St. Louis, MO had the unfortunate distinction of being the second most violent city in the United States in 2011. We doubted conditions there had improved much over the past two years, so we decided to hedge our bets and use bicycle paths to skirt the northern edge of the city. The bike paths would take us across the Mississippi at the town of Alton, IL, which is only a few miles from the eastern end of the 240-mile Katy Trail. When we reached the end of the Katy Trail in western Missouri, we planned to piece together a route to Kansas City to complete the ride across Missouri.
But first we had to extract ourselves from our very comfortable accommodations in St. Jacob, IL. After exhausting our list of excuses to spend another day in St. Jacob, we reluctantly pedaled away from the plush little apartment we had been staying in and followed rural roads for five miles to the small town of Marine, IL. At Marine, we entered the eastern terminus of the awkwardly named “Madison County Transit Heritage Trail.” The MCTHT was our segue to the snarl of bike paths that led us northwest around St. Louis.
Navigating the bike paths was easy enough, and in one day we managed to pedal over 70 miles from St. Jacob, IL to the charming little city of St. Charles, MO, northwest of St. Louis. In St. Charles, we were welcomed into the home of another gracious warmshowers.org host, Marty, who fed us, allowed us to use his washer and shower, and then let us camp out on his family room floor. Many thanks, Marty!
The next day we continued on the Katy Tail, which would have been a very pleasant ride, if it weren’t for the extreme heat, humidity, and dust, which made the whole experience a bit grueling. After a day of riding through the mid-day heat, we altered our schedule: we would wake up and start riding around 5:30 or 6:00am and do about 25 miles before taking a reprieve from the heat in a supermarket or convenience store for several hours. Then, after the worst heat of the day had passed, we would set out again and ride another 25 or 30 miles before making camp next to a church, in a baseball field, or a town park.
We had high expectations when we set out on the Katy Trail, but in the end we were a bit disappointed. Our biggest gripe was the inaccuracy of the official Katy Trail map, which led us to believe there were convenience stores, supermarkets, and campsites in certain small hamlets along the trail, when, in fact, there were none. The map also misrepresented the meager services that did exist (e.g. an old lady selling a handful of crusty granola bars and a few cans of warm diet coke does not meet our definition of “grocery store”).
[Just to be clear, it was not the lack of services that bothered us, it was the misinformation that was irritating. If we had no information or expectations then we could have planned accordingly.]
After riding about 220 miles of the dirt and gravel path, we decided we would part ways the Katy Trail and our riding partner, Kit. We exited the trail at Sedalia, MO and began riding due west on Route 50, which had a very wide and smooth shoulder. We followed Route 50 all the way from Sedalia to Lee’s Summit, MO, a suburb of Kansas City. In Lee’s Summit, we connected with Warm Showers hosts Josh and Danielle, who are both avid cyclists, although of a different breed: Josh has completed several Ironman races on a speedy and super light triathlon bike made from carbon fiber tubing. (An Ironman is a triathlon that involves swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full 26.2 mile marathon. Insane!)
We spent one rest day in their apartment and then packed our bags and rode across the Missouri border and into Kansas.
We reluctantly pedaled away from our very comfortable accommodations in St Jacob, IL and followed five miles of rural roads to a bicycle path near Marine, IL. Marine is the eastern terminus of a network of paths that stretches across eastern St. Louis and extends into rural Illinois.
The Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, IL marks the point at the convergence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began their historic expedition in 1804. Another awkwardly named cycling route–the Madison County Transit Confluence Trail–runs along a flood barrier that passes between the monument and the banks of the Mississippi.
The Clark Bridge spans the Mississippi River between Alton, IL and West Alton, MO.
The Clark Bridge bicycle lane provides cyclists with a safe and direct route across the Mississippi. It isn’t a very relaxing ride though, given the lane is absolutely covered with sharp bits of wire, broken glass, loose nails, screws, and hardware. Fortunately, our Continental Travel Contact tires were up to the task.
We reached the Katy Trail just before dark and rode the last 13 miles by the light of our dynamo-powered headlights.
A scene along the Katy Trail
Our first night in Missouri was spent in St. Charles with another Warm Showers host. Marty and his family prepared us chicken kebabs for dinner, ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast, and then shared tips and info about the Katy Trail before sending us on our way.
A box turtle along the Katy Trail
A sandstone overhang near Augusta, MO.
