Discover the Katy Trail, Day 1 - Missouri River Communities Network bikes the trail Sept 30-Oct 7th

Missouri River Communities Network has a group of four cyclists riding the Katy Trail September 30th through October 7th as part of their "Discover the Katy Trail" project.

The group is meeting with community members, business owners, and community leaders, talking about the Katy Trail, the Missouri River, and what communities along the trail can do to work together.

Click the image on the right to see the group's full itinerary and schedule.

MoBikeFed Executive Director Brent Hugh joined the group in Clinton, Missouri, Sunday for the ride kickoff:

Day 1: Clinton to Windsor

Our ride began with a send off from Brent Hugh, Director of the MO

Brent Hugh from the Missouri Bike and Pedestrian Federation

Bike and Ped Federation.  He explained that the Kansas City connector trail, which will connect in Windsor (not Clinton, the Western most point of the Katy) is pending some legal ownership rights related to the railway, although we were assured that it will indeed be built.  The first five miles from Pleasant Hill are already built and ready for a ribbon cutting.  The excitement of towns like Pleasant Hill and Windsor are contributing greatly to the assuredness of its establishment.  We also discussed the need for more river crossings from the trail, and are glad to report that MODoT has been more on board than ever with efforts to add small bike lanes on the sides of large roadways crossing into towns along the trail.  Safety is an unwarranted concern – there have not been any accidents from cars crossing over into sectioned off bike lanes on bridges.

After downing a beer and handfulls of Backer’s (MO made) chips, we

Katy Trail Riders

parted with Steve Johnson and his wife Meghan, and the family of 6 we met at the Trailhead who were also preparing for a cross-state ride together.  Brent joined us for the first several miles of trail, which are some of the only miles of slightly hilly prairie sections.  The railroad passed through MO South of the Missouri River on the Western half of the state because in the 1800s, this area was rather boggy and would have been more difficult for building tracks.

Read much more about the group's adventures and discoveries along the Katy Trail on the blog.

The first part of the group's schedule:

Free EVENTS for EVERYONE:

Start!! Clinton – Sunday, September 30th

3:00pm Trailhead kickoff event with special guest Brent Hugh, Director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, music and local booze.
Brent will discuss the growing MO bicycle movement and possible new spur trails into Kansas City.

~35 miles to Sedalia – Monday, October 1st
4:00pm Champion Bicycles trail maintenance workshop (in the Katy Depot), followed by a Katy Depot Museum tour at 5:30pm

~35 miles to Boonville – Tuesday, October 2nd
4:00pm walking tour of the Old Thespian Hall and Historic Jail with the Friend’s of Historic Boonville – meet at Coopers Oak winery!
5:30pm return to Coopers Oak Winery for an award winning wine tasting with an MRCN Katy Trail presentation.

~13 miles to Rocheport – Wednesday, October 3rd
6:30pm Briggs Pond BnB local foods dinner with MO River Communities Network Katy Trail presentation
rsvp for dinner in advance and be entered in a raffle for a night at Briggs Pond Bed n Breakfast!  you may pay now via PayPal, or pay (in cash only please) the night of the event.

Complete schedule & itinerary.

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