RIT & KATY Trail Aug. 6 - 12 2026
8/6/2026 St. Charles to Machens and back . 32 miles.
Met Corky at the trailhead. Rode from St. Charles east to Machens. Beautiful trail, though it sprinkled on us most of the time. Took our rain gear off in Machens during a break in the rain. Took a side trip on pavement to Portage des Sioux to the Our Lady of the Rivers shrine. Quite impressive, though there were dozens of dead carp on the shore of the Mississippi River, and as many vultures to go with them. As we arrived back in St. Charles it began to rain hard. We packed up and went to the Salt and Smoke for a good lunch. Drove to Kirkwood and the Amtrak station. Still raining. Sat inside for a bit, then loaded bikes and bags onto the train. Comfortable ride west across the state. Got off at Lee's Summit for dinner at Stuey McBrews. Met a couple of guys and talked about backpacking. Biked to the hotel. Corky had left his credit card at the bar. He called and told them to cut it up.
8/7/2026 Lee's Summit to Windsor. 62 miles.
Took a shower. Ate hotel breakfast and headed out. First on paved roads, then gravel roads through Reed Park, then gravel path, then rocky single track to a paved road. A branch hit my right hand and knocked me off the bike. Another gravel road past Pleasant Hill lake, then the very nice MO Pac trail into Pleasant Hill. Had second breakfast at Big Creek Cafe.
Two closed bridges. Went around the first and over the second. Soft trail all the way to Windsor. Lots of birds and mammals, including squirrels, woodchuck, raccoon, rabbit. Photographed a brown snake. Camped at Katy Rock Junction. Dinner at Jalisco.
8/8/2026 Windsor to Clinton and back. 39 miles.
Breakfast at the Sidetrack Cafe in Windsor. Great omelet. Rode west to Clinton. Saw cows wading in a stream, lizards, and a box tortoise at the end. In Clinton, a car show, murals, a restored vintage gas station, and the 1876 Gustave Haysler House. Ate lunch at Pizza Glen. Headed east and stopped at Calhoun for a beer. Poor service. Nice mural though. Continued east to Windsor. Had dinner at the Chinese restaurant, New China. Rode down to the city park and lake. Very pleasant. Showers then bed.
8/9/2026 Clinton to Boonville. 59 miles.
Left about 7:30. Got breakfast at Casey's in Green Ridge. Rode to Sedalia. Got sandwiches at Casey's for later. Checked out the depot in Sedalia, but everything was closed on Sunday. Rode through town on the trail, such as it was. Saw an original signal light, and also a restored one the lit up and gonged when I got close. Eventually Rode through a beautiful section with wide trail, big tunnel canopy and a stream adjacent. Some parts blasted through rock ridges. Stopped at the bridge over Shaver Creek. Ate our sandwiches while listening to the babbling brook. I think this was my favorite part of the ride. Watched a soft shell turtle work its way upstream, followed by some fish. Butterflies all over. Mostly hackberry emperors, and a couple of American Snouts. My butt was wet from my leaky Camelbak. We found the leak where the hose screwed into the bladder.
Rode on to Pilot Grove. Deon's was closed, so we drank Busch lights at Casey's. Rode on to Boonville. Got some beer at the Cenex and checked in to the casino hotel. Showered. Ate my leftover lunch food, then we went down to the casino restaurant. Felt really good today, even at the end of the ride.
8/10/2026 Boonville to Jefferson City. 53 miles.
Left hotel, rode over the bridge toward New Franklin. One tree lay completely across the trail. Lots of dodder in the ditch. Breakfast at Meriwether's in Rocheport, burrito. Rode on to McBane and Coopers Landing. No food, but we got a beer. Did not feel great on this section, especially my hands. on to Jeff City. Up the corkscrew and over the bridge. Janet picked us up and we went to Corky's house.
Had a nice steak dinner and we moved the rack from his mountain bike onto his road bike because the front derailleur cable was frayed. Slept well in his camper.
8/11/2026 Jefferson City to Hermann. 47 miles.
Corky made breakfast burritos. We left after finding the lost cat. Janet dropped us in Jeff City and we Rode on to Tebbetts. Shortly afterwards I ran over a stick that stuck in my spokes and caught my fender stay, pulling the fender up. We got the stick out and got the fender bent back into position, holding it in place with zip ties.
Saw the jail in Mokane and Standing Rock with the flood markings. Stopped in Portland for lunch at Holzhauser's. 15 miles and a couple of stops took us to McKittrick. Stopped at a grocery for beer and lemonade. Rode over the bridge to Hermann and checked into the Nestle Inn. Rested, took showers, and went to the Concert Hall and Barrel for dinner. Great food. Got malts at the deli two doors down.
8/12/2026 Hermann to St. Charles. 67 miles.
Got up early and picked up breakfast at Casey's. Rode through the park and over the bridge to the trail. After about 12 miles we stopped at a bench overlooking the river and ate our breakfast. It was cool and overcast. We had a tailwind almost the whole day. My butt was hurting more than my hands. Very fine houses under the bluff or on hillsides overlooking the river. Saw the 6th box tortoise of the trip and a big black rat snake. Also a doe and her two fawns. Stopped at the Mercantile in Treloar. It's a State Park facility with antiques on display and various items for sale. We met a group of 6 from Indianapolis. Stopped at a convenience store in Marthasville to buy lunch, as there would be no options by the noon hour. Ate later at one of the depots. Stopped in Defiance and Amy from the bar/restaurant on the corner gave us bottles of water. Corky filled up his bike bottles, but left them behind. The trail gets really rough in places as we approached St. Charles. Finally rolled up to my car in the parking lot, having covered all of the trail over the past week. We packed up and drove to Kirkwood to get Corky to his car. Just as we arrived it started pouring rain. We got his stuff moved into his car. I left and drove home, stopping for food and gas.
Reflections
The total was 359 miles. It was not that hard a ride, but I should have trained more on the gravel bike. My legs had the endurance, but my hands and butt did not. That made for some painful days. It wasn't that hot most of the time, as we were covered by tree canopy. The cooling towel was useless because the humidity was so high. I never used the click stand. The scenery and wildlife were fantastic. There were not a lot of riders at this time of year, and that helps.
Phenology: In bloom were compass plants, chicory, Campanula, sunflowers. Cicadas were peaking, with very loud calling in places, and the raccoon poop consisted of yellow corn near the fields. Red-spotted purples and hackberry emperors were abundant, and we saw a few American snouts, goatweed leafwings, and various other butterflies that would be expected at this time and place.
Link to photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9JvbzAHPZ1Q6b56n9
