good Katy website in that thread. It lists places to camp, B&B, food stops, etc.

Be prepared for dust, and if the trail is wet, be prepared for soft shoulders and washouts. Otherwise, food and water is generally available every 10-15 miles, it's mostly flat, and you don't have to worry about cars too much.

I enjoyed the trip, although I did cram too many miles into too few days for my level of fitness. I may cover part of the Katy again this September after I do a loop through central Illinois.

Just got done riding on it again with a buddy this past Saturday. First time to try it fully loaded with panniers and handle bar bag. I used my MB with 2" street tires and my buddy had his Hybrid. Started off at about 9:30 from St.Charles and had a great morning ride to Marthasville. Made a few stops along the way and arrived about 2:30. The trail was a little dusty but overall was great with no washouts or delays. When we headed back we got about 3 miles from Marthasville and saw a big storm front moving in from the south. A few miles later we got hit and hit hard. We were caught along the trail in a grove of trees. A lot of lightening, high winds and swirling rain. The temp probably dropped 20 degrees. After the lightening let up we started riding to stay warm. Got to Augusta and it let up some. I had an easier time on my MB than my buddy did on his Hybrid. His tires seemed to want to dig in while mine worked pretty well. We got hit by another bad storm about 6 miles from the St.Charles Trail head. There was about 3 trees down across the trail close to the Casino. Got back to the vehicle about 7:00. Did 78 miles in 7 saddle hours at 11.1 mph average. Labor Day we'll be doing a four day ride heading west and camp along the way. I've never did the trail the whole length but plan on it in the future. Hope this helps.

Mark

Thanks Brad.

We are going to have quite a group going. . .about 25. Our plan is to ride from Clinton to St Charles in about a week's time. Nothing too strenuous.

Does anyone know if there is a shuttle to get you back to the start?