Katy Trail Forum

If riding the trail on a sunny day with sunglasses on ... make sure you take off your sunglasses before entering the tunnel. It takes a bit for your eyes to adjust and it's as though you're blind once you enter.

Is that like removing your feet from your pedal clips before you dismount, ? Or applying pressure to the back brake first before the front brake, Dave?
Good advice though.

Yes ... A bit of a no brainer but after riding 60-70 miles even the most obvious actions are not necessarily top of mind. Surely I'm not the only one that has been surprised by this.

No Dave, you are not, been there. Because of the photo sun glasses I wear, it is all about the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a bit risky.

Yes, it can come as a surprise. But nothing like riding through the tunnel on the Tunnel Hill Trail in southern Illinois. Glasses or not, you lose your sense of balance because there is only a small light at the other end. So you find yourself wondering if you are going to run into the sides of the tunnel! Quite an experience.

As I get older it doesn't matter if I have sunglasses on or not.......my old eyes just don't seem to be inclined to make rapid adjustments.

The Taft Tunnel on the Route of the Hiawatha on the Montana/Idaho border is a lot of fun at 1.7 miles long!

Wow MidSouth, I can't even imagine what it would be like going through a tunnel that long. Is it lit up? Hope so!

How about driving in blinding horizontal snow at 40-50 mph with just snow and no road or horizon reference from the front or side of your auto? In a tunnel you have at least slower road reference. No beer or wine before you hit the tunnel boys.

Absolutely no lights what so ever. We ran with two lights on the bars and one on the helmet. You had to be careful not to get to close to the wall because there is a drainage ditch, because there is lots of water dripping down. Some in our group did not head the advice to bring lights, we had lots trying to follow us through. The ride is great though, about 15 miles all downhill at about 3% through more smaller tunnels and across many trestles, some of them are 200 feet above the valleys!

Has anyone stayed at the Starry Nights Inn in McKittrick? What did you think?

Would it be safer to park overnight in Boonville or New Franklin?

They are both small towns with little crime. I don't recall an overnight parking area at the New Franklin trailhead, though. Perhaps the casino in Boonville would be best, since it is open 24 hours and has a security guard? Always best to ask first.

I've parked overnight in the lot at the Boonvile trailhead several times without incident. I've also parked in the Comfort Inn parking lot several times overnight. I've only used the lot in New Franklin for day trips, but probably wouldn't be afraid to leave the car there overnight if I needed to. My preference is the lighted Comfortt Inn lot though.

If you're looking for a great place to stay in Rocheport, you'll find School House B&B Inn a perfect spot. A convenient locked shed for bikes is helpful. The place is immaculate, the owners are gracious and breakfast will deliciously fuel you for another day's ride on the trail.

I'm planning on a 100-miler on my 60th birthday (early April). My route will start at Hermann, take me to Weldon Spring and return to Hermann. Any reports on trail conditions? Recommendations?

Trail conditions are weather dependent and won't be known until your day nears. The Katy in general recovers well from heavy rains etc so I wouldn't be too concerned.

What you do need to prepare for is lack of services, in particular the Marthasville to McKittrick stretch. There was a bar and grill in Treloar (mile 84) last summer but you should doublecheck that it will be open the day you are riding. If it is closed then there will literally be no services between Marthasville and McKittrick, a 23-mile stretch.

Not sure what your expectation is regarding services (food water etc) but if you are reliant on services at all then verify personally with each location before riding, ESPECIALLY if traveling on a weekday.

Thanks, Hank. I'm not real concerned about services in that stretch. I was actually more concerned about stretches of mud or downed trees or such.

We rode a Century on the Katy a few years back. Although I didn't do it, if you are concerned about downed trees, etc. you might check the trail conditions link on this site just prior to your ride. There is a link there to the DNR site which also has trail information. Check this forum too. It happens from time to time that trail conditions are posted here before they are reported to the DNR.

Our Century was on the stretch between Boonville and Jefferson City and it took two attempts to get it right. The first try was a start in Rocheport with a 30% chance of rain. We didn't worry much about that until we were sitting at the trailhead in Hartsburg trying to figure out if we should head on to Jeff City beings it was raining well over 100%. It was a terrible 70 mile trip, soaking wet with limestone slurry grinding in the chain and a flat tire within the last mile to remind us how great a day it was. Standing joke for us today about what it really means when the forcast is for only 30% chance of rain.

