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KTS from Columbia/ Rolla on 1/19/2007 10:44:21 AM:
A group of my friends and I were considering trying to ride from Clinton to St Charles in 24 hours. Has anyone ever done this or know someone who has? I have ridden all of the trail between Booneville and Jefferson City, but not much besides that. I routinely ride 50-60 miles at a time, how reasonable is it to do it all in one day. Everyone in my group is either a competitive cyclist or distance runner and is 19 or 20. We have all have road bikes that we could put cyclocross tires on or have preformance hybrids. Any comments or suggestions.

 
Nails on 1/19/2007 12:47:32 PM:
Last I knew, 4 individuals had ridden the katy trail in a day.
http://www.bikekatytrail.com/talk.aspx?thid=365

There's a difference between being a competitive cyclist or distance runner and riding 225 miles at a stretch. If you've ever run a marathon or ridden a century, you know what it means to "hit the wall" or "have the bear jump on your back". Try riding 100 miles on the KATY (or 120 road miles). Then try 150. If you still feel like riding, then go for it.

Note: The KATY trail is only open from sunrise to sunset. Since we're south of the Artic Circle, your 24 hour ride will be illegal at some point during your ride.


 
Robert from Columbia on 1/19/2007 12:54:11 PM:
The most i have ridden at a time is about 120 miles but I know of at least two groups of
people who have ridden it in a day.

One is from Clinton and is mentioned in Duffers book and the other is some triathletes
from Columbia.

It can be done but it wont be easy. Also I think the trail technically closes at sunset but I
dont think its enforced. I know of several people who just set up camp on the katy at
night and sleep on the trail.

 
Trek on 1/19/2007 1:13:43 PM:
Sounds like you know several people who are Boy Scouts.

 
Jim from St. Thomas on 1/19/2007 2:08:43 PM:
We rode from JC to St. Charles in a day (103 miles) and while I wasn't exactly dead at the end I couldn't imagine doing another 120 miles. Also, you will almost certainly ride the last 1/3 to 1/4 in the dark and if you've ever ridden the trail in the dark you know it can be a thrill. That being said....get in a couple of long trial rides and go for it.

 
howard hughes blues from kc on 1/21/2007 6:02:31 AM:
I think people have done it before. I think i've seen it reported somewhere on this website.

 
El Toro on 1/22/2007 11:25:41 PM:
It can be done. I'm definitely thinking about it and I'm ALOT older than you guys.

I rode it Clinton - St. Charles in October in 3 days. Not having ridden it before, I planned 3 days.

Day 1 was 114 to Hartsburg. Took it easy day two to Rhineland (50) and on into St. Charles day 3 (67). I am definitely thinking about a two-day next fall and a straight shot across in the future. I loved it. It was great fun, but definitely harder than the road.

Finding food and water and having the right lights seems to me to be keys for a successful one day ride.


 
Jason from Huntsville, AL on 1/23/2007 3:07:35 PM:
The trail is a lot harder than riding on a paved road. I can easily do 75 miles on the road, but 75 on the trail was very difficult. The gravel really adds a lot of resistance. I'm sure it can be done, but it would be difficult! You would have to average around 10 or 11 mph which doesn't sound hard, but for 225 miles it is. Good luck...let us know if you decide to do it.

 
KTS on 1/26/2007 10:36:16 AM:
Thanks for your comments guys. My problem now is what to bike to ride, I have a gary fisher tassajara mt bike and an Orbea Onix road bike. I'm kinda unsure of riding my new carbon fiber/ultegra bike on the trail, but if I'm gonna do all of it I want every advantage I can get. Any suggestions.

