It has been a dream of mine to ride the Katy Trail in Missouri! This dream is now a reality! Interest was shown from some of my friends who own, and ride RANS crank forward bikes. The plans started taking shape, and, Viola, the date was set, and we started getting the bikes ready! Two of the girls rode Fusions. One rode a Street and I was on a Citi. All the bikes had 2” wide tires on them except the one, which had 1 ½” tires. They did well for the leaf covered trail as well as the soft spots on the trail, due to the moisture on it. The 10 speeds on a Citi was a non-issue due to the relatively flat railroad bed. Now, when It came time to ride in Hermann and Augusta, I needed granny low! There are some serious hills in those towns!
To haul our gear, rear racks were installed on the bikes. Various brands of panniers were used. I used the Arkel brand and loved them! I didn’t even notice the extra weight too much! I also had a topper bag on the rack. It was ample storage for the miles we traveled and the snacks we hauled, not to mention the Coke!
The Katy trail runs from Clinton to Machens and is 240 miles long. A cold spell passed through the area on the week we were there. One morning our ride started out in temperatures of 32*! This is when our gloves, earmuffs and shawls came in handy! If our legs were pedaling, we stayed warm. We did see temperatures in the 50’s to 60’s with the sun shining. That was a welcome sight! The girls and I rode parts of the trail from Rocheport to Augusta. Our total miles we traveled was 173, with most of them on the beautiful trail with leaves below us and a canopy of leaves above us! The colors gave us spectacular views of reds, yellows, and oranges! The river was also a highlight to see in amongst the trees! We enjoyed all the quaint bridges that we rode over. Our biggest riding day ended with 50 miles and the least traveled was 37 miles. For lodging we stayed in bed and breakfast or Air B&B’s. The experience was wonderful! The RANS crank forward bike is a must for riding in comfort and style! The next better would be on a RANS recumbent!