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Extended Vacation Tours, 2010

Fall Tour of the KATY Trail

September 26th through October 2, 2010

Early fall is a great time to enjoy the Missouri countryside. It is the most popular season for touring on the KATY, and for good reason. Farmers are out harvesting their crops and the leaves are beginning to turn. The weather is ideal for cycling with cool mornings and warm afternoons. Many of the small towns along the trail have festivals now; examples include the Pumpkin Festival in Hartsburg and Octoberfest in Hermann. Our 15 years of experience leading tours on the trail means you can be sure of the best accommodations, restaurants, and sites during the trip. Highlights of this tour will be visits to the State Capitol in Jefferson City and the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library, and the wineries and festivities in Hermann, the center of Missouri’s wine growing region.

Itinerary

Day 1: Sunday, September 26th – Train to Sedalia. Meet at the Touring Cyclist warehouse at 7:30 am for departure to the Amtrak station in Kirkwood at 8:00 am. Those coming on the tour from out of town can leave their cars in the Touring Cyclist warehouse locked parking lot. The train leaves at 8:55 am and arrives in Sedalia at 12:00 noon. Upon arrival at the hotel we check out the bicycles. This afternoon we will ride through Sedalia to see some of its well preserved buildings, many of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Another option is to ride on the KATY Trail west towards Clinton. Meet in the hotel lobby at 6:45 pm for the shuttle to dinner.

Day 2: Monday, September 27th – Cycle from Sedalia to Booneville (38 miles). We depart as a group at 9:00 am for the trail. The first stop is the Sedalia KATY Depot, which is a great group photo opportunity and has a well stocked souvenir shop. Then everyone rides at their own pace. There will be two water stops: outside Sedalia and at Pilot Grove. Tonight’s hotel is in the heart of downtown Booneville right off the trail: next to the casino, near the (ex-)train depot, on the waterfront right in front of the Booneville Tourism Office. A walking tour of the historic downtown after the ride is highly recommended.

Day 3: Tuesday, September 28th – Cycle from Booneville to N. Jefferson Trailhead (49 miles). We ride from the morning’s hotel directly onto the trail. There are two water stops today, at Rocheport and McBaine. Meet at the North Jefferson trailhead by 4:00 PM for van transport across the Missouri river to Jefferson City and tonight’s hotel.

Day 4: Wednesday, September 29th – Free day in Jefferson City. Today we explore Missouri’s state capital. The Statehouse is a replica of our nation’s capitol building, and we’ll tour it at 10:00 am. In the afternoon we will shuttle 23 miles to Fulton, Missouri, to visit the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library at Westminster College. The library is housed in a 12th Century church that was transported from the middle of London to Fulton and restored in the 1960s. The museum, built to memorialize Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech, is possibly the best in all of Missouri.

Day 5: Thursday, September 30th – Cycle from the Jefferson trailhead to Hermann (43 miles). We meet after breakfast for van transport across the river back to the trailhead. There will be water stops at Tebbits, Mochane, and Portland (the recommended lunch stop). We end the ride in Hermann, a picturesque German community with more than 150 historic buildings, world class wineries, museums, shops and galleries. The town is about 2 miles off the trail but easily reached using bicycle-friendly Highway 19 and a separate bike path on the bridge across the Missouri River. Get to Hermann early to leave time for a walking tour of town. Octoberfest will be in full swing, with all the wineries celebrating the grape harvest. At 5:15 pm we will shuttle to the Stone Hill Winery for a tour and dinner.

Day 6: Friday, October 1st – Cycle from Hermann to Augusta (34 miles). Water stops are at Treloar and Marthasville. The recommended lunch stop is the Dutzow Deli, which has the best food on the trail and superb chili. The main attraction of today’s ride is our destination, Augusta, a quaint little town of 210 residents and dozens of B&Bs. Plan to arrive here early in time to wander around town, visit the several wineries (especially Mt. Pleasant Winery), the excellent microbrewery (Augusta Brewing Company, right at the trailhead), and the numerous shops that cater to visitors. Meet at 4:00 pm at the Augusta trailhead for a shuttle to nearby Washington, MO and tonight’s lodging. (Washington is across the Missouri River from the trail, and the bridge across is too dangerous for bicycles.)

