eht from columbia, MO on 4/16/2011 6:40:29 AM:
Best prairie examples are western end of trail, from Sedalia to Clinton. As I recall, some of the RR rights of ways were the only bits of prairie preserved when the land was plowed up for agriculture, and has been restored with fire to many of the native plants. It's been a while, but I believe there are some interpretive signs along that section. Every trailhead has a nice display board put up by DNR with info about interesting natural or historical features on the next section.
If you are really interested in seeing the natural areas, you might want to take a detour to the Eagle Bluffs nature area near McBaine. There are lots of gravel roads there, so it wouldn't be easy on a road bike, but I think a hybrid or mtn bike would be okay.
Hope this helps. The trail will be beautiful in May, and you should see plenty of wildflowers and bird life, if nothing else (oh, and probably lots of snakes and lizards sunning themselves in the trail!)