Katy Trail Forum

My family plans to ride the KATY west to east in June of 2012. We will ride with a tandem, and we were disappointed to see previous comments regarding a problem with Amtrack for one-way shuttle. Would Amtrack permit a tandem with wheels removed? (Our tandem is 69 inches long without wheels compared with 63 inches for a conventional bike with wheels.) If not, how could we ship the tandem separately to Sedalia? Is there shuttle service we could hire? We would prefer not to drive back and forth with cars since part of the appeal is green transportation. We would appreciate advice from anyone out there in the know!

Use the trip planner link above to find shuttle services. Note: they will also have to use gas to drive back and forth. You would have to contact Amtrak directly to answer your question, but would still probably need shuttle services if you are looking to ride the entire trail, because Amtrak does not go to St. Charles or Clinton

Amtrak will not take a "special" bikes as a roll on in the bike spaces. That includes tandems and recumbents. As MidSouth noted, contact them directly about how to package your tandem as cargo. Couplers may be in your favor.

We also ride a tandem and enjoy it, but sometimes the half bikes are better suited to the trip plans.

I would check out the bike shop in Defiance and see if they could help,Katy
Bike Rental. They transported us and our tandem from St. Charles back to Clinton where our car was parked. Good people,very helpful! We enjoyed the Katy on our tandem. Have fun!!

"half bikes" - heh, good one, Trek. :-)

Since you appear to live in St. Louis, probably the most convenient and least expensive would to be call in a favor from a friend or relative. When my wife and I ride the entire trail we pick up a relative in St. Louis, they ride with us to Clinton, spend the night with us, then in the morning we take off on our merry way and they drive our car back to St. Louis.

If you are a Face Book user you can use their new search feature to see how many of your 1000+ friends live in St Louis that might shuttle you.

The STL-KC Amtrak route has a couple of seats removed in one of the cars, just big enough to park a couple of upright bicycles in. That's why they only allow 4 bikes per train. They don't run a baggage car, either, so checking the bike as luggage won't work.

we shuttle bikes(tandems included)...Call Rhona at Lococo House II & II.....636-946-0619

I've ridden across several times. Some of my experiences are below:
The Casino in Boonville is ok. You can't beat the convenience. I don't like the smoke. They've changed the rules in the past few months to actually allow you to take your bike to the room. The Frederick is nice, but pretty expensive in my opinion. The Comfort Inn out by the highway is not one of the better Comfort Inn's I've stayed in and is hassle to ride out to.

The Globe. Jeanette is SUPER nice and quite inexpensive, but I won't stay there again simply because I DO NOT LIKE CATS and she has several of them.

Amanda at the Dollhouse in Rhineland is a very, very helpful hostess. Not the cheapest place to stay, but nice. The food across the street at the Trailside Bar and Grill has gone downhill bad in my opinion over the last couple years. I thought it used to be a lot better.

McKittrick is fine. I like Hermann with a variety of meal choices. I have stayed at the Vinchester a couple times and that has worked fine with me. Very basic-but clean-hotel room but the price was very pretty inexpensive FOR HERMANN. Especially true if you're not trying to stay during festival weekends. My recommendation is to stay away from Hermann all together if its a festival weekend.
Lococo House in St. Charles has been good to me in terms of shuttle service etc. That said - I prefer hotels to B&Bs so have used several good options in downtown St. Charles.
Hope this helps. It is JUST ONE OPINION. Take it as that. Have a great trip!

Thank you for all the info!

Hi gang! I was interested in the possibility of a ridiculousness long entire length, out-and-back in one shot Katy Trail run and wanted to know if this is even a remote possibility from a legal standpoint. I like the stupid long endurance stuff and thought this might be a nice challenge to do it all in one shot, no camping, and only catnaps if even necessary.
This would require riding all night of course and, knowing that the park closes officially at sunset, could one obtain a permit?
Secondly, is anyone else interested in this sort of thing?
Thanks for the insight!

No permits that I know of to be on the trail after dark.

Me, So you will do out an back about 475 miles in how many hours? Depending on your Forrest Gump plan.. eat when hungry and sleep when your tired? I could be interested but I was looking into a full day one way in late June. Both ways could be brutal.

