Answer to the quiz...

Jefferson City is the Capital of Missouri.  We would have thought our friend Nancy would have answered this correctly, but she didn't chime in.  To be honest neither Marie or I would known the capital of Missouri before hand.



The present Capitol, completed in 1917 and occupied the following year, is the third Capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history. The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, Third and Vine Streets, St. Louis; the second was in the Missouri Hotel, Maine and Morgan Streets, also in St. Louis. St. Charles was designated as temporary capital of the state in 1821 and remained the seat of government until 1826.


It was decided that the Capitol should be located more in the center of the state, and specifically, that it should be located on the Missouri river within 40 miles (64 km) of the mouth of the Osage. A group was sent out to survey various locations. The present location on top of the bluffs in Jefferson City was chosen because it afforded the best view of the Missouri River of any place which they had seen within the limits prescribed by the Constitution.

St. Louis and Jim's final thoughts

J:  The only thing I’ll add about the final day’s biking is this – the hills made sure that I had a good workout. Pulling the trailer up steep hills without a granny gear was challenging. Sometimes I would need to take a break when getting to the top of the hill. Sometimes I would need to walk up a portion of the hill.  Getting off course while trying to get to the airport was frustrating, because it meant that we would loose time and I would have to climb some hills that I had just coasting down. None-the-less, pulling an 80-90 pound loaded trailer over the course of an entire week made my legs much stronger. I was able to climb hills that earlier in the week might have been impossible. From a physical perspective it was a challenging trip, more challenging than I had originally envisioned.


From a personal perspective it was a great trip! While Marie and I had done a bike trip together before, but it was a fully supported event. This time around she and I did it all ourselves. I am very proud of what she accomplished. She was very confident when we sat down for breakfast on the very first morning of the trip. Her confidence was very well founded. I have to admit I was not as confident that she wouldn't have challenges. I felt that she or I would run into physical or emotional challenges. Bike trips can often do that to you. However, she held up extremely well and was even leading the way towards the end of the trip.

I love to bike. It is an incredibly efficient means of human powered transportation. It gives you beautiful views, physical challenges and you get to meet fascinating people along the way. In my view there is no better way to see the world. It was just great to have her along experiencing the world through the tires of a bike. Having had Marie along with me on this trip will give us both many good memories for years to come; something to tell the grandchildren…

Thanks for your comments and friendship along the way. We appreciated having your feedback and felt that in some small way you were there with us. We’re glad you could join us.

Augusta to St. Louis and Marie's final thoughts

M: After Swingin' in the Vines we awoke the next morning and had a delicious, hearty breakfast and were on our way. It would have been nice to have more time to explore Augusta, but we had to finish up the trip. We had a Cardinal’s game to catch. This game was originally scheduled as a night game, but because of TV had been rescheduled to 3:15 in the afternoon. This encouraged us to keep up the pace, which we did throughout the morning, averaging about 15 mph. As we approached St. Louis we encountered more people on the trail today than we did the entire trip.


I felt good the entire day. I was pedaling strongly, despite the hilliness of St. Louis. Once we got off the trail, we were on local roads and busy streets. We did get off course twice, but were able to recover quickly. We weren’t used to biking in these hilly high traffic conditions, but that didn't deter us from keeping up a good pace.

We biked from Creve Couer Park (just over the Missouri River from the Katy Trail) to the St. Louis International Airport and caught a train downtown. With the time for the game being moved up, we didn’t have time to bike downtown ourselves. We got off the train and biked a few blocks in downtown St. Louis to the hotel.  It felt good to pull up to the hotel. The biking portion of our trip was now complete.  We quickly showered and made it do the game in the middle of the first inning. 

Looking back I was proud of my accomplishment. Pedaling that far was easier than I thought it would be and I am glad I did the trip. I learned that the first few miles and the last few miles of each day were the most difficult. I enjoyed counting down the mile markers on the trail because I knew how far I had already gone and how far I needed to go.


