Katy Trail Forum

Are pets allowed to accompany a walker/runner as long as they are on a leash and their waste is cleaned up?

Yes,exactly as you said--on leash, and cleaned up after!

I have been a spinning instructor for the past 8 years and am finally

taking the plunge to get legit with a "real" bike. My goal is to ride

the entire Katy Trail in the fall 2011. Please advise on best bike, and

gear to bring along. I plan on trying to bike it in 2 or 3 days at

most-and to stay either motels or b&b's on the way. Will be with a

seasoned biker friend. And advise on how to train would be great too.

Thanks.

You have plenty of time to gather complete info needed. This site has most of it; study well. Read the FAQ and Ride/Run/Hike reports for details, also the safety and weather issues.



Cyclocross, hybrid, or MB w/quality cruising tires and extras tubes work well. Midweek (Tues-Thurs) is very good for lodging and food then. Build yourself up to century riding. Carry energy food, extra water, camera.



The whole trail can be done in 3-days easily, 2-days with extra effort if in shape.

The best bike type would be either a hybrid or a road bike with at least 700 x 28 tires on it.



Travel light with a multi-tool, a couple of spare tubes, and a patch kit just in case. Carry a couple of water bottles and top them off at every opportunity so you don't run out. Not all trailheads have running water.



Depending on how you break the trip up, I'd do a less expensive motel stay instead of the B&B. You probably won't be at the nights destination long enough to warrant the extra dollars just to sleep. I'd want to leave early in the morning too, which would eliminate an important element of the B&B. Treat yourself at the back end of your trip when you have time to relax and reflect on the good times you had.



Train by riding the bike with the saddle that you are going to ride the 200 plus miles on. Legs and lungs are important, but if you can't stay in the saddle you won't put too many miles behind you.

Everything said above and maybe think about utilizing Amtrak for your transportation. Only takes you as far as Sedalia, but if you want to ride all the way to the end of the trail(from Sedalia) it can be done as extra 35x2 mile out-in-back. Personaly, I'd not even do that section unless you just feel the need to ride the entire trail.



And Monday is a bad on the Katy if you need supplies. I've found many businesses are closed.



Happy Trails, Paulie

You have the biggest thing about riding down. Many "legit" cyclists take spinning classes to try to improve themselves (specifically speed/cadence), and if you've been teaching it for 8 years, you're way ahead of the curve.



The best bike for the Katy is as the others say, a hybrid or road bike, but consider the other riding you wish to do (road, harder trails - the Katy is basically flat, cyclocross?) as well as the kind and weight of the gear you wish to carry. Different terrain has different demands on gear, as well as whether you plan to camp or just light travel. My suggestion is to also get a professional bike fitting if possible (i'll explain why later).



As I see it for other issues, Trek hints well at one of them. Learn basic maintenance well (fixing flats, adjusting brakes, and your handlebars and seat), and carry the necessary tools you need to do these things on your rides. Nothing sucks more than to be 5 or 10 miles (more on other rides besides the Katy) away from civilization and have no way to get help other than to hike the rest of your day out. It's just a fact of life - it will happen and eventually you will need to deal with it. You need to learn how.



The only other factor that will concern you is the long ride times. You are like already ahead of the curve *somewhat* in conditioning, but a long ride is more like a marathon than a sprint and you will need to learn how to deal with those. This will include seat time of those long durations to condition your muscles and backside to be used to it. As well, you will learn whether the fit of your bike is good or not (see above). Your bike may be fine in the first 30 minutes, but even a small error in fit will show up in 4-5 hours and can be very painful.

(continued)



The other conditioning thing to learn for long rides is nutrition, both during the ride and after. You can be physically fit and able to handle a long ride, but kill your chance of success by poor nutritional choices during the course of the ride. This will take some experience to work out your needs, but generally it involves getting the right amounts of food and water at the right times.



If you can get hold of a MS-150 ride prep guide, it will give you more information on long distance riding as well as some training tips. Also, read up a little bit on logistics and planning for long rides (in general). This site will be a useful resource on the specifics of the Katy.



Also, feel free to ask if you want to know anything else. There are plenty of folks here with the kinds of experience that will be helpful in making your "transition" a success.

