Day 34, On the Katy

[slide width=”400″ height=”300″]

We got a bit of a late start this morning. After taking advantage of the free continental breakfast, I decided it was time to swap my front and rear tires. My rear tire has completely warn down to the point that the hard layer of under belting has begun to show through. I guess that’s what 2300 miles will do, especially when it’s bearing most of my weight and a trailer full of gear. If we ever come across a decent bike shop I might look into getting a replacement, otherwise I’ll resort to using the spare I brought along for emergencies.

After a little wandering around in Clinton we found the trail head for the Katy Trail. It was pretty much as I expected, a 10-12 ft wide hard fine gravel packed path. At points cutting across open fields, other times carving a tunnel through the brush and forest. Best of all no cars, trucks, or RV’s to worry about. Also the grades are smoothed into very gradual climbs and descents as opposed to roller coastering. Perhaps the greatest challenge was the kamikazzi squirrels who constantly chose to dive in front of us at the very last moment. We also got surprised by the occasional black snake or turtle we had to dodge. I finally was able to secure the elusive peanut buster parfait at Dairy Queen which I had been searching for since Colorado.

The rougher surface does take a little additional energy to ride so the going is a little slower. We decided to make it a relatively short day and stop at Grove Point 68 miles total. We grabbed dinner at the bar/grill by the trail head and got permission to camp at the town park. Tomorrow we’re going to try and do a 100 plus miles, so we’ll be in easy striking distance of St Charles and the Mississipi on Sunday.