If I do something like this again I would prefer to be on the road with my other bike. I would also prefer to do it as part of a larger, fully supported group. All in all it was a good experience. I am glad Jim encouraged me to do this trip. Initially I was apprehensive and now I know that I can do it. But, he’s going to have a tough time convincing me to do the Lewis and Clark bicycle route!

After having visited St. Louis's Busch Stadium and KC's Kaufmann Field (see pic below) I now have visited 16 different ballparks including; Montreal’s Exposition Park, Boston’s Fenway, NY Yankee Stadium, NY Shea [old Shea], Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium (old), Cleveland’s Jacob’s Field (new), Detroit’s Comerica Field, Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Minneapolis’s Target Field, Seattle’s Safeco Field and the Kingdome, Oakland’s McAfee Field, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Colorado’s Coors Field, Anaheim, Dodger Stadium, San Diego’s Jack Murphy (old). Jim has also visited a bunch of others. We hope to visit them all one day.

I hope you enjoyed keeping up with our latest adventure. Goodbye for now…

Augusta

M:  We had a fun time at Swingin, in the Vines.  The people were friendly, the music was good and the town was very nice.  We stopped into an art gallery/furniture store.  It had some very high quality and unusual pieces.  They had a beautiful quarter sawn oak table, an elm bed and a cherry sofa table.  They also had a nice piece of art work showing a cyclist on the Katy Trail, but it was a bit expensive. 

Hermann to Augusta

J:  After a great day of rest and a late, but hearty breakfast, we headed out on the trail once again.  Marie was tired, but quickly warmed up and got in a groove.  We were keeping a good pace, despite a bit of a headwind.  At the first trail head we came across we met a family of four adult sisters that were cycling together.  We enjoyed talking with them and ended up having lunch together.  They come from a family of eight kids - 4 girls and 4 boys.  They had quite a range of ages from 40's to 60's, but they truly enjoy one another's company.  They make many trips together, but the Katy Trail was their longest bike trip yet.

As we travel along we continue to pass a lot of small towns.  Many of them have some very interesting history.  Shown below is a picture of a historic structure in Treloar.

As we approach Augusta the day has grown rather warm and the wind has kicked up a bit, but the trail is very pretty and the going is pretty quick (around 12-14 mph) for a gravel trail.

Our steady pace lands us in Augusta around 4PM.  We climb a big, steep hill up out of the river valley.  The trailer is heavy, but I am definitely building some serious leg strength.  I was surprised that I was able to make it up the hill without stopping.  Augusta is a quaint old town and has a number of art galleries and wineries.  In fact, this evening we visited the grape harvesting celebration that the town has every year.  It was great fun.  Here are some pictures from the town and the Swingin' in the Vines event.

Boonville to Hermann (catching up on past posts)

M:  I'm a bit behind in my blogging so I'm going to combine several days together.  As we left the casino on Tuesday morning, it looked like rain.  After pedalling a short way, the sky cleared & we had beautiful weather for biking.  I felt a little tired early on, but after 10 miles or so, my energy kicked in & I felt fine for the day.  We've been averaging just over 35 miles a day, which seems about the right amount of biking for me. 

I wanted to mention some of the wildlife we've seen on the trail.  The wildlife certainly isn't as exotic as the wildlife we saw on our trip to Yellowstone this past summer, but abundant none the less.  In addition to the vultures we saw on Day 1, we saw several box turtles slowing making their way across the trail.  They were relatively easy to avoid.  At one point I was following Jim & he quickly swerved.  I looked down & saw a very hefty snake coiled up on the edge of the trail. I estimate that he was roughly 4 feet in length.  Later in the day I did manage to run over or shall I say, was unable to avoid a much smaller snake.  We did see 2 deer crossing the trail.  I wasn't terribly excited to see deer, since they are regular visitors to the apple tree in our yard back home. The trail was loaded with beautiful butterflies & small moths.  The moths would congregate in groups on the trail & fly off in a flurry as we sped by.  We started noticing frogs sitting on the trail & jumping out of the way as we approached.  The frogs became more & more plentiful.  Jim was slimed by one & one landed on my bike shoe.  I began to think that this was what Pharaoh went through when Moses sent the plague of frogs on Egypt in an effort to free his people.   Lastly,  we met a cat named Frank (as in Frank Sinatra) at the Globe Hotel.  He was waiting for us on the porch when we arrived.  One look at his  blue eyes & you'll understand why his owner, Jeanette named him Frank.

