Bike Katy Trail Day 3

A decent night's sleep, followed by a decent breakfast (farm fresh eggs--they were tiny compared to the ones my girls lay) and it was time to bid our boxcar goodbye.  What a cute place & I'm serious about being able to live in one...how big are the ocean containers?

Today's ride would be short...only 25 miles, I hope we can find some good food once in Hartsburg. We started off and after maybe 6 mins on the trail we were already stopping to investigate something-- a secret hide-a-way for escaping criminals. Amanda decided and I agreed that the Katy Trail would be a good place to hide if you are on the run...Lots of brush & no one is around. Of course we didn't discuss being tracked by hounds.

A quick investigation proved there were no criminals, not even signs of one., too bad. Back on the bikes.

We are finally getting glimpses of the Big Muddy, never did see barges or the Coast Guard or any small fishing boats.

There was only 1 geocache to hunt for today and it was at an overlook called Eagle's Bluff. Of course we must go find it.

Our next stop would be Boat Henge.  After stumbling across car henge 28 years ago, I was excited to see Boat Henge. We almost rode past it, but were greeted by 2 dogs, one of which decided to mark my front left pannier. Not a very nice dog in my opinion.

And that was it for boat henge,  they either ran out of boats or didn't realize Stone Henge went in a circle. I was just slightly disappointed, but more mad at the dog!

We passed thru McBaine which had a Thai restaurant but it was closed on Tuesdays, darn it, looked like an interesting place.

We did get in a grocery shopping game, well part of one:

Alkaseltzer, bagels, cinnamon, diapers, Epson salt, frankfurters, grape nuts, hot dogs, icee, jalepenis, knives, lemons, meat, NyQuil, olives, peanuts, quilt, roast, sugar, tums

Before we knew it we were in Hartsburg, first stop FOOD! While riding thru downtown, we saw the Big Muddy Tavern & it was closed along w the restaurant next door. Great. Then a man told us that the Bistro was open, we turned the corner and found the Hart Creek Bistro. Went inside & they told us the food that they were out of, already. I say already because we went back later that night & they were completely out of food. I bought a round of beer for everyone, we place our order for our $9 sub sandwiches, and we ate.

Lots of cyclists at the Bistro  and there was Duck, the man of local color--he went to the caboose to find Bill for us. I totally enjoyed sitting in the sun on the patio talking & listening to everyone else.

I went & paid Bill for access to the caboose. Wasn't as fancy as the box car (the bathroom was in a separate building) but it was warm & kept us dry when it rained that night, plus it was cheap!

I explored Hartsburg. It must have been mowing day because several people were riding lawn mowers, at first I thought they were lazy, but they did pull into a yard & mow it. I also kept forgetting that the upcoming weekend was Pumpkinfest and the locals kept saying 65,000 would invade Hartsburg. We had a hard time believing 65,000 people would come to such a small town! Where would they park? Where would they use the bathroom? And more importantly, what would they eat?

For dinner we headed to the Hitching Post a local bar where they serve frozen pizza, so good that the food server from the Bistro eats there nightly. Amanda & I open the door to a wall of smoke, thankfully there was a back patio with fresh air. You never realize how spoiled you are living in a smoke free city until you travel to smaller towns. Beer was cold, pizza was tolerable, company was great. I went to go shower and tend to the pink eye forming in my right eye (what is it about pink eye & vacations?), while the others went back to the Bistro. Yes, they ran into the couple we saw in Rocheport (Janice & Bob?) and the Bistro was OUT of food! What would the 65,000 people eat at Pumpkinfest?



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Rocheport to Hartsburg
Towns we passed by: Huntsdale, Easley (off the trail) McBaine
Time in saddle: 2 hours 12 mins
Miles for today's ride: 25.49
Total miles for the Katy Trail: 117.18
Total miles for 2012: 2334.51
Miles to go:  -322.51  miles til 2012!!

Odometer
Cross:1117

Bike Katy Trail Day 2

 Ah sleep, it does a body good! Good thing because day 2 was a long day. I don't remember the church tower letting me know what time it was, ok, I remember 10, 12 and 6, then 8, so, if you ask me the bells don't ring on odd numbers.

Breakfast at the Bothwell...bagels, oatmeal, other cereals, toast, apples, bananas and the best coffee ever. Both Kristen & I noticed the amount of Styrofoam used to feed everyone, there has to be a better way.

The ride from Sedalia to Rocheport was a long one about 53 miles.

We made it to the trailhead and stopped for a bit, there was a bike shop & gift shop at the Sedalia Depot. After spending some $, we hit the street and wound through Sedalia following the Katy Trail signs that lead us to the continuation of the trail. We were fully loaded today. I had all 4 panniers and my camera bag, the hardest part for me was always getting started, once I was cruising, no issues.

 Along the trail you can see remnants of the old railroad line. Several times a day we would see old telegraph poles. I still need to google the use of the glass things aka insulators.

