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Ride West on the Katy Trail

In a matter of hours, I will begin the Missouri Department of Natural Resource's Katy Trail Ride in St. Charles, Mo. Monday's trek takes us through the thick of Missouri's Wine Country as it passes through Augusta and continues on to Hermann.

This ride will mark at least a couple of firsts for me.

• This ride will be the first I've ever done on my mountain bike, a Raleigh M-80. Nearly all of my other major multiday trips have been done onroad bikes. The only exception was the 2006 BubbaFest in the Florida Keys, when I rented a flat-bar road bike. I'm on the mountain bike because the Katy Trail is a crushed limestone trail. I fully expect parts of the trail to be soft because of all the rain we've had here in the Midwest this spring, so a mountain bike should work just fine on the trail.
• It will be first time I've done the full length of the trail, from St. Charles to Clinton. I've done some of the prettier parts of the trail between St. Charles to Augusta, but I can't wait to see the entire thing.

Unlike the Mississippi River, which is now experiencing major flooding, the Missouri River is only seeing moderate flooding. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a few detours to navigate to avoid flooded areas, but most of the trail is open.

When I decided to take this week off, I was expected to do either the Katy Trail or the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. Gasoline prices ultimately made me decide to stay closer to home.

Another factor, though, is a lack of miles compared with where I've been in previous springs. All the work I did on Tour de Stooges and The Gerry Frierdich Road to Recovery really ate into my training time, and when I did have time, the weather was either really bad or I was sick. My strategy for this trip is to go slow, stop often and treat the ride as a bunch of short segments instead of a long day.

I will try to write reports from the road when I can, although socializing will take a higher priority over blogging this week.

Wish me luck!

Labels: Katy Trail, Missouri, tours

Roger 2 comments 10:39 PM

Comments:

I did the Katy Trail Tour last year, and I think you'll love it. It's very well-organized and well-supported, with some great scenery and wonderful small towns. And if you've ever done a large tour that uses communal school showers, you'll really appreciate the shower trucks. Have a great time!

# posted by  Anonymous : 9:21 AM

 

Hope the ride is going well Roger!

can't wait to hear about the trip...

# posted by  Anonymous : 1:37 PM

 

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