Katy Trail Riding: Part Two

So, this brings us to day three. 

Day 3. More matching outfits

One thing I forgot to mention regarding day two was the weather got rather hot as the day went on. And I am pale and sensitive and overheat easily. My body got angry about the heat before it got angry about the miles.

So, day three, we tried to be smarter about the heat. We knew we had a shorter day ahead of us (just about 50 miles for the day) but I did not need to make myself sick with the heat. Q discovered that drenching his shirt at the stops that had water helped cool him off, so I started doing that too. We both also kept towels wet around our necks to help keep cool. The week was not supposed to be a hot one, so of course with it being Missouri, that changed, and it got to 90 degrees. But hey. At least our outfits accidentally matched again.

It was so nice knowing we would hit our day's destination (Hermann) by dinner time. This is why next time I decide to do this, I want to try to keep the days to 45-55 miles. Not that I cannot handle the 70+ mile days, but it was much less stressful knowing we got to relax and enjoy ourselves later. This also meant we could take more breaks if we wanted to take a look at things we passed and not worry about wasting too much time.

What is the point of being out in nature if you don't get to stop and look at it for a bit? Plus, to be honest, it was nice giving my butt a break from being on the bike seat when we got to look at things along the way, like that giant rock. My inner thighs and booty were experiencing some nice bike butt.

You can't really tell from those pictures, but that rock was used to keep track of floods that had occurred in the past, since we were along the Missouri River. We saw many, many Lewis and Clark historic markers along the way. We did not pay much attention to those, however. 

We did pay lots of attention to all the animals and flora we saw. Q is one of those people who knows a bit of everything so he was tossing out random facts about things we saw or identifying certain plants. 

This was one of the lesser populated stretches. We would go many miles without seeing a single other person. We saw so few that we started keeping track of how many we did see. I was also getting to the point of mentally and physically exhausted so I was okay when we would go many miles without speaking. 

Starting to look a bit worn around the edges

We spend the night in Hermann, which is not one of the stops immediately off the trail. We veered onto one of the spur trails right before McKittrick to get there. This trail was only a few miles long, but I was not a fan of it. It included a bike lane along highway 63, which was just a large shoulder area. I am not a road biker, so this made me uncomfortable having semi trucks right next to me. You then go over a bridge to get into Hermann, and holy moly, that bridge almost killed me. I cannot even imagine having to bike that thing had it been one of our 70+ mile days. Patty even said when we drove the road that she would pick us up at the trailhead instead if we wanted because she did not like how it looked. But, we are stubborn and wanted to bike it to say we did.

Well, now I've done it and don't really need to do that again. Or, at least, next time I bike into Hermann I am going to at least drink some delicious Hermann wine once I get there. Every time we passed through a town known for their wine and I did not get to have any, I got quite sad...

But, we stayed at Hermann City Park, which we were able to find fairly easily navigating the not so busy streets of Hermann, Missouri. The campground really was just inside a city park, but it was nice and had a mix of RV/campers and tent campers. Plus, it had toilets and showers, so no complaints. We made delicious food and drank a little bit of wine Patty had brought with her and watched some movies in the RV. And I think I was asleep by 10 PM, which never happens. 

**

Day four I woke up and was not excited. I was sore. My back ached, my butt and thighs killed, my knees were stiff. That many miles so quickly on your body is just rough. And I knew we had another 75 miles to go.

We would stretch, but I am sure it was not enough for the amount of miles we were doing. Since about day two, my knees would hurt but once I got a few miles in, they would loosen up and be okay. 

Patty knew I was not really feeling it, so she put a little flower she found on my bike to cheer me up. Okay, by flower, it was really a weed, but it did make me smile.

Starting off Day Four, Not Matching...

So Patty drove us to the McKittrick trailhead and we hopped on our bikes and backtracked to where the Hermann spur was just to say we hit ALL of the trail and didn't miss anything. At that point, why not. We didn't think the trip was going to happen, and we managed to get back on track timing wise even with missing half a day, so we were going to make sure we got the ENTIRE thing.

And we're off!

We were entering the area that I knew a bit better. This was the day that I had heard of almost every town we stopped at, and had been to most of them even. This is also the stretch of trail that very few of the stops had water. We luckily knew this before starting the day, so we made sure to pack extra water and extra gatorade on our bikes. We also swapped out some bottles when we would meet up with Patty along the way. 

