A Journey on the Katy Trail

 So, who is this Katy person and why should I care?

No, the person in pink is not Katy.  Our start at Sedalia. From left to right, Ben, Jane, Leo, Dan, David and me.

The Katy Trail is a rail trail created from the abandoned Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad right of way across Missouri.  Why was it abandoned?  The short answer is the Union Pacific Railroad purchased it.  They already had a slightly better route across the state just on the south side of the Missouri River, so they kept that and tore up the M-K-T.

Why is it called the Katy?  Is she Phoebe Snow's sister?  Nope. Rather than say Em-Kay-Tee for Missouri - Kansas - Texas RR, people just started saying K-T..."Katy", and the nickname stuck. 

Katy heritage paint scheme on UP locomotive, Inman Yard, Atlanta, January 20, 2016

A local couple started a campaign to turn the abandoned right of way into a rail trail in the early 1990s and now there is a trail 264 miles long from just outside St Louis to nearly Kansas City.

A small group of us decided to ride it.  Everyone knew me, but not everyone knew each other.  The group was, Dan, my son, and Jane, my sister.  Also, Leo, who Jane and I knew from Explorer Scouts and David, who I knew from school - and who founded that Explorer Scouts group - and his son, Ben. 

We booked our trip through Crossroads.  They handled bike rentals, shuttles and hotels.  We just had to ride between the hotels.  The total trip was five days and 200 miles.

Getting sorted out prior to a quick visit to the museum in Sedalia

On the trail.  First of many through truss bridges

Dan rolling through a trail head

The trail had a couple of steady railroad-grade hills between Sedalia and Boonville.  Just enough to knock a couple mph off our speed.

Station at Boonville.  Our first day's ride is complete - save for a short jaunt up to the hotel

The visitor's center in Boonville, where the trail enters the town.

Ben and David in Boonville

Thirty seven miles - done and dusted.  Lodging at Hotel Franklin. A nicely restored what looked to be, apartment buildling.  A bit lumpy and bumpy but pretty nice.  Breakfast across the street at a diner, and hit the trail.  Fifty one miles on tap...except... Don had the lunch delivery on the trail figured wrong.  It's not for today, it's for tomorrow.  So, a mile up the road to a supermarket for some lunch supplies and THEN hit the trail.  Just in time for some rain to start.

Crossing the Missouri River to the trail.  Bridge is old railroad bridge.  Since it's a lift span, they just leave it "up" and have the trail cross on the adjacent highway bridge.

The rain was on and off most of the morning - occasionally a bit heavy - but tolerable with rain jackets.

Leo poses by an old railroad turntable

There were quite a few old cabooses along the trail.  Railroads ditched them in the late 1980s, often giving them away.

Another common sight on the trail was grain elevators.  The Katy served the farms along their routes.

White Dolomite cliffs were along the north side of the trail nearly all the way from Boonville to St Charles

Dan exits the only tunnel on the trail

The Dolomite cliffs had some caves in them.  This one was "improved".

This one, not.

Shortly after this stop, I made and unscheduled stop by David's unscheduled stop and Dan made a slightly less elegant unscheduled stop as I cut him off and he clipped my rear wheel.  He sprawled forward across the trail, gouging up his hands and knees.  I only knew he was alright when my phone announced "workout paused" and he giggled.  We patched him up with our first aid kits and continued on.  

There were frequent Lewis and Clark Expedition markers along the trail.

Very short detour to oldest Burr Oak tree.

Back on the trail

Lunch stop!

Boat-henge!

The trail was in view of the river in many places.  This is about the only river traffic we saw.  A dredge and barge keeping the channel clear.

Hartsburg.  There were trail heads at towns about every 10 miles or so.  Some with more amenities than others.

Typical trail head

North Jefferson is where we left the railroad right of way to cross the river to Jefferson City.

Marriot Courtyard room for two - bikes!

Fifty THREE miles done - counting our supermarket detour at the start.  Clean up, dinner, and back at it the next day.

Forty eight miles to do.

First stop about 12 miles in to pick up our lunch for the day.  You can order sack lunches from Rachel Collins.  She puts them in a fridge in this hostel.  Key is hanging on a pole outside.

The rest of the town of Tebbets

Trail sight worth a stop.

Standing at Standing Rock

Some interesting symmetry, here.

Forty eight miles complete.  On our way into the town of Hermann on mile long stretch or busy highway, we encountered a couple where the woman had face planted off here bike into the shoulder of the road.  Fortunately, she was not badly hurt and we still had ample first aid supplies.

Our hotel.  Hermann Crown Suites.  Nice place to stay.  Really did have suites.

We arrived at Hermann early enough to poke around a bit.  The restaurant at the hotel had a courtyard with live music duo.  They gave a free coupon for a glass of  what might have been trying to be wine - or an ice cream.  The smart ones took the ice cream.  David found a dollar store and got us supplies to restock our first aid kits. 

We ate and a group joined me on a walk down to the train station to watch Amtrak arrive and depart.

Hotel courtyard

All aboard!

A shorter day, today.  "Only" 37 miles.

This is the trail head just across the river from Hermann. Another old grail elevator.

The Katy Trail State Park museum and gift shop is in Treloar. Very interesting.  Most of us bought some souvenirs. 

Mural with giant ear of corn.

Old general store a few miles down from Treloar

Bug

Lunch stop!

Another grain elevator.

Augusta is our final overnight stop.  After pedaling up a really steep, short hill, that was most unwelcomed, we stayed at a really nice B&B in town.  Luckily, we had ordered food to be delivered for dinner. Unluckily, it was really sub-par Italian.  But, breakfast made up for it.  Really good!

That evening, four of us had just enough time to hit a winery in town.  Missouri had different hybrid varieties of grapes, hence, different wines.  A worthwhile experience.

On the way to the winery.  "Gator"?

The next day we finished up with 27 miles, about half through suburbia.  Not much to take pictures of, so we took no pictures, until...

We made it!  St Charles Missouri.  202 miles in 5 days.  Lewis and Clark look on.

Rental bike returned!

This was a really great group to bike with. There was much chatting and story telling along the way.  We had somewhat varying biking readiness, but everyone had no trouble completing the ride each day.  Some of us - me included - were not fans of doing a 53 and then a 48 mile day back to back.  Shorter days or scheduled days off mid trip might be a good idea for the next trip.

The trail, from end to end, was really well maintained crushed limestone.  It's funded by the state, as a state park.  Parks in Missouri get dedicated sales tax funding.  It really pays off for the Katy trail.  The trail was busy.  There were several groups doing our itinerary almost exactly and it was hard to do more than several miles with encountering other cyclists.  

Not the only dog in a trailer in goggles on the trail!

Where to next year?