Some of the biggest remnants are the bridges. There were 3 types of bridges on the Katy Trail: Pony Truss bridge, Through Truss Bridge & other (just bridges, nothing exciting). We seemed to stop at most of the through truss bridges and several pony truss bridges. They provided good places to lean your bike & better places to take pics.

Below is a through truss bridge.

 

Lots of farming along the trail. Kristen road her bike down to the combine to take a picture of it. We knew she would be the first one to flat. The person who flatted today had to buy a round of drinks.

Another fun photo op! 

There were several geocaches along the trail, so far we were O fer DNF'd but we finally found one that lead to a cool old quarry and some of the first fall color.

At one point we started the grocery shopping game, it def passed the time:

Advil, baking soda, cardamon, dog food, egg plant, fubgo's, gourd, horse radish, icy hot, jello, Kepper line leaves, Lima beans, menudo, nectarines, oranges, pappiya, quinoa pasta, radishes, stout beer, tampons, underwear, Vicks vapor rub, watermelon, x rated movie, yogurt, zingers.

Time for lunch in Pilot Grove. We chose Becky's over the other place because no one was smoking inside of Becky's, additionally, they served pie--home grown apples, hand picked, cut & made into a scrumptious apple pie.

 Long day so far...and having a flat didn't help, neither did anyone else, the pavement was warm, so they took a catnap while I changed my tube. Ugh, guess I'm buying the first round of drinks tonight, at least it wasn't yesterday when dinner was on the line.

Looking at all the pics we took, we really saw a lot of interesting things all before lunch. After lunch we got 'lost' in Booneville (saw the sign for the Katy Trail w/ an arrow pointing in the opposite way we were going, but we chose to ignore it until the trail rail out). Crossed over the Missouri River in Booneville, then soon found Franklin and New Franklin.

There was remnants of a roundhouse in Franklin where they would turn the locamotives around, I guess today they just drive them backwards? must ask a train expert soon.

 More sights along the way, we really saw a lot on day 2. Wonder how to break that up for the next time?

This is a long blog....

 We made it to Rocheport, very cool tunnel just outside the town. Had fun making Victor ride back & forth through it for photos that didn't turn out so hot, and laughed when he slipped.

Rocheport looked like a really cool town to explore, but everything was closed, so we went to the B&B to unpack & find someplace to eat.

Our B & B for the night was a box car & I'll have to say that after sleeping in one, I think with a few adjustments I could live in one.

 

Once kinda settled, we started to look for a place to eat, no such luck, but the info notebook did say there were frozen pizzas for $5 in the kitchen...we were sold. Bee line for the kitchen only to find out (1) people we had talked to in Sedalia were staying there (2) and there weren't any pizzas! :-( So we started eating cereal and apples when another lady came down from the attic & just about lost it in laughter because the Texans were following her! After a few mins of laughter, she was on the phone to her son who was driving in from Colombia. He stopped at a gas station to see if he could find pizzas, no luck, but he did bring us beer! Problem solved. Yes, we went to bed kinda hungry. Where are those cans of beans & weenies when you need them?

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Sedalia to Rocheport
Towns we passed by: Clifton City, Pilot Grove, Booneville, Franklin, New Franklin
Time in saddle: 4 hours 57 mins
Miles for today's ride:51.77
Total miles for the Katy Trail:91.69
Total miles for 2012: 2309.02
Miles to go:  -296.98  miles til 2012!!

Odometer
Cross:1091

Bike Katy Trail Day 1

Day 1 of biking the Katy trail should prove to be interesting after having zero hours of sleep! I hate Christmas morning syndrome!

We loaded up the bikes & drove from Sedalia to Clinton. Since we spent Saturday night in the Bothwell Hotel in Sedalia & will be staying there again, on Sunday, no need to haul everything. The Bothwell Hotel is an old hotel in downtown Sedalia, across from the courthouse and close to a church that likes to let you know the time every hour. Yes, the rooms were kinda small (everyone online complained about that), but nice. We fit 4 people in a room w 2 double beds & 4 bikes, it can be done, there was even had a special dressing room which helped out more than we thought it would.

It was 37 degrees when we woke in Sedalia, so we weren't in much of a hurry to hit the trail. The day before it was rainy & cold and the few bikers we saw didn't look too happy, but they did look cold. Thankfully the sun was out!

We parked the cars at the Clinton Community Center Parking lot. Funny how we had a hard time finding it--the smart phones weren't very helpful, yet Amanda & her lazer eyes were able to read the words on the side of the building. At that point I hoped I had everything I needed for the next 6 days, not many Walmarts around..amazing but true!

First stop was at the caboose to take the group photo.

