Reply to great 172 miles on Katy

Here is my insight from 4 days biking the Katy Trail. I would highly recommend it! We had a blast
Oct. 9 Boonsville to Jefferson City Approx 50 miles
Oct. 10 Jefferson City to McKitrick Approx 45 miles
Oct. 11 McKitrick to Defiance Approx 40 miles
Oct. 12,13,14 Rested in Shrewsbury( St Louis suburb,stayed with friends son and son's future wife...Thank you so much Tim and Sara )
Oct 15 Rode Amtrak from Kirkwood ( St Louis suburb ) to Sedalia MO... 60 dollars for 2 people with bikes. The train only has room for 4 bikes. Very comfortable ride.
Oct 15 Biked from Sedalia back to Boonsville Approx 37 miles.... 172 miles total in 4 days riding

The Katy trail is not easy riding...Its taxing... The crushed limestone does not allow you to coast and is a much more difficult surface than pavement or concrete.
Wished I would have rode much more 2 to 3 months prior to the trip ( highly suggest 70 miles per week minimum)
The hardest part of the trip was from Sedalia to Boonsville, by far the hardest. I bet it's uphill at least 10 miles and the surface is softer than any other stretch. Also, there are tennis ball sized pods from some tree all over the trail, probably 15 miles of them. I would like to know what kind of tree this is if anybody knows. My friend and I would hit these pods and we both felt like we could go down any moment. Kind of unnerving. This is only a problem in the fall.

I would use lock tight on all my screws on my luggage rack and verify they are tight. Learn about lock tight.
I would avoid or ride it first, the trail from Sedalia to Boonsville if I had it to do over.
I would avoid Jefferson City as it is a 2 mile task getting there from trail.

The highlight stop of the trip was the 350 year old Giant Burr Oak tree around mile marker 170. Its right next to a paved county road out by its l

Tennis-ball sized pods, if they were bright green, would be hedge trees, aka Osage orange or horse apples. The farmers would use their wood for fence posts because it is strong and rot resistant.

Smaller, dark green/brown pods would be walnuts in their husks. They are about the size of golf balls. Smaller yet are pecan and hickory, which do not pose much of a hazard but you will hear them popping as they shoot from under your tire. With the leaves falling, there are many hidden dangers so try to ride in the clear areas.

Isn't iIt funny how each of us has there own "things" that make them happy and vice versa?

My favorite part of the trail is between Sedalia and Boobeville. I love the tree tunnel, the places where the rock has been moved away to accomodate the railroad etc. Sure, it can be a little uphill sometimes, but it is a railroad bed--nothing to gripe at there as far as I'm concerned. As for the hills, they also give you a break from the "taxing" surface (although I will argue that "taxing" statement too: Headwind is taxing. Crushed limestone is just not as smooth as asphalt).

As for the big Burr Oak: It just doesn't do much for me. It reminds me of a place where we used to drink beer in high school...... And that, in retrospect, wasn't that fun.

To each his own. Happy to hear you enjoyed your trip. We probably don't need to ride together :)

Booneville. There might be some boobs there too, but I have never stopped there for that.