Katy Trail Forum

Hello,

I'm disabled, and ride a recumbent trike. I normally ride with my walker strapped to the rear of the trike.

I'm curious if I will encounter any issues that will be challenging. What's the trail's surface like?

Regards,
Cullen
Appleton, WI

Nevermind. I looked at the reply to the same question below.

I've never cycled on crushed limestone...how is the ride? How does it compare to pavement?

Hi Cullen,

As long as the trail is dry, you will notice very little rolling resistance compared to pavement. The trail can be dusty so that may become an issue especially since your recumbent puts you so low to the ground. The wind normally comes from the west and there are no real hills to worry about.

I see recumbent trikes on the Katy from time to time so your trike should be fine. Of course, there is more rolling resistance compared to pavement. My rule of thumb is 10 miles on Katy = 11 - 12 miles on pavement (all else equal)

My main concern would be the placement of your walker in relation to the gates. It would be quite a rude awakening to hook one of the cross bars.

"My main concern would be the placement of your walker in relation to the gates. It would be quite a rude awakening to hook one of the cross bars."

True, I didn't think of that before, but agreed. There can definitely tend to be a tight fit when it comes to the gates erected around road ways.

I have a picture of some of the gates. I may have to look at that and see if I can remember how much space there is between them. Or I'm sure someone here has ready access to the trail and can measure for sure...

Aren't most walkers able to be folded? I know many are. Perhaps to be on the safe side you might want to buy one of those. Having said that, I was on the trail yesterday for about 30 miles, passed numerous gates and would say that even if a non-foldable walker were attached with the wider side parallel to the trail you would have no problems fitting through the narrow gates.

Isn't the walker narrower than the trike? I haven't seen the gates your talking about, so sorry. I did 20 miles on crushed limestone with a Sun EZ-1 recumbent that had the 16" rear wheel and tiny front wheel. It had rained the day before and when I'd hit a soft spot, it would try to whip the handle bars out of my hands and the small back wheel was like trying to peddle through sand. I sold the EZ-1 and now have an Sun EZ-Sport with 26" rear/20" front wheel and have no problems on the crushed limestone. I haven't done the Katy yet and using the info here to plan my first time. I would like to join up with other recumbent riders sometime on the Katy.

I just rode from St. Charles to Sedalia this week, taking the train back to St. Louis Saturday morning. I camped out at Mokane, right at the trail head on 5/4, rode through the rain on 5/5 and stayed at the Comfort Inn in Boonville to recover that night, and then camped at the Sedalia Fairgrounds 5/6.

It was a great trip. My only advice is to be careful crossing the bridge immediately west of Providence. Someone had smashed a beer bottle on this bridge, and caused me a flat front tire--which I had to change in the rain! I tried to push some of the broken glass to the sides of the bridge, but I didn't get all of the tiny shards before I decided to keep riding. Be careful!

-John

I'm planning a trip the week of Mem Day and some of our fellow bikers are bailing. We were going to use a sag van along the route, but with 3 people riding now, that seems silly. Can you give me more info about taking the train? Where did you pick it up? Is there a website I could look at? I'm new to this site and apologize if it's listed here, but any information about getting a ride back for 3 adults/1 toddler from Sedalia back to St Charles would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi Sandy,

Amtrak has a station in Sedalia, and they usually have a morning and an evening train heading to St. Louis. I would suggest using the Amtrak website to get the current schedules and phone number for reservations. Have a credit/debit card with you to pay on the train if you have to. With three bikes, you may want to book in advance to make sure there is space for them. They just stuck my bike in the dining car in a wheelchair space--which suggests to me that you can't count on space for three bikes being perpetually available. However, I get the sense that most people ride the trail from West to East to avoid headwind and the slight incline, so you might benefit from not having too much company riding West to East on Amtrak. Memorial Day weekend is apt to be busier though. My ticket cost $51 (Sedalia to St. Louis) including a $10 surcharge for the bike.