Our next day on the trail, Wednesday, was our longest day so far, roughly 43 miles. I'm riding well & have no sore muscles, which is kind of unexpected.  Toward the end of our day, we knew a storm was following us.  I hoped to make it to our destination, the Rendelman Bed & Breakfast before the storm.  I really pushed the last couple of miles and we arrived ahead of the storm.  I was very happy not to have been caught in the heavy downpour.

Thursday's ride was very short & we arrived in the town of Hermann by 10:30.  We stopped at what I thought was an Italian bakery (you can  probably imagine my excitement).  The bakery's name was something like Ballicletti's, so I thought to myself "Italian pastries, here I come"!  When we walked in, there were all sorts of wonderful breads with German names.  We did manage to find something really delicious, but I was a little disappointed that there were no Italian cookies or pastries.  We also found a chocolate shop that our innkeeper recommended.  We picked up a couple of different turtles as our afternoon treat.  They were delicious.

We're staying in the Captain Wohlt Inn, a very nice & comfortable place.  The high point of a low mileage day like today - a long afternoon nap.

Blufton to Hermann

J:  Today was our shortest biking day - only 12 miles.  While we are doing fine - we both could use some time away from the bikes.  Before we knew it we were in Herman.  Here I am on the bridge crossing over the Missouri River.

We stopped for some baked goods at the German bakery in town.  Delicious!  We're staying at the Captain Wohlt Inn which has an interesting history.  I've snipped a page from the Inn's website to give you some history of Captain Wohlt and the Inn.

In 1843, at age 10, Heinrich Wohlt came to "Rhine Country," from Germany, with his mother and stepfather. They lived at First Creek and at an early age he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, which was his trade for several years.  In 1852, at age 19, he married Miss Christine Burkhard. They continued living at First Creek for 10 years until they moved to Fredericksburg. It was here that he fell in love with the river and with steamboats in particular.

He built an impractical craft that was anything but a success. However, his industriousness attracted the attention of Hermann people and with their backing, he was able to build the steamer "Fawn" in 1880.  The "Fawn" did ferry service and also commanded the Gasconade River trade, proving to be a success and a good investment to his backers. It became the nucleus for the Hermann Packet and Ferry Boat Company with Captain Wohlt as a charter member of that group.

In 1882, his wife died and, due to ill health, he abandoned the river and steamboats.  In 1891, being of innate industrious habits, he engaged in the milling business at Spring Creek in Franklin County. He had, in the meantime, married Mrs. Frederike Krech.  The home at 123 East Third Street (now the Captain Wohlt Inn bed and breakfast) was built in 1886, as a prospective retirement home, with the 121 East Third Street property purchased to be an income property.

Ten years later, in 1896, his second wife died and he lived out his remaining days with a widowed daughter, Mrs. Mary Plattner.  After Captain Wohlt's death, the Hermann Packet and Ferry Company named a new steamboat in his honor and memory.

Since we arrived at the Inn so early (11AM) we weren't expecting to get into our room.  None-the-less they were very accommodating and let us store our belongings and get freshened up prior to cleaning our room.  When storing the bikes and trailer I noticed that the trailer had a flat.  Why not?  Shouldn't all three vehicles be impacted by troubles?  Good thing there was a local bike shop nearby and I was able to buy a new tube for the trailer.  I couldn't patch the tube since the valve (schraeder) doesn't work with my bike pump (presta).  Oh well - now we have an extra tube (once patched) in case we need it.

