Bicycling the Katy Trail - One Way Or Another (October)

McKittrick to Treloar - 16.4 miles with an additional Spur to Hermann (3 miles) Total 37.8 miles
The is the final two trips through the Mid-East Management Section of the Katy Trail State Park.  It includes the towns of Treloar, Marthasville, Dutzow and Augusta.  There are many more travelers now as it is closer and closer to St. Louis.  The weekends are especially busy and I prefer to ride during the week.  This day I rode on a Friday and with the nice fall weather, many people came out to enjoy.  It is always good to pass people that smile and I have met some very friendly people of all kinds from all places on my journey this year.

The sign on this preserved grain elevator says "The Katy Land Trust."  It was founded in 2010 by Dan and Connie Burkhardt who are retired partners of Edward Jones who wanted to ensure the continuation of Ted and Pat Jones' early vision of Katy Trail State Park.  For more information:  www.katylandtrust.org/

More golden soybeans

One of many information boards inviting the traveler to sit and relax and enjoy the view as did those that came before.

These travelers are from Springfield, MO and know the Frisco Highline Trail well.  They are packed heavy for camping out as they complete the Katy Trail in several days.  The girl says she is pulling 250 pounds!  Notice the little dog in the basket :)

One of the more interesting people I met on the trail today.  This 33-year-old veteran was bicycling from New York to Texas.  He was on a mission to ride for fellow veterans.

Owl Man's tattoo - that's the front of his neck...awesome!

It was a nice sunny day with temperatures reaching 80 degrees - nice for snakes to come out and sun themselves.  I saw several on this trip.

I started out at McKittrick where I parked my car.  I rode to Treloar and turned around to ride back.  After a brief rest at the trailhead, I took a spur off the trail to Hermann to play.  It is about 3 miles from the trailhead at McKittrick over the Missouri River.  Back in 2000, Keith and I had rode this bridge to Hermann before it was rebuilt to include a bike lane.  It was really scary then but now it is wonderful!

Many people walk the bridge too and a nice couple took my photo from the middle of the bridge overlooking the Missouri River.

There are also benches along this bike lane on the bridge to enjoy the view.

The bridge let out on the main street in Hermann.  It didn't take long for me to find the right path again!

Hermannhoff Winery has been a favorite stop for many years.  The food is good and wine tasting is fun.  There are better wines around though and they charge $4 whereas most other wineries only have a tip jar and don't charge for tasting.  I did the wine tasting as I waited for my food order.

This winery has a lovely and sometimes lively areas to relax and have fun in back.  There are several separate areas and it is beautifully landscaped.

Brat and Kraut were good!  Now I was ready to return to the trailhead.

Augusta to Treloar - 18 miles 
This trip was much cooler as it was 40-50 degrees as I rode.  It was also the farthest drive at 3.5 hours from home.  Luckily, gas prices had dropped to just under $3.00 per gallon.  The original plan was to stay overnight in Augusta and bike west one day and then east the next day and then I would be done with the whole trail.  Instead, I decided to make two trips with one day riding because the gas was lower than I had thought it would be.  Also, I wanted to play more and ride less this far into wine country.  Augusta was the perfect place to do this.

There continued to be many friendly people to stop and visit with at each trailhead.  These bikes belong to three ladies who next stop was a spa at Augusta at the end of their ride.  Nice.

This is a rough, steep, hill trail for about 200 feet off the Katy Trail.  It leads to one of my favorite wineries at Dutsow - Blumenhof.  Of course, there is a better access on pavement off the trail and is used by car.

It is quiet now but on weekends, this place rocks!  Live music and good people in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.  Keith and I have come here regularly for many years.  There are vineyards here and they do make their own wine, but there are better choices in the area.  It is all good enough to party on!

The Blumenholf always have a good atmosphere and friendly people.  I was the only one here at this early afternoon in the middle of the week.  There was no charge for all the wine I wanted to taste before I got back on the trail.  A glass or two total is plenty when I'm riding.

Small obstacles on the trail this time of year are black walnuts, acorns and hickory nuts.  The corn is being harvested now and the trees are beginning to show their fall colors.

These wildflowers are Red Morning Glories or bindweed.  They are very colorful!

