Katy Trail D.7

Today held an uneventful 31mi ride. The ride from Jefferson City to Portland MO was rather featureless. The trail has moved away from the river and there weren't an abundance of markers for history or features. The ride was pleasant and I did manage to talk to a couple other through riders.

I woke at about 6am after a so-so night of rest in a hotel. I was hoping to be better rested when I got up today. I took another shower just because I could. Got my gear squared away and went to the hotel lobby for a Continental breakfast. The selections available were pretty sparse and mostly unappealing. I settled on a few miniature cinnamon rolls and a cup of coffee. The cinnamon rolls were pretty bad and hard enough that Ellie May Clampett may have baked them.

I finished my lack luster breakfast, collected my loaded bicycle and headed for the bridge across the river. It was good to see some of my previous route in reverse. I did enjoy riding across the bridge and wanted to stop and check out one of the sections of fence along the way. It seems that there is some sort of custom for hanging padlocks on about half the bridge fencing, but only on one side of the walk/bikeway. Later I discovered that these are probably "love-locks" let by romantic or lustful people.

After reaching the other end of the bridge I got to ride back down the corkscrew ramp I had ridden up yesterday. There weren't many people out this early on a Sunday morning and so I had a chance to take a picture of it. From where I took the image I was probably 60 off of the ground.

After reaching the bottom I had a couple mile ride to get back to the Katy Trail. Nice morning for a slow ride.

I talked with some locals at the North Jefferson Trailhead and thanked them and the people of Missouri for making the trail available. It's a great outdoor facility. Interestingly, there is no charge or pass required to ride the Katy. I'm not sure what the policy is for other Missouri parks, but for the Katy it's gratis.

After riding about 6 miles the cinnamon rolls were giving up on me. I needed something to eat or I would run out of gas soon. I pulled some GORP (good ole' raisins and peanuts) out of my snack stash and noshed on it until I felt like I might be able to make it until lunch. I pedaled on to Hartsburg where I stopped for a break and a couple tortillas with peanut butter. More fuel to keep me going. This stretch is a challenge because there are really no towns large enough to have any place to get any kind of food or drink.

Since there wasn't a lot of points of interest I began taking pics of flowers. They are always an interesting topic.

There was a significant number of bluffs on the left side of the trail. They were hidden by the thick woods along that side of the trail. I stumbled upon one spot where I was finally able to catch a shot of one of them, and it was a dandy.

There are also a good number of turtles to be found on sections of the trail that are close to the river. Turtles are a good indicator of the health of animal habit so it's a relief to see them.

I also passed an interesting rock. It's origin is unknown and scientist are unsure how it came to be exactly. There is a hypothesis that the sand it is made of was deposited within a deep hole that had formed in the limestone that is older in the area. Later, it is possible that erosion wore away the limestone that the sandstone rock was formed in. At any rate the 25 foot tall rock is impressive and has been used for centuries to mark flood stages of the Missouri.

Mid-Afternoon I reached my destination for the night, a private campground at Portland. It has maybe six RV campsites and about eight tent sites. The description on Google Maps indicated that there was water, a bathroom, shower and electricity. It did in fact have each of those available in some limited way. I checked out the shower and it was so grungy with mildew that I didn't risk taking a shower in it even wearing my Crocs.

If you recall I had dinner at a smoke house in Jefferson last night of rope sausage, brisket, baked beans and potato salad. While I was eating it I thought that the meal wasn't nearly hot enough to be safe. Sure enough, this morning my belly was gurgling and now by the end of the day, I'm glad to be near a bathroom. This could be a long night.

I didn't eat any dinner tonight. I sat at the picnic table, studied my map of the trail and put together a strategy to finish out the trail over the next few days. I love looking over maps, thinking about history, places and possibilities.

Not feeling on top of the world and low on energy I called it a night about 8:30 and went to bed.

Thanks for spending some time with me and check back for the next report.