Katy Trail 2007: Clinton to Sedalia

2007 Katy Trail Ride, Day #1: Clinton to Sedalia

At the start of a trip, there’s always a buzz of excitement and anticipation, and today was no different. We were up by 6:00 or so, and on the road by around 7:00. It was a short day (listed as 39 miles), which was just as well, as the adrenaline made us start off a little quicker than I would have liked.

Or it least it felt quick, but I don’t know precisely, as I didn’t have my cyclocomputer installed. In the rush of last-minute packing that morning, I’d forgotten it, and by the time I realized it was missing, the bag that it was in was already loaded on the truck, and I didn’t want to go back and dig it out.

So I don’t know exactly how far we went or how fast. We made it to Sedalia late in the morning, and set up camp at Liberty Park, a nice little city park with a nearby meeting room/auditorium. I didn’t have any trouble locating my bag (score one for a bright blue bag!), and we secured a good spot beneath a tree near some picnic tables and set up our tents.

It sprinkled a few times during the ride, but didn’t actually rain until late in the evening and again during the night.

The trail itself was a blast, as we rolled through farmland, primarily pastures and wheat. In some places it was open and elsewhere it was closed in by trees on both sides, sometimes arching over the trail to create a green tunnel.

The riders were nearly all friendly and courteous, except for two fellows riding together, who hogged the whole trail and didn’t want to let anyone pass them.

The Katy Trail Ride uses an interesting approach to showers. On BAK, we stayed at schools and used their school showers, which provide no privacy at all. The Katy ride provides a “shower truck”, which is basically a semi trailer with a dozen or so individual shower stall, divided into mens and womens sides. Each shower has a privacy curtain on the front, with rigid walls on the sides. This works pretty well, though you still end up undressing and dressing in a common ares. Still, this is an improvement over communal showers.

Tomorrow is the longest day of the trip, about 66 miles, so we’ll need to pay more attention to pace. Today, I was fine, but Rob was tired by the time we reached our destination. I’m curious (and a bit concerned) about how he’ll do tomorrow and in the coming days.

Me and Rob Leaving Clinton