A birthday dream: 100 miles on Missouri's Katy Trail rails-to-trails bike path
I decided to fulfill a dream this year on my birthday and spend a week biking on Missouri's Katy Trail. I'd gone to graduate school in Columbia, near the center of the trail -- the first rails-to-train-project in America -- when the Katy opened. It's 250 miles long, allowing bikers to almost ride from St. Louis to Kansas City without hitting road pavement. For years, I'd spent a day here or there riding on its crushed rock, meandering along the Missouri River, through its tiny towns, cool train depots and weird locales. For years, I said to myself, "One day...." as one does. Well, as I approached a milestone birthday (you can guess which one) I decided some day was now. I was going to find a way to bike 100 miles of the trail in 5 days.
What follows is a bunch of photos and observations from my ride. It was beautiful and life-changing. The sound of crushed rock squeezing under my tires provided a steady rhythm. Whenever I'd stop, as I did frequently to take pictures, the sound of the wind racing through the early fall trees reminded me of the ocean. Together, they were the soundtrack to my trip.
This will be over-written, and I apologize to you skimmers out there. But when I started plotting this trip, I had trouble finding good guides to help me (the most helpful travellog I found was here! It's better than mine! Read it if you are more ambitious than me.) Also, to get this out of the way, 100 miles is a lot to some people, hardly anything to others. It was a great goal for me -- I had done the occasional 20-mile trip on a section of the Katy, so I figured I could handle it. Your mileage, most certainly, will vary.
So skimmers, feel free to look at the pretty pictures. I've divided this into days, just to make the downloads manageable. I know that's a pain for some of you, sorry. Mainly, I want to inspire you to try this for yourself, and give some practical tips along the way. I believe the Katy is one of the marvels of our country. It's also an economic marvel. Town after town sports cool restaurants, adorable Bed & Breakfasts, thriving marketplaces, updates parks, all thanks to the vision of this rails-to-trails project. Get out and try it! Please note I wrote this in October 2018, so of course things will have changed based on whenever you get there.
I'll begin with the words of Larry, the former manager of the old bike shop in Rocheport, the heart of the Katy and it's more picturesque stretch: He once told me he purchased the shop because he'd observed that he'd never seen an unhappy person riding a bike. (On the trail, anyway). And I'm here to say that's true. After years watching cyclists pull up after a ride -- old, young, athletic, not-so-athletic -- every one dismounts, snaps off their helmets, and smiles. A lot. You will too. Onward.
There are two ways to complete a multiple-day journey on the Katy. One is to pick a home base, as I did, and take day trips to various trail heads. That means all my rides were out-and-backs. The other is to use a service that picks you and your bike up after a one-way ride and shuttles you back to your car. I'd like to try that next time.