The Rock Island Trail

Biking the whole trail...

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Danielle from St. Louis on 6/8/2006 9:57:35 AM:

I plan on biking this trail in September in it's entirety. I checked out guidebooks at my library, but none of them really give a GUIDE or PLAN for biking the whole trail...they really just tell you mileage and what there is to see in each town.

I want to know how long it's going to take to bike the trail at a regular pace, and have a plan for which towns I will be stopping in (we plan on camping).

If anyone has biked this entire thing from West to East, then let me know if you kind of have a "day by day plan" that I could use. I'm a beginner to mapping out trails.

GMD from Belton, mo on 6/8/2006 11:10:52 AM:

In my opinion "The Complete Katy Trail Guidebook, All New, Updated & Revised 8th Edition America’s Longest Rails-to-Trails Project" by peeble publishing is the best guide book on the market http://www.pebblepublishing.com/complete_katy_trail_guidebook.htm I didnt see any sugested intineraries but here is tow possble easy plans:

Day 1 Clinton to Sedalia 35
Day 2 Sedalia to Boonville 35
Day 3 Boonville to Jefferson City 68
Day 4 Jefferson City to Hermann 42
Day 5 Hermann to Marthasville 23
Day 6 Marthasville to St. Charles 38

East to West 5 Day
Day 1 Clinton to Sedalia 35
Day 2 Sedalia to New Franklin 42
Day 3 New Franklin to Hartsburg 35
Day 4 Hartsburg to Hermann 56
Day 5 Hermann to St Charles 64

Good luck, half the fun is learning and planning about the trail!

Scott Brawner from Kirksville on 6/8/2006 1:16:55 PM:

My roommate and I are planning on riding the trail in a couple weeks. We are planning on riding it a bit more aggressively than the guides recommend going approximately as follows:

Clinton to New Franklin (75 miles)
New Franklin to Portland (75 miles)
Portland to Marthasville (37 miles)
Marthasville to St. Charles (38 miles)

We are going to camp a couple nights and stay in hotels a couple nights. We wanted to design it so we had a couple longer days early while we still had a lot of energy. Also, in case it rains one of the first couple days and we deside to be lazy we will still be ok. Hopefully we will be able to get a couple good days of biking and a couple days of sight seeing and small town exploring. If anyone knows of some neat places to stop and visit along the eastern half of the trail, we would appreciate it.

Nails on 6/9/2006 2:24:50 PM:

To help us know what you consider a regular pace:
1) How far would you go in a day and how fast on a road ride?
2) What's the longest ride you've done in the last year?
You've already seen 6, 5 and 4 day plans. I've done 3 and 2 day trips. And there are a handful who have done it in a single day. Probably others that have done it in a week or more. I'll admit the 1 and 2 trips are not "regular pace".

Troy Ratliff from Jonesboro, AR on 6/9/2006 2:25:39 PM:

Hermann and any of the wineries are good places to visit.

Danielle from St. Louis on 6/9/2006 3:55:50 PM:

We'd like to do it in about 5 days. I exercise doing cardio an hour every day, but my counterpart isn't quite so up on his "training." We figured 5 days would be do-able. About how many hours of riding per day do you estimate that is?

Nails on 6/9/2006 4:11:49 PM:

To answer your question, I still need to know what's the farthest you've ridden in a day and how fast you rode it. You say that you do an hour of cardio per day and that is remarkable. However, running, swimming, steppers, ellipticals, and even recumbents are not the same thing as time in the saddle. If you don't average at least 5 hours per week in the same saddle that you ride on the KATY, you'll been in for an unpleasant ride and you can skip the birth control in my recommended pack list. That applies to your partner too.

Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 6/9/2006 4:51:18 PM:

Looks like another higher math problem to me. If you would "like to do it in about 5 days", and it's 225 miles...that's bout 45 miles per day. At a mere pace of 10 miles per hour.....you can ride those 45 miles in 4.5 hours. With several more hours of daylight than that in each 24 hour period, you should have plenty of time for enjoying the trip.

Very good point made by Nails. Make sure your hind quarters knows your saddle well. The best preparation for saddle time is saddle time.

sbikes from Kansas City on 6/10/2006 7:33:33 PM:

Ditto. No one else can plan this for you. Time in the gym does not equal time in the saddle.
Get out and do some day trip rides and see how you do. Ride two or three days in a row.
Make sure you are comfortable on your bike. Don't push yourself too far the first day and be
too sore to have fun the next day. Better to start the trip with few miles and end with more
daily miles. Use the guidebooks you have to see where you can find lodging and plan around
that. Also, if you don't know how, take your wheel to a bike shop and do a couple trial runs
at changing the tubes. Better to be prepared and not have to do it then not. Have fun!

Paul from Chesterfield,MO on 6/11/2006 9:36:39 PM:

Hi Danielle, you might also take a 2 day trip and camp at Klondike or at Scenic Cylcles(free) or Choo Choo(5$) and ride back from Marthasville to Creve Coeur Park or St. Charles just to get a feel for what's a comfortable pace for you and your partner. You will get a chance to camp together and try out some of your gear. I would ride the trail at least for 35 miles a few days in a row to get a feel for your pace and to get your seat ready for your bike's seat. If you do a little preparation you will have a very enjoyable experience. Good luck,
Paul

ET from Columbia on 6/14/2006 8:53:15 AM:

I think 35 to 50 miles per day makes for very comfortable riding, with plenty of time for stops. We like to plan a fairly short day in the middle of our trips--this gives us a rest and more flexibility. Possible good stops for camping would include the Katy Roundhouse in New Franklin or Katfish Katy's in Huntsdale, and the campground at Bluffton looks nice. Klondike Park at Augusta also looks good.

Dave S from Morristown, TN on 6/15/2006 9:07:19 PM:

Last month four of us (each over 50 yrs. old) rode our recumbents the entire west to east trip, plus the side trail to Columbia and many of the small towns and communities along the way. We stopped at nearly every sight-seeing spot and trail marker board. We got a group pic at every depot and trailhead on the entire 225 miles. Between the four of us, shot over 1000 pictures. We took our time and had a fantastic, relaxing trip. Started on Sunday about 10:30am after a tremendous breakfast in Clinton, and continued the same time each morning generally following a breakfast spread at a B & B that kept us from lunch hunger until mid-afternoon. Arrived St. Charles about noon Friday, so figure five and a half days. Be sure to fill up on plenty of water at every opportunity.

LEW FISK from GREENWOOD, INDIANA on 8/4/2006 12:29:46 PM:

I am coming to Hermann, Mo to ride the KATY on the 13th, 14th and 15th of August. I am going to ride about 55 - 60 miles each day, and I can't wait to see one of the most talked-about trails that I know of. I have ridden the Little Miami Trail in Ohio from Cincy to Urbana (just north of Springfield) 82 miles. So all of the great stories I am reading about the KATY has gotten me excited.

Sarah from Denver on 8/4/2006 1:52:27 PM:

All great comments--just wanted to add mine to the stew. We biked the Katy in June 05--took 6 days and felt we could have easily done it in 5 or aggressively in 4. If you go west-east, it's mostly downhill, after all. It's not much, but you can tell. We're in our 50's, I bicycle a lot, my husband not as much. Best places to stop in our opinion are Sedalia, Pilot Grove, Boonville, Rocheport, Augusta and maybe Hermann except for the bridge to get there.

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