“We have some friends in Kansas City. So when the wife suggested I leave early and ride the katy and they’d (her and the kids) pick me up along the way somewhere I was intrigued. I hope to finish Leadville this august and although there is no climbing on the katy this would help my training. The plan was that she’d load up the kids we’d Rendezvous and continue on to Columbia (for Logboat brewery) and finally KC.  We like our beer at my house. We have been wanting to visit logboat brewery. It would be a nice break to stop and we could fill some growlers too.

The problem is that there isn’t a really good spot between stl and Columbia mo. She’d have to drive 30-45 mins out of the way.  Anyone with little ones knows road trips are a challenge.  So I figured screw it and go for Logboat Brewery.  There were a couple problems after I took some time to go over details.
1: I’ve never ridden 137 miles in a day
2: If I was meeting my wife and kids in Columbia mo at Logboat Brewery at 1230 I’d have to leave really early.
3:The high for Saturday St. Louis was 103.
(Actually it broke a record at 108)

I figured out to keep a reasonable pace it would take about 9.5-10 hours. I took a backpack and a total of 4 water bottles, some bars, and the normal tools for a trail fix to keep weight down. I figured 2 bottles on the bike and 2 on my back.  I’d switch out bottles and refill at any number of water stops.  Side note about the Mokane trail head. There is a sketchy looking random water spigot that I filled my bottles. I’m still alive and don’t have diarrhea so I’m assuming no dysentery.  There is apparently a store that opens at 0800 north of the TH at the street crossing. If your not feeling brave enough for random unmarked spigots the store has plenty of stuff.  Just bring cash, the credit card reader broke.

I woke up at 0200 and left at 0300 and got to work. It’s pretty crazy how many animals are out before dawn. The katy has a lot of tree covered sections. So when it’s dark it kind of feels like your in a tunnel.

The water plan for the first half worked out perfect. I lost the little sticky note with my water stops on it, so I winged it.  I could read the signs at the TH, but I just didn’t want to have to ride for 10 miles in 100 degree heat without water.

The bike was flawless. The Beer hit the spot! Food worked great. Water was sufficient, but I stoped drinking the last 2 hours because my hydration mix got hot.  Due to that the last 15 miles were rough.  The worst part was the ride home the next day with the three boys.”

-Phillip H.