We couldn't get back into our room until about 2PM so we went to the library, had lunch and some delicious chocolates from a local chocolatier.  They were pricey but outstanding.  I'm sure Marie will weigh in on this one as well.

We plan to have a leisurely late afternoon / early evening.  We probably won't visit any of the areas many wineries, because we'll have a chance to do that tomorrow in Augusta.

We'll get back with you all then.  Thanks for your comments!

Hartsburg to Blufton

J:  I was anxious to get started this morning.  We made reservations to stay at Doug Rendelman's B&B in Blufton (pic below).  The Katy Trail website has a lot of feedback on the different places to stay/eat along the trail and Doug's place had rave reviews.  You can click either of these links if you are curious - http://www.bikekatytrail.com/citysites.asp?cid=26&stid=3 or http://www.rendlemanhome.com/

We left the Globe Hotel fairly early and were out on the road by 7:45 AM.  We breezed along most of the morning, enjoying excellent views of the Missouri River and the huge bluffs alongside the trail.  We were also able to take a picture of the Missouri Capitol Building from the Trail.  Can anyone name the capital of Missouri without looking it up?  If you think you know please post a comment.  We'll post the correct answer if no one gets it. 

(not our picture)

Of course we continue to stop and view the Lewis and Clark memorials along the trail.  It has been fun to read them, especially after completing a book (Stephen Ambrose) earlier this year.  It is truly incredible to contemplate the challenges that confronted the crew of Discovery (L&C's group's name) as they made their way across the American frontier (BTW - this is solely a European perspective and not a native American perspective).  The flow on the Missouri is nearly 7 knots and this is in August.  Can you imagine polling/paddling against a current that strong or stronger in a vessel like the one pictured below?

The challenges they had make our little trip seem truly insignificant!  There were no Bed and Breakfasts along the way.  No grocery stores, no restaurants, no public bath rooms, and no cell phone access, etc., etc.  With the new rear tire in place my flatting problem is behind me or so it seems, but the brake rubbing issue is still present.  I have managed to minimize the problem, by checking regularly if the brakes are rubbing and when they are - resetting the wheel inside the frame.  It has been working out fairly well.

As we ride along the trail we see ahead another cyclist headed in the same direction as us (east).  When we get closer we see that it is our friend Rich, whom we befriended earlier in the week.  We stop to chat and decide that we will ride together again.  It is good to have his company again.  Shown below is Standing Rock.  Lewis and Clark spotted it on their trip.

The weather is cloudy today (for the first time), but the temperature is quite nice at right around 80.  We are making very good time when it is now Marie's turn for a mechanical issue.  Marie hits something in the path and gets a front-tire flat.  Despite some bickering amongst the husband and wife "team" we get back on the road in 15 to 20 minutes.  We hated to be holding Rich up, but he was very understanding and polite about it.

By the time we finish having lunch together in a bar and grill in Mokane we have only 10 miles to go for the day.  Good thing too - the rain looks threatening.  Rich hopes to make 20-30 more miles than Marie and I, but he begins to have second thoughts.  And, in fact, a short time later it begins to rain lightly.  I encourage him to investigate staying at Doug's, which at first he lightly considers.  As time goes on though the rain is catching up with us.  By the time we arrive at Doug's it is raining steadily.  Apparently, Doug has room for Rich for the evening.  To our pleasure - Rich decides to stay.

After showering up, Doug lets us borrow his vehicle to make a beer/wine run.  Apparently, some of the folks that we met previously will also be joining us (the three women from Colorado that we met at the trail's highest point and again at the Globe) and they like beer.  All toll we had nine people at Doug's and had a blast.  We ate and drank heartily, we sang songs, we had great conversation and we watched Rich create some pretty interesting balloon figures (a talent we didn't know that he had).  Overall, it was an extremely memorable evening.  Doug was an outstanding host and he exceeded my already high expectations for the stay. 

That puts another great day in the books.  We hope that you are enjoying the blog.  We'll talk to you tomorrow.

