I have been watching snow come and go the past three months so I have only ridden the bike four times, less than forty miles--- not good for conditioning the heart, lungs, legs and tail feathers. There has been over fifteen inches of snow I have blown and shoveled off the drive and sidewalks since December. We got another inch today but it might melt---Yes! Good grief, a year ago it was eighty one degrees on Saint Patty's Day. This boy is beginning to catch a big dose of Cabin Fever so I hope there will be a break in old man winter's clutch and Chris and I can ride the Green Belt Trail in Des Moines this weekend, filling in one of two latitude gaps remaining in Iowa.
During this winter lull, I have been able to plan nearly seventy trails to get me to the thirty-seventh parallel. Unfortunately it has been tough going for me to find off road trails
south of 37.12451 degrees. In scanning Googel Earth, Google Maps and Trail-Link it appears I will need to ride shorter trails in several states. This will require extensive driving. For example, to fill latitudes south of 37.1288 degrees, I will need to drive to Durango, Colorado and/or Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. When one must drive ridiculous miles to ride two to three miles, it becomes a bit painful to stick to the original goal.
Now it's time to get on with reporting on granfathered trail rides that preceed the Madien ride a year ago. The Katy Trail (KT) State Park in Missouri is one of America's premier trails. To date the KT is my favorite trail. It is the nation's longest rail-trail—nearly 238 miles of scenic trail skirting the Missouri River stretching from Clinton to St. Charles, Missouri.
|
|
The KT occupies a segment of rail corridor that once carried trains of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (a.k.a., the Katy). In 1986 the railroad ceased operations along this route, paving the way to create an exceptional recreational and educational opportunity. A big chunk (150 miles) of the KT, extending from Marthasville to Boonville, follows the Lewis and Clark Trail. These two explorers and nearly fifty men rowing and dragging three keelboats against the current, made it from the middle of the country, 3200 miles to Astoria, Oregon. President Thomas Jefferson persuaded congress to fund exploration of the newly obtained Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson foresaw Lewis and Clark’s exploration a means to discover a practical route across the western half of the continent, and in doing so, establishing an American presence in this new territory, securing it before Britain and other European powers tried to lay claim.
The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and
economical: to study the area's plants, animal life, geography, and other
natural resources.
There are a several museums along the KT but one Connie
and I found most interesting was the Lewis and Clark museum in the Missouri
State Capitol building in Jefferson City.
The KT is a crushed limestone trail that is too long for
the average person to ride in a day. Many folks will ride parts of the trail,
some staying in Bed and Breakfast abodes along the way. Or, do as I did, ride a
forty to fifty mile segment and come back at other times in a four year span to
complete the whole trail.
One memorable KT trip involved Endontist Tom, his brother
John and our wives. We rode as a group from near Rocheport to Columbia
(University of Missouri) where John lived. He put up for the night and then we pedaled
a bit more before loading up and heading to Tom’s family home in Hamburg, Iowa.
The weather was perfect and the sights were exceptional. Red-tailed hawks and
vultures were catching updrafts from one to two hundred foot limestone bluffs, soaring
for hours with minor wing movement. Near the river there were waterfowl
flashing their beauty the cyclists crackling along on the KT.
No comments:
Post a Comment