 
Jason from Huntsville, AL on 1/26/2007 12:58:19 PM:
For that kind of distance in 24 hours, I would definitely try and ride the road bike. But, the biggest tire you can get on that thing is probably a 700x28, maybe even only a 700x25. If you can get the 700x28, you will be fine. You will just have to be very careful, especially at night, because there are a number of loose sections and quite a bit of debris on the trail that make it easy to go down. If you can only fit a 700x25, I would not recommend it...that's just too small of a tire for the the conditions of the trail. Whatever bike/tire combo you go with, make sure to get a tire that has a Kevlar (or equivalent) liner in it so that you won't get flats. I also recommend a heavier duty tube, sometimes called a thorn resistant tube. This combination will pretty much assure you that you won't get any flats unless you hit something major. I used this combination in October and over 293 miles did not get any flats. Again, good luck!

 
Jim from St. Thomas on 1/26/2007 2:50:46 PM:
I'm not a road bike kind of guy but one concern I would have is how stout the rims and spokes are. If you've ever ridden the trail in the dark you know that you either have to travel at a fairly slow pace or be prepared for some bone-shaking encounters with ruts in the trail.......especially east of Jeff City.

 
Jason from Huntsville, AL on 1/30/2007 4:43:27 PM:
I agree with what Jim said. I did ride on some older rims and broke 2 spokes with my bike fully loaded. Lucklily I had some spares and just trued the wheel until I could get the new spoke on. Most newer rims will be fine, but I would not recommend riding on an aero rim or a rim with fewer spokes...why chance it.

 
ken from missouri on 2/7/2007 8:52:13 PM:
not really sure when you plan to ride. if it is dry you should have no problemd doing it in one day as long as you have 12 hours of daylight. if dry out it is fairly easy to average 20 mph me and my wife rode from sedelia to st.charles last july on a tandem in one day it took us just barley under 10 hours with 30c city tires we plan to ride it again this summer

 
joedav from O'Fallon, IL on 2/24/2007 6:56:03 AM:
I rode the DNR ride in 2003. They had a guy (don't remember his name) at the pre-ride meeting on Sunday night who had ridden the complete trail in a little over 14 hours on a mountain bike.

 
joedav from O'Fallon, IL on 2/24/2007 7:44:04 AM:
Found mention of the 14 hour ride in the 2003 DNR Ride diary.

http://www.mostateparks.com/katytrail/2003ride/day1.htm

 
Matthew from Ozark on 2/25/2007 1:38:13 AM:
I would bet that only you know the answer to this one. If you can convince yourself it can be done, then have at it! I foresee alot of pain if you are going to use road bikes with cross tires. If applicable, get you hands on a 29er and put some cross tires on. The comfort of having suspension will support your mission.

There is certainly nothing technical about the Katy however, the extremely LONG gradual hills will have you wondering why you chose this method of torture.

Two years ago a friend and I spent the Thanksgiving weekend on the Katy. 14 hours and 145 miles into the ride we became quite delirious and took refuge in a ditch along the trail. Unable to sleep due to the cold, we built a crude shelter and started a fire between us which provided the heat and comfort necessary for recuperation. Cold and miserable we carried on after some rest.
It will be imperative that you bring everything you need for a small campout. Always go with more in preparation of the worst.
I believe a mountain bike with panniers will prove vital in your quest.

Good luck and post your experiences!

 
joedav from O'Fallon, IL on 2/25/2007 3:53:18 AM:
“Sam Baugh, who holds the record for riding the trail the fastest (14 hours), also stopped by.”

http://www.mostateparks.com/katytrail/2003ride/day1.htm

 
david from festus,mo. on 6/18/2007 3:37:48 PM:
attempting a one day ride 6-22-07 (most daylight hours around this time of year) mtn. bike with slick tires (Gary Fischer Ziggurat & 46 year old legs) just because! anybody can ride 1 mile-225 times?

 
Nails on 6/18/2007 5:45:24 PM:
And it's also among the hotest. Predicted high in the 90s and a reasonable chance of T-storms. If the storm chance disapates, when and where should I meet you? (I haven't rode a century this year, so I predict that I'll give up halfway.)

 
david from festus,mo. on 6/20/2007 12:30:43 PM:
Planning to roll through clinton trailhead at 5:00 a.m. from hampton inn (hey, what's an extra 3 miles). Hoping to find 14-15 mph overall average speed. 2,500 miles on Orbea Opal so far this season (Jefferson County - 20% grades) Opal will rest on Friday, she has 5,000 miles till Christmas! ??shopping days??

