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The Katy Trail, one of the primer rail-trails in the country, takes you 240 miles from St. Louis to Clinton, MO (not far from Kansas City), or, as in our case, the other direction. We started, however, in Windsor, MO, about 20 miles northeast of Clinton, since the spacing of the campsites was more convenient starting there.  

This was a very special trip in that our daughter, Melanie, joined us, as well as Tom’s brother Mark and his wife Jean. It was especially fun to share this adventure with them. Mark and Jean are great sprint bikers, so riding is nothing new to them. Four of the party participated in a one-person-drives-ahead-to-the-campsite-with-the-camping-stuff rotation, but Tom, being a purist, insisted on carrying his own gear on his bike.  

The Katy Trail, for nearly its entire course, parallels the Missouri River, following the route of the great explorers Lewis and Clark. We took along with us the biography of Meriwether Lewis to read along the way. Fascinating story, and especially so seeing the sites he and Clark saw centuries ago.  

If you like challenging trails, the Katy Trail is not one of them - flat, mostly straight, no cars. It is a very easy ride, and after covering the 240 miles you’re tempted to ask, “Is that all?”  Nevertheless, the scenery is great, especially with the Missouri River often in the backdrop. If you’re camping, there are plenty of campsites, but some are in city parks.

 

The main challenge was the weather - hot! We did most of our riding in the morning to escape the heat of the day, and chilled out in the afternoon. We spend one afternoon touring the Missouri capital building in Jefferson City. A tour guide took us around to give us the inside story of the capital building and its inhabitants.

Besides the heat, we had our share of rain as well. One thunderstorm was severe enough for Nancy and Tom to take shelter under an overpass, and for Mark, Jean and Melanie, who were road riding that day, to hide out in a farmer’s barn. One other complication is worth mentioning. One member of the party (who will remain nameless) did a solo ride one day, but, unfortunately, after 20 miles of riding discovered that he/she was heading in the wrong direction! Oops.  

On these trips we always meet interesting people. We shared a campsite and several meals with a gentleman riding a reclining bike from L.A. to Chicago following historic route 66 (doing a small detour to ride the Katy Trail). He had already been cross-country several times. Amazing.  

                                                                                         

Seeing the attractions in St. Louis is irresistible - the big arch, museums, etc. While waiting for our Greyhound’s departure we took in some sights and celebrated our crossing a most fascinating place - the State of Missouri.