Day 7: Saturday, October 2nd – Cycle from Augusta to St. Charles (26 miles). One water stop today at Weldon Springs. Today we ride into St. Charles, the first state capital city of Missouri, to end our tour. St. Charles sits on the Missouri River and was the jumping off point for Lewis and Clark’s expedition to explore the West in 1804. Frontier Park on the riverfront commemorates that event and is the terminus of the KATY Trail. It is where we meet the van at 1:00 pm to be transported back to the Touring Cyclist warehouse in Bridgeton and our cars.

Provided in the tour

The tour package includes train fair from St. Louis to Sedalia, six nights in hotel rooms (double occupancy), breakfast each morning, six evening meals, museum tickets, support vehicle, luggage and bicycle transport each day, transport to and from the KATY trailhead when needed, mechanical service, water stops with fresh fruit and cookies, KATY Trail maps and information. Three support personnel will accompany the tour: the tour leader, tour director, and support vehicle driver. These three are very experienced and will ensure you have a great time on the tour!

Cost of the tour

The tour package costs $845.00 per person, double occupancy. The single supplement is an additional $200.00. We also optionally provide rental bicycles for $100.00 for the week. The bicycle is a Fuji Crosstown 2.0 hybrid bicycle, with suspension front fork and seatpost suspension, a very comfortable seat, water bottle, rear luggage rack, and bell.

How to sign up

Reserve a spot on this tour with a $200.00 deposit. The balance is due 30 days before start of the tour. Full refunds for cancellation are available up until 30 days before the start of the tour. Within 30 days of the tour refunds are available if anyone is still on the waiting list. The tour can accommodate up to 20 people. You can phone (314-739-4648) or fax (314-739-4972) credit card information for payment, or mail a check to this address:

The Touring Cyclist
attn: Fall KATY Trail 2010
11816 St. Charles Rock Road
Bridgeton, MO 63044

Tell us which tour you are signing up for (Fall KATY Trail), and give us full contact information including an email address.

If you have questions, contact Donald Humphries for the answers: 314-739-4648 or [donaldh AT touringcyclist.com].

The KATY Trail

The KATY Trail is a Missouri state park that extends more than 225 miles across almost the full width of the state, from Clinton in the west to St. Charles in the east. It is a rails-to-trails conversion, built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) railroad. When the railroad ceased operation on this route in 1986, the state acquired the right-of-way through the National Trails System Act, which allows for “rail-banking” railroad corridors for possible future reuse, and meanwhile permits those corridors to be used for parks and bike paths.

The KATY Trail is the longest rails-to-trails project in the country. The trail is flat and scenic; the section from Clinton to Booneville runs through prairie farmland, while the section from Booneville on to St. Charles follows the north bank of the Missouri River. The trail is paved with crushed limestone (chat). Almost any bicycle will work on the trail, but hybrid bikes are the best choice.

Riding the KATY takes you through some of the most scenic areas of the state. While in the Missouri River valley section you’ll often find yourself with the river on one side and towering bluffs on the other. The trail travels through many landscape types including dense forest, wetlands, deep valleys, remnant prairies, open pastureland and gently rolling farm fields of corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops. The fall is colorful with rich red, orange and yellow leaves from Sugar Maple, Sumac and Bittersweet trees. With such varied and rich habitat, wildlife is abundant, especially birds. Red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures are common, and bald eagles can be seen in late fall and winter.

The trail is rural. It passes through numerous small towns that rose and fell with the fortunes of the MKT railroad; many of those towns are rising again with the business brought in by users of the trail itself. The center section of the KATY passes through “Missouri’s Rhineland”, a region heavily settled by German immigrants before the Civil War. The section of trail from St. Charles to Booneville is part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and the entire trail has been designated a Millenium Legacy Trail.

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