Red Morning Glories or bindweed

Sumac is turning red and the fallen leaves cover the trail in many areas.  It is so much fun to ride through the leaves and hear their crisp sound and watch them scatter.

This has been my regular energy food that I eat 2 hours into my ride.  2 rice cakes, walnuts and raisins and a banana.  I have 2 clementines, can of juice, and a granola bar available if I need more.  I usually don't.  Being diabetic, I must check my blood sugar to be sure I don't go low.  My issues have usually been to go high instead of low as the extra energy exerted makes me produce excess insulin which I have problems absorbing.  I am insulin resistant.  I'm getting pretty good at finding the right balance.  This has been my best year in 10 years for control and near normal numbers.  Yeah!  I have been working on reversing my diabetes with a goal of reducing or completely eliminating medications.  More about that can be seen on this blog.  Go to the 'Search This Blog' tool on the left, key word 'Diabetes.'

 This is the Augusta Brewery at the parking lot of the trailhead at Augusta.  You can see my car parked at the bottom of the hill.  Lovely landscape even at this time of year.  

At the end of my ride today, I stopped here at the Augusta Brewery to enjoy a light beer and a pulled pork sandwich before the 3.5 hour drive home.  After a brief exchange of pleasantries about a good bicycling day with the young racer-guys at the table next to me, I enjoyed listening to their lively conversations about their recent biking adventures.  It was a good day biking!

St Charles to Augusta - 26.9 miles
The East Management Section is between Matson just east of Augusta and Machens which is Milepost 26.9; the trail's actual beginning.  I started at St Charles because it has better access by car and that portion east is not dependable because of excessive flooding in 1993 and 1995 and dangerous thorns that always pop tires.  We knew this from our 2000 trip and from reading online that it hasn't changed much.

It was a 3.5 hour drive by car.  Keith dropped me off in the middle of the city.  We had to drive through a part of St Louis to get to the old part of St Charles across the street from where the first state Capitol was built in 1769.  It was a French Outpost originally. Frontier Park and the statue of Lewis and Clark were under construction the last time I was here in 2003.  The depot had just been restored.  It was looking really good on this trip.  It was 40 degrees at 11AM when I began my ride west (into the wind) to Augusta.  Keith was to meet me at the Augusta Brewery with the car.  This will probably be the last time going east of Augusta for me.

The Restored Depot

Lewis and Clark Monument at Frontier Park in St Charles

The first 3 miles west out of St Charles had several detours on the Katy Trail.  I also had to go by an industrial area that didn't smell so good and a large stone crushing operation that sandblasted me going into the wind.  Good-bye St Charles.

By now I am miles away from the city and the ride improves greatly!  The fall colors are standing out along the Missouri River...

...the bluffs are back in their familiar place on the other side of the trail.

The wild protected areas are back.  The leaves are falling and fun to ride through!

Across from the trail at Matson is a memorial to Daniel Boone.  This is Boone County and there was so much to see about this famous American Frontiersman that I will write more about it in another blog.  Keith and I spent several hours taking the official tour and I have many photos.

Large bluff just east of Augusta was a good place to rest and reflect on my journey a few miles from the end.  The 2013 Katy Trail Adventure began in June and included a break to bicycle the Frisco Highline Trail.  Total days riding my bicycle was 13 throughout the summer - up until mid-October.  Total bicycle miles was 500; 430 miles on the Katy Trail and 70 miles on the Frisco Highline Trail.  The Katy Trail is actually 264.6 miles by mileposts and I backtracked all but the last day.  Lewis and Clark did about 200 miles and backtracked in 1804.  They took 66 days blazing the trail along the Missouri River and about 2 weeks returning.  I'm glad I read all the information boards along the way and know so much more about their challenge!  The stories of Lewis and Clark as well as Daniel Boone were an inspiration!

The perfect ending to my Bicycling Adventure!

Reservations had been made a month previous for a Bed & Breakfast in Augusta for one night and Keith joined me as we combined the trip with another day of enjoying the local wineries and sights.  This is the best week for fall colors.  I will have more details about the Bed & Breakfast in Augusta, the Daniel Boone Home Tour, Fall Color Drive, and Local Wineries in my next blog.