 
Nails on 6/21/2007 2:15:40 PM:
David, I don't know if you're checking the website. There's an 85% chance I'll start with you. I'll be on a Giant road bike and will stay at the Hamption Inn too. The winds may be in our favor, but I'm not betting on it.

 
Kathy Pratt from Festus, Mo. on 6/23/2007 6:25:48 PM:
David Pratt and Paul Toigo rode the entire Katy Trail (Clinton to St. Charles) in one day on June 22, 2007! Way to go guys! Their ride time was 14 hours and 22 minutes and their average speed was 16.1 mph. The ride was supported and documented with pictures by myself and Ada Brauch. A big thanks to Paul for riding with my husband. He said you made the difference between a fun ride and a grim faced ride from hell. Congratulations to the both of you. You've joined an elite club of crazy people!!

 
MAH from Blue Springs, MO on 6/23/2007 7:19:42 PM:
Way to go! That's an impressive accomplishment to have bragging rights to.

 
Steve Burns from Lee's Summit on 6/25/2007 9:27:40 AM:
This Weekend My son Adam, his friens Dave and I rode from Clinton to St Chas. one day started at 5:15 ended 10:00 p.m. WOW were we exhausted. I'll never do that again. the relentless flat riding!

 
PJA from St. Louis Mo. on 6/26/2007 4:52:38 PM:
We saw a guy from Springfield MO. who was attempting to break the 14 hour-1 minute record last Friday June 22, 2007. Did anyone hear the results?

 
david from Festus, Mo. on 6/27/2007 1:24:36 AM:
Nobody passed us all day- right nails? 14:01 is achievable, my money is on Sam to raise the bar!

 
Ray (webmaster) on 6/27/2007 5:58:01 AM:
I received the following email yesterday afternoon. Congratulations to anyone who can accomplish a one-day Katy Trail ride - truly an amazing feat, no matter how long it takes!

Four years ago my husband read the book "The Complete Guide to the Katy Trail" by Brett Dufur. In the book there was a report about a man named Sam Baugh who in 2001 rode the entire trail in one day. The times he recorded were 14 hours 1 minute and 12 seconds of actual riding time and 15 hours 45 minutes for elapsed time. Ever since he read about Mr Baugh's ride he has talked about trying to ride the whole trail in one day. I am excited to report that on June 22nd of this year William Sharples left Clinton Missouri at exactly 5:00 am and arrived in St. Charles at 49 seconds after 7:00 pm breaking Mr Baugh's long standing record. His Riding time was 13 hours 40 minutes and 44 seconds and the elapsed time was 14 hours and 49 seconds! This ride can be verified by our pastor William Graff and church member John Moody who met him at almost every trail head. By the way, my husband did this as a 45th birthday present for himself. Thanks for listening, Melissa Sharples


 
Nails on 6/27/2007 7:07:54 AM:
Hmmm . . . I arrived at the Clinton trailhead at 4:45AM and no one got on the trail between that time and the time David arrived.

 
MLS from Springfield Missouri on 6/27/2007 5:32:39 PM:
I was standing there when he took off and was in St. Charles when he arrived. I also saw him at almost every trailhead. I can without a doubt verify that his elapsed time was 14:00:49 with 231 miles recorded. He rode a yellow Serotta cyclocross bike. A New Record!

 
Nails on 6/28/2007 7:00:39 AM:
I'd testify in a court of law that no bicycle other than my own was at the Clinton trailhead of the KATY trail on Friday, June 22, 2007 at 5:00 AM Central Daylight Time. Maybe there's a misundertanding about the time, date, or location.

