Katy Trail Day 5: Change in the Weather

Whenever we can work the word “penultimate” into a blog post we do, mostly to show how educated we are. But it’s appropriate, seeing as today is the penultimate ride of the trip. Spoiler alert: it’s not flat and there are no flat tires.

We have moved away from the Missouri River and today is mostly “uphill”, if you can call 1-2% grades a hill. They go on for awhile, and we are rewarded with downhills of the same grade. And the weather has finally cooled off. The high today is only 75.

John and Mitzi spent all of yesterday afternoon getting their bike fixed and they are back on the trail.

We encounter a lot of history today. This railroad signal is one of the few that remain.

Dating to 1910, this bridge now carries bicycles, not trains.

There is a lot of shade on our ride due to a nice tree canopy.

Irony time…as we leave the trail in Sedalia, our way is blocked, by what else–a train.

Sedalia was a booming town in the 1950’s. Now, not so much. Their train depot dates to 1896.

And ragtime composer Scott Joplin is from here.

We stay in another historic hotel.

The Hotel Bothwell opened in 1927. Sixty years later, it was turned into senior citizen housing.

It’s a hotel again. Our room has one king bed, but two full bathrooms. Go figure!

Start City: Boonville, MO
End City: Sedalia, MO
Miles: 37
Miles to date: 204
Pedaling time: 2 hours, 50 minutes
Average speed: 13 MPH
Wind: 5-10 cross wind
Temperatures: 71 at ride start, 75 at finish

Up next: That’s a wrap! The last day of our tour approaches.

4 thoughts on “Katy Trail Day 5: Change in the Weather”

We have enjoyed reading your cycling adventures—we ‘joined you’ on your cross country trip last year (and followed in your tracks this spring!) We completed the Katy Trail in 2015. If you want another two day ride, we recommend following the Katy to the eastern trailhead and then with a few miles on roads, you can catch the trail system to take you all the way to the Arch in St Louis—there’s something about being able to cycle right into the heart of big cities! We spent the night and then cycled back (about 50 miles one way from St Charles.), although you would need a way to carry stuff for an overnigter! Safe travels!