steve k from saint louis, MO on 5/16/2007 3:55:50 PM:
Below are a couple of useful links on the Cowboy Trail.
http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/parks/guides/trails/cowboy/cowboy.asp
http://www.trailsfromrails.com/cowboy_trail.htm
I have not ridden this trail but I believe it is substantially complete between Norfolk & Valentine, NE(170 + continuous miles). There may be a few stretches that are still incomplete when you get up towards Valentine, but you can get around this by going out on the highway, which pretty much follows the trail. The surface looks pretty much like the Katy, but the reviews I have read indicates that there are some very rough sections(ie. poorly maintained) to transverse through, so I would use a mountain bike on this trail, at least the first time around. Not that you see a lot of traffic on the Katy, but I believe you will find much less traffic on this trail as the State of Nebraska does nothing to promote this trail. I am going to try to bike this trail sometime this year, but I have been saying that for 2 years now.
A much more interesting trail to me is the Mickelson Trail(114 miles), which gets up into the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota. It has some very looong 2-4% grades, which can wear a person out, but will definitely give you much different scenery than the Katy Trail.