Show your 2013 summer adventures (picture thread)

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday we rode part of the Katy Trail, from Sedalia, MO to Windsor, MO and back. About 43 miles round trip as we did a little extra riding around Windsor. It was our first time on the Katy, and we had a blast. If you'd like to see a slide show of our photos, I've put them up on Photobucket here:

Katy Trail Slideshow

We can't wait to go back and do more!

[Deborajen]

Looks like a fun day trip! There's so much to explore out there - all the history in the towns, the trail history, nature, scenery - A friend from work rode part of the Katy several months ago. She started at Sedalia and went east, I think. They stayed at B&B's and spent a lot of time exploring the towns. I've never been, but it sounds awesome.

So how was the trail for riding? We seldom ride anything but pavement, but I've heard the Katy is pretty nice.

[eofelis]

Sheep Creek Geological Area loop road. Flaming Gorge Reservior area near Manila, Utah.
A 22 mile ride with a big climb, and a big descent!

[emily_in_nc]

Looks like a fun day trip! There's so much to explore out there - all the history in the towns, the trail history, nature, scenery - A friend from work rode part of the Katy several months ago. She started at Sedalia and went east, I think. They stayed at B&B's and spent a lot of time exploring the towns. I've never been, but it sounds awesome.

So how was the trail for riding? We seldom ride anything but pavement, but I've heard the Katy is pretty nice.

We are mostly pavement riders too, but we rode our mountain bikes, so it was fine and quite comfy to ride on. Very finely packed limestone. Saw at least a couple of people riding what looked like road bikes -- probably more of the cyclocross variety with slightly wider tires. Would not want to ride a 23c-25c tire on it. We saw a couple of recumbents but mostly mountain bikes. It was a very quiet day on the trail, being mid-week. We probably only saw about 10 other cyclists in our five miles total on the trail (including stops).

We're hoping to ride the entire trail eventually -- probably in the fall, though. The hottest part of summer is upon us, and there are plenty of areas with limited or no shade. We will probably plan on a credit card tour and stay in hotels/b&bs. We did pass one guy riding a full-loaded mountain bike (tent, etc) and saw a couple of other loaded bikes.

[indysteel]

DH and I did an end to end tour of the Katy in September of 2011. Some sections are better than others, as are the towns along the way. I liked Rocheport and Hermann. Clinton, Sedalia and Augusta were pretty meh to, well, god awful. If I had to do it over again....I wouldn't. I hate to say that because I know a lot of people who really love the Katy. We were decidedly underwelmed. Now, if I just rode a section here and a section there, I'd probably like it, but a weeklong trip was way too much for us.

[emily_in_nc]

DH and I did an end to end tour of the Katy in September of 2011. Some sections are better than others, as are the towns along the way. I liked Rocheport and Hermann. Clinton, Sedalia and Augusta were pretty meh to, well, god awful. If I had to do it over again....I wouldn't. I hate to say that because I know a lot of people who really love the Katy. We were decidedly underwelmed. Now, if I just rode a section here and a section there, I'd probably like it, but a weeklong trip was way too much for us.

Wow, that's interesting, indy. I have been reading a blog/report (mostly photos, some text) of a couple who did the entire thing in six days and absolutely loved it -- so much that they went back and did it again. I'm curious what you didn't like about it. I need to be prepared since we're currently thinking about doing the entire thing.

Here's the couple's report I mentioned in case you'd like to compare to your experience:
http://www.loveofbikes.com/featured/katy-trail/

I have only read their 2010 report so far; have not read the 2011 one.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer!

[indysteel]

Wow, that's interesting, indy. I have been reading a blog/report (mostly photos, some text) of a couple who did the entire thing in six days and absolutely loved it -- so much that they went back and did it again. I'm curious what you didn't like about it. I need to be prepared since we're currently thinking about doing the entire thing.

Here's the couple's report I mentioned in case you'd like to compare to your experience:
http://www.loveofbikes.com/featured/katy-trail/

I have only read their 2010 report so far; have not read the 2011 one.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer!