 
PJA from St. Louis on 6/28/2007 12:56:08 PM:
I have a photo of a guy on a yellow bike leaving Trelore a little after 3:00 P.M. on Friday June 22, 2007. The photo is digital so I have the exact time and date. He was being supported by a couple of guys in a white pickup truck. One guy was bald with a black tee shirt and the other guy was shorter with a white tee shirt. We saw them again in St. Charles about 8:15 P.M.. When we saw them in St. Charles they yelled out the truck window that they had broken the record.

 
PJA from St. Louis Mo. on 6/28/2007 1:28:26 PM:
Correction...We saw him leaving Marthasville, not Trelore.

Paul

 
ss5 from saint louis, MO on 6/28/2007 1:58:03 PM:
So, lets say it is Marthasville(MM=77.7), and it is 3:00 p.m. He leaves Clinton(MM=264.6) at 5:00 a.m. That works out to an average speed of 18.7 mph. Per the previous post, total ride time =14 hours, so he gets to St. Charles(MM=39.5) 7:00 p.m., so between Marthaville & St. Charles average speed drops to 9.6 mph? Something doesn't add up O.J.

 
Anonymous on 6/28/2007 4:10:47 PM:
who ever did it, congrats on quite an accomplishmnet. ridin 200 plus miles in one day is a feat as it is.
so congrats to everyone who has ever ridden the entire katy trail in one day. you can say you have done something VERY few others have or will ever do.

 
PJA from St. Louis Mo. on 6/29/2007 1:26:02 PM:
Last night I checked the date and time on the photo I took at Marthasville on June 22, 2007. The photo I took of a rider on a yellow bike had a time stamp of 16:24:27, June 22, 2007. I rechecked the clock setting on my camera and it was to the current time. 16:24:27 is 4:24:27 P.M. If he started at 5:00 A.M. that would be an elasped time of 11.408 hours. The distance to Marthasville from Clinton is 187 miles so that is a 16.392 mph average to that point. He said that he rode a total of 231 miles, so that means he had 44 miles to go. He got to St. Charles at 7:00:49 P.M. That would mean his average speed for the last leg would be 16.871 mph. That is less than a half mile pre hour difference from the first leg. The numbers make sense to me.

 
Jim from St. Thomas on 6/29/2007 1:34:24 PM:
I think the confusion is that you said a little after 3:00 pm in your original post. An hour makes a big difference.

 
William Sharples from Springfield Missouri on 6/29/2007 2:40:04 PM:
My name is William Sharples. I am the "guy on the yellow bike". Let me try to clear up some of the confusion. I have a timed and dated photo of me in front of the Clinton trail head sign @ 4:44 am. I left on the trail about 10 minutes after that pic was taken. 14 hours and 49 seconds later another pic was taken in front of the St Charles sign. The "bald guy in the black tee shirt" is my pastor William Graff and the "Short guy in the white tee shirt" is my friend John Moody. They drove my white F-350 and gave me support for the entire day as well as driving me back home to Springfield. I had a riding time of 13 hours 40 minutes and 45 seconds with an average speed of 16.5 MPH. It was an awesome day and my plans are to do it every year on the Friday nearest to June 21st for as long as I am able.

 
Jim from St. Thomas on 6/29/2007 2:47:14 PM:
Congratulations.....You don't have to worry about me breaking your record. I'm trying to get up the energy to do it in 2 days.

 
PJA from St. Louis Mo. on 6/29/2007 3:45:50 PM:
William,
e-mail me at palthether@hunter.com and I will send you a photo of yourself coming out of Marthasville. It's a pretty good shot.

Paul

 
Bubba from Wentzville on 4/28/2008 12:57:06 PM:
Did I understand Ken's note in the middle of this thread correctly...that he peddled from Sedalia to St. Charles in less than 10 hours on a tandem? I don't know much about tandems (I ride a road bike), but I assume this would be a little more efficient? That's about a 19 m.p.h. average for 190 miles.

