Family ride

I am planning a trip with my wife and kids (11 and 13)in early June. We will be starting in Sedalia and going to St Charles. We are planning on 40 to 50 miles a day. Looks like first night would be in Rocheport, second in Jeff City, after that not sure where I can stay with children as B&Bs are not always family friendly. Any suggestions on family friendly places to stay or other advice for riding with kids?

You probably won't have any problem. Rather than going all the way to Jeff City, you might
consider staying in Hartsburg. The trail head in Jeff City is out in the middle of nowhere and
to get into town will most likely require a shuttle as I would not want my kids riding across
the bridge into town with 70 mph traffic. But, I think a number of the motels in Jeff City will
shuttle you, but it something to check on. For the most part, the Trail is very kid friendly.
You should have a great time!

In Rocheport, the best family-friendly place is the Katy Trail B & B. The Globe, in Hartsburg is excellent for families--you can get two connecting rooms, 1 with a double bed and 1 with twin beds. Rendelman House in Bluffton is also family friendly--but dont' expect elegance in your accommodations there. The Doll House, near Rhineland, welcomes kids, and we had good luck at Das Gast Haus Nadler in Augusta (or is it Defiance?). Also, if you want to stop earlier than Rocheport, The Officers Club in Boonville is really great for kids, but on the pricey side. Lots of games, movies, interesting stuff, and great food. You will have a terrific time with your kids--we've been doing this with ours since they were 4 and 6, and we have a great time every year (they're 9 and 11 now).

The Officers Club B&B there in Boonville is amazingly kid and adult friendly and actually the prices were about the same or better then the other ones we have stayed in on the trail. The hospitality and food alone was well worth the stay!

Here are a couple more of my thoughts on riding with kids. First of all, mine are younger than yours, so use your judgement, but I would say 40-50 miles is doable, but ambitious. I would think 30-40 would be better, but you know your kids. Just bear in mind that you shouldn't expect the same mileage as you would on roads or paved trails. It pays to be willing to take spontaneous stops, to look at turtles, to pick mulberries, whatever. Brett Dufur publishes a nature guide to the Katy Trail which is fairly good for identifying some of the common birds, flowers, reptiles and amphibians that you are likely to see. Unfortunately, the drawings are black and white, but at least it's a single book--it gets heavy to carry several! Carry lots of snacks; I get grumpy if I'm hungry and the next food place is 10 miles away, but you can double that for the kids. Carry swimsuits--they take very little room, and several B & Bs have hot tubs, plus there is a public pool in Pilot Grove, a public swim area in Columbia just off the spur (it's about 5 miles from McBaine, so it's a significant detour unless you're going to Columbia anyway), and probably other towns, but I'm not sure where. I would not plan on Jeff City--we have done it twice--once we took a taxi across the bridge, which worked, but wasn't great. We had arranged it in advance, but their vehicle with bike racks was out of commission, so they showed up with two cabs, and we had to dismantle everything and stick it in the trunks (and pay for two cabs); the second time we pushed our bikes across the northbound bike lane. NO WAY would I allow my kids to ride that, although I would do it myself. That bridge is a lot longer than you realize when you drive across it! Even when you get across, there's a bit of riding on access roads that we weren't too keen on.

I forgot to list one other family-friendly B&B, which is The Little House in Marthasville-you get the whole place to yourself, with, as I recall 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and living room, plus front porch that overlooks the trail. This doesn't apply to your trip, but for anyone else planning a family trip, you should also consider Croose's Cabooses--a pretty fun stop for kids.

Diddo on the miles to cover each day. Last July 4th, my family and I did well to cover 15 miles a day in the killer heat and humidity. While my 17 year old is fairly new to riding, my 11 year old has been riding parts of the trail with me since he was 3 and on tricycles. Heat and saddle soreness slowed even him down. The trip was still great because we planned for minimum miles, and then did extra miles if we felt up to it.

Do take care with your ride and allow break times for snacks and lots of fluids it was in the high 90's this memorial weekend. Saw a family of 12 on the trail, the plan was for them to do at least 30 miles a day. They did not make it in the heat. Three children were exhausted and could not make the last 10 miles. From Rochport to Hartsburg, which is 25 miles, was all they could do. It is not easy to find a shuttle around Hartsburg, let alone one that can take 12 riders and not cost a fortune, even the shuttle from the Ramada(where they were staying)would not come to Hartsburg to pick them up. They paid a local to take them to Jeff city where the hotel shuttle would then pick them up.
All I am saying is not to push so hard that everyone is exhausted and dreads riding the next day and I stress lots of fluid, chocolate milk or bananna's for cramps (calcium & potassium) just enjoy the ride and time together.

I did 22 miles today (Sunday) in the Marthasville area between 11 am and 2 pm, it was tough in the heat and the last few miles were the toughest. Luck for me I was able to get a snack at the Peers Store so I didn't look too bedraggled as I pulled into Marthsaville.

Ditto caution with the kids. Get them out and riding before the trail ride and make sure they
are physically up to it. And, make sure their bikes are up to it as well. Kiddie bikes with tiny
tires and heavy frames just aren't designed for distance riding. Lots of those kiddie bikes are
far heavier than adult bikes. Plus, I know of at least one adult rider this weekend who was
taken to the hospital via ambulance for heat related problems. It is so easy for grown ups
and more so for kids, to get dehydrated and lose too many electrolytes. People
underestimate the impact of heat...be careful out there!

We just returned from a weekend ride on the Eastern end of the trail, and I thought it had a lot more dangerous road crossings than I remembered--probably because last time we did it the kids were on trail-a-bikes, and hence completely under our control. We always have a rule that they have to wait for us at road crossings, and this trip really emphasized that for me. The crossings are all indicated by gates across the trail and stop signs or yield signs, so they will know when they get to them.

My DD's and I ride have ridden from McBaine to Jeff with an easy/lots of stops ride before. Stayed the night in Jeff. The Ramada will come get you and your bikes, and let you take the bikes right into your room. They also have a pool and a second run movie theatre.
I would recommmend this.