Challenges of Cycling in Missouri?

J:  This makes my brake rubbing challenge seem trivial...

DID BECKY THATCHER SNATCH TY'S BIKE?

Cross-country cyclist Ty Robinson was camped out in a city park in Hannibal, Missouri--best known as the hometown of Mark Twain--when his bicycle and gear were stolen out from under his nose. Thankfully, a $1,000 reward put up by a local businessman resulted in the recovery of Ty's wheels and much, but not all, of his gear. The reclaimed booty was found in a cave by the side of the Mississippi River, not far Tom Sawyer's famous cave. Read more at the website of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation:  http://bit.ly/9VRT0i
You might also be interested in reading this pre-recovery story by the Courier-Post writer mentioned in the Missouri Bike Fed piece:  http://bit.ly/cG8xAm

Boonville to Hartsburg

J:  The Casino was a very nice place to stay.  We hated to leave, but the road called us.  For the first time on the bike trip we saw and then passed over to the north side of the Missouri River.  We'd be heading east and catching some parts of the Lewis and Clark trail. 

This section of trail was the nicest so far.  We made good time in the morning and were in the quaint little town of McBaine pretty quickly.  I decided to see if I could get my brake to stopping rubbing by visiting the local bike mechanic.  It was rubbing at each turn of the wheel and I thought that I might try and true the tire up.  I borrowed the mechanics spoke wrench and went to it.  Unfortunately, the brake rub persisted.  I decided to let the mechanic have at it, but he quickly determined that the tire was already pretty true. 

Without getting into the technical details, I'll summarize the problem by stating that the manufacturers choice of brake levers on my Specialized Tricross did not match the type of brakes I have (J-brakes or direct pull cantilevers).  This forces me to tighten the pads to a point very close to the rim and the slightest variation in tire trueness will cause the brakes to rub against the wheel.  This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the trailer is also attached to the rear wheel hub and bumps will sometimes cause the tire to go out of alignment.  Anyway, no solutions were found by the mechanic and he recommended another bike mechanic in a town that is off the trail.  I guess I just continue watching it myself and hope my legs can keep it up.

We had read on the Katy Trail website that there was an excellent Tai food restaurant in a town called Easley.  We pushed on pretty hard to arrive in time for a latish lunch (1:15 or so).  I know - you're saying that 1:15 is not so late.  But, remember these are very small towns and they often close for lunch at 2PM.  The web page warned us that this particular restaurant owner seemed to come and go as he/she pleased and that the restaurant times were quite variable.  Anyway we arrived only to find it closed.  We were very disappointed.  We ate an ice cream bar and drank a coke before we were on our way again.  We continue to meet other touring cyclists along the road.  It is fun chatting with them about their experience.

We arrived at the Globe Hotel (an old Inn really, with shared bathrooms and all) at around 3:00PM and met the proprietor - Jeanette.  She greeted us with lemonade and we happily consumed a couple of glasses full.  We grabbed a very late lunch / early dinner at the Bar and Grill next door.  We'll take it easy tonight and do some reading and a bit of sight-seeing on foot.

All in all it was quite a nice day.  Cloudy and just a small touch of rain early on, but sunny and blue by 9AM.  The temperatures over the last couple of days have been in the high 70's to low 80's.  Today we had a small headwind, but nothing that held us up.  Overall the weather has been outstanding, but a bit humid. 

Today was our largest mileage day to date and Marie held up quite well.  I think she was more energetic than I was, at least towards the end of the day.  She's doing great!  My legs are a bit sore, but I am doing fine.  Tomorrow we have our largest mileage day to date at nearly 43 miles.  We'll see how it goes.

Sedalia to Boonville

M:   The trail was much more picturesque today.  The trail was covered by a canopy of trees & kept us quite cool despite temperatures in the mid 80's.  The trail was bordered by farms with gently rolling terrain & lots of cows - not the black & white variety commonly found in Wisconsin, but shiny black & deep brown beef cattle.  The trail was also lined with bright yellow sunflower type blooms that really brightened up the shaded trail.