I think a nice trip would be to start in St. Charles, push West to Sedalia or further, and then double back to pick up the train in Sedalia. There is abundant, comfortable camping space at the Sedalia Fairgrounds.

I parked my car in St. Charles, but Amtrak only stops in Kirkwood and St. Louis city, so my wife had to shuttle me out to get my car. You might have to pay a taxi $20-$30 to go get your car(s) after you arrive back in Kirkwood or St. Louis, but that's the worst of it.

We decided to ride our bikes there today - September 12, 2010. We had not made reservations, our bad, but there were several empty tables inside and outside, yet we were told we could get in between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. I understand that people who have made reservations may be coming, but inquired about the tables outside...beautiful day, would rather eat outside anyway. The staff (looked to be late teens) had no clue about the outside seating or seating us outside....we would just have to wait. So we waited...and waited..and waited. Another pair of bike riders showed up for just a glass of water and were turned away.?.? Lots of people leaving, a few showing up...still a few tables outside and inside....still waiting... 2:54 p.m. we FINALLY get seated. We were waited on right away, but did wait twenty minutes for our food, the # 1 Dinner...Fried Chicken (1 White Meat - 2 Dark Meat, Mashed potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans, applesauce, cole slaw and biscuits. The Biscuits, though not homemade were the best I HAVE EVER EATEN. The green beans were also good. Mashed potatoes and chicken were the same as I could get anywhere. Not real impressed..except with the biscuits. Due to the lack of knowledge by the staff, I will probably not go back.

We went there one Saturday evening and were told we would have to wait because we had not made reservations. I did not blame anyone at the Claysville Store for my failure to plan ahead. I met Mark Hooibrink working on his sign on the trail one day and talked with him for a while, he struck me as an honest and sincere individual. I have read articles on the Hooibrinks and the Claysville Store, never would I believe that bike riders were denied water. Empty tables? Maybe they were handling all the guests that they could at the time.

I rode thru Claysville about this same time Sunshine. There were two bikes parked on the trail. Was that you? All I can remember was "cars", parked everywhere. This place must have something. In any case this was my first pass thru the Clay when this store/restaurant was actually open. I happened by recently at 3:30 on a Sunday and the joint was locked up tight, so much for the 12:30 to 4 posted hours. I am glad you finally got in and had a decent meal at least. Apparently reservations are advised. Cheers.

Except for the highly traveled areas on the trail, like, Rocheport, Hartsburg, St Charles etc, us trail users looking for grub could remember that most of the bar-grills, cafes, campgrounds, and other eateries there depend mostly on their local/regional clients rather than on traffic from the trail itself, especially year round.



Some of these places will protect their regular clients by keeping their tables open as long as they can as tacit reservations from being regular often. Us bicyclists especially are not their main clients even tho they don’t mind our extra business if they have enough food and supplies on hand beforehand.

I wasn't planning to post a comment about the Claysville Store until I saw some of the comments suggesting that the restaraunt was hostile to bikers. Last Saturday afternoon I had a flat tire near the store. I was without a spare tube and it was about 95 degrees and I was exhausted. The store was not yet open for the day, but the owner let me, a total stranger, come in, gave me a cold coke, offered to let me borrow his bike to ride back to Jefferson City, allowed me to use the phone to call my wife, and allowed me to wait in the air conditioned dinning room. So don't try to tell me that Claysville Store sucks. By the way the food is great.

We went there for Mother's Day, yesterday, and even though we got flowers, I thought it was over priced. For four of us, it was over $60. The service was awful. Most the time the staff, which were teens, were gathered at the front desk talking. The chicken wasn't freshly cooked. We had to ask for refills on tea. They didn't bring biscuits, applesauce or cole slaw until we asked for it. Just not a good experience. Won't be going back.

We are heading to MO May 23rd to ride the Katy Trail. Is the flooding effecting the trail and Hermann, MO?? Or Boonville?

