The Katy Trail A.K.A. The Flat and Boring Trail

We just finished the Katy trail that links St.Charles, MO to Clinton, MO. It used to be a railroad track but now it's a bike route. The railroad track closed down years ago because it used to flood all the time. It runs right next to the Missouri River, which is, at the moment, incredibly full. The trees are all half underwater, and the bridges you cross just sit on top of the swollen river. There is no air in between! All of that flooding makes the mosquitos go CRAZY! I have never experienced mosquitos like I did camping out along the Katy. You would slow your bike a little and at least 70 bugs would swarm you. It was creepy. I really didnt like it. At night, inside of the tent, we would stop talking and could hear the buzz of the millions of mosquitos trying to get in. It was terribly gross. The morning did not offer any solace. The bugs were still there. So we packed up our tent as quick as possible and jetted out.
The Katy trail is nice but it has some significant flaws. 1. it floods 2. there are too many mosquitos that prevent you from stopping your bike to enjoy the scenery. 3. it is soooo flat (boring) 4. the gravel just sucks your energy. 5. there are few erie places where you dont run into anyone for 30 mile stretches.
So I guess I dont like the Katy trail too much. It would be great to go jogging on.

We met a great couple outside some town on the Katy. There were riding tricycle recumbents, lugging a trailer carrying a cooler full of goodies. The moment we said hello they started offering us diet coke, cold water, chocolate, bug spray, advice. It was great. They were incredibly sweet and seemed to really be enjoying their bike-riding retirement.

When we got to Sedalia, it was getting late and we were tired. So we decided to ask the fire station for a place to stay. At first, they seemed a little hesitant- not sure how to respond to our request, but after a little, I think they started to enjoy our company. They thought our naivity about Western MO/Kansas was funny. And they taught us about tornado safety. We got a tour of the fire truck, made a great dinner of spinach, beans and rice and sat around in comfy chairs, watching TV and eating a HUGE bowl of ice cream. They let us dry our clothes and hang up our tent to dry. We slept right next to the huge trucks!! The first call came in at 2:30 a.m. and the alarm went off. It was really shocking to wake up to. The guys ran in, the lights turned on and out they went. The next alarm went off at 4:00- same thing. It was pretty exciting/confusing. Other than that we slept great and the squad was really polite to us and very helpful. They also gave us two boxes of Fiber One bars which we have almost completely devoured.

The next day, we arrived at Clinton and I was exhausted. The sun just wore me out. Daniela still had a lot of energy but I convinced her to stop for the day. She was nice enough to comply. We met a Allison at the coffee shop on the square. We just came in to cool off but ended up talking for a long time. We chatted about the Katy trail and heard all about her life, and then she gave us two cookies!
She ended up letting us stay over at her house and we got to relax with four dogs that had the most distinct personalities. The next morning, we got a nice and early start to avoid the sun. We ate cereal and watched the sun rise, then headed out, into the heat.

from now on, we are waking up REALLY early. The heat is terrible

we got a five dollar foot long from subway for lunch!

Tonight we are hoping to stay in Neveda, MO. Be carefully not to pronounce it like the state Nevada. It is more of a na-vA-duh. We've already been scolded twice

Hope everyone is having a great summer!!!
love,
Jocelyn