I used to ride the Katy Flyer from New Franklin to St. Louis back in the early fifties. I even road in the caboose (on the Moberly Local) with my dad who was a conductor/brakeman on the Katy. Great times. I wish we had the old trains back. I sure miss 'em and all the wonderful people I met who were Katy employees.

Was your father stationed out of New Franklin? They have a Katy caboose sitting downtown if you ever go back there. My dad remembers working in the fields along the Katy as a kid during WWII and seeing transport trains of German POWs going by. The Germans were actually happy to be in the US, out of the war.

I worrk as a brakeman on the Moberly branch for a short time

Is the Katy trail paved or is it packed hard enough to ride a Road Bike? Or is it best to ride a mountain bike with wider tires? I am wanting to ride the trail from east to west and back this spring. How many days should I plan for the trip -one way? Thank you.

It's hard packed chat that works well for either a hybrid or road bike. A mountain bike is overkill. How many days depends on you and your ability and desire to either smell the roses or simply have another production ride.

The Katy is not paved but very hard packed limestone. It can be soft in spots when wet.
I suggest you use whatever bike your comfortable riding for a long distance. I've been end to end on a mountain bike with no problems. But thats what worked for me. If you use a road bike you may want to consider some heavy duty tires.
I can't tell you how long your ride would take not knowing how many miles you can/want to ride each day. Be sure to enjoy the sites along the way.

Paulie

Check out the FAQ on this site: Click "Katy Trail Home" up above, then "Read the FAQ".
Look for the topic "What's the best kind of bike tire for the Katy Trail / can I use a road bike?"

Last October, I had the opportunity to ride a portion of the KT for the 1st time. We rode from Rocheport to N. Jeff City and back. We used Hybrids, with skinny road tires and found the trail to be an excellent ride. The section of trail we rode was well maintained, packed peet gravel. It was covered by a lot of leaves at the time, which made for some guessing about what might be beneath. But an excellent ride and great scenery on this stretch. Can't wait to do it again.

I am observing, at least between Hartsburg and Tebbetts, where I am doing my daily rides, that the trail surface this winter, 2012-2013, as compared to last winter, is much "stickier." Last winter, even during wet weather, the trail got "doughy," when it thawed, but not "sticky," or muddy. I think this is because we had such a dry summer and fall. The likestone dust was not washed away by frequent heavy rainshowers, so it accumulated. Now, when you add a little moisture from drizzle or melting snow, the result is a sticky, slippery surface. My daughter said it would be perfect icing for a mud pie.

So the point of my post, in keeping with the discussion of what tires/bikes to use, is to alert riders from outside the immediate area to avoid potential disappointment with the conditions by riding early in the day when the trail is frozen and solid, or expect that wider tires may work better for the immediate future, and to expect that more bike maintenance, such as cleaning and re-lubing may be necessary. Someone posted not long ago, that, "We take what the trail gives us." I like that. The trail provides year-round recreational/fitness opportunities for me if I make small adaptations for the conditions. Thanks for providing the trail!

The KATY is solid, but not smooth. Add some nasty thorns when we have hot dry weather like last year and wider tires are the way to go.

While riding on 23cm tires will work just fine, you may be a little more comfortable with something a bit wider. It all depends on the rider.

The choice of bikes and tires also depends on the time of year. The trail is packed, but, does have some wide cracks to be aware of, Last July at 107 degrees on 700x28, 3 blowouts in 2 days, due to heat and chat. went back in Sept. on Hybrids with 700x32 better luck. Enjoy yourself and go with the flow.

My husband and I have recumbent trikes and plan to bike from Clinton to St. Charles. Is there any type of shuttle servive that could get us and our bikes back to Clinton after completion of the trip? We are planning to do it latter part of April this year. Has really been a problem for us without having to bike both ways.

The FAQ on this site talks about that: Click "Katy Trail Home" up above, then "Read the FAQ". Look for "Can I get my bike shipped for a one-way ride?" The train & B&Bs are also options, although the train doesn't go directly into Clinton.

Pat, I think your best best would be to call the Lococo House at 636-946-0619 in St. Charles and see what arrangements can be made to get you and your trikes back to Clinton.

