Column: One day down, four and 200 miles to go

CLIFTON CITY  — I have dust in my teeth and a smile on my face.

My mother, Sherlyn, and I completed the first leg of our 225-mile journey Friday on the Katy Trail. We couldn’t have asked for better weather on day No. 1 — it was perfect.

We rode 50 miles from Clinton to Clifton City, and I’m amazed I’m not in pain. It gives me confidence that I can do the 60 miles on our longest day, Sunday. The plan is to arrive in St. Charles on Tuesday and ride the Amtrak train home Wednesday.

Readers e-mailed me with excellent tips for long bicycle rides, which I used and likely resulted in such a successful first day. Some of them included changing hand positions often, getting out of the saddle frequently, stopping for a water/food break every hour, laying down on a bench flat on my back for a couple of minutes when possible, and thinking positively ( after all, it’s all in my head).

I’m saving one suggestion in case of an emergency — Preparation H smeared on my rear end to make it numb.

It’s difficult to compare the ride from Clinton to Green Ridge (the halfway point for our first day) and Green Ridge to Clifton City. I really enjoyed the farmland and prairies the first half had to offer.

We stopped for lunch in Windsor at Raymond’s Family Restaurant. After each deciding on a grilled chicken salad, we quickly changed our minds after hearing the specials. I had the fried catfish dinner, and Mom ordered meat loaf. Each came with salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and homemade bread. For dessert, we split a cinnamon roll that was almost as good as my Grandma Nail used to make.

I tried to keep folks updated throughout the day on my blog on The Democrat’s Web site. I’m guessing there aren’t too many people who lug a laptop with them on a trail. I worked on an entry during lunch, and a waitress told me she didn’t know much about computers, but she had a good idea what would happen if I lost a glob of potatoes and gravy on the keyboard.

The prairie restoration area between Windsor and Green Ridge is wonderful, although I couldn’t imagine biking it in anything warmer than 80 degrees since there is little shade. Along one side of the trail in this section are remnants of the telegraph system used to send messages in Morse code from rail station to station. Some posts still have their insulators.

All along this portion of the trail are ashy sunflowers and big bluestem flowers, along with some tiny light purple ones the yellow butterflies and bees seem to love. My only disappointment was being unable to spot any scissor-tailed flycatchers or prairie chickens, even with the help of binoculars.

The highest point on the trail is just east of Bryson at milepost 242.6. It is 955 feet above sea level on the Osage Plains. I appreciated it — and wasn’t shy about taking a picture sporting a muscle pose next to the “high point” sign — but I was expecting more of a challenge. My legs couldn’t tell it was the high point on the trail.

I did more leg work from just west of Green Ridge to Clifton City. Between Sedalia and Beaman are wonderful natural tunnels made by trees. Although I looked, there was no sign of the Beaman Monster.

Eight turkeys were in the middle of the trail between Beaman and Clifton City, and we saw a deer earlier in the day. I think the trail approaching Clifton City gave me a taste of what to expect going toward Rocheport — wooded areas with areas where the path cuts through bluffs.

I’ve found when traveling the trail, one receives a history lesson on two wheels. I never knew that Windsor was originally named Bellmont, but changed its name after finding out about another town called Bellmont. It was named Windsor after the monarch’s castle in England.

I also didn’t realize that the last MKT (Missouri Kansas Texas) train passed through Clifton City 21 years ago. 

The day wasn’t without a few casualties. Several kamikaze grasshoppers met their fate in my bicycle spokes, along with crickets, woolly worms, spiders and other insects. One also bit it in Mom’s chompers, and I happened to notice it stuck on her tooth. I caught another one in my eye.

Friday night we slept in our own beds and will catch a ride back to the Clifton City trail head in the morning.

Next stop: Huntsdale, 43.7 miles from Clifton City, just east of Rocheport.

Continue to follow our progress as I’ll blog and post photos throughout the day on The Democrat’s Web site. Let me know about must-see places near the trail.