Check the Mo. state park website. Go to the Katy Trail State Park link, then click on "Advisory". As of 5/2, the only closure listed is due to construction, not flooding. Try this link:
http://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park

Check the Missouri state park website. Go to the Katy Trail state park website, then click on "Advisory". As of 5/2, the only closure was due to construction, not flooding.

THANK U so much for the accurate assistance and have a great day. We will look at the links.

Missouri weather can change quickly and often doesn't follow the weatherman. We started in Boonville a few years ago to do a Century with 30% chance of rain. It rained all day and we were forced to calling it quits at 70 miles with a flat tire. As stated on another thread sometimes you just have to make the best of the time you've chosen to ride.

I am a 76 yr old man who just finished the entire trail, Machens to Clinton, with 2 men in their 40s, staying in B&Bs about every 40 miles. We had rain 2 days, but the trail was still in near-perfect condition & we kept going wearing our raingear. There was no flooding, & no mud, even with the rain. The trail has good drainage almost everywhere.

As mentioned in another thread, there does not appear to be any flooding affecting the Katy Trail. If flooding were to occur, you would almost certainly see people posting here pretty quickly.

But if you are planning a trip and want o keep an eye on conditions, here's another usefule resources, NOAA's current and predicted flood stages: http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=lsx&view=1,1,1,1,1,1

Note that Boonville, Hermann, Jeff City, Washington, and St Charles are all a nice green "no flooding" color. If you see them turn yellow, it's time to worry. It hasn't rained for several days, so it looks like we will escape any flooding on the trail this time.

Just finished riding the entire trail (May 5, 2011) and had no trouble - no flooding or adverse trail conditions. Besides the well-known detour outside of Rocheport due to bridge re-construction, everything was A-OK.

Great very helpful!! Enjoy your Spring

Fiester from Orlando...thanks for the update AND I AM JEALOUS. I want to ride across the KATY again this spring and cannot find the time. Hope you had a fabulous time.

We are 3 guys who finished the entire trail, Machens to Clinton day before yesterday. The entire trail was in near-perfect condition, even with the 2 days we experienced rain. There was NO flooding. The worst part of the trip was the detour west of Rocheport on 40 Highway, which was unmarked, had lots of car traffic, & 3 hills. The detour should be gone in a week or 2, though.

Thank you, Doug, for hosting us so marvelously last Monday night. We enjoyed the dinner & the breakfast & the visiting. Most of all, we appreciated that you saved our trip when you loaned us the bikes for Rick & Matt when Rick came in that evening lame & couldn't have run any farther. I expect to be back to you in Bluffton someday.

FYI, there is a vault toilet located at the trailhead/depot.

Is there trailhead parking at Machens?

Yes, there are a few spots. Plus the toilet. Plus the informative shelter trailhead. And that's it.

I don't think Machens is an designated trailhead, but there is one at Black Walnut, which is 3 miles from Machens.

At http://mostateparks.com Machens is listed on the "Trailhead Mileage Chart."

Either way, there is NO toilet at Black Walnut, just the informative sign.

When planning a long distance trip on the Katy, how many miles should one figure to ride per day?

Depends upon how much time do you have an d how far you can ride in a day. I have done the trail in 3, 4 and 5 day trips. What is your comfort level? Trying to space your daily destinations in accordance to accommodations along the way you are wanting to use. Example of three day was Clinton to Boonville with accommodations in Boonville. 2nd day Boonville to McKittrick and stayed in Hermann, then finished short ride the last day. Check the Dept Natural Resources Annual Katy Trail Ride to get an idea of a 5 day ride.

We did Sedalia to St. Charles last year with a group of very average riders. We found 40 to 50 miles per day with a nice break for lunch was about right. Wouldn't wanted to have done more but it's all based on your skill level and conditioning, of course. Was a great experience!

It's a bit slower going on the Katy trail than riding on paved asphalt. I'd say 40 miles a day is probably a good average, but it depends a lot upon conditions such as wind and/or heat, and how often you plan to stop to read historical markers and take photos.