I had my first & hopefully last accident of the trip.  I attempted to come to a stop & was barely moving, but was unable to get my foot out of the clip fast enough & just kind of toppled over.  It wasn't very graceful, there was blood (not too much) & a great big bruise.  Luckily, I didn't hurt myselt & my pedaling was not affected. I felt better at the end of the day today than I did yesterday.  Hopefully I'm getting stronger everyday & the next days will get easier & easier.

The good news is that with all this time on the bike, I'm burining lots of calories & that roughly translates to:  DESSERT WITH EVERY MEAL!!!!!  I had a very memorable blackberry cobbler at Becky's Burgers & Cones.  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Sedalia to Boonville

J:  Sorry for the lack of postings the on Sunday - the hotel's network was down.

We arose a bit earlier and were on the road by 8AM.  It was our plan to cover most of the days planned mileage (35) by lunch.  We stopped at the Sedalia Train Depot they had a gift shop and some other cyclists had stopped there as well.  One cyclist - Richard M was going to complete the Katy Trail through St. Louis and head south to New Orleans.  Richard was being encouraged to continue his cycling as he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's.  Doctor's believe that cycling has a therapeutic affect on Parkinson's.  Richard decided to join up with Marie and I for cycling in the morning and we headed out towards Boonville.

Here's a picture of Marie and Richard at the Sedalia Train Depot-

As we rode along Richard and I discovered that we had a lot in common.  He inherited his family farm that he is considering to begin planting with organic produce.  He also is very interested in building his own energy efficient home and perhaps even dropping off the grid.  He owned his own ISP, benefiting from the technology boom, and sold it.  He's now retired and of course he loves cycling.  We have much in common.  He was a very interesting guy to talk with.  We joined him for lunch and then he went on his own way.  He was covering more mileage than we had planned for the day and he had to move on.  We'll follow along with him on his blog and we wish him luck in his travels!

Picture of one of the few remaining train signals on the Katy Trail -

Just after saying goodbye to Richard I discovered that I had a flat tire.  Two days in a row - frustrating!  Upon further inspection I learned that the patch installed yesterday was leaking a bit.  I fixed the patch and set out on the road an hour later.  So much for getting to the hotel in the early afternoon. 

I have had to really crank down on the rear wheel skewer because the trailer attaches to it.  If I hit a bump it can cause the trailer to pull on the skewer, the tire to shift in the frame and the brakes to rub.  After riding for about 20 minutes in what seemed like a very difficult section of trail I discovered that the tire was rubbing against the brakes.  When I spun the tire by hand I could hardly turn it.  I was working hard because of the trailer, but even harder with the brakes rubbing.  But that wasn't the end of it. 

We only had to travel 10 more miles to our hotel, but eventually the tire blew out entirely.  Despite the fact that these tires have less than a couple of hundred miles on them they had a defect.  This defect was casing the flats and the final blow out.  (I'm not happy with Specialized, but that is a whole other story).  It was hard to even find the defect, but I saw it just on the outside of the tire - a few fibers from the tire's belt were sticking through.  Good thing we had a spare tire (or two).  Another 1/2 hour+ and we were on our way again.  We probably lost over 2 hours due to mechanical issues.  Oh well, at least I'm in good physical shape and can handle the added workout!

We arrived at the Isle of Capri Hotel and Casino at 5PM.  It is a nice place.  We received complimentary dinner vouchers and $10 in free gambling money, which I pocketed.  That makes this hotel cheaper than the Super 8 we stayed in last night and it is a much nicer place.

Except for a slight accident M did great again today.  She was understanding and even helpful during my mechanical problems.  She's doing great!  Enough rambling for today.  See you next time... 

