Katy Trail - Newbies

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Trigirl262 from Memphis, TN on 8/26/2018 1:02:21 PM:

My husband and I, along with another couple will be biking the Katy Trial from St. Charles to Rhineland from 10/5-101/10. We'll be staying in 2 B & B's on the way there and back and will be seal-contained. We have never done that his type of trip and are looking for info regarding:

1. Types of waterproof panniers
2. Must haves to pack that will fit in the panniers
3. Best way to wash clothes overnight & types of quick dry clothes
4. Any other tips and recommendations

Looking forward to our trip! Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Doug from Bluffton on 8/26/2018 2:43:09 PM:

Most of the B&Bs will either do a load of laundry for you or let you do one. I do.

Anonymous on 8/26/2018 4:59:50 PM:

Waterproof panniers can be quite costly and not cost effective for a newbie short ride. Ziplock bags of various sizes work great to waterproof and organize items in panniers.

A tire repair kit with an inflator or pump and the knowledge to use them are must haves. Most other items are luxury on short rides.

Doug has good advice on laundry. Again though, most don't worry about laundry on short out and back rides.

Ray (webmaster) on 8/27/2018 5:30:58 AM:

I love my Timbuk2 panniers, but best advice is to visit a local bike shop or outdoors-type store and look at all the options, get their advice, and have them show you how to mount the panniers.

I always carry:
- multiple spare tubes and air canisters
- energy gel
- basic first aid (motrin, neosporin, and bandaids)
- poncho for rain
- hot weather: extra quart-sized Nalgene bottle of water
- cold weather: gloves and ear wrap
- small power-storage device for cell phone charging
- sunscreen
- bug repellant
- couple large ziplock bags and trash bag

For clothing, synthetic material - as opposed to cotton - is better to wick away your sweat, so you don't feel like you have soggy clothes hanging on you all day.

Have a good trip - happy trails!

Allen from Shawnee on 8/27/2018 6:35:51 AM:

I agree with Doug good waterproof panniers are expensive, one of the most popular are Ortleibs. A pretty good bargain pannier are Bike Nashbar waterproof panniers they can often be found on sale. Ray had good advice on fundamentals to carry. Usually people who are doing B & B’s just use two rear panniers. If you are involved in the biking community perhaps someone you know has a set of panniers to loan you, this and waterproofing items inside works well as has been mentioned. I did this for years before buying waterproofs.
One item I find useful are handiwipes.
Have a good trip

Allen

Gary B from Blue Springs, MO on 8/27/2018 8:28:06 AM:

My wife and I road the Rock Island from Pleasant Hill to Windsor,then the Katy to/from Clinton one day and Sedalia another day in June this year. I bought us these paniers from Amazon and they were very roomy and worked out great.

Panniers: http://a.co/d/f2Dfqbz
Rack: http://a.co/d/8C4j0qs

--GaryB

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