solo female

Are there any women out there who have biked the entire trail solo? I am planning to bike/camp from Clinton to St.Charles and would like to hear any advice you could give me.

Just do it! You will have a great time. I have ridden the entire trail, but with companions.
However, I have ridden pretty much all parts of the Trail by myself on day trips (except close
to St. Louis) and have always enjoyed it. sharon

I ride the sections between St. Charles and Dutzow by myself once a week. I've done it all summer, and have not had a problem. I carry a mace canister on my handlebars, in case I encounter a mean dog, but have never had to use it. (Other women riders here recommended that to me) Klondike Park is a nice place to camp for the night.

I rode on a mountain bike from Clinton to St. Charles solo (July 5-7,06) with stops in Boonville (1st night) and Hermann (2nd night). I didn't camp, but stayed at a friend's house the first night, and at Birk's Gasthaus (excellent) on the second night. A friend from college who lives in St. Louis picked me up from the St. Charles trailhead on Friday, and I took Amtrak back to Lee's Summit on Saturday afternoon.

I had no safety issues, no flats or other mechanical issues, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I lucked out with the weather, low 80's (rained July 4th morning), and the trail for the first couple of days was packed down well. It wasn't until the last day that I got a real taste of trail dust :-). Not many riders around the Jeff City area.

I would recommend no more than 50 miles a day--my itinerary was pretty agressive, and found that I didn't really have time to read signs, or go on some the ad hoc hikes (did go on the Eagle Bluffs hike just east of McBane, if memory serves--don't miss that--absolutely beautiful overlook of the Missouri river valley).

I recommend reading these discussion Boards, especially for information on campsites and towns that you plan on spending the night. Tried and true recommendations are the best!

My first inclination is to recommend against such an adventure. It violates the first rule of wilderness survival, "Don't go alone." (Regardless of how mild a KATY wildnerness adventure is.) That said, something about Beth's post makes one curious about her. I've got a recent vacancy on the stoker seat of my tandem. I wonder, does Beth has any interest in a non-solo adventure on the KATY? :)

Just do it...if I waited until I had someone to do everything with I might not ever leave the
house! LOL Let someone know where you are so that if something does happen, they will
know where to start looking! But, seriously, I would just do it...sounds like fun to me. If you
do get in trouble, there are lots of people along the way to ask for help. Sharon

I'm early 50's/female and have done the entire trail solo and multiple overnight trips solo. I always carry my cell phone and let my hubby know when I start in the morning and when I arrive in the afternoon. The only problem (besides flats) was an angry dog that came running out of the woods chasing me. Since then I carry Haltz but have never had to use it.
Go for it! Time waits for no one and like the other poster noted, if you wait till you have someone to go with, it may not happen.
MAH, KCMO

Right on MAH! Simply, elegantly put. Regards.....Mark of the Dalton Boys

I go out by myself all the time, and always feel pretty safe. However, I have yet to do the whole trail, but I'm planning on doing it sometime this fall. I think you should go for it, but you may want to plug in the phone number for MO Conservation Dept. in your cell phone. They are the ones that can drive on the trail to respond to emergencies, etc. I may be wrong, but I'm almost positive it's MO Conservation trucks on the trail. Anyways, good luck & enjoy your ride!

Thanks for everyone's input! I've done several solo camping/day hiking trips without thinking twice, but hearing people gasp in horror when I tell them I'm going to ride the Katy solo made me wonder if I was missing something. Hearing your encouraging feedback makes me wish I was starting tomorrow. Granted, I do realize that I'll still have to use a bit more caution since I'll be alone (with a possiblity of company for one day). But statistically speaking, I'm probably more likely to knock myself out with a bellyflop exit from my bathtub than I am to run into physical danger on the Katy Trail. I guess nobody is really "safe" anywhere...we just expose ourselves to dangers of a different kind, depending on where we go.
The one thing that does have me worried is camping along the trail. I've been scouring the comment forum, as Beth suggested, looking for good campground recommendations and making a note of them. I'd love to hear from more of you on good and not-so-good campgrounds. By good, I mean fairly safe, as far as campgrounds go (preferably not next door to a bar, prison, or shooting range). I don't need anything fancy in the way of amenities...just a place to lay my head. I haven't worked out my itinerary yet, so I don't have specific campgrounds to ask about....but if I get some feedback, maybe I can plan my stops around that!

This is great! I'm planning to do an end-to-end solo ride myself and am just now researching my trip. However, I was planning on staying at some BB's instead of camping (wasn't sure if I wanted to carry all that gear with me). It's great to know that there are other women out there who have ridden or who are interested in riding the trail all the way. Maybe we should get together and start our own adventure club! Anyone interested in hiking the Appalachians? :)

Thanks for the encouragement ladies - now I'm more determined than ever to do this.

The Katy Trail is maintained by the Department of Natural Resources, not the Conservation Department. State Park staff and rangers are the ones on the trail.

Jim Gast
Superintendent
Katy Trail State Park(Middle West section: Portland to Boonville)

I rode the katy trail solo from Sedalia to St. Charles. I rode it for 5 days, average of 40 miles a day. I stayed mainly in Bed and Breakfast. There are sleeping rooms in Sedalia. I will highly recommend the sleeping room at Maxine Wheeler's (660)287-0971 in Sedalia. I took the Amtrak on July 20th to Sedalia. Because of the storm we had in St. Louis, instead of arriving at 7pm I arrived after midnight. Maxine was very generous of picking me up from the train station at that time. I could go on... I just had the best experience with her and her family.
Riding the Katy trail was a very powerful experience. I grew stronger. I had to keep myself very positive, cheering myself so I reach my goal each day. Faith was the main ingredient. I had a flat tire the second day, and my chain came off the third day. I didn't carry any tools and I am not handy at all. The fourth day I saw a big improvement in my physical strength.
If you have the idea of riding it on your own, go for it. Don't think twice.