First Day on the Trail

M: I learned a lot today. I learned that riding 35 miles on a limestone trail is the approximate equivalent of riding 45 miles on a paved trail.  The longest distance I’ve ever ridden in a single day is 50 miles, so check back later in the week to see how I handle the 50 mile day. I also learned not to stop on the trail for any length of time, because the vultures will start circling above sensing your weakness. And lastly, Jim & I learned (the hard way) that horses have the right of way. We were riding on the trail, minding our own business, when 2 riders on horseback approached us. The lead horse started bucking & its rider screamed at us to slow down & actually threatened to kill Jim. If that’s not the worst case Missouri hospitality, I don’t know what is. My dear friend, Nancy is from Missouri & I know that she would be appalled by this behavior. Anyway, now we know that horses have the right of way on the Katy trail.


And last, but not least, I made it through the entire day without having to cave in & use a port-o-potty. It was a good day!

Clinton to Sedalia

J: We decided that we would generally not rise too early. This was our vacation after all. We drove from KC to Clinton, had breakfast, readied our gear and were on the trail by 10AM. The Clinton depot had some very nice facilities for bikers. Bathrooms and water were available and a healthy stash of maps was available. There was no charge for using the trail (not like back in WI). Ironically, the town of Clinton was named after Dewitt Clinton a former governor of NY State. In fact he was instrumental in the funding and subsequent completion of the Erie Canal. There you have it – the perfect link to last year’s trip and the beginning of this new trip. We took a few pictures and headed off on our epic journey.

We hadn’t gone very far when I got my first flat. My streak of trips with flats has not been good over the last couple of years, so it made sense that I would get a flat on this trip. Let’s hope that it is my last. As we were patching the tube a number of vultures circled over us on the trail. I asked Marie if she remembered CPR. Perhaps I had overextended myself pulling the heavy trailer and I didn’t want to breathe my last breath while the vulture were picking at my flesh :) ! The vultures moved off when they realized there wasn’t much left on me but skin and bones! Seriously, we were back on our way and enjoying what was left of the morning along the trail. It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice tail-breeze to help us keep moving.

We met a few interesting folks during lunch at Subway. One gentleman was a rancher in Missouri and we began chatting about his life as a rancher. He has 300 head and 20 horses. You can tell that he loved life as a rancher. He grew up on the ranch and has been there ever since. He brother in-law was also there with him. He was also a biker and offered us some tips on the trail ahead. He also owned a Motobecane as his first “adult” bike.

Later in the day we met Craig. He is the Superintendent of Schools in Clinton and a club rider. He rides the trail for the training benefits. That reminds me – I forgot to tell Marie that 35 miles on the trail is nearly equivalent to 40 to 45 miles on the road, especially when the crushed stone is soft (which it was in many spots). She wasn’t happy.

Craig was about to pass us by when we struck up a conversation. Not to be totally shown up by his pace I tried to carry on a conversation while picking up my pace a bit. We had a very nice talk for about 20 minutes when I realized that Marie had dropped behind us a bit. I decided that I would stop and let Craig go on ahead, but at that precise moment we came upon three women from Boulder, Colorado who had started out from Clinton this morning and were also headed to St. Louis on the Katy Trail. Craig also stopped to chat with them and all six of us began trading stories about how we found ourselves together.

Oh, I nearly neglected to mention that we had just finished climbing and scratching our way up to the highest point on the Katy Trail and were out of breath. Climbing to 955’ was grueling! :-) (see the pic). We made it into Sedalia at about 5PM, settled into the hotel, showered, did some laundry, blogged and went to dinner. A full day by the time it was all over.


I was very proud of Marie and how she did today. Before we began while eating breakfast I asked her how she felt about the trip, figuring that she would express some reservations, but instead she was extremely confident in her ability to finish the trip. I asked her the same question after a day of riding. She stated that she was a bit tired, but still as confident. Way to go M!!

Out on the Town

M: Lidia’s restaurant was located in a brick warehouse in an old railroad depot that has been transformed into an artsy downtown district. Despite the traditional exterior, the interior of the restaurant was contemporary and warmly lit. The service was excellent. We had an enjoyable meal, but the restaurant wasn’t quite as good as my Grandma’s Sunday dinners.

