last minute suggestions...

Hi, Thanks again to all who have helped us plan for our first trip. Even though we are only doing Rocheport to Augusta, it is a big start for me in getting back to my "old active life" (vs. my new active life with twins).

We leave Sunday morning the 12th. I am working on my pack list. I only have two rear panniers, and I am hoping to get a handle bar bag this week. I think it will be enough since we are not camping, and are only our for three days. We hiked four days on the App. Trail two years ago, so we are used to packing light. I think this will be easier than that trip (famous last words...)

I have a few questions.. 1st about flats/trail composition - I live near the Ill Prairie Path. It is crushed limestone. Is anyone familiar with out path? I was wondering if it is similar. I haven't has problems our our path, but I have never biked 100 miles in three days either.

2nd Are there any items that you may have wished you had packed, or whished you hadn't packed? I'm wondering about a rain coat. I have a Marmot precip, but if it is 90 degrees, rain might be better than wearing a coat. I know we loved getting rained on hiking in 90 degree weather!

Thanks, Michele

hey michelle,

sorry, i am not familiar with the trail you mentioned above. the katy trail is fine crushed limestone, stuff i call screenings. when packed, it is pretnear like concrete. when dry, it is dusty. it can be soft when wet. the trial is flat. i read some where the trial has a foot per mile elevation going west, so i consider that flat. i have ran across a couple of small elevations such as levees and road crossing, but nuttin to speak of.

the only thing i would suggest is plenty of water and call ahead to make sure all businesses are open and then pack acordingly.
otherwise, have fun, be safe. watch the road crossings.

I would forego the rainwear. As warm as it is, rain will be welcome. I would take a small bottle of chain lubricant or cleaner. Whether rain or dust, it will help you with your bike chain. Always fill up with water and take emergency snacks in case the stores are closed.

Gatorade or something to replace electrolites. Just rode the trail, and the only time it wasn't unberably hot was from dawn to about 8:30am. However many miles you can do in 2 hours is something to think about because after it gets hot, the body starts losing steam pretty fast. So, then you are forced to stay in some very small town for about 5-7 hours to wait for the cool part of the evening, which is about 1 hour or so until dark. Or, you can ride through it, like we did, and risk overheating, which I did! Heat exaustion shortened our trip, so I would prepare by drinking some kind of electrolite booster while you are out there.

We live off the trail near Tebbetts - it is 10:15pm, August 8th, and still 92 degrees outside. Be sure to check the local weather before heading out for your ride. The last few days it has been really, really, really hot and windy (head wind for the direction you are planning) that kind of weather will suck the water out of your body before you realize what is happening.

Good luck, be safe.

1) My wife and I just rode McKittric to Sedalia - 139 miles by my computer. We're 57 y/o and we trained to ride the trail prior to going. Hydration is very important - we stopped every 5 miles and drank water or gatorade (take the powder and mix it) whether we were thirsty or not. If we were thirsty in between stops we drank more! We were still slightly dehydrated most of the time. It did allow us to ride through the heat though. 2.) Take a spare inner tube and tools - most of the trail is remote. 3.) We used an entire tube of A&D ointment for our personal areas - just as important to our success as hydration! 4.) avoid the Katy Trail B&B in Rocheport - absentee owners, not as advertised on their web. 5.) have fun!

Thanks for all the advice. I noticed that the weather forcast has changed from 90 to 100 (ugh!) We are doing 25 mi, 40, and 45 the last day (aprox) so I think (?) that we are doing small chuncks. I am used to biking on the same type of surfaces with my 3 year old twins in the burly, so I think I will be able to handle the trail, but it will definitely be longer time in the heat. We are willing to stop and cool off and have already picked out places we know will be open. I have been training by riding the trails near my house from 5am until 6:30 every morning w/o kids, and then shorter times with kids after it warms up and they wake up, so if need be we will skip the breakfasts and get out early to ride. We are staying at the Katy Trail B&B the first night (this Sunday) so it is too late for a refund. I have read good things about it too. I hope the hot tub has been cleaned, though... Maybe it will be too hot to be inviting anyway! I understood from the website that the owner was absentee, and have an email on how to check in, so that does't worry me. If you want to elaborate further about your concerns you could email me (perzee_torres@comcast.net).
I am looking forward to getting away with my best friend for a girl-trip, even though it will be hot. (our last "girl-trip" hiking the Shenendoah Park section of the AT in 105 degree heat with 65lb packs on our back. We are teachers so we only get summer trips as an option...) We are used to doing active trips in the heat, but oh I wish it would be a little cooler!
Thanks again!
Michele

hey michelle, read on a forum on this website where someone that bikes the katy a lot, uses a camel back for hydration. said she puts a little gatorade in the water and takes a drink with every cadence of the pedals. says he actually feels better after she is done than before. just an idear. any which way, have fun, be safe

man....ohhhhh.....man! bet ya she bloats up like a poisin pup frank. a drink wit ever crank a da pedal! sheshs a big ole gal aftern justa few miles down n back. dunno maybe she travels perty slow but never seen a big ole gal liken that on the trail.....shure wud like ta tho. keepin us posted o her wherebout shirley wud be preciated now. but now was thata she er a he....ya said both there. just an idear but don sup hose itsa he/she doin that??

for the above educated individual; found this on "best weeks to bike the trail", 12/22/06

guess the other author does know what he was talkin about!