Wow! These guys know what they're talking about.



Let me say each section of the trail has its own select quality or voice, all worth experiencing at one time or another. Recommend doing the whole trail that time of year (autumn).



Also, consider taking athletic powder, repellent, emergency numbers ranger, sheriff) with your cell, and a personal safety device, like pepper spray, although you won’t need the latter one. Most dogs and users on the trail are friendly. You'll also learn about dust, heat, and mud as you study up on the trail.



If desired, bring along a non-biking driver for your vehicle, which will fix any transportation issues. But it can also cut into the adventurous fun of being on the trail with nothing but bikes and a few supplies. Good luck.

I would go with a hybrid bike. Mine has 700 x 38C tires, and it has worked very well on trails like Katy, Allegheny Passage, C&O Canal, Ohio & Erie Towpath, and other gravel trails. Just make sure to get a comfortable seat for your bike - nothing ruins a trip like a sore butt.



As for stuff to take with you - you obviously need an extra tube, tire pump, tire tools, multi-purpose tool, and at least 2 water bottles. And I've found a handful of cable tires are extremely useful for a variety of trail repairs. Also - pack your stuff in waterproof bags.

There is a lot of good advice in some of the previous posts. Whether you go with a hybrid bike, a cyclocross or something else, I'd strongly consider drop down handlebars if the model you choose doesn't come with those. You'll likely be on the bike for quite a few hours every day (don't know how many days you're planning on) and there is a lot of value in being able to vary your position. Drop downs allow you to bike leaning forward as well as ride more upright. You can also have a second set of brake levers mounted above which allows you to brake without changing your position if you're riding upright.

Another consideration is to make certain that the type of bike you buy accomodates panniers or other type of bags if you intend to carry a fair amount of gear with you. Not all bikes have the attachment points on their frames to mount bags. You will need to consider just how you plan to travel on your bike. Hope this helps.

You recieved some advice about panniers and I wanted to present another option for a long KATY trip which is a bike trailer. I've had several cargo trailers and the one that I am absolutely sold on is made by Burley. They have either their Flatbed which is totally open or the Nomad which is covered. These are not day trip kid hauling trailers but very serious well engineered pieces of equipment that will allow you to not load all your stuff on your bike. I use the Nomad. It will carry 100 lbs of stuff which is almost ridiculous for primitive+ camping and when well loaded with balance over the wheels is done, is almost invisible to the biker. Do not commit to panniers until you have a chance to check this out. Even if I was going to stay in B&B's and do a credit card ride I would still use the trailer because you can so easily take along simple things that could make all the difference on a great trip such as what you are planning: tripod for the camera, a rain shelter, extra whatevers that don't fit into bags on the bike easily such as kites or fishing poles....and if you B&B your tow weight will be so slight on your bike that you really truly won't know that the trailer is there. With a Burley Nomad you won't be pulling along a liability but rather being able to take solutions to other possible problems with you on the trail. And no, I don't work for Burley, I just have owned one for 4 years. By the way, if your budget can handle it, get the optional cargo rack too and also put some Schwalbe Big Apple tires on the trailer. This is a serious recommendation from someone who has been both routes and knows what works.

The Burley works great for hauling wine on trips to Hermann. Panniers just won't hold enough to make the trip cost effective. If you're runnin wine, go for a trailer. A BOB would trump panniers too.



This too is a serious recommendation from someone who has been both routes and knows what works.



I'm Trek, and I approved this message.

If "fall" means after October 31 be aware all of the trail facilities with running water will be shut off, except the Rocheport one. Also, restaurants are mostly closed on Monday.

A luxury, but to me a necessity, is be sure to take a camera along, especially if you will be doing the trail during fall color season.

I found that frequent trail mix snacks and plenty water is helpful.

Wow---thanks for all the great info! I will probably print out everything and go from there. I have bought several training videos--including a century ride to simply put miles in the saddle. Now that the weather is nice, I can put those miles on my "real" bike!