I did a century training ride on the trail recently - when it was sleeting, raining and snowing - and only averaged 17 m.p.h. I realize the trail was in horrid condition, but still find it hard to believe a 19 m.p.h. speed for 190 miles...

I assume it's the dual effort on a tandem...but would that mean I could average 34 m.p.h. for a century on a tandem? :)

 
Trek on 4/28/2008 2:20:21 PM:
Yes....a tandem is more efficient. For the power of two, only one needs to cut a path through the wind. I'd think if you can ride through the snow, sleet, and rain and average 17 you should be able to do 34 on a tandem riding solo....just make sure you ride Captain tho. : )

 
steve in k.c. from beaman, missouri, 221 mile marker on 8/30/2009 9:29:42 AM:
It is my opinion that the trail is a faster ride East to West. I know this seems to defy logic, but it has been my experience that getting through the graded areas between Sedalia and Boonville, is easier as the climbs, though sharper, are shorter in length. No 12 mile climb between Clifton City and Pilot Grove. I have Garmin data to support this claim. I plan to do a complete East to West this fall and will let you know the results.

 
Bob from St Charles MO on 2/7/2010 9:47:48 PM:
I'm planning a 2 - day, St. Charles to Clinton ride before July 31 2010. Anyone have any advice. Mid-point is Hartsburg but with the grade increasing in the western half I am thinking of planning a push on the first day of St. Charles to Rocheport 139 miles. Any thoughts on planning? On training?

 
Jim from St. Thomas on 2/8/2010 8:46:34 AM:
I think you'll find the wind direction will have more effect than the elevation. The eastern half of the trail has a lot of open sections which can make headwinds pretty tiring. Do you have the option of checking the wind forecast and starting at whichever end gives you the tailwind?

 
Steve M from Festus MO on 9/16/2010 1:24:02 PM:
I realize this is an old thread, but an extremely interesting and valuable one. I am trying to organize a group of riders for a 1-day KATY crossing in June 2011, as near as possible to the Summer Solstice. Weather related reasons may necessitate tweaking the schedule by a weekend or two.

This ride would not be intended to be an assault on the elapsed time record, but more of an effort to find some like-minded individuals interested in doing a 1 day crossing with some company. If anyone here is interested in participating, please respond here.

Also, was the "controversy" of who rode and what times they departed on June 22, 2007 ever clarified? Earlier in this thread, it seems that there were 2 parties who each claimed that they completed a 1 day crossing on that day, but the validity of the departure and arrival times was being questioned.

SteveM.

 
brian borgmeyer from joplin on 10/14/2010 3:45:21 PM:
June is a good month to try this one day ride due to it having the longest day of the year. I may be doing this ride towards the third weekend myself from clinton to St. charles. I do agree with being able to do at least a 150 mile ride prior to starting this to prepare.
good luck, may see you out there.

 
bob from overland park on 11/16/2010 3:55:18 PM:
I had the joy of doing the trail in 2 days the end of Sept. Absolutely loved it. Used a cyclocross bike and it seemed like the perfect bike. Want to try to do it the end of June in 1 day. I was not any more tired the 2nd day than the first. It seemed like it was a function of fuel and hydration to do it in a day. Oh yeah also it would have been great to have support instead of going off road a couple times for food and drink. Wouldn't mind doing this with someone. Don't have any plans for land speed record.

 
Rocko from Kirkwood on 6/26/2011 12:31:19 AM:
A couple of points.
1. Your summer solstice ride in 2011 would have been tough as it would have had to interrupt the MO Katy Trail Ride. That surely would have slowed you down.
2. You don't need 700x28, or even 700x26. I ran a pair of 700x25 from Nashbar that cost me $25 total. I aired up Thursday morning and finished Friday evening without any modifications. Just in case you're wondering...i ran an entry level Scott with predominantly 105 components, but my wife ran a Giant with Sora with 26s...not a glitch.
3. I find 14 hours with almost no rest absolutely preposterous, but not impossible. Good wind, packed trail, great temps...I have a 5, 4, 2 year old and we are not allowed to say "can't". My wife and I finished in 2 days with an average of 14.1 mph. BTW, my wife is Type I.
4. Is this not all a moot point now that the trail goes to Machens?
3.