Agree with the Lococo House recommendation.

Is there any bike rental shops that will rent me a bike to do the entire trail?

I believe there are several, I know that Katy Bike Rental in Defiance will rent you bikes and shuttle you out west as well.

As we head into the new year, Katy Trail staff would really love to hear stories or anecdotes about the crazy, funny or inspirational moments you've had or the people you've met while on the Katy. Tell us about some of the great places or businesses you've visited along the trail. You can post these stories on our Katy Trail Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/KatyTrailStatePark or you can email them directly to me at dawn.fredrickson@dnr.mo.gov. We know there are some great stories out there and hope you'll consider sharing them with us!

We all have access to the web or we wouldn't be here now. We don't though all use facebook.

Why not set this up on the DNR website that our tax dollars have paid for and not discriminate against those of us who do not use facebook?

I've paid my taxes, and should be able to access information that I've paid the state to manage without having to access a third party for profit website.

Dawn says, "or you can email them directly to me at dawn.fredrickson@dnr.mo.gov."

And you think Dawn will email all of the stories to each tax payer in the state Frank Lee? And then to interested readers that are out of state on a per request basis? You know, so everyone can enjoy them it certainly would be the right thing to do. Or maybe you just missed the point of making the stories available to everyone to share and read.

Yes, that's it EMT, I missed the point of Dawn's post entirely.

But hey, I have her email address, if I decide to "take her to task" for not dumbing down to my level, I will use it. I pay my taxes too.

I dont think its a matter of having to dummy down for anyone. Nor is it a matter of providing an elite club for the most advanced. The state has a very good website now that doesn't require an account or support of stockholders.

I follow the forum here is my main source for information on the Katy, I do go to the Parks web site once in while. I also have read about the trail at crazyguyonabike.com, plus I've read some different blogs about people that have enjoyed the Katy Trail. Facebook will just be an extra place to read about the a great park in your state. I'm planning a trip in the fall of 2013 and the more information a can get will be help in planning the 7-10 days in your state.

When you email Dawn ask her if she can expand the 300 total number riders for the annual KT ride in June this year.

Dawn, thanks for the great job you do in communicating trail information. On the topic of where the information will be put, one commenter was not happy about having to use facebook to get the info. I get the impression the state is having to do more with less. Fewer people are employed by the state to do ever increasing work. Business friends of mine have said facebook is the best way to get information out about their businesses and easier to maintain than a website. One successful restaurant owner I know does not even have a website. She uses facebook to promote her business. So the state may be going in the same direction.

Seriously EMT? Dawn is asking for stories. She is providing a couple ways for us to give her the stories. That's all.

Any person can see the KATY Trail State Park Facebook page, whether they are logged in or not. So you are able to read stories there. The only thing you miss is the ability to submit your story via FB.

Keep up the good work, Dawn!

Yes seriously kevin. I don't think our tax dollars should be spent in a way that lends support and ultimate dollars to third parties like Facebook.

If what Cathy says is true and it is more cost effective for businesses (MODNR) to use Facebook, then why not do us all a favor then and save our tax dollars by doing away with the DNR website? Why would our tax dollars then need to support the DNR Katy Trail site when Facebook will do it for us for free?

What is the best use of your tax dollars?

Seriously???

Just curious EMT, have you ever used a social network like Facebook before?

Thats not the point, but yes Gary.

Wow...this EMT character is annoying. Be interesting if he/she considered what it might require of them if they were going to be effective (in whatever they're trying to accomplish) as opposed to just being plain. ole-fashionedannoying. Must be a sad and angry person. A bike ride on the Katy makes me feel better when I feel like that.

You have to be kidding me. Dawn is a very nice person and does her job with great care and passion and submits a simple request. Her reward, undue grief from a .....

I agree Terry. I think it's time for the moderator to "pull the plug" on this thread.

And then there is the original post by Dawn, a simple good natured request, that didn't ask to be turned into another ridiculous "tit for tat" by someone else. Geez!

I'm hoping she/they get good natured responses and lots of them.

Agreed, El Toro: everyone has had their say - thread closed.