Very nice. Larry Powers
Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. - Mark Twain Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 07:08:17 -0700 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [RBW] Katy Trail with Wife and Friend Dawn and I just got back from a week along the Katy Trail in Missouri. I wanted to explore a bit so left on Friday and went to Lee Summit Missouri and then checked out the new connector (the parts that are finished) from Kansas City. I meandered with no particular place to go for a couple of days as the distance to meet my wife and friend in Sedalia was two comfortable days and I had 2 1/2. I enjoyed some gravel roads that are lacking in St Louis, and the freedom to just go one direction for a few hours and then change my mind and go someplace else. With limited vacation or time on these journeys it's difficult to get that truly free feeling. Tired of riding head winds, turn around and ride the other way today. However this quick trip to meet them at the train was close. Even with my meanderings I managed to get to Sedalia a day early. With rain coming in I chose a rehabbed historical motel that had the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in I think. I've ridden the Katy Trail several times, and mostly on my way home from someplace else. The times I've ridden just the Katy were to get it over with one could say with 85 and 107 mile days to get from Sedalia to St Charles fully loaded. This time we were going to enjoy it and see things. The first day was a comfortable 65 miles to one Katfish Kates along the river. We setup camp and had chili and hotdogs at the campsite. The next day we went and toured Columbia Missouri visiting bicycle shops and meeting a friend for lunch. The connector from Columbia to the trail is about 18 miles round trip plus whatever milage we did in town. Great day followed the next day by a trip into Jefferson City Missouri, were we visited the capital building and got to see / experience the new bike path and ramp to the hiway bridge. hard to explain... here is a photo of the ramp... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tksleeper/7167529573/in/set-72157630082138300 Last time I went into Jefferson City I was on the bridge with 50 mph traffic, no shoulder and a smile that I was still alive.. :) Another great day. Long story short the slowed pace and good company made for a fantastic trip. We visited and met many great people and saw some fun bikes. A gorgeous Thorn here .. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tksleeper/7352734118/in/set-72157630082138300 Finally saw one of the extra wheels in the wild. It appeared to be working great and the owner had many miles on it. here.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tksleeper/7167526859/in/set-72157630082138300This photo was at a hostel that we stopped at. It was too busy not to visit and see what was going on. As it turned out there was 4 groups of us that would start at different times and stop at different places but seemed to meet up during the last 3 days or so here and there. It was fun. When trying to get the ride over with or get someplace the Katy Trail can be monotonous and tiring. When making it up as you go and stopping to see, smell and experience things around you it is quite different. Not having an agenda and giving ourselves 4 days more than we needed to just ride it was great. We left Sedalia Mo on Monday and got to our homes on Friday. Dawn and I live about 18 miles from the trial head. So if you decide to ride this great trail system I recommend not over planning but making it up as you go with a general to do list. Be sure to get into the connecting cities at the very least Columbia, Jefferson City, Booneville and Herman, enjoy the brewery in Augusta and then meander on into St Charles. I generally ride it West to East as I like riding to home. Here is the picture set on flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/tksleeper/sets/72157630082138300/with/7167526859/ I posted about a door jam bracket I used to mount a tubes lowrider rack on Dawns Atlantis. It worked great and may be the long term solution for future rides at this point. Here is her bike loaded down. She listened to me and I didn't listen to myself by putting the rain covers on the panniers. Hers thus stayed clean and mine were dirty and had to be cleaned when I got home. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tksleeper/7352739970/in/set-72157630082138300 Well sorry for the long post.. we had a great time though. July is the Denali Adventure with Adventure Cycling then the Allegheny / C&O first week of October. There are four of us doing that now. We'll be riding to DC and be shuttled back to Pittsburg. If you would like to join us let me know. It will be self contained unsupported, and we'll probably be doing 45 to 55 miles per day. Later Kelly -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/tboazjS4vrIJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