Services or not, don't pass up a chance to refill the water bottles when you have an opportunity. On our first try, I couldn't find enough water to keep the grit washed off the chain.

Trek, great point about washing the grit off the chain. Fortunately, my wife will be out shopping or napping or whatever she wants, so if I need assistance she'll be just a phone call away.

Steve, greetings from the far North (15 miles or so). I commend you on your attempt to do a Century ride. The best advice I can give is to be flexible -- be willing to postpone or move up your date by a couple of days depending on the weather. If you go in with the attitude that you will probably have to change your dates, then you will be mentally prepared when it happens. You know how the weather is here. I remember in 1982 that we got 6" of snow in early April. I also remember some Aprils where I got sunburned and almost overheated at Easter touch football games. Good luck. I hope I am as healthy as you are when I am 60, and that's not too far away!

Thanks, Bikerboy. I've been a long-time resident of IL so I do know how tempermental the weather can be. I do plan to adjust based on the weather. Fortunately, planning on riding during the week will make getting a place to stay on short notice fairly easy.

By the way, I envy you the access to the MCT Trails out your back door.

Any idea on your time frame? A couple years ago a friend and myself rode the Jeff City to Booneville section, we left at 6 in the morning and returned at 8 that evening. As always some snacks and water go a long way, other than that just plan on a sore rear and tired legs. We lucked out had nice weather and no bike problems. Good Luck, Ron We did waste a bit of time at the boat also!

Thanks, Ron. We've kind of settled on April 1st. That's my birthday (believe it or not) so there's a silly notion of spending my 60th birthday doing something that not a lot of 60 year old folks have done. I guess trying to show I'm not as old as the age belies. But, I do expect a sore tush and tired legs.

There was a recent post on crazyguyonabike.com by a woman who was planning on riding in all 50 states in 50 days for her 50th birthday.

A Century on your 60th should be much more enjoyable.

One thing you may want to consider is wind direction. Since you're doing an out and back I would start at whichever location would let me have the wind at my back for the second half of the ride.

I've never done a century on the Katy but have gotten close (86 miles). The key is getting an early start. Depending on speed you can probably easily get from Hermann to Weldon Spring before noon. Then turn around and get back to Augusta or so before having lunch. Fuel up at lunch and then save the last third of the ride for after lunch.

I agree that wind can be a bear. If you have any flexibility in your planning it would be nice to have a tailwind on your return trip. That can be hard to plan for however. In my opinion sections between Hermann and St. Chas are some of the worst for fighting a west wind (traveling west).

The RAIL group from IL has a one day, StL to Vincennes, IN ride on Jun 28 this year. Little over a century on the road, so its easier. Pretty flat and they lend you a GPS to use for all the turns. bicycleillinois,com

Jim, I hear you about the wind. I did a 50-miler on the Madison Co. IL Trails this Saturday and bucked a 15-20 mph wind on the last half. It was brutal. My hope for the 1st is that we won't have an approaching weather front. Aside from the wind, my biggest fear is soft ground. On the same 50-miler, I hit some soft ground that was like riding on beach sand. I struggled to maintain 10 mph. Long stretches of that would be a ride killer.

Hank, I like your idea on managing the time on the saddle. I was actually considering stopping every 25 miles or so for 10-minutes off the saddle. But I think going non-stop to Weldon Springs is doable.

Steve, I doubt you will encounter long sections of soft track, unless we are in a very wet weather period. In my experience the Katy generally handles rain very well.

I definitely would take a break every now and then, maybe every 20 miles. The key for me would be getting the first 60 or so miles, preferably 65, out of the way before a late lunch. Have a long relaxing lunch and then knock out the last segment before evening.

So, for the record, I did the ride on the 1st (Tues) and completed it. 7 hours 12 minutes at just shy of 14 mph average. The last 1/3 was tough and it lightly rained on me the last 12 hours. But the condition of the trail is good (except for some downed branches). I rode from Hermann to just past Weldon Springs and back. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't stop for a lunch (I stopped at Augusta on the way back). My legs stiffened just enough to make the rest of the ride pretty tough.

Steve - Congrats on an impressive accomplishment!

Congratulations Steve!

Agree with Trek,
Nice ride Steve.

Well done! Congratulations.

Thanks, All. You're next!