I biked the trail in August of 2006. The temperature hovered right around 100 degrees the entire ride, topping out at 104. The first two days were torture because I drastically underestimated my fluid needs. But the last two days were cake once I figured out a hydration method that worked for me. I stuffed my camelbak and two spare bottles completely full of ice, then filled up with water and powdered gatorade. I put the bite valve in my mouth and didn't let it drop until I stopped riding. I drank slow small sips constantly all day. I never went more than a few second without taking a sip. I think that going solo helped me to stay better hydrated than people riding in groups, because I didn't have to worry about talking to anybody. I could keep the bite valve in my mouth all day without it ever getting in the way of a conversation. I topped off at every trailhead to assure I wouldn't run out. I tried alternating one camelbak of gatorade with one camelbak of water, but the water just didn't replenish me enough in such extreme heat. I felt much better when I stuck to gatorade, so I drank it constantly when I was pedaling and switched to water after I stopped for the day. Believe me, if you hydrate yourself correctly, you will be amazed at what you can do! During those last two days of 100 degree weather, I rode faster than I ever have before and barely seemed to notice the heat or the miles slipping by.
- posted 1/23/2007 4:03:28 AM by mh , Missouri

well...fer the realy educated individual above, i didnt serch fer it on tha website

guessd we all know sumthin

so you get to be the weiner as yer tellin me its all tha same. i no longer reckon a DRINK with every cadence of the pedals to be a hole lot more water to bloat on then drinkin slow small SIPS ever few seconds. i did used to reckon when i took a drink from been in the heat it was lot bigger than a sip. an now thers no deffernce between actually feeln better after she is done than before an havin rode faster an barely noticen the heat.

No rain gear in summer. Wear only non-cotton performance materials for wicking sweat and any rain you get will dry rapidly.

We made it!! Thanks again for all the suggestions. We really enjoyed our first bike trip much more than hiking and were suprised at how fast the miles flew by! We ended up getting up and starting at first light (6:15 am this week) and biking until we reached our destination without many stops in between. Thank goodness we planned short rides. I think we might have been able to do around 60 or 70 miles a day if it weren't so hot! We definitely went through a lot of gatorade! We were also thankful we hadn't decided to camp. The coolest day was only 102! Thanks again for all the comments!

Glad you made it OK, my wife and I were a little concerned that you were hauling twins in a trailer, definitely not much fun for them when it gets so hot. Hope you can plan a trip sometime in the future in the spring or fall when we have more pleasant weather and take the time to enjoy the scenery.

Thanks again we really had a great time. I just can't say enough about how great the KATY trail, and all the communities and people are. It was a perfect (almost too perfect) first bike trip! I don't know that anything will ever come close to this experience (except for the heat of course). Where else can you take a trip over 100 miles (we only did 112 for our first time) on trails the whole way with conviently spaced B&B's and food, water and toilets?

By the way, we didn't travel with the twins. I just "trained" with them. My best friend and I have traveled together almost every year since we met 20 years ago. Now that I am married and have kids, we still plan a trip, just the two of us, each year. We try to do active trips. I hope to take the kids sometime, but not for a few more years. They will be 4 next summer, so I don't think they will fit in the trailer much longer, and probably wont be able to ride bikes yet. Trail alongs are hard with twins... I don't think there is a tandem version. I am a teacher, but my husband works in the summer, so I try to find things I can do alone with both kids. I hope to get them riding soon, though! Any hints on how to do that, or data on the youngest KATY trail riders?

Thanks again!

I have seen some kids on the Katy that I estimated were as young as 6 or 7 riding small 16 inch bikes with training wheels. Bless their little hearts; they were pedaling as fast as they could to keep up with their parents. You really have to be extremely careful going around them though since they don't understand the rules of the road and dart from side to side without any warning.

I have never seen it done nor know how safe it would be, but could you attach a bike trail along behind another bike trail along for the twins?

I have also seen some four wheel bikes on trails before (primarily on the west coast) the kind that seats four people (two in front and two in back). I think the bike rental place in Rocheport rents some two seaters like those. That might be something you could use with the twins, although I think it would be a challenge going between some of the road crossing gates on the Katy Trail.

I think our kids were 4 and 6 on our first weekend Katy ride. They both used trail-a-bikes, which are MUCH easier for the parent than trailers--the kids actually give you some power (when they're pedalling!), and they have a lot more fun than in a trailer. There are double trail-a-bikes--I have seen them. You might do a google search or talk to a bike shop. Our kids started "soloing" at about age 7, I think. Of course, you will need to moderate your mileage!-