Kansas City Here We Come

J: Hello all! We just finished up our grand one-day tour of Kansas City. We'll be back again in KC next week to watch a Royals game. We arrived in KC on Friday night after 8 hours of driving, one hour through a horrendous thunderstorm. We had a very nice meal on Friday night at Lidia's (Bastianich of Public TV fame). I'll let Marie describe her/our view of the restaurant.

On Saturday we visited the farmers market for breakfast and the Fireman’s Memorial (see pics). We drove down Ward Parkway, which is a beautiful neighborhood with some very nice homes. While there we visited the Laura Conyers Smith Park (see pics). It is a very, very nice urban park with a beautiful rose garden. We gave some thought to having a picnic lunch there, but decided to move on instead. We spent the afternoon at the Plaza (KC’s downtown outdoor mall) and went to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for mass. We had heard that the organ was impressive and it lived up to its billing. The Cantor also had a very nice voice. It was a great place to go to church. Had an early dinner and went to bed early – we’re in for a busy first day of cycling on Sunday.

Getting Ready to Go

J: Hello all!  You can bet that I have been hard at work preparing for this trip.  Those who know me know that I love bicycling and that I would like very much to have my wife along on future trips.  Last year going from WI to NY solo was a bit lonely, so I now have a partner in crime.  I truly hope that she loves the trip. 

What a man does for his wife...  I'll be towing the equivalent of an 18 wheel trailer full of makeup, jewelry, blow driers and clothing; I am there to support my wife.  Yes I'll be towing the trailer.  The increased wind drag, the road friction or the added weight won't bother me at all.  I do so willingly mind you.  "A man does what he's got to do" or so the saying goes.  That reminds me of a song..

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,

Like I been tied to the whipping post,

Tied to the whipping post,

Tied to the whipping post,

Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'. 

The Allman Brothers                             

Comments made are all in fun
(I hope M thinks so to).

Not to miss a trick - I'm also alerting you all that you'll be seeing me in the same outfit nearly everyday.  I'm not quite sure why I am alerting you, because that is my normal behavior.  At least I'll try and brush my teeth and comb my hair before the pictures!

To start the trip we'll be parking our car at a Senior Center.  I hope that is not an omen for the trip!  Seriously, since last year's big trip I have been biking indoors all winter and I have been out biking regularly in nice weather.  I feel that I am ready to pull my load.  We're staying in B&B's and hotels along the way, so it should be a lot easier than camping.  It is always good to end a great day of biking with a nice meal, a hot bath and a warm bed.

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

Queen                                               

 

Getting Ready to Go

M:  It's Labor Day & I'm starting to pack for our bike trip.  It's tough to pack when you have to bring as little as possible since we (Jim, really) will be hauling it all in a bike trailer.   We will be biking for roughly 4 hours a day, which means we will have a lot of time off the bike to do exploring.  So, I'm alerting everyone ahead of time, that you may see me in the same outfit time after time.  Do not call the fashion police, just cut me some slack. 

I'm looking forward to seeing how well I do on this type of vacation.  I know I can do it; I just don't know the extent to which I will enjoy it.  Stay tuned for updates.

A Little History

The Katy Trail is a 225 mile bike path stretching across most of the state of Missouri. In the west the trail-head is located in the town of Clinton (just south and east of KC). In the east the trail ends in St. Charles, a town, just outside of St. Louis.

Over half of the trail follows Lewis and Clark's path up the Missouri River. While riding along the river you can see a lot of wildlife. The Missouri has high river bluffs that eagles use to circle overhead. The trail meanders through peaceful farmland and small-town Americana. Many wineries are found along the trail [good thing too - it will keep Marie happy :-) ]. The Katy Trail is America's longest "rails-to-trail" project, formerly the MKT rail line, it is flat and scenic. The Missouri Katy Trail was named after the two states - Kansas and Texas [KT] that the rail line originally connected. Here's a couple of pictures of the trail...