A sandstone overhang near Augusta, MO… and a grumpy, pink leprechaun striking a pose
After cycling several miles along the Katy Trail under extreme heat, we decided to end the day early. We found a place to pitch our tent next to a baseball field in Marthasville, MO. Added bonus: Eyna went exploring and found an unlocked bathhouse with a functioning hot shower.
Another box turtle along the Katy Trail… this one is camera-shy, though.
Camping next to a church in Mokane, MO
A scene along the Katy Trail
A scene along the Katy Trail
An MKT Tunnel near New Franklin, MO.
We were resting in a trailside Thai restaurant near Columbus, MO when we met Kit, who is cycling from Maine to the west coast. We decided to cycle together along the Katy Trail. On our first night together, were camped next to the trail in New Franklin, MO when, in the middle of the night, a police officer woke us up and told us that we needed to relocate to a campground about half a mile away. It’s hard to argue in a situation like that, so we all got up, disassembled our tents, packed our things, and cycled into the dark… half a mile later, no campground… another mile later, no campground… until we eventually reached Boonville, MO sometime after 1:00am. A casino was the only sign of life in the otherwise deserted and unsavory town. It was late and we were tired, so we decided to enquire about room rates, or at least find out where we might be able to pitch our tent. We were immediately approached by a very energetic, snaggle-toothed, middle-aged woman who offered to let us take her complementary hotel room at the casino if we let her keep the money for the deposit (she said she didn’t need a room, as she planned to stay up all night gambling). It was late, we were tired, and there didn’t appear to be many (or any!) safe and discreet places to pitch our tent in Boonville, so we accepted her offer. We split the cost of the $50 deposit three ways and made our way to our room. As I settled into the bed in the room I thought about how a few hours earlier I had been drifting off to sleep in my tent next to a bicycle path…if someone told me then that a few hours later I’d be sleeping in a casino, I would never have believed them. Oh, the vicissitudes of a cycling adventure! (Note: This was also the first time we spent money on accommodation since the trip began. We have been living on about $17/day per person, including our health insurance and iPad data plan.)
A scene along the Katy Trail
A scene along the Katy Trail near Sedalia, MO.
A scene along the Katy Trail near Sedalia, MO.
Our second night with Kit was spent in Sedalia, MO. After the crazy night that landed us in a casino, we decided to go to a police station to get permission to pitch our tent in a park or some other public space. Unfortunately, the police officer we talked to didn’t give us very detailed or accurate directions to the county fairgrounds. When we finally found the fairgrounds, all of the gates appeared to be locked. We eventually found a way inside and immediately happened upon a fire station, which reminded us of our stay with the friendly and accommodating firemen of Pittsburgh, PA. We asked the firemen if we could camp on their lawn, and sure enough, they offered us a grassy patch behind their garage and access to a water source.
Eyna cleaning her chain after a dusty ride along the Katy Trail
We had to say goodbye to Kit after riding with him for 2 days along the Katy Trail. He’s going to continue riding the trail to Clinton, MO before continuing west on tarmac, while we are going to ride Route 50 to Kansas City.
A scene near La Monte, MO along Route 50… Paul evidently finds this hilarious.
A scene near Knob Noster, MO along Route 50
Our first night out on Route 50 was spent in Warrensburg, MO. Another helpful and accommodating police officer asked the police chief to allow us to sleep in a park nearby, which is usually not permitted. We saw him drive by a few times to check on us during the night, which was very comforting.
Not long after arriving in Warrensburg, we met local cyclist Alex. He guided us to the park that the police officer suggested we camp in, and the next day he returned at 7:00am with two breakfast sandwiches and a thermos of fresh coffee.
A scene near Warrensburg, MO along Route 50
Statistics:
August 22: St. Jacob, IL to St. Charles, MO, 66.19 miles in 7 hours and 26 minutes
August 23: St. Charles, MO to Marthasville, MO, 43.85 miles in 4 hours and 48 minutes
August 24: Marthasville, MO to Mokane, MO, 50.08 miles in 5 hours and 55 minutes
August 25: Mokane, MO to Boonville, MO, 69.29 miles in 8 hours and 31 minutes
August 26: Boonville, MO to Sedalia, MO, 45.55 miles in 5 hours and 54 minutes
August 27: Sedalia, MO to Warrensburg, MO, 32.05 miles in 3 hours and 43 minutes
August 28: Warrensburg, MO to Lee’s Summit, MO, 41.71 miles in 4 hours and 47 minutes
Total miles: 348.72 miles
Kanes On Bikes 