 
TommyD from St. Louis on 2/20/2012 4:09:10 PM:
I'm planning on doing it in 1 day this year. I'm no stranger to long distances but would like to know from those of you who've had support vehicles if you had them follow through the whole route or meet you further down the way where you estimate you'll need help.

 
BikerBoy from Edwardsville, IL on 2/20/2012 5:29:14 PM:
I would never be a candidate for this, but you should note that an East to West ride would give you 20-30 minutes more of daylight than the other way around (following the sun).

 
RCP from St. Charles, MO on 1/29/2013 7:54:02 PM:
Stumbled on this discussion when I thought of the prospect of riding top to bottom, or maybe bottom to top in a day/24 hours. Are there any groups still planning to do this this calendar year - 2013?

 
Anonymous on 1/30/2013 12:25:01 PM:
How do you ride a flat trail top to bottom? Or bottom to top? It looks pretty much an end to end thing. Or an end to end thing.

 
Jeff from Olathe, KS on 1/30/2013 12:31:30 PM:
If you really want to do a 24 hour/ 200 mile ride, sign up for the Dirty Kansan in June. That's a real test of butt endurance.

I did 72 in one day on KT last October.. I can guarentee you I will NEVER do the entire route as a single ride.

 
El Toro on 1/30/2013 3:12:00 PM:
We encountered 3 guys in late June, 2012 who were doing the Katy in one day. They had a support vehicle who was meeting them at designated spots for resupply and was also monitoring their hydration/weight loss, etc. All three had finished the Dirty Kanza 200 mile ride in early July and were obviously STRONG riders. I know they have been part of some previous conversations/threads on this forum.


 
1 Day KT Rider on 2/1/2013 12:08:23 PM:
RCP, if you send Ray (webmaster) your contact info I will contact you. I have a few takers to do it in late June this year 2013. Want to keep it at a manageable number.

 
RCP from St. Charles, MO on 2/2/2013 9:03:34 AM:
"I did 72 in one day on KT last October.. I can guarentee you I will NEVER do the entire route as a single ride."
- posted Jan 30 2013 12:31PM - Jeff, Olathe, KS -

Well Jeff, that sounds like a challenge if I've ever heard one!!!

"How do you ride a flat trail top to bottom? Or bottom to top? It looks pretty much an end to end thing. Or an end to end thing."
- posted Jan 30 2013 12:25PM - Anonymous -

Touché !!! but I think you got my point... :-)

1 Day KT Rider - I'll definitely do that. May be a day or two, but based on your time projection, we've got a "little" of that between now and the proposed ride...

 
Bill P from Ottawa on 2/4/2013 6:40:32 AM:
"Well Jeff, that sounds like a challenge if I've ever heard one!!!"

Yes, yes I think it does!

 
Brian from St. Peters on 4/16/2013 12:35:42 AM:
"The starting elevation in Clinton, Missouri is 780 feet, we will reach a high point of 955 feet, then make for St. Charles which rests at 452 feet, 25 miles upstream from the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers."

Seems east to west has its advantages.

 
ArkyKenny on 4/16/2013 9:32:01 AM:
I think elevation gain or loss on the Katy is for the most part, a non-issue.

What I do think needs to be considered for a one day attempt on the Katy are wind and shade. The wind is typically out of the west, southwest, or south. Over the middle section of the river along the bluffs, there is a lot of swirling and cover, so it's no big deal, but in areas on the western part of the trail where there is limited cover (i.e. High Point), a head wind could be a big deal, especially nearing the end of an all day ride.

I'd rather have a tail wind, and the cover of the tree tunnel over the extra few minutes you would get going east to west. And, I'd check the weather forecast. Ideally, I'd pick an overcast day with a tailwind.