While construction is going on with the bridge near the tunnel on the Katy Trail, the Katy Trail Bed & Bikefest will be offering a temporary shuttle service from Rocheport to Diana Bend Conservation Area off of Hwy 40 and the Katy Trail. We will not be providing shuttle services to other locations, this is purely to assist thru cyclists in getting around the construction without having to bike on Hwy 40. Our phone number is 573-698-2453, and will charge $.75 a mile. Thanks!

How long will the bridge be out?

Web site says May.... But with the way construction goes.... I'd be happy with the middle of June & the DNR ride! :)

Is there camping in clinton at the trailhead. We will be arriving by train and taxi i guess 14 may

Clinton community center is about 100 yards diagonally from the traihead. Let them know that you ride the Katy, and they might just let you camp in the back. They always let and look after bikers' vehicles parking on their lot.

Seems I've read on this forum that trail users have camped in a dugout at the ball park there.

found my own answer, you can camp right at the community center

Here's where you can camp in Clinton. Go on the left side of the Clinton Community Center clear to the back. Turn left for about 100 feet, then a right through the gate onto the Fairgrounds property. Turn right and set your tent there. There is an aluminum patio covering with concrete floor nearby you can set your tent in. A gate further down will let you go into the back of the Community Center. The Community Center will let you shower but tell them you're on the Katy Trail. I camped at that site two years ago and Clinton has great people.

I am looking for someone who can give me a description of the trail surface. We are riding from Ga to Omaha, NE this summer, and want to use the Katy Trail. Only problem is we will be on road bikes, and some of the pics I have seen look like the trail is dirt/gravel. Any helpful info?

In the FAQs on this website, there is a description of the trail http://www.bikekatytrail.com/faq.aspx#surface
In other places on this comment forum, there are discussions about road bikes and the trail. I've never ridden a road bike on the trail, but others have and I'll leave it to their expertise.

The trail is mostly hard packed limestone chat....some loose stuff, but there is a track. We've ridden our tandem with 28's on it and done fine loaded. Search "Katy Trail" on crazyguyonabike dot com and you will see that many Trans Am riders have crossed our state on the Katy fully loaded on road bikes. You'll be fine.

It's packed, finely ground limestone and has about the consistency of pavement when it comes to riding on it. As long as it doesn't get too wet, you should be fine.

I've done the whole thing twice with a Hybrid. I saw many road bikes using the trail fine. The only caution is related to heavy rain. The trail gets soft and the road tires will dig in quite a bit. Make sure you have several tubes ready. Also, for large portions of the trail there's a road that runs parallel. You could hop on that from time to time.

Just an FYI, the Stein House was destroyed by a fire last Thursday morning. There are other places to eat along Main St, so you don't have to worry about going hungry, but it is a shame to lose this landmark. I do not know if they plan to rebuild.

This was a great place to stop for lunch. Was not expecting to eat the best Thai food ever for lunch that day!

Where is the Thai restaurant from the trail?

The trail is right along the side of Coopers Landing with parking on one side and camping, river, restuarant on the other. You can't miss it.

Just a couple of comments here......while I agree Chim's has great food calling it a restaurant is a bit of a stretch. The Thai Kitchen is in a little trailer - the kind they sell funnel cakes out of at the county fair. You go up to the window and order your food, grab a cold beer at the store and sit at a table overlooking the river until they call your name. Also, if you plan to eat there check Coopers website to make sure they are open. I think they are closed for the winter now and during the warm months they are not open every day. Great food though and well worth the trip.

My daughter and I have eaten here each time we have biked the Katy. We are going again this Sept. and our mouth is already watering just thinking of Chim's food. The store is great too, and you can't beat the view of the river. The last time we ordered and split one as there is so much on your plate that if you eat it all you will be uncomfortable biking for the next hour or so! We learned that the hard way the first year.

Easley Mo.Trying to find out about Clem Easley,name after him, and wife Elsi...maiden nams...Milton
The tavern was run by the brothers about the 1700 or 1800
Any info you can send me would be nice

Is this Thai food a curry?
Curries are my favorites.

Is there a fee for camping at the Davisdale Conservation Area?

There is no fee for camping at Davisdale, it is rough camping only, no services. You can check on the Missouri Conservation Dept. website for information, maps and in particular campsite locations, on all of the conservation areas in the state.