That's funny! That's the very same blog that made me want to ride the Katy Trail. They make a compelling case for it. We even used the same tour company to arrange all the details and transport our bags from town to town.

I don't want to dissaude you from doing it necessarily. Different strokes for different folks, right? We may have just been unlucky. The week we did it was unseasonably chilly for one, and we had one full day of rain (our first), which didn't get us off on the right foot. It was rainy the day we arrived in Clinton, too. Our hotel was next to nothing but a Walmart, so that didn't help either. We made the mistake of starting on a Sunday and that really impacted our dining experience in several towns. We stayed in Sedalia on a Sunday and very little was open. We ended up eating at some greasy hamburger place. Rocheport was our next stop. Rochport itself is lovely and our B&B was one of the nicest places we've ever stayed. But guess what? Monday is the day that every restaurant in town is closed, as are the antique shops. Again, we ate at some greasy spoon that stopped serving at 5--far earlier than we wanted to eat. No one bothered to tell us that the B&B could have us made a nice dinner--with adequate notice. The ride out of Sedalia is arguably the prettiest stretch, and we had lovely weather for it, which was nice. At Jefferson City, we got yelled at by the B&B owner for arriving a bit early. And when I say yelled, I mean truly chewed out. I felt bad for being early, but quite honestly, I lost track as to which place had a check-in time of 4 versus 3, but I think he could have handled it more politely. At least we had a decent dinner in Jefferson City. Our next stop was Hermann and that was a nice stop, too. Then we hit Augusta, which was about the most god awful place we've ever stayed. The B&B was fine, but the town was just awful. In looking for someplace to eat (and there weren't many choices), I read a number of reviews that indicated that the locals are extremely hostile to cyclists. We ended up at a brewery that stops serving food at 5--yet another early dinner. The ride out of Augusta is very pretty, but then you hit the outskirts of St. Charles that is essentially a smelly industrial area. St. Charles was nice though.

Beyond the towns, the trail is pretty monotonous. You see the same canopy of trees, the same aging bridges over creeks, the same lazy river over and over again. Are there pretty stretches? For sure, but not enough to fill six days of riding. There's also a hostile vibe in some areas with the adjacent landowners. Lots of No trespassing, Beware of Dog, Keep Out types signs--on properties I would otherwise have NO desire to enter onto. Rundown, ramshackle, boarded up, junk in the yard; you get the drift. Add that to the economic depression that was plain to see in many of the towns, and it just made for a less than positive experience.

My husband and I have travelled to some truly lovely places in the US, and while we don't need to have our socks blown off on every trip, this just didn't cut it for us. We aren't posh, impossible-to-please people either, but a lot of what we saw was just depressingly rundown. Did we have fun at times? Sure, but I can easily think of any number of places I would have rather spent a week of my life.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Indy. Much appreciated. I totally get the Sunday/Monday thing after we did a day trip to Weston, MO recently on a Monday to find pretty much the entire town closed on Mondays. Only three restaurants (two of which were bars) open for lunch in the entire town and all the shops closed. I guess they're busy on weekends with tourists so close up on Mondays. We'd probably try to start our tour on a Tuesday, with that in mind.

Could you please PM me (if you don't want to post it here) with the name of the B&B where you were chewed out? That's just ridiculous! We've stayed at quite a few B&Bs when we've been bike touring, and all have been incredibly accommodating. Definitely want to avoid that one.

I've sent your post on to my DH just so he is aware of some of the potential downsides. I think poor weather makes everything look a bit worse in general, including one's outlook (certainly does for me anyway), so we will try to plan for a time of typically good weather...however, I know Mother Nature cannot be predicted with anything approaching 100% accuracy!

I'm sorry your tour wasn't a more pleasant experience overall, but it sounds like there were some very nice moments.

Thanks again for the info!

[maillotpois]

Rebecca those Foxen Canyon, etc., photos are stunning. I grew up in Paso Robles and have done some riding in Solvang and that brought back a lot of good memories.

We're off on a 10 day moto trip next week. I'll try to get some pics up, but I'm not sure if I can link them on TE via mobile. I usually do that whole photobucket thing to link pics. Maybe I can link directly from Facebook...?