 
RCP from St. Charles, MO on 4/19/2013 5:23:20 AM:
Here is a RideWithGPS.com link to the Katy trail with elevation. Trying to figure out some "SAG" type support and rendezvous/support stops isn't an easy matter either. Either way E->W or W->E both have their advantages. Question too...My own bed at the end of the day, or awful hotel bed in Clinton!!! Hmmmm...

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1078644

 
Darin S. from Lyndon, KS on 9/22/2013 5:05:08 PM:
I am planning to take a shot at the 14:49 record on Thursday Oct.3rd 2013. I have been training on the Prairie Spirit in Kansas foe this attempt. Planning to leave from Clinton and shoot for the record to St. Charles, then God willing continue to Machens to be the first to ride the new entire trail. It's a tall order and I will need a perfect day weather/wind wise to have a chance at this record. Record or no record I plan to ride the entire trail. I plan to document my ride with complete Garmin data and video evidence from a GoPro camera, and have a couple witnesses in my crew.

 
Pseudio on 9/24/2013 4:51:45 AM:
Darin, You saw Ben Dumonts post for his wife's breast cancer cause in 16 hrs in the rain. The weather is only a factor if you allow it to mentally beat you. My suggestion is if the weather is bad focus on finishing first then the time record secondary. But as always safety is key. At faster speeds if dry, the trail has many loose surfaces. Good luck and God's speed.

 
Darin Schneidewind from Lyndon, KS on 10/8/2013 7:44:27 PM:
I am happy to announce that there is a New Katy Trail Speed record from Clinton to St. Charles. I left Clinton at 5am and finished in St. Charles at 6:50.27 for 13h50m27sec besting the old record of 14.00.49. I was averaging 17 mph thru mile 175 till some cramping slowed me down big time for 20 miles. I was able to recover and hammer down the last 25 miles to get the record. I half to thank my wife and son for crewing for me all day, they did awesome. It was really, really tough, but i'm happy to get the record. My plan to go on to Machens was spoiled. Our garmin would not find Machens and my directionally challenged wife could not find it without it. She said if I wnet on I would half to ride back to St. Charles or back to somewhere to give her an address to pick me up. Since it was also dark, and she can not read a map, I reluctantly agreed since I knew I would half to ride back and really didn't want to do that. I do have complete Garmin Data and video as proof. After spending the weekend in St. Louis with the family I will try and get it posted. Thanks everyone along the way for your encouragement.

See this Comment Forum for more info:
http://www.bikekatytrail.com/talk.aspx?thid=6654

 
Edward T Boys from Pomona, Missouri on 8/7/2014 4:08:11 PM:
On July 17, 2014 Dr. Dru Dixon, age 61, of West Plains, Missouri rode the entire distance from Clinton to Machens in 13 hours, 51 minutes, 16 seconds of riding time, at an average rolling speed of 17.3 MPH.

The Garmin track is here http://connect.garmin.com/jsPlayer/544225917

Dr Dixon was supported by Jason Wilson & I, who witnessed the event start to finish.

The wind was out of the south/southeast- therefore this was not a wind aided ride.

Dr Dixon used a Serotta road bike with Schwable Marathon (700x28) tires pumped to about 100 psig.

 
Jim from St Thomas on 8/7/2014 9:00:57 PM:
My congratulations to Dr. Dixon for an impressive performance. Don't know why you felt the need to say it was not wind assisted when, in fact, the hardest part of the ride ( Clinton to Pilot Grove ) would be aided by a wind from the south. For my part anyone that can do Clinton to Machens in a day is a badass - wind assisted or not.

 
ArkyKenny on 8/8/2014 8:05:26 AM:
Anyone that can average 17.3 for 14 hours on any surface, in any condition is tougher that I ever was. That is quite a feat for anyone, much less a 61 year old. Congrats.

 
Anonoh on 8/12/2014 5:50:17 PM:
Bravo, Bravo Dr. Dixon. I believe this is a first by far going all the way to Machens in that time of 13hrs-51min.-16 secs. Ray, definitely worth posting in the day ride thread. Well done Dr.