Then restroom stops, take a photo of another group starting out, then we pedaled. The scenery had more trees than I thought. Trees on both sides of the trail, creating a canopy covering the trail. Lots of shadows that normally would drive me nuts because you can't see cracks & holes, but I trusted the Missouri Parks to keep the trail pretty flat, plus I was on the cross bike which can handle bumps better than the road bike. The trail was pretty much flat since it was an old railroad bed, no ups and downs like in Austin. Interesting enough, you would find yourself breathing harder and realize you were going up an incline, then you could breathe better and you were going downhill.

We stopped in Windsor to get something to eat. Found a convenience store for some snacks in Windsor, too bad the tiniest Dairy Queen ever was closed. I can tell already the food would be interesting for this trip, not necessary worried about calories, more about nutrition.

Between Clinton & Sedalia, we hit the highest elevation for the trail at 955 ft above sea level, so from there technically it was all downhill.

When we finished in Sedalia, there were lots of photo ops. It felt good to get the first 40 out of the way, now to shower eat & sleep.

For dinner, my Missouri cousins came in & took us out to eat Mexican food at El Tapatio, pretty good food (maybe I'm a sucker for melted cheese), great margaritas and excellent company, we were soon all laughing!

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Clinton to Sedalia
Towns we passed by: Calhoun, Windsor, and Green Ridge
Time in saddle: 3 hours 1 min 55 secs
Miles for today's ride: 39.92
Total miles for the Katy Trail: 39.92
Total miles for 2012: 2257.25
Miles to go:  -245.25  miles til 2012!!

Odometer
Cross:1040.00

September Stats

September was an unusual ride month, I should have been riding longer distances on the weekend, but only rode as high as 44  miles. We will see if I do the Livestrong Century or not. Now that I think about it, I did the Philly Livestrong 70 on a lot less training & steeper hills, what's 30 more miles? Guess I'll find out come game day!

Best ride, other than to Bastrop had to be the fast rides on 360 & Bee Caves--real confidence boosters! Sometimes I find it hard to believe I'm closer to 50 than to 30, I don't feel old, but according to the kid on the bus after tubing, I look 47.

Can't believe the summer is gone again. Next summer I will ride Krause's Springs & to Lockhart again. Or who knows, maybe across Nebraska?

Finished off the month obtaining my League Cycling Instructor certification, let's see where that takes me!

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Total miles for the month of September:393.69
Total miles for 2012:2173.03
Miles to go:  -152.03  miles til 2012!!
One way commutes in September: 8
Total one way commutes: 62 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Road: 13037
Cross: 955.5

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Riding Fast

I've been frustrated that since the stroke, I can't seem to go as fast as I used to ride. Diane & I always averaged 14.6 or higher. I know some of the reasons: I'm doing more urban riding (stop signs & lights & trails slow you down) and the cross bike weighs a ton & has wider tires. So, I brought the road bike to work on a Weds & decided to test my legs on 360. By the time I hit the 360 Bridge, technically known as the PennyBacker Bridge, I averaged 17+ mph! Now to go back UPHILL!

On the way back, I never had to shift into the granny ring up front...and I maintained a 10 mph on the first 2 hills. I did take a break at the Rob Roy entrance, then it was time to conquer the Bee Caves Hill. KimSTRONG! No granny gear, no standing all the way up!!!

By the time I was up the Bee Caves hill, my average was below 15, but I had 1.5 miles to crank it up. Big ring time! Sadly, I was passed, by another girl, so that's ok, it must have been woman's day on 360, I was passed twice by females. Final average15.2 mph

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Total miles for this ride: 12.44
Total miles for the month of September: 273.58
Total miles for 2012: 2052.92
Miles to go:  -40.92  miles til 2012!!
One way commutes in September so far: 4
Total one way commutes: 62 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Road: 13022
Cross:

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The next week I had to conquer Bee Caves another hilly highway ride. Feeling the pressure to hit 16 since KPT hit 18.4 & she had rolling wood before that, but she also had Rollingwood downhill. When I hit the turn around, I was at 17. The last time I road Bee Caves was in 2009 and I hit 14.6, so I felt 16 was obtainable.
Flew down the big hill at 34, then stayed in the big ring until I had to stop at a light, but soon shifted back into the big ring until I turned around.

Once again it was tougher going back. I took a break before going up the big hill and once again made it up it without the help of the granny gear. How did I know that when i bought the bike at age 40, that I would need the granny gear to help me recover from the stroke. I've def stronger now than I was then, just need to ride on the right roads to average higher.

Once at the top of the big hill, I was slightly below 16, but knew I could pull it back up. Bee Caves felt great! 18 miles and fast!! Averaged 16.6 mph!

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Total miles for this ride: 19.16
Total miles for the month of September: 313.64
Total miles for 2012: 2092.98
Miles to go:  -80.98  miles til 2012!!
One way commutes in September so far: 6
Total one way commutes: 64 (I've reached my goal)
Odometer
Road: 13031 cool palindrome
Cross:

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