Traversing the Trails: May 2015

The KATY trail is the former route of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad affectionately known as the KATY. When it went out of service in 1986 the railroad roadbed and right of way was converted to a bicycle path.

This bike trail extends across the state of Missouri for several hundred miles. Each of the trailheads is well marked with signs detailing the highlights of the trail and history of the area.

My cousin Phillip initiated the idea of us riding the trail ride by stating he wanted to ride 57 miles on the KATY trail to celebrate 57 years of life. That led to the discussion of seeing if we could make the entire length.

We started on the west end at Clinton, Missouri with the intent of riding to St. Charles, near St. Louis. Weather predictions were pessimistic and we expected to be riding in rain most of the time. Time and vacation planning meant we had to do the best with what Mother Nature provided so we set off.

I wanted to make the attempt on a recumbent trike. This is an eight speed machine that is very comfortable, very stable and offers little wind resistance. The third tire adds some rolling resistance on pavement and a larger amount on the compacted gravel of the trail. Lack of high pressure tires and greater rolling resistance made for slower going than those on two wheel bicycles.

Phillip rode an upright road bike with high pressure 25 mm wide tires. He equipped his bike with panniers on the back for storage. This is a very nice machine and made for much faster times down the trail. I estimate his trail speed was at least 1-2 miles an hour faster than what I made in the trike.

Julie followed along in a small motor home and picked us up at the trail heads and carried a spare bike in case we had some major failure along the way.

We started at Clinton Missouri in overcast but still dry weather.

Julie and me at the start of the KATY trail in Clinton Missouri

We made it about 2 miles before the rains started so we put on our ran gear and kept pedaling. It was a nice steady rain until Calhoun and the tornado sirens went off and the downpour started.

It was pouring rain here but had to capture in this image

Phillip and a very wet trail

The town people saw us by the side of the trail and told us the churches in town open their basements to travelers in times of bad weather. They led us to the church and one of the more interesting memories of the trip.

This is the church where we weathered the storm

We were welcomed into the basement of the church where we dried off and started conversations with the townsfolk who were there. The tornado was on the ground 5 miles away so we had some time to wait out the event.

Tom is the gentleman to the left of the picture below and he is a local historian for the area. Calhoun was a center of pottery making for several decades due to the high quality potters clay found in the area. We learned all about the four potters businesses in the area and what kinds of pottery they made.

In the basement of the church getting a great education on the pottery of the area

After the storm passed Tom asked if we would like to see the examples of local pottery he has collected. We traveled to his home and sat in his kitchen and learned more.

Just a few examples of Tom's pottery collection

Pieces that are marked have more value than those which are not

Bottoms of the pieces typically are treated with swirls

Tom is also the caretaker of the local cemetery and reports they have a cemetery tour the last Sunday in September from 3 to 5 PM in which re-enactors tell the history of the town and folks buried there.

We stopped in Sedalia and checked out the depot. It was closed so our explorations were confined to the outside.

Sedalia depot

Playing the piano outside the Sedalia KATY depot

The storms and very wet trail caused us to rethink how we were to complete the ride and we decided to ride the portions that were very scenic and had frequent trail heads so we could get off the trail easily in the predicted bad weather. We ended up putting back on the trail at New Franklin.

Our daughter Betsy came to ride with us on Memorial Day

New Franklin is right down the trail from Franklin which is where the KATY roundhouse and service facility once was. The turntable and one portion of brick building is all that remain.

The railroad turntable in Franklin Missouri

The only tunnel on the trail is on the west end of Rocheport.

The KATY trail guidebook mentions the 'Mulberry Grille and Bakery' in Rocheport and states it is neither, but has really good pizza cooked in a brick pizza oven outside. We stopped and sat under the trees enjoying pizza, beer and wine preparing for the next leg of the journey.

The proprietor told me he found the plans for the oven on the internet and ordered same from Italy which came with a DVD detailing each step of the building process. He further mentioned the instructions are all in metric units which required conversion and adjustment as our bricks in the USA are not metric sized. The oven has been there five years and has served good pizza to hundreds of bicyclists.

Pizza Oven at the Mulberry Grille in Rocheport

Our pizzas on the Peels

Betsy and Phillip at the Mulberry Grille in Rocheport MO

Good Pizza and good times

Riding thru the tree tunnels

Benches and bluffs

Remains of an explosive storage area along the trail

Exploring the bridges along the way

Our sag wagon in action

We camped many nights along the way and especially enjoyed the campground at Bluffton. It is easy to miss as this is the only sign. The entire operation is self serve on the honor system

Registration desk at the Steamboat Junction campground

The grounds of our campsite in Bluffton are a former farmstead.
This building is now used to store the campground tables and chairs

I liked this stone buiding

These two buildings can be rented by bicyclists for the night

Fellow travelers at the campsite. They were transporting a dog in the bike trailer

Our campsite in Bluffton. We had it to ourselves the second night

Phillip stayed n his tent and we shared a campfire.

The river levels were way up with lots of debris floating down the river

Taking a break

Highway 94 across Missouri is an older highway in which they pretty much pave the hills and put sharp turns where needed. This is not the ideal highway for moving large pieces of equipment. The KATY trail happens to cross the highway at a particularly sharp turn. We pedaled up to the crossing and found the following event underway. We eventually found a seat and watched the show. There were two trucks towing these containers and both eventually made the turn.

Big trucks and sharp curves make for interesting events

The truck was too long for the very sharp curve and ended up grounding out the trailer

These guys worked hard to clear the road

This all took place right by the KATY trail

We pulled up some chairs at the campsite and watched the show

Several places along the way offer refrigerators full of drinks and snacks. These operate on the honor system with you placing your money in a container and taking what you wish.

Along the way are various stops that operate on the honor system

A well done sign on a wall of a graphics shop in Herrmann, Missouri

Backyard in Hermann Missouri

Along the trail in Hermann Missouri

We rode miles through these 'tree tunnels'

The trail follows the river

The markers used for river navigation are along the trail

Philly's Pizza in Marthasville has great food and a wall to leave your mark

We got inside just as the rains started

Makes you wonder who the "plus 1" is?

We left our mark just to the left of the door as you enter

Phillip with a Philly pizza

You also get to ride thru Missouri farm fields

This is a very typical image of the trail most of the way

Beautiful bluffs are along the trail

A very pretty place to take a break

The trail follows along the route of Lewis and Clark as they explored Missouri. There are historical markers along the way which detail what happened with their exploration at given points along the trail.

The trail followed much of the route of Lewis and Clark

These interpretive signs are all along the trail. We photographed all of them.

All the water along the way meant we crossed lots of bridges. It was fun to stop and look at the various forms of bridge construction used by the railroad over the decades.

Benches are placed along the trail for breaks

Bike services are along the way for folks who wish to rent bikes. They also sell treats.

Ice cream makes for a nice trail break.

Highway bridges have a whole new look when viewed from the trail

We completed our ride in St. Charles and were pretty pleased with the experience. Mechanical failures consisted of two flat tires, both of which happened in camp overnight and were easy to repair. Physically we were stiff after the ride but ready to go again after a good nights sleep. The long term rainy weather seemed to miss us and we did not ride in rain after the first day. I'll bring bike shorts next time as the cold weather I expected to ride in didn't happen.

We ate quite well on the trip. I expected I was burning so many calories on the ride I could eat anything I wanted. Turns out that was not the case and I actually gained three pounds over the week of the trip - Sigh...

St. Charles is a beautiful area and we explored the town and had a really good meal to celebrate the accomplishment and Julie's birthday.