 
Ray (webmaster) on 8/14/2014 7:58:28 PM:
That is indeed amazing - congratulations. I've added Dr Dixon to the one-day riders page at http://www.bikekatytrail.com/one-day.aspx

 
Thon from Indiana on 10/9/2014 6:05:17 AM:
Just wanted to chime in that a longtime rider shared the more moisture in the air the faster we cycle. He said dry air offers more resistance. Moist air less resistance. Maybe this is poralysis of analysis only that one-day rider who did so for the cause of cancer rode all day in the rain and that got me thinking two ways rainy conditions are an advantage to a one day attempt. First, the rain will pack the gravel down tighter ( so I'm told ) making for a faster surface and if it's true more moisture less resistance a decent rain storm with a strong tail wind might technically be ideal for such an attempt. Would never encourage anyone to chance going thru a storm that may have lightning, hail or hi winds.

 
jim on 10/9/2014 6:13:52 PM:
I think that most folks that have ridden the Katy during or after a rain might dispute the "rain packs the trail" theory.

 
MidSouth from Rogersville, MO on 10/9/2014 7:58:50 PM:
Yep, rain softens the trail, thus more effort to pedal...

 
Thon from Indiana on 10/14/2014 9:14:46 AM:
Thanks, still new to cycling so your comments are appreciated. Sometimes people say things that at the time seem so spot only to learn later how far off they were. So, the optimal then might be a day where there's some moisture in the air, a dry trail with the strongest tail wind you can handle. The reason I'm interested is I've tried cycling the entire trail in one day even though I'm most likely never going to actually make it. I tried two times on a Trek 4.7 carbon bike and both times fell way short victimized by repetitive injuries due to the seat being too high. I only cycled 90 miles the first time in last October from Machens to Portland only to over extend my right achillies heel for 70 miles ( joy! ) and went 101 miles this Fourth of July from Machens to Tebbetts. Even though I did not come close to cycling half of the trail in one day the effort made me learn so much more about the little things. I was surprised when I read about the rider who cycled from Clinton to St. Charles last October on the very same week I was on the trail. Ever since a one day trip has been on my mind I've wondered has anyone ever attempted a one day trip from East to West and if so I do not see any claims posted here, how far west did they pedal in one day? My plan is to schedule an East to West one day trip attempt once a year even if I never make it. So far I've gone ten miles further in year 2 than year one at that rate it'll be the year 3,000 bye the time I make it in one day.

 
Jim from St Thomas on 10/14/2014 12:41:04 PM:
I haven't done the whole trail in one day but have done Clinton to St. Charles in two days. Here would be my ideal conditions for a one-day attempt. A dry trail riding west to east, low humidity, a southwesterly wind until New Franklin then a westerly wind for the rest of the trip. Of course for me the biggest obstacle to completing the whole trail in one day would be that little voice in my head that would constantly be reminding me that my legs were tired, my butt hurts etc.

 
Thon from Indiana on 10/15/2014 3:57:39 PM:
On next Katy Thon towing a bicycle trailer with a Trek 830 Mo_untain bike with knobby tires. If you've been on the trail after the storms ripped thru earlier this week and can report on the conditions I'd so appreciate it. Still not sure it's a good idea. I bought this Instep child trailer and removed everything except the wheels and frame. So now it's like a flat bed trailer. Hoping the 20" wheels will hold up, wonder if anyone has had good or bad experiences with such a trailer. I was thinking of bringing an extra rim, tire and tube all aired up ready to mount if one of the rims takes a hard hit. So far I'm going with the trailer and not bringing an extra rim and tire to keep the weight down. Only bringing 2 extra inner tubes and a patch kit. Any bicycle trailer adventure or misadventure stories will be appreciated. To the last comment I say YOU SHOULD HAVE YOU'RE VERY OWN COMEDY CENTRAL SHOW! You rock!