Some friends and I did Clinton to St Charles in 2 days. Clinton to JC the first day and JC to St Charles the second day I have to say that while I'm glad I did it I have no desire to do it again.

Jim, I'm impressed. While I have no doubt I could do the century again, I'm not sure I'd want to try riding a century (or longer) on back to back days.

If you can do one hundred mile day you can do two. The hardest part of the second day is making yourself get back on the bike. :-)

How bout RAGBRAI the end of July? The challenges are quite different than a calm, less riders, rail trail. Crazy people weaving, hung over, trikes on one side and pace lines on the other. But its fun and the food is good, 3 P's, pancakes, pork and pie, Can't beat it.

I rode RAGBRAI in 2011. Pretty amazing to see that many bikes in one place. I also find it amazing that more people aren't hurt with 20+ mph pace lines mixed in with newbies weaving all over the place. Not being a road bike guy I was a little surprised at how much less resistance there is riding on blacktop. Except for one killer hill somewhere around the 4th day I found the ride pretty easy. Its the first time I rode 400+ miles and gained weight. I blame Mr Pork Chop and the church lady pies.

Just want to thank everyone for lots of good info. We are still in the planning stages of a ride and still have lots of questions. All your comments have been very helpful and make me want to ride even more!!
Any advise for a first timer would be most appreciated! :)

Where is the most convenient place to stay in Columbia from the trail? Wanting to avoid too many hills or a lot of traffic. Any suggestions?

This subject has been commented on a few times. here is what I wrote a month or so ago to another rider who wanted to avoid the streets and traffic when staying over night in Columbia, MO.
If you'd like to stay at Stoney Creek Inn, you can ride the trail all the way there until you get to Old Route K (at Epple Field) and go south about 4/10 of a mile and you are there, no need to get on the street except for that 4/10th of a mile, but just know you will probably walk it, as it is a about a 20% incline or upslope.
You can take the Columbia MKT to the MU Recreation Trail and the first street you come to is Old Route K (aka Old Providence Rd).
You will see the MU Rec Trail Between the Forum and Stadium Trail Heads in Columbia.
Also, if you click on Columbia at the top of this page, it will show you a map of the Columbia MKT Trail, which is an extension of the Katy Trail. It has mile markers and you can print out the map to take along with you on your ride. Also, while on the Columbia page, there is other info and hotel info that can be of help to you.
If you do go to the Columbia page there is a long comment from Barry, I think, that covered him asking about staying in Columbia, also. Read his question and all of the comments and I think it will help you alot.
Have a good ride!

On the first trip we made to Columbia we stayed out by I70 which meant hills, traffic on Stadium Blvd, etc.

On the second trip, I stayed at the Hampton Inn on the south east side of the MU campus. I got off at Flat Branch Park and cut across campus without hills and traffic. There are restaurants/bars, etc. on the north edge of campus and there is a restaurant next to the Hampton also.

Also, to add on to Trek's comment. Hinkson Creek Trail that goes by Epple Rec Field also goes over to Capen Park and Rock Quarry Rd and is just 2 blocks from Hampton Inn at Fellows Place (Stadium Rd and Rock Quarry Rd), so you can stay on the trail to get to the Hampton Inn as well.

I was reading about the Super 8 in Boonville, and I keep reading that in order to get there, you have to go up some huge hills. Is there more than one big hill? Is that the only way to get there (safely)?

You may want to look at the Holiday Inn or Comfort Inn.......very easy access off the Katy.

Yes, I have stayed at the Comfort Inn in the past and really liked it, but the problem is that the weekend we are going, ALL of the other hotels in Boonville are booked solid. The Super 8 is the only one with rooms available.

Isle of Capri Hotel is close to the trail, river and downtown and oh yes "tables and machines".

Everything, including the Isle of Capri is booked for that weekend, except the Super 8, which is why I am asking about how difficult it will be to get there. The Super 8 is our ONLY option and since it is not booked as well, it makes me wonder if this is not in a good place for biker's to reach.

We stopped by the Mokane Bar last week. I must say it was one of the best burgers I had ever had and by far the biggest, they were friendly and the atmosphere was very pleasent I suggest if you are on the trail in 2014 stop and say hi to mel and have him cook you one of his burgers

Planning my next trip on the Katy. Anybody know if the Mokane Bar & Grill is serving breakfast or not? Have had some nice dinner meals there in the past.

someone is usually here at 9:30 am we can cook some breakfast but don't have a large selection