On the Trail of Adventure By Tod Langford

In June, while other OBS members were enjoying this year's Grand Tour through New Mexico, Susan Higgins, John Wente and I embarked on a first self-contained tour for all three of us . . . the famed Katy Trail across Missouri. Our plan was to ride from Sedalia, MO 242 miles to St. Charles, currently the end of the line. From St. Charles we would make a "deadhead run" forty miles back up the trail to Washington where we would take Amtrak back to our vehicles in Sedalia. We had made reservations in March for lodging along the way, but on the actual journey we met one or two self-contained tourists who were camping more or less successfully. Though we stayed in hotels in Sedalia, Jefferson City, & St. Charles, Bed & Breakfasts were our fare along the way.

The B&B experiences were a first for Susan and me and we both saw a blinding light. All were ferociously clean, smoke-free and "gracious though comfortable" in ambiance. Some B&B's were innovative like the "Katy O'Neil House" in Rocheport, where Susan and I stayed in a luxurious (really) converted boxcar, and John enjoyed an upstairs suite in the main house. Others, like the "H.S. Clay House" in Augusta offered all the amenities, including a virtual gourmet breakfast, evening refreshments, a pool, and an endless array of historical artifacts to peruse. Likewise, the formerly mentioned Katy O'Neil house offers an array of cycling memorabilia such as we had never seen in a single venue.

The trail itself is a smooth hard-packed surface suitable really for the bike of your preference. John enjoyed riding a mountain bike with panniers. Susan and I found our standard-issue Cannondale touring bikes to be ideal. We were fully loaded with front and rear panniers. Along the way we saw predominantly hybrids, mountain bikes and even a "roadie" or two. Curiously, we saw only one tandem, an ancient rented "bicycle built for two," though we all thought it would be a perfect tour for a fat-tire tandem.

The terrain on the trail is welcoming - the railroad grade (5% or less) is flat to us, and the Missouri version of wind is negligible by Okie standards. We did, however, discover that "flat and level" also means no coasting. . . Ever! Most of the trail is wide enough for three bikes to ride abreast (especially if your bike is not loaded) and follows the great Missouri River on one side and spectacularly forested limestone bluffs on the other. In June the trailside flourished with wild roses, thousands of bluebirds, and plentiful wildlife . . . deer, raccoons, foxes, and the usual squirrels and rabbits, and a cat-sized stoat-like animal that none of us could identify or remember to ask a local about. [Ed. note: turned out to be a groundhog]

Susan and I are already planning a return trip in which we intend to ride both ways, Sedalia to St. Charles and back. We discovered that riding in the opposite direction opened up so many new vistas that it simply begs to be done. For those interested, Amtrak provides roll-on accommodations at $25.00 per person, $10.00 per bike from Washington to Sedalia. They were very accommodating and cyclist-friendly.

There is not, of course, "time and continent" enough to tell of all our adventures in this venue, and should you go self-contained as we did there are lessons to learn that can only be learned out there. Find one of us on the road, at a club event, or one of the usual organized rides and we'll tell you much more. Some of it may be true. E.g. There will be a PBS special about the Katy Trail some time in the fall, and unless we wind up on the cutting room floor, Susan John, and I should appear in it. But that's another story.

In all, we logged 962 miles by car, 282 miles by bicycle and 250 miles by rail. It was our finest hour.

Special thanks to Laurie and Jim Allshouse for early reconnaissance of the trail and to Becky Tatum for providing a meticulously organized itinerary for the trip complete with maps and phone numbers of whom to call about what.

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