Ten days for Katy Trail - and then what?

In article ,
(Karen M.) writes:

It's not going to get any better anytime soon. As I understand it,,
too many customers availed themselves of a free $300 phone and huge
amounts of minutes for teensy prices. T-M has moved to not build up
their network in the middle of the country, preferring to concentrate
on California and the east coast.

My AT&T phone didn't have any trouble in that general area. Don't these things
access each other's networks for an extra fee? I'm puzzled. I did not
uniformly use my AT&T over the whole trail though.

Tom Gibb

In article ,
(Ray.Net) writes:

The following link will give you a list of all grocery and convenience
stores that I'm aware of, on or near the Katy Trail:

http://www.BikeKatyTrail.com/planari...hkGroceries=on


Thanks for the URL. I did notice, after I had extended the search to include
camping spots that the Katy Round house was not listed as having camping.
Since we camped there last October I was suspicious. "Clicking" on the Katy
Round house link indicated that they still have camping there. It's going to
take a bit of research to be sure.

Tom Gibb

"Kevin Saff" wrote in message ...
Hi, I'm going to ride the Katy Trail (MO, ~220 mi) from my home in St.
Charles down to the end and back, in the week before Labor Day. I plan to
camp at night, but I'll be relying on the towns for food. Although I'll
have a bit more than 10 days if I set out Friday night, I can't imagine the
trail taking more than 3 days one way. Can anyone recommend interesting
places to check out within a couple days ride (say 150-200 mi) of the trail?

I rode the trail in early June. My advice:

Forget about the guidebook. The Missouri DNR website, the town
message boards, and the website mentioned in this thread provide all
you need. The guidebook devotes too much space to produce that was
shipped in the 1800s and meaningless stories. The maps are small and
useless. When you get on the trail you'll find the book is just dead
weight.

Take 5 days to complete the trail. It's possible to ride the entire
thing in 3 days, but why would you want to? People along the trail
don't care and people here would be even less impressed. You'd have
time to stop whenever you liked and would be rested for the return
trip. Spend a day or a half in either Jeff City or Columbia. Make
sure you arrive in Rocheport when the tourist spots are actually open.
Cross the river into Hermann or Washington and tour the wineries if
that's your thing. Take along a Lewis & Clark book and stop to read
the numerous historical markers along the way.

For the return trip skip as much of the trail as possible. You're
likely to be tired of it anyway. Plan your own route using maps from
the Missouri Bike Federation
(http://www.mobikefed.org/mobikemap2004/index.html). Take a northern
route to see the early stages of the harvest or a southern route to
pass through the Ozarks. Being on a road instead of the trail should
satisfy your desire for whatever speed or distance goals you have.
Stay in state parks where possible.

Have fun and good luck.

"John" wrote in message
m...
"Kevin Saff" wrote in message
...
[snip] Can anyone recommend interesting
places to check out within a couple days ride (say 150-200 mi) of the
trail?

I rode the trail in early June. My advice:

[snip guidebook rant]

Take 5 days to complete the trail. It's possible to ride the entire
thing in 3 days, but why would you want to? People along the trail
don't care and people here would be even less impressed. You'd have
time to stop whenever you liked and would be rested for the return
trip. Spend a day or a half in either Jeff City or Columbia. Make
sure you arrive in Rocheport when the tourist spots are actually open.
Cross the river into Hermann or Washington and tour the wineries if
that's your thing. Take along a Lewis & Clark book and stop to read
the numerous historical markers along the way.

Thanks for your advice, but your way of offering it really bugged me. I
have already seen much of the the trail on single day trips, and I doubt
this time will be the last. So, I am not especially worried about seeing
every stop on the way. I think going solo also affects the dynamics of some
tourist nooks. I am not trying to "impress" anyone by riding 3 days, I just
figure that's what I'll end up doing; I tend to enjoy long days in the
saddle for its own sake. It's possible that I'll change my mind when I'm
out there, but that's part of the fun. I was just asking for advice based
on my current assumptions.

For the return trip skip as much of the trail as possible. You're
likely to be tired of it anyway. Plan your own route using maps from
the Missouri Bike Federation
(http://www.mobikefed.org/mobikemap2004/index.html). Take a northern
route to see the early stages of the harvest or a southern route to
pass through the Ozarks. Being on a road instead of the trail should
satisfy your desire for whatever speed or distance goals you have.
Stay in state parks where possible.

Have fun and good luck.

Thank you; I'll check out these maps. Have a nice day.

--
+---- Kevin C. Saff ----+ F-15 | |Eagle
| Engineer in St. Louis | _____|_^_|_____
| Tracking/Fleet Support| * + [_(x)_] + *

Kevin-

I'm afraid my information isn't up-to-the-minute but reading about your
trip has made me somewhat nostalgic for central MO so I'll offer what I
can. I lived in Columbia 1983-1990 and St. Louis 1997-2000.

- Stone Hill Winery in Hermann and Les Bourgeois in Rocheport are both
worth a stop, IMHO. The view from the bluffs in Rocheport is very nice
and worth the climb.

- Aside from the government buildings, Jeff City doesn't have that much
to offer a tourist. Of course, I haven't spent a whole lot of time there
since 1990 so perhaps things have changed. If you have to make a choice,
I'd pick Columbia over Jeff any day of the week. As a teenager I rode my
bike over the Route 63 bridge from Columbia to Jeff and don't remember
it as particularly harrowing, but things have probably changed since the
mid 80s.

- In Columbia, skip Katy Station (if it's still open, I don't recall
seeing it when I was back through last summer). Shakespeare's Pizza on
9th street would be my first choice for a lunch/dinner stop - best pizza
on the planet and (at least used to be) staffed mostly by bike racers.
They've opened another restaurant on North Broadway that might be a bit
closer to the Katy Trail, but the original location on 9th street
downtown is not too far from the MKT spur.

Wishing you a safe trip, good weather and tailwinds,

JLS
--
James Scott
www.jls.cx

"James Scott" wrote in message
...
Kevin-

I'm afraid my information isn't up-to-the-minute but reading about your
trip has made me somewhat nostalgic for central MO so I'll offer what I
can. I lived in Columbia 1983-1990 and St. Louis 1997-2000.

Cool.

[snip]

- In Columbia, skip Katy Station (if it's still open, I don't recall
seeing it when I was back through last summer). Shakespeare's Pizza on
9th street would be my first choice for a lunch/dinner stop - best pizza
on the planet and (at least used to be) staffed mostly by bike racers.
They've opened another restaurant on North Broadway that might be a bit
closer to the Katy Trail, but the original location on 9th street
downtown is not too far from the MKT spur.

Wishing you a safe trip, good weather and tailwinds,

Thanks, I haven't started yet, and am already dreaming of Shakespeare's
Pizza...