Reply to Machens

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Reply to Machens

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Donna from Troy MO on 2/1/2009 8:18:30 PM:

I'm planning a trail trip for early Sept. What do the experts think (Doug K?) is a reasonable number of miles to travel per day for a weekend trail rider? I'm crossing my fingers that the trail to Machens is finished by then.

Ike from Belleville, Il on 2/6/2009 5:13:13 PM:

Cycling the entire Katy in a 2 day weekend is do-able, but I wouldn't recommend it. When the trail first opened (Sedalia to St. Charles) my 11 year old son and I cycled the entire trail on a three day weekend (Columbus Day Weekend). We carried our tent, bedrolls, food, etc on our bikes. We completed all but the last 15 miles before we lost daylight, but we finished that off the following Saturday.
We didn't really have a lot of time to sightsee, but did get lots of beautiful pictures and made memories to last a lifetime. He'll be 24 this summer and wants to do it again this October. If your not busy over Columbus Day weekend, maybe we'll see you.

DougK from Troy on 2/7/2009 2:00:41 PM:

Not sure of biking it, I've just hiled it.

DougK from Troy on 2/7/2009 2:01:20 PM:

Sorry. Hiked

Donna from Troy MO on 2/8/2009 12:57:35 PM:

Thanks Ike and Doug. Ours will be a leisurely ride. We'll be a month ahead of you Ike, but maybe we'll catch you on one of our Oct day trips!

Any recommendations on must-see towns, markers, or B&Bs? I'm familiar with St. Chuck to Treloar but not beyond and not overnight.

gc from Columbia, Mo. on 2/11/2009 6:41:39 AM:

Nice towns?? I would say Hermann (lots of B&Bs) Hartsburg is a nice little town (Globe Hotel?) Rocheport is always nice. Boonville is nice and The Frederick Hotel and Glenn's Cafe shouldn't be missed. Sedalia is good and had a number of lodging options (I liked the Hotel Bothwell). Clinton seems nice, too, but that's where I started on the hike and didn't get to see a lot of it.

Cody from Glen Carbon on 2/13/2009 9:08:09 AM:

I rode from Jeff City to Alton last summer (about 150 miles). I rode 65 miles the first day with all my gear for camping - not so bad. The second day I rode 85 miles and it did me in. I would suggest doing about 50-60 miles per day. I am doing this again this summer over 3 days instead of two.

Ferdette from Missouri on 2/13/2009 12:12:23 PM:

One thing to keep in mind when guesstimating your mileage is the trail surface - it's
packed, crushed stone, not paved. What that really means is that you'll go slower for the
same amount of effort compared to riding on a paved road. How much is hard to say. For
me, I typicall found myself going 10-20% slower for the same apparent effort.

Other things to consider are direction - the prevailing winds are west-ish to east-ish, so
travel speed will be impacted. How much depends on you, and on the winds.

Also, when it rains, the trail softens up, making it slower. How much, again, depends on
how much rain in the past (weeks, months...) DNR is good at maintaining the trail but they
can't generally do miracles. (In one instance I sunk up to my axles in mud... blech)

Finally, the western sections do have some hills, so you might be a bit slower in those
sections (I sure am).

Donna from Troy MO on 3/8/2009 1:12:44 PM:

Appreciate the recommendations. I intend to start in Clinton, taking advantage of the winds and getting the hills out of the way. In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes open for progress beyond St. Charles - and for comments from the experts here.

Brian from St. Louis, MO on 3/22/2009 12:52:46 AM:

The mileage all depends on you! For a recreational, occasional cyclist, 30-40 miles might be an effort. If you ride fairly regularly, 50-60 miles is doable. For seasoned, rabid, trained cyclists used to long distance riding, doing 100+ miles on sequential days isn't that bad. Many people have done the whole trail in one go...had to use lights for an hour or so. Heck, Lance Armstrong and the other pro's just did 190 miles in one day for the Milan San Remo race, and they had mountains to contend with! Have fun!

cunninghamair from O Fallon, MO on 3/22/2009 9:40:32 AM:

I agree 50 miles is doeable, but 40 may be a better goal (remember, you have to do this
several days in a row). However, two factors can affect that. Like above, we estimate we
are 2 mph slower on the Katy than the road. If the trail is damp, it could be more. Also,
if it gets HOT in the afternoon--you may want out of the heat by then. We set a brisk
pace so we can be at our destination around lunch. Then shower, nap and explore.

Also, some stretches require a longer ride. As I recall, there are some places out west
where the B&B's (if that's your goal) are farther apart. For our trips, that can be the
biggest obstacles--stringing together our ideal transportation, food and B&B's.

Another option is some longer days and some shorter days.

FEEDBACK! - Please let us know if you have suggestions, corrections, complaints, or ideas. Your input is valued and appreciated - thanks in advance!

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