Katy Trail ride

[TrekTheKaty]

The Katy can be done on your own with the use of the website and the guidebook. (Turn by directions--uh, it's hard to get lost on the Katy.) And the bridge in Jeff City is the easiest one.

However, the cost of the shuttle and guaranteed (?) hotels would be nice (during peak season, it can sometimes be difficult to coordinate all the B&B's). Also, the peace of mind of emergency assistance would be worth it. You can be FAR from the nearest town (and town can be literally one farm with a gravel road--if you're lucky, a post office and gas station) and there aren't very many bike shops anymore.

Luggage transfer: We've only done single, overnight trips. The first time we had 2 racks with 2 bike bags. We've learned we can get by with less than that. Remember after a full day of biking, you just want to eat, shower and take a nap. Nothing to dress up for in these small towns. For one night, we packed:

sandals
t-shirt
shorts
clean underwear
toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant (I didn't even style my hair--why?)
sunblock, chamois butter in the handlebar bag
(change of cycling clothes)

However, we learned on the first trip that we didn't want to put our dirty cycling clothes back in our bag (even if you put them in a plastic bag, they will be "baked" before you get home). So we rinsed them out in the tub--DUH, they dried by the next morning. Plus, many of the B&B's cater to cyclists and have facilities to do laundry (one night we washed them in the jacuzzi tub )

Now the two of us can overnight with one rack and rack bag with fold down panniers--and there is still room for me to pack some emergency food!

But if I was on the 5 day ride, I would take advantage of the luggage transfer for my laptop, a cooler (I'm celiac so sometimes snacks/food is difficult) your souvenirs you buy along the way, and my pillow.