Final day Selfie

The previous days, Patty sort of did her own thing during the day and maybe met up with us once while we road, if at all. The last day she met up with us ever 10-20 miles. Partially because we hit an area of Missouri that she didn't know as many people to go bug, but also partially because I think she was a bit worried about us...she wanted to make sure we were feeling okay and hydrated and eating. 

Unfortunately, about 20 or so miles into the last day, my knee started massively acting up. It was no longer just feeling stiff but going away once I was moving that had been earlier in the trip. Now, every time I pedal down, a sharp, intense pain occurred in my right knee. At times the pain was so bad that I felt a bit sick to my stomach. I honestly was not sure how I could possibly finish the trail with it hurting so badly. 

We stopped in Augusta for lunch and I voiced my concern about finishing to both Q and Patty. Patty said there was no shame in me riding the rest of the way with her in the RV and stopping. I debated with myself during the whole break. On one hand, my knee really hurt and I did not want to do anything that could have done more serious damage. On the other day, this was something I had been wanting for years and I was too dang close to just stop. 

Resting and Stretching in Augusta

I decided to keep on going and as we continued on, I had moments where my knee got worse and other times that it felt better. I told myself to just take it each section at a time. I told myself to just make it to Weldon Springs. I made it there and then told myself I just needed to make it to Greens Bottom Road. I knew that area. I had walked that part of the trail with my sister when I lived in St. Charles. We were so close. And from there it was just a few miles to the big St. Charles stop. I knew St. Charles would be where Patty and Q's parents were waiting for us. If I made it there, it would surely be good enough.

Found the RV in St. Charles

Well, we got to the meeting spot in St. Charles and helped empty the RV of all of our stuff and loaded up Q's parents' SUV. This was our parting spot with Patty. The rest of the way we would have Q's parents to support us. I was still debating just stopping here. This is where the trail used to end, until fairly recently. Many people still consider this the end (or beginning, depending). But. We wanted the whole thing. 

It is a good thing I am easily talked into things. Q and Patty and Q's parents all convinced me that continuing on was the better option. And I am glad I did do those final 16 miles to Machens, even if Machens is seriously boring. 

Ten miles from the big St. Charles stop was Black Walnut, which is not even listed on the Bike Katy Trail map, but it is the closest parking lot to Machens. Machens did not even have its own parking lot. And unlike the other end (or beginning) of the trail, Clinton, it did not have water or flushable toilets.

Where Q's Parents waited for us

Those last three miles from Black Walnut, where Q's parents waited for us, to Machens seemed to go on forever. We were worn out and tired and just wanted to be finished. We wanted fast food. That sounds gross, I know, but we just wanted calories. The worst thing was knowing that once we hit the end, we had to turn around and re-do those 3 miles to get back to the car waiting for us in Black Walnut. 

That's it, Folks.

But really. I don't know what I was expecting in Machens, but this wasn't it. Clinton was so cute. Clinton made you pumped to be going on the trail. It had the old train cars and it had water to get you going and it just seemed like it tried. This was just...well, a let down. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited we did it. And I was super proud of us. And, I think since St. Charles is so cute and plays up the whole railroad thing, Machens feels like it doesn't need to. 

Final Selfie of the trip

We took some pictures and read the little bit of information that was posted at the stop and did our last bathroom break on the trail and then we turned around and headed back to the parking lot at Black Walnut. From there it was stretching and loading up our bikes to the car.

One thing I did not expect was how much my hands would hurt. We both wore biking gloves, but even still, we both experienced issues with our grips. By the end neither one of us could really hold onto the handle bars very well anymore. Q had issues with his hands for the following week or so after the trip. 

All in all, I am so happy we did this and I think we did incredibly well especially with starting late and not training as much as we (or, well, I) could have beforehand. Would I make changes next time? Oh, yes. Am I glad this trip worked out the way it did? Yes. And now I can proudly put my Katy Trail sticker on my car. Which, let's face it, is the whole reason I did this thing.

Kidding. Mostly...

A huge thank you to Patty for driving us around and dealing with us for these days. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Q for driving us to Columbia and picking us up on the last day...and feeding us much needed burgers. And THANK YOU to Q for agreeing to do this with me and for supporting me along the whole way. I would not have been able to do this without you.

So final count: 2 bikes, 3 friends, 4 days, and 253* miles. 

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Remember: You're Always Welcome in Missouri State Parks

*The Katy trail is 237.7 miles and then the added miles we did along the trip added up to about 253 all together.