Summer Project:

6-16-1

50 Miles by odometer
Mile Markers 100 to 124
First Ride on trail - great place to ride. A lot less hilly than Rolla.
Spotted a Fox lying on the trail

40 Miles by odometer
Mile markers 143 to 123

35 Miles by odometer
Mile markers 143 to 161
Spotted an Eagle

35 Miles by odometer
Miler markers 179 to 161
98 Degrees (110 Degree heat index)
So far this is about my favorite part of the trail - Very scenic, Lewis and Clark trail, a natrual spring, etc.

32 Miles by odometer
Mile markers 100 to 85
97 Degrees (105 Degree heat index)
Pretty nice area - only spotted two other riders the entire trip.
Several good benches overlooking the river (Great spots to sit and read)
Got within about 10 feet of a deer (doe I think)

36 Miles by odometer
Mile Markers 74 to 66.
(Actually started at Dutzow: 74 to 85, back to 74 to 66 back to 74)

59 Miles by odometer (A few small side trips) ~6 hrs riding, 7 hrs total
Mile Markers 66 to 38
95 Degrees (105 Degree Heat Index / 94% Humidity)
(Didn't continue to end of trail - don't know where it really ends)
Almost hit a woodchuck - his wisker's must of touched my front spokes

54 Miles by odometer ~5.25 hrs riding, 6 hrs total
Mile Markers 179 to 203
85 Degrees approx
It rained pretty well the day before and there were LOTS of small (and many large) butterflys on the trail (thousands).
Rocheport area (start) is pretty nice - Nice bluffs and a pretty cool tunnel.
The Missouri River crossing (Booneville) is shared with a major road, so there really isn't a very good chance to stop and watch the river from there.
Booneville has a very nice restored station and even a cabose/museum to walk through.

~32 Miles (odometer battery went dead)
Mile Marker 38 to 55, back to ~43 (Chris suffered leg failure at Green's Bottom Road...)
Rode with friends (13 people actually showed up - some kind of a record for an event planned by Comp. Sci's)
Great day - high of ~91, nice ride...
Friends (Brad, Brad, Brian, Chris, Christy, Filiz, Ilker, Malcom, Mike, Scott, Steve, ...) claimed to be worn out - a sign of a successful ride
Of course I STILL haven't been to the eastern end of the trail, which apparently is around mile 37. So, I'll have to head back to St. Louis in a few more weeks...
I did manage a little side trip into St. Charles to get some extra water.
(P.S. Anyone who went on the ride is welcome to submit a testimonial about how successful it was)

~52 Miles (Estimated: Odometer still out of commission) ~5.25 hrs riding, 6 hrs total
Mile Markers 227 to 203
85 Degrees approx
Good Weather. Nice ride (not many people (~6))
Missed a turn-off in Sedalia on the way back so I spent about 30 minutes wandering around downtown Sedalia

~40 Miles by odometer ~4.5 hrs riding, ~6 hrs total
Mile Markers 227 to 248
85 Degrees Approx - Very Nice Weather!
This section of the trail is merged equestrian/biking/hiking. The idea of sharing a trail seems to be paved with problems (well road apples really). Although the trails (deceptively) start out seperate, the merge together about 4 miles from the Sedalia state fair grounds.

~34 Miles by odometer, ~3.12 hrs riding, ~3.6 hrs total
Mile Markers 248 to 264.6
85 Degrees Approx - Just as great as yesterday
A nice spot to watch buffalo grazing along the way (~Mile 256?)
Got a really close look at a black snake sunning itself
Reached the Western End of the Trail!!!

~4.2 Miles by odometer, ~24 minutes total
87 Degrees Approx - Another great day
Well, my attempts to reach the eastern end failed twice before: once on 7-21 when I turned around at mile mark 38 also on 8-4 when I was riding with friends (and a leg cramp forced us to stop early).
Although there were construction zones today, I pressed on (over clay packed by tractor tread - quite bumpy) and I found the eastern end!!
It was less than 100 yards from where I stoped on 7-21! I just had to go around one last corner.
Trail Done!!!

Links:

Katy Trail Homepage (MO Dept. of Natural Resources

Katy Trail Interactive

Katy Central