RecumBum

Some notes from the 2007 Katy Trail Ride:

• The Katy Trail is an excellent place to ride. The trail surface was in good shape for the entire distance, despite some recent flooding, and there is a good deal of outstanding scenery along the way, including farms, trees, small towns, bluffs, and the magnificent Missouri River.

• The Katy Trail Ride is a good first trip for someone new to bicycle touring. It’s relatively flat, you don’t have to deal with cars and trucks (except for intersections and a few places in towns), and you can’t get lost.

• Although there were a few long days, I think overall this was a very positive experience for Rob. He was relieved, but very proud, to have finished. Back home, when we were telling his parents about the trip, he couldn’t stop talking about it.

• The organizers did an outstanding job putting this ride together. It was very well-organized and ran smoothly. Overnights were fine, the food was mostly excellent, the SAGs were frequent, and there were a lot of very helpful volunteers.

• Although the SAGs were great, the one thing I could have wished for is a little more variety. Every SAG had water, Powerade mix, and bananas (and sometimes apples, grapes, and nectarines). The fruit was fine, but additional goodies would have been appreciates. The best SAGs (or at least the most memorable) were the very few with something different – trail mix, cookies, donuts.

• The trail was dusty! My bike, particularly the wheels, carried a thick coating of very fine white dust. My drivetrain was quite filthy. I couldn’t wait to get it home and cleaned up.

• The constant pounding of the trail is hard on a bike. Casualties of the trip:

  • I blew out my back tire, ruining a brand new Primo Racer tire and tube in the process.
  • My handlebar-mounted Cateye BC-500G Mirror broke on the last day of the trip.
  • My brand new Third Eye Eyeglass Mirror broke.
  • My water bottle cage broke.
  • My cadence sensor came loose.

• I packed very well. I can’t think of anything major I forgot to take, and very little of what I took was unused.

• Using dry-sacks and plastic bags to partition things worked out very well. Having one bag for clothing, one bag for electronics, one bag for toiletries, once bag for miscellaneous, etc. meant that my duffel bag was always organized. This is important when the bag is just one big open space.

• Rob’s organizing scheme – throw everything into a bag without any partitioning – was far less successful, as his bag was a constant mess. Also, his bag was a little too small. It survived the trip, but had several tears and rips by the end.

• Taking the sleeping bag rather than individual blankets worked out very well. I could sleep on top of the bag when it was hot (though I found the material a bit uncomfortable in the heat), and sleep inside when it cooled off.

• The new tent worked fine. It was considerably easier to put up and take down than my old dome tent (which Rob used on this trip), packed smaller, and felt like it had more space inside.

• I wasn’t happy with my chain lube. I’d lubed my chain with Finish Line Wet just before the trip, and had wiped it down well (I thought), but the chain slimed me numerous times, and also stained my duffle bag and a few other items. I need to look for something better.

• Using a hip pack to hold my wallet, camera, and guidebook worked very well. I was able to pull the camera out, take pictures, and put it back, fairly easily and safely, even while riding. And having the wallet always on me made me feel more secure about leaving the bike unattended.

• There were quite a few recumbents on this tour. I didn’t get a count, but estimate them at about 10% of the total, maybe more.

• My level of fitness was more than adequate for this ride. I think I had just over 1000 miles before the ride began, and with the slow-to-moderate pace, and lack of hills, I really wasn’t taxed on this trip.

• Rob’s level of fitness wasn’t quite as solid. He was having serious problems on day #2, and was stretched to his limit on day #4. However, because of his youth, he was able to “ride into fitness”, and finished the trip far stronger than he started it.

• My knees didn’t give me any problems! I had one day where my lower back was sore, but other than that, the ride was pain-free.

• I’m glad I carried cash as well as a credit card. The bike shop in Rocheport didn’t accept Discover Card, so I had to dip into my cash reserves. Luckily, I’d brought sufficient funds to cover this little emergency.

• Though I improved, compared to BAK, I still didn’t take enough pictures!

• Would I do the ride again? Probably not, unless I were riding with a newbie again. The route doesn’t vary year to year (although the overnight stops do), so there’s not much new to see. This trip might be fun to do again in ten years or so, just to see what’s changed over time.

Broken Cateye Mirror

Broken Water Bottle Cage